The Monza Historic 2017 was staged 30 June to 2 July at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Northern Italy. Organised by Peter Auto, the second edition of the Monza Historic races brought the past back to life on this track where some of the greatest pages in the history of motorsport have been written.
Built in 1922, Monza is the world’s third purpose-built motor racing circuit after those of Brooklands and Indianapolis. The Monza Historic 2017 featured more than the 200 historic racing cars, divided up among Classic Endurance Racing One and Two, Sixties’ Endurance, Heritage Touring Cup, Trofeo Nastro Rosso, Group C Racing, Euro F2 Classic and FIA Lurani Trophy. They battled over three days on the demanding 11-turn, 3.60-mile layout, which puts engines and brakes under extreme stress as drivers are full throttle for most of the lap due to its long straights and fast corners.
While light rain fell during the Sixties’ Endurance event leading to a few tank slappers in the famous Parabolica, the other races took place on a dry track in good weather. In these conditions drivers were able to give full rein to their skills. This led to some mind-boggling duels in some of the events starting with Classic Endurance Racing 1 in which Carlos Monteverde’s Ferrari 512 M and Claudio Roddaro’s Porsche 917 battled for the lead for more than 50 minutes. In the end victory went to the Italian car after the Porsche had to retire due to a mechanical problem.
There was another great scrap in the Group C race between Kriton Lendounis and Rui Aguas’ Sauber-Mercedes C11 and the winning Porsche 962C of Ivan Vercoutere and Ralf Kelleners. In the Heritage Touring Cup, Dominik Roschmann’s BMW 3.0 CSL and David Huxley and Nigel Grennsall’s Ford Mustang GT Pinepac went head-to-head for first place for two-thirds of the race until the latter began to fall back letting the car from Munich roar on to victory.
Among the well-know drivers who took part in the Monza Historic 2017 were Jacques Laffite in CER1 in a Lola T70 Mk III shared with Philippe Vandromme, Paul Belmondo in CER2 in a Chevron B12 and Italian Alex Caffi in the same grid in a Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo.
A highlight for the drivers in the Sixties’ Endurance was the prize giving dinner on Saturday evening at the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo that tells the story of the marque from Biscione from 1910 to 2010. It gave them the opportunity to see iconic cars as well as unique lesser-known models that have contributed to the legend of the manufacturer from Milan.
Monza Historic 2017 – Photo Gallery (photos: Photo Classic Racing)
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
