19 Gastone Brilli-Peri
G. Brilli-Peri
Ballot Indy 1919

36 Ugo Sisto Stefanelli
U. Stefanelli
Bugatti T35A

40 Carlo Rosti
C. Rosti
Bugatti T35

Brilli Peri wins the Savio Circuit with his Ballot

The 30 starters were divided into four categories. The cars over 1100 cc raced 20 laps around the fast course south of Ravenna while the 1100 category did only 15 laps. Brilli Peri (Ballot) had the fastest car and led from start to finish, followed by the three 8-cylinder Bugattis of Steffanelli, Rosti and Montanari. Foroni (6.3-Liter Foroni Spl) finished fifth ahead of Serboli (1500 Chiribiri) and Testi (2000 Diatto) followed by five more finishers. The remaining 12 cars retired. The 1100 category was won by Clerici (Salmson) with Zanelli (Fiat) second and Belloni (Amilcar) third, ahead of Mondini (Fiat) and Rossi (Amilcar) while Graziani (Fiat) retired.

The Circuito del Savio race south of Ravenna, which was organized by the Automobile Club di Ravenna, had been held annually since 1923; so this was the fourth in the series. The first event was won by Enzo Ferrari with an Alfa Romeo on a 44.6 km circuit with the start in Savio. Ferrari also won the 1924 event, which was held over a 14.385 km course, bypassing Savio. Emilio Materassi with an Itala-Special won the 1925 race. In 1926 the triangular route was very slightly extended by 115 meters to 14.500 km over 20 laps, a total of 290 km. The 1100 cc cycle cars had to do only 15 laps or 217.5 km. The start was at the town of Classe from which the circuit led south through Fosso Ghiaia and Casetta, then further on at Campo Aviazione G. Novelli, the course turned west with Savio village further south. Next a turn to the right took a road north to the town of Ponte Nuovo where a sharp right turn headed south back to Classe.       The cars were divided into Category A from 500 to 1100 cc, Category B from 1101 to 1500 cc, Category C from 1501 to 2000 cc and Category D over 2001 cc. At the end of the race the maximum allowable time limit was set at 45 minutes after the arrival of the first classified driver in each category.       Prize money was the same for each of the three categories: first place 5,000 lire, second 2,000 and third 1,000. For the cars up to 1100 cc there were three prizes of gold medals. For the outright fastest lap the prize was 1,000 lire but only if the previous year's speed of 129.980 km/h by Brilli Peri (Ballot) was exceeded. The overall winner with the fastest race time received 25,000 lire. The King's Cup was awarded for the winning engine manufacturer of the Economy Trial; the Mussolini Cup for the manufacturer with the most number of classifications within maximum time; the Wingtol Cup (biennial, in ceramic and gold) for the first finisher using Wingtol oil; the Targa Errani (triennial challenge) to the manufacturer of the absolute winner.

Entries: From 42 entries 30 appeared at the start. Brilli Peri with his seven year old 4.9-liter straight-8 Ballot was the favorite. Besides an easier cockpit access the car appeared with a changed tail, replacing the original barrel fuel tank with a large vertical type and spare wheel. Without any similar opponents his victory was expected. Vittorio Foroni appeared with his Feroni Special in which he had finished second in last year's Savio Circuit when it had been raced as an Itala Special. According to historian Alessandro Silva, Foroni's car was the ex-Alfieri Maserati Isotta Fraschini Spl, called the Itala Spl and later the Foroni Spl when it was powered by half of a Hispano-Suiza aero engine, originally 6.3-Liter 4-cylinder. In the company of these very large cars there was the 3-Liter Alfa Romeo RL TF from 1923 of Luigi Bertocci and Ferdinando Fussi's 3-Liter Diatto.       The 2000 category comprised an armada of eight Ansaldos, six 8-cylinder Bugattis and four 4-cylinder Diattos. Gazzetta della Sport and Corriere Padano reported that Alfiero Maserati would enter a well prepared 2-liter s/c Diatto, but this did not happen. Alfieri Maserati had actually planned to enter one of his 1500 cars at the Savio Circuit but was unable to finish repairing it. Two weeks previously it had been raced at the Coppa Vinci by Emilio Materassi who had broken the engine. Luigi Guerrini from Bologna with a 2-liter Diatto was a late entry. Remo Pedroni who entered a 2000 Ansaldo, should not be confused with Azeglio Pedroni, who was another driver. Giovanni Garavini with a 2000 Ansaldo, lived in Ravenna and his Number 32 Ansaldo was replaced by Pietro Neri also with an Ansaldo with the same race number. All of these large groups were probably fighting for the beautiful Mussolini Cup that was awarded to the company with the most cars finishing within the maximum time limit. Giorgio Faggioli (with double 'gg') was not related to the famous Luigi Fagioli. But Luigi had a brother, named Giorgio, who also raced a Salmson but only on a few occasions.       The 1500 category comprised two Bugattis, two Fiats and two Chiribiris. Roberto Serboli in one of the fast Chiribiri Monzas was expected to dominate this category.       The gaggle of 1100 cycle cars consisted of ten entries but only half of them appeared at the start. The Ravenna AC had issued 55 race numbers, all for Italian drivers. A complete list of the entries is shown at the beginning of this report.

