This week we have just returned from touring Italy in the Healey 100 as part of this year’s Modena Cento Ore, we were thoroughly impressed with the event. We enjoyed driving great roads and famous race tracks, seeing stunning scenery and in the evening attended glitzy dinners all in the company of like minded enthusiasts.
The special 15th anniversary event took competitors from Rome, through Perugia and Florence before arriving in Modena 100 hours, 1000 kms and 4 days later. Competitors chose to enter either competition or regularity.
A total of 82 competitors lined up for the start of this years event with crews from 18 different countries including 54 Brits. We were part of a double British Healey entry with friends in a Martini Porsche.
Day 0:
Prior to the rally we had the usual, seemingly never ending day of admin and scrutineering, followed by an opening dinner at the Casina Valadier, a beautiful villa set in the gardens of Villa Borghese. We chose to opt out of the evening parade around Rome, not very sporting I know, but we were slightly concerned over breaking the car before we had even started. Anyway, we enjoyed it all the more from Harry’s Bar instead!
Day 1:
It was an early start on Day 1, grabbing breakfast with our friends in their fireproof onesies, before setting off behind the Police escort out of Rome to Vallelunga for the first race. Our week didn’t get off to a great start no sooner had Mike set off out on track, the Healey blew off an oil hose and neatly spewed oil all round the circuit. Mortified with embarrassment, I found Mike sitting in the paddock head in hands, whilst Henry (our support) rushed round to fix the problem. Thirty minutes and a quick fix later, we were off again only for it to happen again. Thoroughly embarrassed we missed the first race, got the oil pipe fixed properly and headed off for the stages.
The closed road stages were great fun, twisty mountain roads about 5 km in length with lots of variety in fast and tight hairpin corners. I was calling the corners based on notes made from videos sent prior to the event. But it was only about Day 2 when Mike confessed to not understanding any of my calls, Day 3 when we got it all together and Day 4 when we finally found a method that worked!
After lunch in Ovieto and more stages we were heading off to Perugia, our stop for the night. Now, the Healey duo had stopped for a beer (of course) to cool down, so we lost the tulips and had to use sat nav to try and climb the old medieval town and our arrival Piazza. Inevitably, sat nav tried to take us through a brick wall and with one Healey over heating and the other with a fried clutch, lets just say – tempers were fraying. We finally arrived in the square, only to find out the Hotel was back down in the new town. You can imagine how that went down!
Day 2 :
Our support crew had been up all night fabricating a new exhaust for one of the Healey’s, the underneath of the back box had been ripped off on one of the stages.
The day started with an easy run out to Circuit Magione or would have been, had I not managed to wrong slot us, causing a bit of friction in our Healey! The race at Magione went well, but when we hit the days stages we could hardly get off the line. After the first one we checked the map and decided to short cut to the lunch stop in Arezzo. We almost got there before the clutch went completely went, just 100 metres from the square. The cobbled narrow streets knocked off an ignition lead leaving the car dead, cars behind queuing up. Oops!
The organisers were brilliant they helped us push it out the way, and navigate our support crew to pick up the car. There was nothing left for us to do except enjoy lunch in Arezzo and hitch a lift on to Florence. And, no sooner had we arrived in Florence, than we get a call from the second Healey crew saying “We are a bit worried to be the first to arrive, we think we might have missed a stage.” This is easily done, many of the stages are repeated and there are instructions for two different exits in the route book. Anyway – we all had a good giggle and shared a few beers before the rest of the cars arrived.
Day 3:
We had to get a taxi to Mugello to pick up the Healey, as the support crew had worked through the night to fit a new clutch, but it still needed everyone’s help to get the car back together and cleaned up in time for the race. Our friends Jeremy and Mike, in the Martini Porsche were now running third, with only mis-fire issues but they were flying. Today’s stages went well, driver and navigator starting to trust each other, and for me anyway there was much less answering back! But the last checkpoint of the day was at a Barberino Designer Outlet, imagine Bicester Shopping Outlet only bigger, in 100 degrees and in your race suit. No, we didn’t want to be there either! So, we head off back to Florence. Friday’s Gala dinner we enjoyed another spectacular dinner outside under the fresco adorned cloisters of a church monastry, a fabulous venue but once again we slipped away before pudding because it was so late!
Day 4:
The final day was a fantastic drive out of Florence to a small town called Firenzuola, with breakfast in the square, before heading off into the mountains for the final two stages. Philip Walker and Howard Redhouse were out first, they only just made it to the start – having been misled about times of the Police escort out of Florence being at 9am and not 8am! We did the final 2 stages of the event enroute to Imola, the venue for our final race. This is where the Martini Porsche 911 RSR of Cooke/ Dowd let go spectacularly whilst they were challenging for the lead. Luckily for them, the final time control was just outside the Paddock gates where they could push the car through. But to officially classify all competitors and cars had to arrive in Modena, so the car was loaded up, trailered to Modena and quietly pushed into the Piazza Grande giving them their podium finish. Our tour finished with a Police escort into Modena, and spectacular gala dinner in the Enzo Museum.
Whilst this years freak hot weather made the event particularly tough for competition crews wearing full race gear, there were 40 or so, regularity crews looking far more cool calm and collected in shirt sleeves and shorts. It was tough, but we all made it to the end, and had fun along the way. We’ll definitely be back to give it another go!
