Stage 1 - …-799cc Class - Report Sector 1
Sector 1 - San Martino - Arpeninetto
And the cars of the smallest class of the Corso are ready to start the adventure ahead. It is a quite a sight on the Pizza di San Martino, with all these small yet loud vehicles.
First to leave are the organisation’s showcase car, driven by local hero Massimiliano Godini. The PMI Polloi Barudion Aero is an adaptation one of the locally (in Fruinia proper at least) produced family cars. The car has been stripped for racing and that includes the muffler. Hardly even knew a three-cylinder could be this loud. It is also amazingly the lightest car competing in the Corso.
With the Suzume Kaikyu San Ebi Kei a second Suzume and a second Japanese concept car at the start of this Corso. Kei means light in Japanese, and this car is quite light, though not as light as for example the PMI Polloi. It needs to be light, because Japanese Kei-regulation prescribe a maximum displacement of 360cc for a four-stroke engine, which is what this car has in the form of an inline 3-cylinder.
The Epoch Model 10C Modifica looks impressive for a small car with those big wheels. It handles itself well on the dirt roads away from San Martino.
The KMC 800 Roadster is a lightweight sports car with an 800 racing boxer engine. It appears to be nippy and agile, and it needs that agility when just outside of San Martino it needs to evade a group of goats that suddenly appeared on the road. Luckily the small excursion into the grass did not lead to any damage.
The Marcello Tipo 300 is clearly not here to win. With only 17 horsepower it’s the slowest and least powerful car to appear at the start here. But, if this car finishes the Corso, it’s clear that this cheap little local car is reliable and able to tackle any situation in the Fruinian cities and countryside.
The people of San Martino, the most tranquil of states, have been enjoying the influx of beautiful automobiles into their small principality, but there is one that brings less enjoyment. The CMW S946 Bergmann Special, beautiful to look at, but the cause of many a complaint to the Council for the horrible noise it makes. The source of that noise, an intricate miniature boxer-6, that looks like a Swiss watch, but it remains to be seen if it has the reliability of one.
The Juggernaut Automotive fanclub is out in full force as the Juggernaut Automotive Runabout is the first of six of its brand to compete. The small 750cc engine seems capable in this category, with the advanced front wheel drive system trying to pull the car to a competitive time.
The Brazilian Barato Motors 800 Sport Race with #54 is a one-off adaptation of their low volume road car. The inline-6 engine is tuned to formula racing car spec, and the engine is just as expensive and reliable as well. In fact, based on the issues the car had to just get to this starting line, it is one of the most unreliable cars in the field – as well as one of the most expensive.
A modified Condo Sprint is meant as a cheap car for the masses - and a competitor of the PMI Polloi and the Marcello Tipo. Like the PMI and unlike the Marcello, this is not your mildly adapted standard factory spec car. A good performance will nonetheless boost sales. One thing we immediately notice is the Northern Irish driver, Hill, struggling with the wheel over any bump or pothole. The relatively high power to the probably still standard front wheel drive system is clearly interfering with the steering.
The latest iteration of the Znopresk Z849 is made to drive on unpaved and bad quality roads. The car competing here is a competition version of the budget vehicle.
The Aeros Shrew is small as its name suggests. The car is apparently a prototype of a cheap, front-wheel drive, family car, and it is here for testing. But I fear some more work is needed on this #46 car, as it looks harsh and uncomfortable to drive. Even at low speeds the driver is toiling away at the steering wheel.
Two local boys, Martino and Rizzo, in a modified Giusseppe G220 with an adapted motorcycle engine. Despite the light engine, the car is the heaviest in this class. The drivers have no experience in events like this. The start could be better; I’m not sure in how far the car was tested, because it cannot start on its own power and needs to be pushed to a start by by-standers to prevent the engine from stalling.
The LSV Mark RS is LSV’s performance addition of the popular LSV Mark budget family car with folding roof. It is a light and quirky car, but there are doubts on the reliability of the front-wheel drive system.
The RatonAereo 654 is a prototype, and with prototypes come technical issues. It is therefore no wonder that the little bubble sports car stands still for repairs to the engine quite fast out of San Martino.
A home game as well for the Scuderia Cisalpina and their lightest sports car on the market, which is the heaviest car starting here in this class: the Cisalpina Superleggera 750. The beautifully styled little car has a very high-revving engine as we can hear. This might be part of the reason why it struggles putting down power on the gravel roads of the foothills.
Easily among the ugliest cars at the start of this Corso in aesthetically-sensitive Fruinia, the Eagle 102 looks like a mismatch of parts.
The Merciel Modele 1949 Modele 49 Course is, amazingly, a car from 1949. The #69 car is a stripped budget car with a 0,6 litre three-cylinder engine, producing a measly 25 horsepower.
A van for the countryside farmer, and made lighter and faster for this Corso, the Birmingham Snake Van Custom might not be in its home country, but in terms of roads, it’s on home turf.
The #92 Penrose Customs 800 is an incredibly high-strung adaptation of a city car. The engine sounds mighty for the low displacement. Powerful but not without issues, as the vibrations of the car seems to hamper its drivability, even more so when one of the wheel bolts gives up and shakes out of the axle. Luckily this does not lead to an accident, and the wheel can be reattached.
Last one to start today: the number 60 Ceder Abeille 760, an anonymous-looking family budget car. Once out of San Martino it is livelier than you would have expected. This leads a few times to an excursion into the rocks and bushes next to the road, and once to a flat tire that needs to be replaced.