Brands Hatch, 14th August, 2022

The seventh running of Festival Italia, at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, was held on Sunday 14 August. The very hot weather attracted large crowds to enjoy the racing and displays in glorious sunshine. The on-track action comprised of a five race programme, two each for Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic cars and the Hitek Alfa Romeo Championship and one for the HRDC Classic Alfa Challenge series, together with the respective practice and qualifying sessions. The Hitek Alfa Romeo Championship races were actually two races in one, the first being for the modified and V6 cars and the second for Twin Spark Cup cars, the latter group starting 10secs after the main grid.

Apart from the races there were also two F1 demonstration runs, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, featuring a pair of Benettons, an ex-Nelson Piquet B190 and a B192, a 1987 Arrows A10, a 1998 Minardi with its sonorous V10 Ford engine and F3000 Honda F1 replica, all playing screaming symphonies no longer heard during the current F1 era. During the lunch break the Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic cars lined up on the grid for a public grid walk, so that attendees could see the cars at close quarters, as opposed to just seeing them in action. During the afternoon a broad selection of historic Abarth models took to the track for a demonstration run, with the track activity coming to a close in the late afternoon with the Italian Car Owners’ Parade.

The different marque and model display areas provided plenty of variety for visitors, spread from the circuit main entrance behind the grandstands on the start-finish straight all the way to the paddock area. There was a large Ferrari display area, together with an adjacent display by the local official service centre, Jardine Sevenoaks, who also provided a Roma as the course car. The modern Abarth display area was impressive in numbers, with a variety of modified and/or personalised examples in the mix, whilst there was also an array of classic examples along the service road behind the main grandstand. Adjacent to these was an impressive line-up of Italian motorcycles. Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lamborghini,  Lancia and Maserati all had dedicated display areas, and it was nice to see not only the supercars, but more humble offerings like the Fiat 128 saloon, whilst in the depths of the paddock there was a virtually pristine example of the standard Alfasud, both these models being rarities today. The Drivers Union motor club added further variety with some of their members Italian cars, together with a demonstration area.

There were also a number of Italian themed trade stands including a farmers market, a funfair for the younger generation, together with a music stage with artists performing Italian music through the day. All in all, a great day out for Italian car lovers with plenty of family fun for all ages.


Race Results

Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic Race 1
1st - #46, Tristan Simpson, F355 Challenge, s/n 103581
2nd - #73, Tim Walker, F355 Challenge, s/n 108083
3rd - #4, Tim Mogridge, F355 Challenge, s/n 107290

Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic Race 2
1st - #73, Tim Walker, F355 Challenge, s/n 108083
2nd - #4, Tim Mogridge, F355 Challenge, s/n 107290
3rd - #5, Chris Butler, 328 GTB, s/n 62523

Hitek Alfa Romeo Championship Race 1
1st - #156, Scott Austin, Alfa Romeo 156
2nd - #34, George Osborne, Alfa Romeo 75
3rd - #75, Thomas Hill, Alfa Romeo GT

Hitek Alfa Romeo Championship Race 2
1st - #156, Scott Austin, Alfa Romeo 156
2nd - #27, Ted Pearson, Alfa Romeo MiTO
3rd - #34, George Osborne, Alfa Romeo 75

HRDC Classic Alfa Challenge
1st - #16, James Dorlin, Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT
2nd - #99, Jake Margalies, Alfa Romeo GTV6
3rd - #196, Anthony Ross, Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider

Keith Bluemel
08/2022