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Thursday 12th, 1000Miglia 2011 travel journal
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| Thursday, May 12 2011 |
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Thursday May 12 2011: Technical check, punch and departure
Bilici at Official Team and International Team, typical vintage car's exhaust emissions' "perfume", historic engine "roaring", photographers, television and a lot of people: just arrived at Paddock at the Brescia Fiera, we realize immediately that 1000Miglia is an extraordinary and sole event.
We arrive with our shopping cart and unload the Aston Martin Le Mans as every year helped by our friend Massimo Cecchi, always present at technical check to wish us his personal "break a leg!". And never abandon the good habits...
Carried out the technical check, we move in Della Loggia Square, where the punch rite, between thousands persons, overload most of the atmosphere.
Conclused the punch, and the usual break in Brescia center, we move at pre-departure buffet at MilleMiglia museum, where we eat a little as always, both for the race tension and for the friends greetings.
After the forth place at 2010 1000Miglia, everyone encourage ourselves, they ask us, and someone "order" to improve ourselves: and ourselves want it at first. It misses around an hour to the "GO" and after a quick pasta dish and water, we move into Venezia Square, where historically is placed the "departure platform" between people wings: the tension grow, but even the adrenaline and concentration...extraordinary emotions to live.
We line up according to race number and slowly we move closer to the departure platform; we heard start the firsts, and then they call us, it's our turn.
We go on the 1000Miglia's departure plaform, it send a shiver down our spine.
We are there, in the platform middle, all the eyes on us, friends greetings, photographers flashes, cameramen video tapes, people applauses...inexpressible sensations, unforgettable moments. 19:15 hour, they give us the "GO": finally begin our 2011 MilleMiglia.
First race day: Brescia - Bologna
Neither the time for breath, and just go down the departure platform there are the mytical Castle timed technical check: terrible.
We try to find the right concentration, but with everything we are living and feeling inside us, it is not so easy.
Neither after a Km from the go, there are the "terribles" in front of us, here we are: the first two straight and with a manageable time, the next two on gradient, with narrow slopes, on slippery pavé y with narrow time, in other words, pure adrenaline's technical check.
We are ready, after the strong "GO" emotions we found the right concentration to affront it, there aren't historic cars and technical check between us and the commissioner invite us to go...but the 1000Miglia's surprises aren't finished: a person block the road putting himself in front of us and shouting:"hallo, there's Luca!" pointing another person at the edge road. Brilliant: who jump on the street is our "third Master" Armando Fontana, come to visit us with a dear friend. What a pleasant distraction.
Two quick greetings to Armando and Luca and the commissioner exhort us to go, we can't wait anymore, it's our turn; we quickly found the concentration, my usual "warrior shout" at the departure and then go, it starts the real race!!
The first two trials very good, the third bad (my advance mistake), and the fourth well again...even this time we are save from the tremendous "Castle"; wholly the race began well and we are full of energy (then unfortunately they will cancel the first two trials and this will penalize us enough in the first race day, it's a pity but be patient).
Euphoric and happy, and unaware of the next cancellation of the two well done trials, we dive again downhill into Brescia center, where thousands people applause all the car passagge. An unique show, wonderful.
Then quick towards the nice Desenzano's passage where at the commentary race microphone he's waiting our friend Attilio Facconi, qualified journalist and capable organizer of these passages in the most beaufiful city centers. A talk with him too, always with great pleasure, and then again towards the new Sirmione's trials, where we appear in tenth place, due to the two cancellation, and with a lot of desire to make up for lost time: before enter in the four special stage a quick greeting and a wink at the friends Paolo Pizzi and Luisa which we notice stopped at our side exactly in correspondence with the yellow signal "trials area". Thanks for yours presence and support. We enter in the timed technical check, but here too I do some mistakes more, with the first two did badly and the other two well done. In other words we go out from technical check block tenth again, and a little low in spirits: we hoped better. In the short transfer to the others technical check, Stefania say "be quiet, we are at the beginning, let's stay there with the head": and that words really calm me down.
With this serenity we go at the last technical check of the first race day, that's of San Martino Della Battaglia, the only one of our Mantova's province...we can't make a mistake: I say to myself "if you want to stay with the first it's time to make the difference". And it will be so, because with three perfect technical check, we commit totally just 7 penalties, we go out from this block even in second position...brilliant.
Now, with the right spirits, we orient towards Verona and then Bologna, second stage's arrival, pass through the suggestive and always cosy Castello of Solferino, where the numerous friends of CAMSC (Club Asi of Castiglione delle Stiviere, which has as president the friend Fabrizio Rossi) wait us with the usual enthusiasm and affection (the Councillor Cristian too was at the departure to wave us at the Museum, togheter with the wife). A beautiful emotion; thanks guys, honoured to know you.
At the microphone the nice friend Bondioli, official Solferino's speaker, who wish us to finish at least at second place; Stefania and I cross the finger and wish it became true. At his microphone I say "if we arrive in second position I'll offer a dinner to everyone present now!". Fortunately it doesn't end in that way I wished, there were at least one thousand people...
We greet everyone and go to Verona, wonderful view with a lot of people above all in Bra Square, as we found in Cento, where we are received even from the carnival float with brasilian girls in bikini.
As we know our second position in ranking, we experiment everything with a great enthusiasm, even if at a certain point of the circuit we were worried because on the on-line ranking they put us unexplainably in fourteenth position: but then, after the arrival in Bologna, it went out the first race day official ranking, and we came back again at second place in the general ranking, at the back of the stong and expert argentin driver Claudio Scalise (extraordinary person who I had the pleasure to know in the next two days), and his navigator Daniel Claramunt, argentin too.
Stefania and I go to bed to "enjoy" our deserved 5 hours sleep, satisfied of our recovery at the end of the day, more trustworthy and optimist, on the other hand as always, for the next day.
Thursday 12 | Friday 13 | Saturday 14
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