Race: Among the most notable non-starters were Maserati, Materassi (Itala Spl.) and Consonno, who just minutes before the race had an engine fire on his Bugatti and could not repair in time for the race. The 30 cars lined up, two per row in numerical order with a break of two minutes between each category. The start began at 2:46 PM when the chief timekeeper Del Grano lowered the flag for the four cars in the over 2000 cc category:

19 Brilli Peri Ballot 14 Fussi Diatto 21 Bertocci Alfa Romeo 21 Foroni Foroni Spl

After two minutes, the 15 cars of the 2000 category lined up and Del Grano gave the start by lowering the flag.

25 Amadio Ansaldo 23 Faggioli Diatto 28 Daolio Ansaldo 27 Testi Diatto 31 Spadoni Ansaldo 29 Montanari Bugatti 33 Guerrini Diatto 32 Neri Ansaldo 36 Stefanelli Bugatti 35 Ondinello Ansaldo 38 Corà Ansaldo 37 Pedroni Ansaldo 40 Rosti Ansaldo 39 Bona Bugatti 41 Gotti Ansaldo

After another interval of two minutes, the 5 cars of the 1500 category lined up and started.

43 Serboli Chiribiri 42 Tonucci Fiat 45 Platé Chiribiri 44 Negri Bugatti 46 Bacchilega Fiat

With a two minute break the six cars of the 1100 cc category had lined up and started

