27° Vernasca Silver Flag: Maserati 9/11 June 2023 On 1st December 1914, Alfieri Maserati, with the collaboration of his brothers Ernesto and Ettore, founded the workshop "Società Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati" in Bologna. It is a "family run business": Alfieri is the "boss", however maintaining harmony in emotional relatioships; Ettore and Ernesto contribute with ingenuity and strength. Bindo joins a few years later. Mario, painter, draws the logo of the trident. They soon became car manufacturers: in 1926, at Targa Florio, debuted the Type 26, founder of a hegemonic dynasty. At the wheel of the various models sit, among others, Tazio Nuvolari, Carlo Felice Trossi and Achille Varzi, Richard Seaman, Clemente Biondetti, Raymond Sommer and Luigi Villoresi. The American driver Wilbur Shaw, driving an 8CT renamed Boyle Special, won the Indianapolis 500 in 1939 and 1940. Maserati is still the only car manufacturer to have won this trophy with a vehicle built entirely in the company. The post-war period opens again under the sign of the trident. Guido Barbieri enjoined success in his class at the Circuit of Piacenza, first round of the 1947 Championship. First the A6GCS, the S and SI series in various displacements, then the Birdcage take up the baton: they are the cars to defeat in the sport category. In Formula One, Juan Manuel Fangio and the 250F won two world titles. Luigi Musso, Alberto Ascari, Stirling Moss and many others alternate on the racing cars. In 1958 Maria Teresa De Filippis, driving one of these in Belgium, was the first woman to compete in a Grand Prix. The palmares of the House also counts three victories at Castell'Arquato-Vernasca: Fernando Pagliarini in 1956 and 1959 and Odoardo Govoni in 1961. Over the years, the workshop was transformed into an industrial reality of worldwide importance: not only racing cars, but also elegant grand tourers were created. In 1947, the brothers founded OSCA, an intense and brief sport and technical adventure, illuminated by talent and passion. Once again they were extraordinary interpreters of their time and expression of a fertile territory of industrious ingenuity. When the Maserati brothers started their own workshop, Emilia was a land of practical and imaginative farmers, far-sighted and striving for progress. In this region, between the plain and the Apennines, "between the Via Emilia and the West" as Guccini sings, the engine expertise becomes an identity trait, culture and genius loci, metaphor and horizon, pragmatism and poetry. Industrial experiences destined to become, like Maserati, great and famous in the world flourish from individual or family intuitions. Since 2015, this region has a prestigious and envied name: Motor Valley. Its story, made of incredible realities, of craftsmen of technology and beauty, of small factories and sensational successes begins, however, back in 1914, in that "Anonymous Workshop" born from the will of three brothers. That’s why the 26th Vernasca Silver Flag wants to pay tribute to Maserati, to these "pioneers" - the first to believe that people of Emilia, in terms of passion and mechanical curiosity, were second to none-and to that melting pot where, at the tempering of work and creativity, is forged the myth of Motor Valley, today universally recognized as the empyrean of the most beautiful cars ever built.
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 26° Vernasca Silver Flag: Campioni di diventa (... a scuola) 10-11-12 June 2022 On the second weekend of June, the CPAE invites you to Castell’Arquato to participate in the 26th Vernasca Silver Flag. We will develop the theme of training racing cars. With "Champions become ... at school!" we will talk about the cars, from the pre-war Maserati to the Cisitalia D46, before getting to the Junior formula and then the Formula Fords up to the more recent Italy and Abarth. With the same attention we will talk about the cars of the Rally and more generally of the road races, not only in Italy. With the Renault Gordini, the Simca, the Peugeot alongside our A112 and the other models of the FIAT group. And, yet, a tribute to Motor Valley single-brand models, to Dallara celebrating the half a century of success. We will give shape to the dreams of many aspiring drivers who have never been able to wear helmets and suit and to the memories of those who, instead, have challenged themselves, as well as their opponents, on the tracks or in the special test. The formula of the Silver always remains the same: a celebration of passion and a weekend dedicated to the friendship, the culture, the beauty of the cars and to this corner of the Piacenza Apennines, made even more involved by the generous hospitality of our people. The whole CPAE invites you to Castell’Arquato. Start your engines! The Silver Flag is ready to start again.
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25° Vernasca Silver Flag
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Vernasca Silver Flag, presents: "364 days to June" Dear friends, drivers and enthusiasts, The closer we get to the end of June, the harder it is to forget the that the time to fire up the engines for the Vernasca Silver Flag would normally be almost upon us. This year we won’t be able to attack the winding road to Vernasca, or to bathe in the crowd’s appreciation. To make up for this, we have prepared a virtual surprise for you. Be sure to go to our official Facebook page Saturday at 10:30AM, which is when the Italian tricolour would normally signal the start of the first run. It will be a chance to share images, emotions, desires and memories, as if we were there, pushed into our seats, with our helmet on our head and a steering wheel in our hands. Don’t forget your car! Post a photo of the car you would have liked to use or of you taking part. It will be a virtual paddock worthy of the Silver Flag. And lastly, SAVE THE DATE: the next real-life edition of the Silver Flag will take place on 25th -27th June 2021.
The Vernasca Silver Flag Organising Committee
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TAG Heuer and Vernasca Silver Flag united by passion give you an appointment for 25-26-27 June 2021 |
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25° Vernasca Silver Flag - This year’s theme is “Museums in Motion”. This year the CPAE (Club Piacentino Automotoveicoli d’Epoca) is celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Vernasca Silver Flag. This event retraces the steps of the Castell’Arquato-Vernasca timed hillclimb. What was once an important race meeting is now a festival of motor-car elegance which attracts enthusiasts from all over the world. Since its inception, the event has been set apart by its unique format as a dynamic competition of elegance, avoiding any timed runs. This is a special date, distinguished by the quality and beauty of the participant’s cars as well as by the charming scenery and the warm hospitality of the people of Emilia. Collectors from all the world over come together in this corner of the Appenines during a week-end in the early summer to creating something special. Their unique and precious vehicles form such a beautiful and comprehensive collection that it could be put on show in a cultural institution. This has led us to celebrate this special anniversary this year by choosing a different type of theme: “Museums in Motion”. We would like to celebrate the decisive role that the car has had in the culture of the past century by exploring its stylistic development, its role in society and its sporting history. It will be a journey through time accompanied by the seductive bodywork, the growling engines and the feelings they are capable of instilling. This is what we will do on the 26th, 27th and 28th June. Here at the CPAE we think of the culture of motorsport as something which is kept alive by people’s passion. Continuous development and renewal is vital if it is to thrive, but we must never loose sight of the thread of tradition. This is why, for one week-end, the cars will leave the various manufacturer’s museums and arrive in Castell’Arquato. They will be able to tell their story, renew emotions and leave a mark of beauty and hope for the future. |
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