For four days, Campione d’Italia stopped being merely an enclave overlooking Lake Lugano and became, once again as it had in 1937, a circuit. From Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 September, the town hosted the second revival of the Circuito di Campione d’Italia, the event conceived by Ermanno De Angelis and Nunzia Del Gaudio, founders of Victorious Car Events, who this year further broadened its scope, weaving together vintage cars, motorcycles and boats with culture, entertainment and charitable causes.
Ermanno De Angelis e Nunzia Del Gaudio
Now that the cars have made their way home, what remains is the record of an edition that confirmed the project’s ambition: to make Campione a widespread stage for historic motoring, not simply a racetrack. The four days alternated sporting moments with more convivial and cultural occasions. The opening, on Thursday, brought two new features compared with the first edition: the public presentation of the crews in Campione’s historic centre, hosted by the Circuit’s official voice Dedo Tanzi together with Tino Belotti for the Cercle Pégase Amilcar Group, followed in the evening by dinner in the paddock, with Lake Lugano as the backdrop.
On Friday, the event’s reach extended beyond Campione’s borders, with a tour of Ticino that took in Bentley Lugano for a brunch stop, before continuing with a parade and car display in the heart of Lugano. In the city, there was also room for families with the Mini GP for Kids, and a more reflective moment with a talk held in the courtyard of the Town Hall, hosted by Ermanno De Angelis together with Arturo Merzario and staged in partnership with Ceresio Investors-Banca del Ceresio, rounded off with a convivial aperitivo. The day concluded back in Campione, with a gala dinner by AFM Banqueting in the Salone delle Feste at the Casinò di Campione d’Italia.
The weekend shifted the focus to the track itself: on Saturday and Sunday, dynamic sessions (including night-time runs) followed one another by category, alongside displays dedicated to historic Formula cars and the Concorso d’Eleganza Circuito di Campione. The Formula 1 Show curated by MCM Master Class Motors, and the appearances by Arturo Merzario (with photos, autographs and interviews with the public) also drew large crowds. The story of the event also had a dimension that had little to do with tarmac. On Saturday, seaplanes from the Aero Club Como flew over Campione before landing on the water in front of the town; on Sunday it was the turn of the WeFly! Team, the squadron that includes pilots with disabilities, whose aircraft and tricolour smoke trails paid tribute to Italy from the skies, in a moment supported by the Lions Club of Campione d’Italia and one that gave the programme a significance reaching well beyond spectacle.
Arturo Merzario e Ermanno De Angelis
While the dynamic programme told the story of the Circuit’s present, an equally central space was devoted to its history. The exhibition “Campione in Pista” remained on display throughout the event at the Galleria Civica “Don Sandro Vitalini”, a journey through cars, photographs and memorabilia tracing the origins of the circuit first laid out in 1937; the Galleria’s spaces also housed, in parallel, the event’s sporting management.
The bond between past and present became even more tangible with the presence of the Alfa Romeo 1900 from Scuderia del Portello: the car in which Clay Regazzoni took part in the 2002 Carrera Panamericana, later fitted with special controls to allow the Ticino-born driver to continue racing. During the Circuit’s four days it was driven by his brother Dodo Regazzoni, becoming one of the most recognisable symbols of the message of accessibility and inclusion the event sought to convey, alongside the presence of Telethon Ticino and in collaboration with Inclusione Andicap Ticino. The historical narrative also extended beyond the Galleria Civica’s halls into the rest of the municipal area. At the entrance to Campione, a glass case housed the Bellasi Formula 1 car from the Expo Silvio Moser collection, while the Casinò di Campione d’Italia displayed the Lancia Aurelia B24 Convertible belonging to Silvia Mari, the car that won the Gran Premio d’Onore at the Concorso d’Eleganza di Campione in 1956.
The event was also linked to two projects designed to endure beyond the four days of September: a commemorative postmark produced with Poste Italiane, and the Circuit’s official app, developed by Web Valleys to accompany the public and participants with the programme, a map and real-time information. Added to these is a gift intended to remain permanently in the area: a bas-relief chosen by Victorious’s own founders, Ermanno De Angelis and Nunzia Del Gaudio, as a tribute to the Municipality of Campione d’Italia. Created by the artist Alessandro Rasponi, it was unveiled on Saturday morning in the presence of Mayor Luca Frigerio. Finally, activities involving historic boats were supported by Cantieri Navali Classic, run by Paolo Brulisauer, while mechanical assistance throughout the event was provided by Noci Motor Classic.
