Pole and fastest lap were great prizes from this marvellous 4 hours event, but the win evaded the Team.
Linden and Brasher fought hard but the local heroes of Team Braghi, on a 1000 Ducati won the day. Linden's fastest lap (1 min 52.4 secs) put Braghi's 1 min 53.8 secs in the shade, but a pair of unplanned Linden stops from the lead in hour two put the mockers on winning. Why you ask?
Well that's exactly the question we were asking when Peter stopped twice with a stuck throttle that blatantly wasn't stuck when twice examined in the pits.! When he pitted at the end of the third rota, his explanation was one of the most bizarre I had ever come across, but was improbably true. During his rota a small tear in his leathers , just below the left knee had grown and formed a strip about 6" long - the strip had then been sucked into number one carburettor and prevented it closing.! This almost incredible event had cost almost three minutes of lost track time and despite the best efforts of both riders, closing to 60 secs with 45 mins remaining, regaining the lead was not possible. Linden was furious with himself, unlike Brasher who was rather pleased with quite definitely his best ride of the year.
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| The Braghi Corsa team add some glamour to the start line |
The event was very well attended, mostly by domestic teams, but also with a few French, Germans and Austrians. It was held in fantastic conditions with temperatures peaking at 29C and had a genuine night bias with almost 3 hrs held in darkness. It started at 17.45. The hospitality and atmosphere around the paddock was the best this year, culminating in a gala buffet after the race with 5 star food and gallons of complimentary prosecco flowing freely. The race was the final round of the three leg Italian classic endurance championship running from Vallelunga, through Mugello to this final round. Some more of this Italian zest is a must for next season.!
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| Julian Graf is the latest addition to the Team |
This event was the final planned outing for P&M 17, the famous 1978 'works' P&M Kawasaki campaigned by John Cowie and Bernie Toleman to great success in world endurance events and which won the 1978 British TTF1 championship with Cowie. The bike will be restored to its original spec and displayed in the team's museum for posterity. Its sister, frame 15 (originally built for Dennis Mc Millan) will be sold at the end of the season to continue its own success story. Russell is compiling a full history of 17's racing results and would very much welcome any contributions.
Race Results:
1st Team Braghi Corsa Damiano/Rossi Ducati 118 laps
2nd Sweatshop Phase One Brasher /Linden P&M Kawasaki 118 laps
3rd Team Segale Classic Bertschingler/Tosalini Segale Honda 117 laps
4th Pane&Nutella Ruzza/Sasselli Moto Guzzi 113 laps
5th Team Moretti Freddi/ Duranti Moto Guzzi 112 laps
6th MC Ferrentino Collela/ Diego Kawasaki 111 laps
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