Cronoscalata Bologna-Raticosa

Yesterday (Saturday) we drove over towards Bologna (but not quite all the way) and watched the first run of the Bologna-Raticosa hill climb race. We were there really early so we had time to visit all the paddocks (pits), drive the six kilometer course, and have lunch.

It's always interesting to wander around the pits for these events. There are no restrictions as to where you can go.

Dom got a kick out of the pedals on this car. They reminded him of the extenders they used to put on bike pedals if you weren't tall enough to reach them.

This trailer was like a giant car roof cargo carrier!

Small cars require small trailers and smaller tow vehicles and less money...

In the parking lot at one of the paddocks was a water dispenser. Still water was free but fizzy/carbonated water cost 5 cents a liter. It's a little strange how prevalent bottled water is in Italy given the fact that all the tap water is safe to drink. I buy it here because I like fizzy water and it is less than $3 for six liters.

There was also a dispenser for "latte crudo" which I think means raw milk. You can buy bottles from the vending machine and then fill them up. One liter of milk was Euro 1. The plastic cow kept an eye on things and was chained to the fence. How many do you think went missing before Bessie got a leash?

I guess it is easier to unload the trailer if it's propped up. Actually Dom explained that this is helpful if one has a low clearance racer.

This is classic Fiat 500 all tricked out. They are incredibly loud when they speed off up the hill.

We found a wall to sit on not far from the start. The view was good but it was tough to take pictures there. After a while we got stiff and moved down to just below the start.

I was fascinated by the fact that there was a guy with a little tool to chock the wheels whenever the cars stopped as they crept up to the start line. The cars took off individually every 30 seconds.

The vehicles are lined up down the road waiting for their turn.

The larger, more powerful vehicles were sent off at one minute intervals.

Some of the vehicles did not have powerful enough batteries to start them if they had to shut off their engines. Periodically they did (maybe something happening on the course) so some of the vehicles had a battery person alongside. Here is one with the battery connected so the car can restart the engine.

Some of the vehicles had all their fasteners tapes over. They try to match paint colors.

By the time they finished sending off nearly 200 cars it was about 3:30. We had had enough sun for the day so we headed back home for a nice quiet evening.