The second revival closed with an awards ceremony in the Salone delle Feste at the Casinò di Campione, in front of around 250 people made up of crews and guests. The cars in competition were judged by jury president Gianluigi Vignola together with Sean Burcher and Maurizio Vaglietti; the motorcycle jury comprised Nadir Sutter, Sandro Baumann and Luigi Brenni, while Marco Tafi judged the boats.
Best in Show: a 1930 Bentley 4.5 Litre “Blower” Original, race number 32, belonging to Mauritz van Son and Dympha Veenboer van Son, the most prestigious award of the edition.
Overall car classification: a 1925 Bugatti Brescia, number 15, belonging to Jean Marc Rusconi.
Motorcycles: first place went to the 1924 BMW R32, number 1, belonging to Veniero Tajana.
Boats: the top honour went to a 1968 Riva Junior, number 2, belonging to Claudio Albert.
Alongside these names, now entered into the second edition’s roll of honour, stand those of all the crews who, over the four days, brought Campione back to the centre of attention for enthusiasts of historic motoring. With the cars now returned to their respective collections, the second revival leaves a legacy that goes beyond the race weekend: confirmation that the Circuit’s history belongs not only to those who live for motoring, but also to the community that saw it born almost ninety years ago. The next edition is already set: the 2027 event will mark the 90th anniversary of the first race held in 1937, with entries opening by 30 October this year.
Ermanno De Angelis e Roberto Maria Guarini
The organisers wished to extend particular thanks to the Municipal Administration of Campione d’Italia, in the person of Mayor Luca Frigerio, to the Local Police, to the cleaning and maintenance service, to the residents and to the volunteers of the “Giubbe Verdi” – Associazione Nazionale Carabinieri, to the Casinò di Campione d’Italia, in the person of President Roberto Guarini, for the spaces and security services made available, as well as to the Customs and Monopolies Agency and to the Carabinieri of the Campione d’Italia station. Security was provided by the Melide fire brigade and the Italsoccorso ambulance service, while track management, along with the related security and monitoring service, was entrusted to the team of race marshals led by Gianni Pedersoli and coordinated by ACI Como, in the persons of President Enrico Gelpi and Director Roberto Conforti.
Thanks also went to the many companies supporting the project – Salone delle Feste del Casinò di Campione d’Italia, Cuervo y Sobrinos, Tucano Milano 1985, Premium Promotion, Bentley Lugano, Helvetia Investment Advisor, MCM Motors, F&H 1881, Ceresio Investors-Banca del Ceresio, Gusto Naturalmente Artigianale, Web Valleys, Pacto, TSM Assicurazione, Noci Motor Classic, EGM Cigars, Salin Arti Grafiche, Mafra, Berenford, Quad by Maffeis, Luxanone, Driver Agom, Pirelli, Musicdoor, Securitas, Avia, Enrique Napp, Racing Lab, Grand Hotel Campione, AIL and Renè Photo – as well as to the patron organisations and cultural projects involved: Provincia di Como, TCS Ticino section, Scuderia del Portello, Cercle Pégase Amilcar, Automobile Club Novara, Automobile Club Lugano, Museo Tazio Nuvolari, Next Heritage, FIVA, Lions International Club Campione d’Italia, USI, SUPSI, Comunità di Lavoro Regio Insubrica, Museo Fangio, Lugano Airport, Telethon Ticino, Inclusione Andicap Ticino, ACS Ticino, Società Navigazione Lago di Lugano, Bandini Automobili, Expo Silvio Moser, Aero Club Como, WeFly! Team and La GeCo Safe.
Media partners included TIO, Octane, Rinascimento Magazine and Luxury Investment Magazine, while special thanks were reserved for RSI for its presence throughout the event. Finally, the event’s success bears the signature of the entire Victorious Car Events staff – Francesca, Michele, Diego, Fabiana, Vania, Eleonora, Renato, Massimo, Alessandro, Lorenzo and Francesca M. – supported by volunteers from the Moto Club Generoso, by Elio, Roby and Gino with the mechanics’ team from MCM Motors, and by Gilles.
With engines switched off and flags rolled away, what remains in Campione is the mark of an edition that succeeded in bringing together speed and memory, sport and community. See you in 2027, for the ninetieth anniversary of a Circuit that continues to race through time.
Enjoy even more @ https://circuitocampione.com
Article edited by Massimo Basile
Editor & Founder