La Salita dei Campioni
Trieste, Italy 2 April
TRIESTE HAS AN intricate history, being for more than 200 years the harbour of the AustroHungarian Empire, lost to Italy after WW1 and ‘saved’ from the Eastern Bloc annexation after WW2. The road from the harbour to the mountains is perfect for the Trieste-Opicina hillclimb which started in 1911, when the city was still Austrian. In the 1950s and 1960s this was one of the most renowned hillclimbs in all the central-south European nations.
The city stopped the hillclimb in 1971, after 30 events. The average speeds were too high, the fastest recorded at over 91mph, but the main problem was the route of the 4.2-mile track, which started from the ‘downtown’ of the city before passing through a long stretch of private houses and the university village.
This all changed on 2 April, thanks to the efforts of the local car and motorcycle clubs and the city’s enthusiastic mayor. A good slice of the city was closed, caging thousands of people in their houses for the whole Sunday morning to allow La Salita dei Campioni to be held, with about 80 cars and 40 motorcycles covering the exact old road of the hillclimb.
The event was not a competition, but a run where every driver was left free to choose the most ‘comfortable’ pace. Among the entrants were cars that raced in the original competitions, including Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Botticella, Bugatti T35, Ferrari 275 GTB and an incredible selection of Giannini, Stanguellini, Osca and Fiat-Abarth machinery, plus Lotuses, MiniCoopers and Porsches.
There were original entrants and drivers, too, including Austrian Erich Glavitza who entered in 1969 with an ex-works Lotus 47 Europa. He was the stunt man in many of the racing crashes in the Le Mans film, and in 007 movies of the period. It was fun to hear his memories during breaks in the event.
Octane took part in a perfectly restored 1955 Fiat 1100 TV, emulating past gentleman drivers racing with a limited budget. It’s owned by Antonio Collini, a judge from the Trieste court, who took part himself in his 1963 Lancia Flavia Zagato. The 1100 ran up the hill without missing a beat and proved a real hit during the parade in Piazza Unità d’Italia, Trieste’s main square, where people clustered round for a close look because they owned one in the past.
More than 20,000 spectators crowded the sides of the road to see the cars pass by, and the mayor himself, driven up the hill in the 8C 2900, confirmed with a smile that there will be another event. We can’t wait.