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The other pre-war rally in Italy

Letters to the editor

If you want to enjoy car crazy Italy there are many ways. You can spend up to €25,000 for four days of fast and furious driving or you can enjoy the way more affordable Via Flaminia pre-war rally.

This years edition started not far from Bologna and the finish was at a coastal hilltop town just north of Rome. 
With 28 automobiles from seven countries, the rally attracted quite a lot of attention from the public. The first destination were the hills near Perugia where we spent two nights. The rally had a theme of wine and castles and we were welcomed by Lorenzo, the heir of a long line of owners of the Castello di Montegiove. It was a very warm welcome indeed.
From the centre of Italy, the rally would first go the the Atlantic coast and the cross back to the Mediterranean for the finish in Capalbio.
From the outset, one of the Danish teams, which has been participating since 2006, took the lead. But on day three they had an off-day and the lead was definitively taken over by eventual winners Hans and Marien Kuipers in their 1939 Alvis.
Remarkable is the third place for father and daughter Rysavy from the Czech Republic, who recently bought a largely original Speed Six and took part in a rally for the first time. The daughter did excellent navigation. It was the usual classic navigation pitfalls which cost them the lead.
It was another super relaxed rally.
 
Publiziert:
Mittwoch Juni 21st, 2023
David
26 Juni 2023, 21:05
It was the first time that we have attended a Via Flaminia event. Yes indeed there were some non-original cars, but one has to look at the Veteran and Vintage scene in general,

Value has created a marketplace for replica vehicles. I am not a great fan, basically because some unscrupulous owners of replica vehicles will try and pass them off as originals, which I agree does the old car movement no favours.
There are now probably more sporting Bentleys, Bugattis, Vauxhalls and Alfa Romeos, to name but a few, in existence than were produced in period. One only has to look at Vintage car meetings in general.
The whole essence of the Via Flaminia event was to have fun, enjoying the wonderful routes, hotels and hospitality, meeting with like-minded enthusiasts.

I take offence that the word sneaky was used to describe the participants. Not one individual made outrageous claims about their cars; in fact, unlike some events that we have attended, provenance was hardly ever discussed. We all competed on an equal footing.
It's not always about the cars, it's the people that one meets along the way. As one of the few Brits, who, to our discredit, can only converse in our mother tongue, we were made more than welcome by all, and hope to meet up with our new made acquaintances on future events.
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Bart Kleyn
25 Juni 2023, 18:18
Dear Tyrol,

Originality is indeed an issue with classic cars. And I am all about absolute originality. But even if we leave aside the wisdom of using a totally original pre-war car (at some point parts will need replacement), originality is difficult to define. Over the years cars have been rebodied, fitted with a new engine etc...
But you probably refer to the recreation Bentleys. True, it is not my cup of tea, but being realistic, people do get older and find it too difficult to drive the original, or they do not have the means but still want to enjoy the feeling.
As the rallies which I organise have the motto "a rally with a smile", I feel the overal atmosphere is more important than the originality of the car.

Fortunately we had a few wonderful original cars on the rally and their owners had a great time.
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Thomas A. Erler
23 Juni 2023, 10:26
Great driving, but as always, sneaky people attending pre-war rallys with cars from the post-war aera. I think it does the whole hobby no good at all if Bentley Mk. VIs in specials or Le Mans replicas are let loose on the public. I myself drive a 1931 Rolls-Royce 20/25 and get huge joy from mastering the unsynchronised gearbox, but stirring a post-war box is much easier. Horsepower, brakes, parts availability - everything is so much easier with a special!
Ban them! Or at least mark them what they are - POST-WAR! I could find at least two of those Bentleys in your pictures.
Regards from Tyrol
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Jean Pierre
25 Juni 2023, 16:26
I am one of them.
What percentage needs to be real for you? Because my horn is from 1924. And my wife from 1944.
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Cees Willemse
25 Juni 2023, 09:55
It is indeed a shame that so many people are not honest about the originality of their car. There is nothing wrong having a special but be honest about it by mentioning its non-original state.
Maybe the solution is that an organisation requires a FIVA document.

I have a 1925 Chrysler Six. In the FIVA document it is specified that a 1926 engine may be fitted or the original engine both with their engine numbers.

When you want to be part of the people driving pre-war cars and do not know very much about technical things then you buy a Bentley or a Lagonda or an Alvis and do not see a problem in non-originality.
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