Published on: 06/09/2024 Updated on: 20/02/2025
The experienced Sicilian driver and Mafra Head of Marketing & Communication enter the 2024 Nuvolari Grand Prix, one of the most challenging regularity races for classic cars, aboard a 1937 Fiat 508 C
Mafra participates in the 34th edition of the Gran Premio Nuvolari, scheduled for September 19-22, with a prestigious crew. Indeed, holding high our colors are top driver Mario Passanante, Mafra Brand Ambassador, and Francesco Di Florio, Mafra Head of Marketing & communication.
Aboard a 1937 Fiat 508 C in Mafra colors, Passante and Di Florio take the brand to the highest level of historic motoring in one of the most prestigious events.
In fact, Mario boasts an excellent palmarès in the Gran Premio Nuvolari, having won its 2008, 2009 and 2019 editions, always with his Fiat 508 C. And on three other occasions Passanante has finished on the third step of the podium.
Francesco Di Florio, no stranger to this type of classic car event, completes the crew in the key role of co-driver.
Francesco Di Florio: "The 2024 Nuvolari Grand Prix, a special experience."
"The Gran Premio Nuvolari 2024," says Francesco Di Florio, Head of Marketing & communication Mafra, "stands out from the many other regularity races held every year in our country because of the commitment it requires; the length of the course, the characteristics of the track, the high number of precision tests planned and the quality of the participants make this competition truly special."
"In truth," Di Florio continues, "it's a pity not to be able to fully enjoy the beauty of the Italian landscapes that the route passes through, but a race like this always requires the utmost concentration of the navigator and the driver, who is also asked to preserve the safety of a car like ours, subjected to considerable strain, but dating back to the late 1930s."
"Fortunately," Di Florio concludes, "I have the privilege of sitting alongside one of the best national regulars like Mario, a multiple winner of Italian championships, including those of the Great Events, and of all the most important classic car competitions. Our task is therefore to hold high the flag with the colors Mafra, of which Passanante has long been a Brand Ambassador."
Passanante: "The 2024 Nuvolari Grand Prix is one of the most challenging races."
"The Nuvolari Grand Prix 2024, explains Mario Passanante, "due to its length, which exceeds 1,100 kilometers, is one of the most demanding regularity races, because it imposes a lot of physical and mental fatigue on the crews; it is, however, a beautiful and well-organized event. I have won three editions of it, and on many other occasions I have been on the podium, but I am curious because this year there are new features."
The route, in fact, has been modified from the past, while maintaining some traditional tests of the last stage, and this has aroused the curiosity of the participants. "The competition," says Passanante, "is very fierce, because this race always sees the best top drivers at the start: for this reason, I have also prepared my Fiat in the best possible way. I have arranged to have the engine oil changed, which, after seven years since the last overhaul, is starting to show some signs of fatigue: after the Targa Florio, it will be time to take the car back to the workshop in Palermo for a good tune-up."
Then there is a technical aspect, which concerns the instrumentation used in the race: "At the Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti," Passanante explains, "I noticed some inaccuracies in the average tests, which risked costing me the victory; the probe was suffering from the old age of the odometer to which it is connected. The 1937 instrument, after decades, has become approximate, so I thought it appropriate to have the probe moved to the drive shaft or differential to obtain more accurate values."
In regularity races for classic cars, after all, a few meters of deviation in course measurement can make important differences and jeopardize the result of even a top driver like Passanante.
Four historic editions of the Nuvolari Grand Prix 2024
The disappearance of Tazio Nuvolari, which occurred on August 11, 1953, aroused great emotion. The inventors and organizers of the 1000 Miglia were deeply attached to the Mantuan champion, winner of two editions of the popular road race. Therefore, they decided to intervene on the competition route with the intention of paying tribute to him.
Thus was born the idea of the Gran Premio Nuvolari, an award intended for the fastest driver on the long straights connecting Cremona, Mantua and Brescia, the start and finish cities of the race.
Mantua was thus included in the race route precisely as a tribute to Nuvolari's birthplace.
Winning the four editions of the Gran Premio Nuvolari, held between 1954 and 1957 (the year of the last 1000 Miglia speed race), were great champions.
In fact, the first victory went to Alberto Ascari driving a Lancia D 24, the second to the legendary Stirling Moss in a Mercedes 300 SLR. The English ace, flanked by journalist Denis Jenkinson, also set the overall record for the entire 1000 Miglia that year, which remained forever unbeaten.