51 Rossi Amilcar 50 Graziani Fiat 54 Mondini Fiat 53 Belloni Amilcar 57 Zanelli Fiat 56 Clerici Salmson

The last of the 1100 cars had just left, when the roaring red Ballot of Brilli Peri passed at lightning speed in front of the grandstands, completing his first lap in 7m01s at an average speed of 123.99 km/h. He was leading Foroni and Bertocci, followed by the large Bugattis of Rosti, Stefanelli, and Bona, while Montanari in another 2000 Bugatti fell behind with a tire change. In the 1500 category Serboli headed Platé with a small gap to the Fiat of Tonucci. Clerici in the 1100 category had no difficulty imposing his superiority on the class.       On the second lap, Brilli Peri maintained his lead ahead of Foroni with Stefanalli now in third position having passed Rosti. Neri's Ansaldo was a few meters ahead of Testi's Diatto, while Serboli, who had already passed several competitors, was chasing them from behind. After Clerici and Odinelli (Ansaldo) had passed the stands the fast Brilli Peri appeared having already lapped more than 10 other competitors.       On lap three, Brilli Peri continued his rapid race, progressively increasing his lead ahead of Foroni, Stefanelli, Bertocci and Rosti. Serboli was leading the 1500 category followed by Tonucci and Platé while the gaggle of 1100 cycle cars was led by Clerici and Graziani.       On lap four Bona retired with gearbox trouble, as did the Ansaldos of Neri and Spadoni. The race progressed smoothly without major positional changes. Brilli Peri had a comfortable lead after 72.5 kilometers. These were the times of the first twelve cars after five laps: 1. Brilli Peri (Ballot) 34m45.8s over 2000 cc 2. Foroni (Foroni Spl) 37m36.0s over 2000 cc 3. Stefanelli (Bugatti) 38m54.4s 2000 cc 4. Bertocci (Alfa Romeo) 38m56.0s over 2000 cc 5. Rosti (Bugatti) 39m04.2s 2000 cc 6. Montanari (Bugatti) 39m36.6s 2000 cc 7. Serboli (Chiribiri) 41m31.8s 1500 cc 8. Clerici (Salmson) 42m27.0s 1100 cc 9. Graziani (Fiat) 46m32.2s 1100 cc 10. Tonucci (Fiat) 47m23.4s 1500 cc 11. Platé (Chiribiri) 47m57.4s 1500 cc 12. Mondini (Fiat) 54m43.6s 1100 cc By lap six the race had become monotonous. The leader Brilli Peri did a fast lap with an average of 127.083 km/h. Some competitors stopped at the pits and left quickly while others left later with engine repairs. At that time the Diatto of Guerrini retired, as did the similar car of Faggioli probably with carburation defects.       On lap seven Foroni fell behind and Stefanelli became second after he had progressively increased his pace. He drove that lap in 6m55s at an average speed of 125.783 km/h, and was ahead of Rosti in third place.       On lap ten Serboli led the 1500 class ahead of Negri and Platé. Serboli was less than two seconds ahead of Rosti, but as they started two minutes apart they were not close together on the circuit. Clerici still held first place in the 1100 category. Brilli Peri was leading at an average race speed of 125.845 km/h with the order as follows after ten laps: 1. Brilli Peri (Ballot) 1h09m08.0s over 2000 cc 2. Stefanelli (Bugatti) 1h12m49.0s 2000 cc 3. Serboli (Chiribiri) 1h15m18.0s 1500 cc 4. Rosti (Bugatti) 1h15m19.8s 2000 cc 5. Foroni (Foroni Spl) 1h15m29.0s over 2000 cc 6. Montanari (Bugatti) 1h17m26.0s 2000 cc 7. Bertocci (Alfa Romeo) 1h17m28.6s over 2000 cc 8. Clerici (Salmson) 1h24m19.2s 1100 cc 9. Negri (Bugatti) 1h32m21.0s 1500 cc 10. Platé (Chiribiri) 1h38m21.0s 1500 cc 11. Bacchilega (Fiat) 1h57m03.4s 1500 cc After the tenth lap it was time to stop for mid-race refueling. Brilli Peri covered lap 11 at 127 km/h. He was the first of the leading cars to stop and his 1m30s in the pits allowed Stefanelli to close the gap to the leader. Later Brilli stopped again to change a tire once more in 1m30s. On lap 12 Brilli Peri drove the fastest lap of the race in 6m41.6s at 129.980 km/h.       After 15 laps the 1100 category race ended. Clerici was the acclaimed winner at the remarkable average speed of 103.127 km/h. Zanelli in a Fiat 509 drove a very good race, ahead of some larger displacement cars. Belloni with his Amilcar finished third, after a consistent race.       On lap 16 Rosti drove the fastest lap of the 2000 category in 6m50.6s at 127.131 km/h. One lap later Serboli (Chiribiri) drove the fastest lap of the 1500 cc category in 7m58.8s at 109.022 km/h average speed. Tonucci (1500 Fiat) retired on lap 17 as did Negri (1500 Bugatti).       The race had now become a boring procession. Brilli Peri completed twenty undisputed laps, only taking care to maintain a good average speed. He had increased his lead to almost four minutes over Stefanelli. Brilli Peri received flowers and congratulations from the authorities to the applause of the grandstand crowd. In the meantime Stefanelli also finished to great applause, followed after 24.6s by Rosti, while Montanari and Foroni were one lap behind. Serboli, Platé and Bacchilega of the 1500 category were several laps behind and kept driving to complete the full distance, as did Testi, Corà, Pedroni and Daolino in the 2000 category. The 12 finishers were within the maximum allowable time of 45 minutes after each class winner. The remaining 12 drivers had retired without the progress being reported of Fussi, Amadio and Gotti.

11 Emilio Materassi
E. Materassi
Itala Special

35 Pasquale Croce
P. Croce
Bugatti T37

Bruno Presenti
B. Presenti
Alfa Romeo RLTF 24

Materassi wins the Coppa della Perugina for the second time

The Perugia Circuit attracted 40 entries which were divided into two categories. The 15 large cars over 1500cc were the center of interest, primarily the battle between Materassi (5.8-L Itala) and Brilli Peri (4.9-L Ballot), but also Bona (2.0-L Bugatti), who retired after 16 laps. Brilli Peri retired after 17 laps which left the victory to Materassi. The 1500 cc category comprised 15 starters, where Alfieri Maserati led for a few laps but retired on lap nine. Victory went to Croce in a Bugatti after his fight with Serboli (Chiribiri) and Rosti (Bugatti). The 1100 cc cyclecar class was won by Clerici ahead of Borzacchini both in Salmsons, followed by Graziani (Fiat).

