We can not mention historic cars of MotorValley without talking about the historical Circuits of Emilia Romagna: they are temples of modern motoring.
The first in order of construction was the AeroaAutodromo of Modena, which as many old Circuits (such as Silverstone) was built in an airfield.  It was one of the first test tracks of all Italy and was so crowded that was needed to book in advance for test days. Due to the difficulty to turn it on the track of Autodromo di Modena and to the forced cohabitation with the airport, the engineer Enzo Ferrari decided to build its own circuit dedicated exclusively to Ferrari, this leads in 1972 to the construction of Autodromo di Fiorano, from that moment it became the historic test circuit of all Ferrari models.
Second, in order of construction, it was instead the Imola Circuit, which opened April 25th, 1953. A mixed circuit, obtained by the union of hilly roads in the Imola countryside, this track is a piece of the history of motoring and Formula 1. Designed with the help of Enzo Ferrari and titled in 1970 to the son Dino, Imola has hosted official races of the Formula 1 World Championship since 1980 and became sadly famous in 1989 for the fire of Gerhard Berger’s car and in 1994 for a series of incidents that caused among other things, the death of the champion Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger. Today the Imola circuit hosts races of the World Superbike Championship and a series of automobile events dedicated to vintage cars.
Here we are in Santa Monica under the stands of the famous Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, the temple of Italian motorcycling (it is the home circuit of Valentino Rossi and is located in the beautiful half of what is called the “Land Riders”). Designed and developed under the auspices of the omnipresent engineer Enzo Ferrari, it was opened in 1972 and it was always been dedicated to motorcycle races. In 2012 the circuit was named Marco Simoncelli, due to the tragic end of Coriano’s driver, a small Adriatic town located just a few kilometers from Misano curves. Today the Misano Circuit is one of the stages of the World MotoGP Championship and the Superbike World Championship and, despite it is the house of Romagna’s riders, the circuit record belongs to the Spaniard Daniel Pedrosa.
The Autodromo Riccardo Paletti in Varano de Melegari it is instead titled in memory of the eponymous Formula 1 driver who died in 1982 during the Canadian Grand Prix. Today the Varano circuit is the headquarters of the Driving Academy and hosts, together with the Dallara, open days dedicated to all the enthusiast where the track it is open to private.

Enzo e Dino Ferrari Racetrack, Imola – Ph. Autodromo Imola

Okay, we have museums, car, automobile histories and Circuits, but where’s that the passion for vintage cars touches the maximum? Where you can drive these fabulous cars on the old racetracks?
If you’re passionate about cars, and classic car, then you can not miss the legendary Vernasca Silver Flag. Born as a test of provincial championship in 1953 the Vernasca Silver Flag develops a path on provincial roads and it became famous for the difficulty and the driving variety (it develops fact for half on the valley road and on the other half it climbs with turns really challenging). Forerunner of today’s rally races saw the participation of automakers as Alfa Romeo, Lotus, Porsche.
Among the other races for fans to vintage cars we have to mention the Grand Prix Terre di Canossa, the classic regularity race which includes more than 75 time-tests and allows the participation of the vintage cars built between 1919 and 1976. What makes really unique the Terre Canossa GP is the climate that is breathed during the race and the landscapes. The circuit traced today provides departure from the Emilia Romagna plains and crosses the old properties of the Canossa Family, crossing the hills in Tuscany and cutting the finish line in the beautiful Cinque Terre, all accompanied from the presence of Great Italian Chefs.

Vernasca Silver Flag – Ph. Vernasca Silver Flag

Not everybody knows that Emilia Romagna MotorValley gathers important Vintage Cars Private Collections that worth to be visited. Thanks to the passion of individual owners, these collections in many cases are a real treasure saved from the story. Among these stands out the collection belongs to Umberto Panini in Modena, which comes from the official Maserati collection. In the private museum, visitors can admire thirty vintage motorcycles, most of the vehicles produced in Emilia Romagna. Among other collections worth a mention the Motorcycle Museum in Rimini, that It was born from the union of three private different collections. The museum exhibition consists about 250 motorcycles that represent 55 different brands.

If you are interested in the Motor Valley private collections, we suggest you read the dedicated section on the MotorValley web site, which counts over 20 different spots that can be visited.

Panini Collection – Ph. Panini Collection