Born in 1929 by the engineer Vincenzo Balsamo, the Pavia-Venice raid, with the cars speeding along the Po river, also touched the Oglio Po district, so much so that refueling was set up in Torricella di Sissa for the vehicles they are engaged in battle on the waters of the Great River. A return to normality for a great classic that had had some problems in recent years: there was no shortage of enthusiasts who, often with the aid of a telescope, watched the race from the river bank.
In 2022, extreme drought forced organizers to cancel the raid, which is always held in early summer. In 2023 the return in style with the victory of Guido Cappellini, former F1 world champion in powerboating. Over the years the raid has partly changed the route and partly the supply points, which however have always remained in the Oglio Po area. The Isola Serafini basin, then Boretto with the supply until a few years ago. Then off to the finish line: over 400 km in total, 413 to be precise in this edition which returned to being run in full form and without cuts.
This year the Raid has in fact returned to start from Pavia (in 2023 it started from San Nazzaro d’Ongina), for the 71st edition, considering some suspensions over the decades, thanks to the river conditions that allowed it. Staggered departures, also to avoid problems between the faster vehicles and the slightly slower ones and to avoid overcrowding the waters of the Po. And Cappellini, in the end, granted an encore, also winning the race on the original route, the one to be Pavia in Venice, with the Abu Dhabi Marine Sports team.
Cappellini won with a Circuito F1 hull, (DAC powered by Mercury), with a time of 1h45’39 at an average speed of 199.34 km/h. Second place overall for Gianluca and Andrea Roda, pilots of the Yacht Club Como Mila CVC, who finished the race on a Diporto 3:1 hull (Albatro Racing powered by Mercury), with a time of 2h10’01 at an average speed of 161.98 km/h. Third overall were Christian Cesati and Dario Buchli of the Club Nautico Gabbiane, on a Diporto 3:1 hull (Albatro powered by Mercury) with a time of 2h12’23 at an average speed of 159.08 km/h.
GG (video Alessandro Osti)
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