The Coppa della Perugina had been held annually since 1924 making this event the third in the series organized again by the Automobile Club di Perugia. It was held on the classic 16.4 km Circuit of Perugia, one of the most beautiful in Italy on the Piano di Marziano route, which passed the Fontivegge Station, San Sisto, Strozzacapponi, Ellera, Olmo and Ferro di Cavallo. It had to be lapped 18 times for a total of 295.200 km. The 40 entries were divided into two categories: up to1500 cc and over 1500 cc, however there were extra prizes for 1100 cc cars. The maximum allowable time was 45 minutes after the arrival of the overall winner.       The race had a prize fund of 122,000 lire of which the overall winner received 50,000 lire. There was 15,000 for the first in each class, 10,000 for second, 5,000 for third and 2,000 for fourth. 5,000 lire was awarded to the first of the 1100 class and 2,000 for second. There was a prize of 2,000 lire for the fastest lap.

Entries: The popular race attracted 40 Italian entries, all of which are listed at the beginning of this report; however only 29 of them appeared at the start. The two favorites were the popular Emilio Materassi in the 5.8-L Itala Special, who had won the first event in 1924 and finished second the following year. Just as popular was Brilli Peri with the 4.9-L Indianapolis winning Ballot who won the 1925 race. The 2-Liter Bugattis of Bona, Stefanelli and Rosti were also candidates for one of the leading positions.       Materassi's Special had only a few Itala parts (clutch, gearbox, transmission) so to call it an Itala 55 Special, as it is often done, is misleading. The car had a custom-built chassis and suspension. It was called an Itala for publicity reasons as Materassi owned the Itala agency in Florence. The engine was half of a V8 Hispano-Suiza aircraft engine so the capacity was about 5.8 liters. The source of the figure of precisely 4722cc to be found in contemporary motor sport literature is a mystery. This is explained in Alessandro Silva's article about Italian aero-engined specials, which was published in The Automobile magazine.       The 1500 cc voiturette category comprised 15 starters. Alfieri Maserati was the fastest in this category during practice and he was the favorite to win. Seven cars in this category were 1100 cc cyclecars of which the favorites were the Salmsons of Clerici, Borzacchini and Fagioli.

Race: The category for cars over 1500cc started first with three in each row on the starting grid. Presenti (Alfa Romeo), Baroness d'Avanzo (Mercedes), Aymini (Diatto), Count Antonelli (Bugatti), Rosti (Bugatti), Baroncini (Diatto), Nicoli (OM), Marquis de Sterlich (Diatto Spl.), Zaniratti (Bugatti), Materassi (Itala Spl), Bona (Bugatti), Brilli Peri (Ballot), Spinozzi (Bugatti) and Stefanelli (Bugatti). At 9:15 AM a cannon shot announced the start and Mr. Flusilanini lowered the flag to release the 14 cars. Only the order of the first row is known:

1 Presenti Alfa Romeo 2 d'Avanzo Mercedes 4 Aymini Diatto

Materassi with his "Itala" immediately took the lead ahead of Brilli Peri's Ballot.       After a pause of two minutes, the 15 cars of the 1500 category departed. Only the order of first row is known: Sbraci (Chiribiri), Durazzo (Bugatti), Borzacchini (Salmson), Ricci (Salmson), Anselmi (OM), Alloatti (Bugatti), "Peter" (Bugatti), Fagioli (Salmson), Graziani (Fiat), Clerici (Salmson), Croce (Bugatti), Ciriaci (Fiat), Ruggeri (Mathis), Serboli (Chiribiri) and Alfieri Maserati (Maserati).