In 1956 the Gran Premio Nuvolari was won by Eugenio Castellotti in a Ferrari 290 MM bodied by Scaglietti. The last edition, on the other hand, saw Belgian champion Olivier Gendebien triumph in 1957 at the wheel of a Ferrari 250 GT, also by Scaglietti.
In the four disputed editions of the Nuvolari Grand Prix, many of the great drivers of the time ended up on the other steps of the podium. It is worth mentioning, for example, the names of Juan Manuel Fangio, Luigi Musso, Vittorio Marzotto and Piero Taruffi.
The 1957 tragedy at Guidizzolo (MN), in which Alfonso de Portago, navigator Edmund Nelson and nine spectators (five of them children) lost their lives, put an end forever to the 1000 Miglia of speed and, consequently, to the Nuvolari Grand Prix.
It would have to wait until 1991 to see this competition revived, but with the formula of a regularity race for classic cars.
Over a thousand kilometers for the 2024 Nuvolari Grand Prix
The Gran Premio Nuvolari 2024 is considered, along with the 1000 Miglia, to be one of the most challenging regularity trials ever.
Cars built from 1919 to 1981 are eligible for the race; a maximum of 35 Gran Turismos made between 1991 and 2024 are added for modern regularity.
The route is 1,100 kilometers long in all, starting and finishing in Mantua. The first stage goes up the Monte Baldo chain to Riva del Garda, then crosses the Lessini Mountains to reach Verona and stop in Modena.
From Modena, for the second stage, participants cross theApennines to reach Pistoia, Siena and Arezzo. From Tuscany they then return to the Adriatic side, passing through San Marino and stopping in Rimini, where an overnight stay is planned at the famous Grand Hotel.
The route of the third and final stage starts from Rimini and returns to Mantua's historic Piazza Sordello, passing through Faenza, Lugo and Ferrara. Along the way, competitors in their classic cars have the chance to meet in Faenza the Formula 1 team Racing Bulls, heir to the historic Minardi, which displays some of its single-seaters in public.
The calendar of the Nuvolari Grand Prix 2024
The program of the event begins on Thursday, September 19 with "Waiting for the Gran Premio Nuvolari 2024," an optional prologue reserved for 100 crews that includes technical and sporting scrutineering from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the historic center of Mantua.
In the evening, starting at 8:30 p.m., a dinner is held for prologue participants in the setting of the Lombard city's Piazza delle Erbe.
On Friday, September 20, the start is scheduled at 9 a.m. from Piazza Sordello in Mantua. Then competitors must face time trials in Caprino (VR), Monte Baldo (VR) and Brentonico, before stopping in Riva del Garda (TN).
More precision tests in the Lessini Mountains (VR) and time controls in Verona (in Piazza Bra), Erbè (VR) and Castel d'Ario (MN) are scheduled in the afternoon.
The stage arrival takes place in Piazza Grande in Modena, while dinner for participants is organized at Villa Cavazza di Corte della Quadra in Bomporto (MO).
On Saturday, September 21, the classic cars will start as early as 7 a.m. from Novi Sad Park in Modena; the first trials are scheduled on the Passo della Collina Vecchia (PT).
After the breaks in Pistoia and Monteriggioni (SI), the classic cars pass through the time control in Siena's famous Piazza del Campo, and then reach Piazza Grande in Arezzo.
The subsequent time trials are held in San Marino, where a time control is also scheduled. The arrival of the classic cars is, finally, organized in Rimini 's Piazza Tre Martiri starting at 7 p.m.
The third and final stage of the 2024 Nuvolari Grand Prix, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 22, begins at 7 a.m. from Rimini's Fellini Park.
Time trials are held in Meldola (FC) and Rocca delle Caminate (FC), while time controls are scheduled at the Racing Bulls headquarters in Faenza, Lugo (RA), Conselice (RA) and Argenta (FE).
After lunch in Piazza Castello in Ferrara, the classic cars pass, again for time controls, through Bondeno (FE), Revere (MN) and Nogara (VR), before arriving in Piazza Sordello in Mantua at 2:30 pm.
In the afternoon, the awards ceremony for the 2024 Nuvolari Grand Prix is scheduled to take place, also in Mantua's Piazza Sordello.
We all cheer for the Passanante-Di Florio crew as they hold high the Mafra colors at the 2024 Nuvolari Grand Prix!
