Classic beauties to run the Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano tour

2 June, 2015

The 21st edition of Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano is sure set to be one of the globe’s finest classic motoring events of the year. Held over June 19–21, Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano is a tour open to sports and competition cars built before 1959, covering ground over the spectacular Northern Italy.

The rally commences on June 19, near Bassano del Grappa, winding its way north through the Passo Manghen and Passo Lavazé, finishing the day at Bolzano.

The second day, June 20, faces an even more legendary challenge — including the Passo Mendola, Passo delle Palade, and the Passo dello Stelvio (yes, the mythical Stelvio Pass), before closing the day in Trento.

The grand finale, on June 21, climbs Passo Vezzena, due for Asiago, before heading due south for Bassano, to finish at Marostica.

The spectacular backdrop will be one thing, but such an event is as much about the cars, too. Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano will not disappoint in this respect — almost 90 entrants from across the globe, covering as many as 24 vehicle marques, have been confirmed for entry.

Bentley is one of the better represented marques here, with the line-up including the incredible 1931 Bentley 8 Litre, and the legendary Bentley 4.5 Litre Blower.

The British firepower is to be backed up by eight Jaguars, including this incredible 1955 Jaguar D Type, owned by Ben Cussons, President of the Royal Automobile Club.

Of course, such an event could never be devoid of Italian-racing pedigree, and one of this year’s stars is suitably fitting. The beautiful 1924 Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio is one of only four built, and placed second at the 1924 Targa Florio. Nine decades later, it will be driven by Giulio Masetti.

For a cinematic overview of the unparallelled automotive, and Northern Italian, beauty, watch this short teaser video — it is truly worth it.

A second dose of Dash

When the car arrived in Wellington in December 2018 it was duly taken along for entry certification. Vehicle Inspection NZ (VINZ) found some wrongly wired lamps and switches — not too bad — but, much more significantly, some poor welding repairs. As the structural problems were probed more thoroughly, we realized the previous owner’s restoration would not do and we needed an upgrade. Dash had made it into the country but it would take some time and money before he would be free to explore any of New Zealand’s scenic highways.
We took the car to our new home in Johnsonville in the northern suburbs of Wellington and I pored over the car in detail to figure out what was next. There were lots of new parts on the car and a very perky reconditioned drivetrain but the chassis needed serious work.

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.