24 Sbraci Chiribiri 25 Durazzo Bugatti 26 Borzacchini Salmson

At the end of the first lap Materassi in his powerful Itala passed the grandstand after 8m30s with Brilli Peri only a hundred meters behind. Spinozzi in the 2000 Bugatti retired on the first lap with a broken oil pipe.       On the third lap it was still Materassi in his Itala Special ahead of Brilli Peri's Ballot, de Sterlich, d'Avanzo, Antonelli, Rosti and Stefanelli. Ruggeri retired on this lap with a broken oil pipe.       On lap four De Sterlich, with the engine turned off on his Diatto Special, came creeping along the downhill finish straight and could barely reach the pits from where he did not start again. On the same lap the Salmson of Sandro Ricci ended his race with a broken leaf spring. Durazzo was forced to make a long pit stop to change a seriously damaged wheel after an excursion into a field.       After five laps Materassi still held the lead, followed a short distance behind by Brilli Peri. The duel of these two drivers was exciting and the spectators leant forward eagerly awaiting their arrival. Stefanelli in the large Bugatti was at that time the most menacing opponent in third place. Maserati held the lead in the 1500 category at a superb pace after passing Croce and Serboli, who now followed further back. Fagioli retired the 1100 Salmson during the fifth lap due to a loose oil cap, which forced him to give way to Clerici before he stopped at the pits without any hope of being able to return to the race, possibly with resulting engine damage.       On lap seven Croce, made the fastest lap of the 1500 category in 9m16.8s at an average of 106.034 km/h. More retirements took place with Anselmi in the 1500 OM on lap eight followed by Ciriaci (1000 Fiat) and Aymini (2000 Diatto) during their ninth lap. On lap nine Stefanelli with the 2000 Bugatti made the fastest lap amongst the 2000 cars in 8m58.8s at 109.577 km/h average speed.       On lap ten the leader Materassi made a lap in 8m36.4s at 114.330 km/h average speed which was the fastest lap of the race and carried a reward of 2,000 lire. He was followed by Brilli Peri after 2m3s, Stefanelli by 4m39s, Croce by 7m14s, Bona by 9m20s, Borzacchini by 13m29s and Clerici by 17m23s. At the end of lap ten Alfieri Maserati, who in the first half of the race had held top positions, retired with a gearbox failure near S. Sisto. Other reports claimed that he was forced to abandon with an ignition defect. Serboli had led the 1500 cc category on the first lap, but on the second Croce was leading. After four laps Maserati took the lead but ignition trouble caused him to fall to second place before retiring on lap ten. Then Croce raised his pace and renewed the success of last year, lowering the previous record. Peter, Durazzo and Anselmi followed but were not as fast, but their race was creditable. At the end of the lap the Bugattis of Antonelli and Alloatti retired.       On lap 13 Borzacchini in the 1100 Salmson made the fastest lap amongst the cyclecars in 9m47s at 100.579 km/h average speed. On the following lap Sbraci went off the road, overturning at the Strozzacapponi curve. He was lucky to escape with slight abrasions. Baroncini retired one lap later with ignition problems.       On lap 17 the young Borzacchini, who had led the cyclecars from the beginning and was six minutes ahead, had to stop due to defects with the engine lubrication and dropped to second place. Clerici, although he was delayed by three tire changes, now took the lead again amongst the 1100 cars.       On the 17th lap, near the end of the race, Brilli Peri, who was in second place two-minutes behind Materassi, retired with engine failure and reached the pits pushing his large Ballot along the downhill finishing straight. After his retirement Presenti with a very consistent drive finished in second place in the major category. He was followed by Baroness d'Avanzo in the Grand Prix Mercedes, who had driven well but had stopped several times for insignificant incidents that took away precious time.       Stefanelli had become second overall following Brilli Peri's retirement. When he was lapped by Materassi at the level crossing of Ferro di Cavallo on lap 17, he collided with a telegraph pole and overturned. Fortunately, Stefanelli, his mechanic and the car escaped without serious consequences. After putting the car back on the road, they finished the race, although outside the maximum allotted time.       After Stefanelli's disappearance, Zaniratti (2000 Bugatti T30) took over first place amongst the two-liter cars, but he too lost time and Bona (2000 Bugatti) then took the lead. However, when Bona had a tire burst, he also went off the road and the Bugatti overturned, ending up in a meadow. Fortunately, the driver reported only slight bruises but the car was wrecked. As a result Zaniratti thus happened to regain the lead amongst the 2000 cars but then Rosti (2000 Bugatti) passed him on the last lap and won due to the misfortunes of his competitors. The race of Nicoli (2000 OM) deserved praise for its regularity and tenacity ending as seventh.       At this time nobody could even remotely threaten Materassi, who triumphantly completed his last lap. At the end of the straight at 11:53 AM Materassi crossed the finish line after 2h37m42s at 112.316 km/h average, greeted by enthusiastic applause as winner of the III Coppa della Perugina. Materassi had lapped the entire field, including Croce's 1500 Bugatti in second place. The applause renewed at the arrival of Croce, Presenti, Rosti and all the others who gradually completed the race. The most thunderous applause was repeated at the arrival of Baroness d'Avanzo who completed a race worthy of her brilliant drive. The total average speed rose from 106.540 km/h in 1925 recorded by Brilli to 112.360 km/h, the new record of Materassi.

53 Gustav Münz
G. Münz
Ford Spezial

62 Josef Müller
Neckarsulmer Fahrzeugwerke
NSU 6/60 s/c

Hans Ulrich-Kerwer
H. Ulrich-Kerwer
Opel 4/14 hp

Gustav Münz wins the Eifel-Rennen with his Ford Spezial