Racing season 1957


The year of Ezio Selva
Also in 1957, the MILA of Como organized in Campione d'Italia, on the waters of Ceresio, the world championship reserved for racing cars of the KD 800 kg class: maximum laurel in the inboard field. Ezio Selva, already holder of the world title of the category, showed up with the new Moschettiere : a splendid 3-point of new conception from the Timossi shipyard powered by the powerful 8-cylinder Alfa Romeo 159.
In the Campione world championship, the line-up of forces in the field was limited to eight competitors, half of whom were foreigners. The Italians, Selva, Liborio and Flavio Guidotti, and Nando Dall'Orto, were opposed by the French Louis Delacour and Maurice Bauchet, the English Norman Bukley (recent record holder of the 1200 Kg racers class) and the German Christoph Von Mayemburg.
At the starting line of the first of the three heats, the Frenchman Delacour, who like his compatriot Bauchet had an old and uncompetitive 2800 cc BPM engine on his hull, found himself in trouble, immediately compromising his participation in the championship. From the first laps of the first heat, one had the clear feeling that these Ezio Selva and Flavio Guidotti were the most likely to win the final victory, considering the superiority exhibited by their vehicles. Ezio Selva, who immediately took the lead, had to watch out for the increasingly pressing attacks launched by Flavio Guidotti who, due to too much impetuosity, ran into an adventurous unforeseen event: while tackling a turn too quickly, his hull tilted and Guidotti was violently ejected from the cockpit of his Timossi-Maserati. Fortunately, the impact with the water did not cause any physical damage to the driver. The hull is hit by the violent swirl of the water without, however, capsizing: so the pilot swims closer and takes possession of it, but unfortunately he is unable to restart it. Therefore, in addition to the lost heat, Guidotti's championship is irremediably compromised. Ezio Selva, very fast, passes as winner under the checkered flag, followed by Liborio Guidotti, Von Mayemburg, Dell'Orto and, more detached, Bukley and Bauchet: the latter, in fact, lapped and out of maximum time.
In the second heat Von Mayemburg does not show up in the water, while Flavio Guidotti, back in the running, with a masterful start (confirming that good blood does not lie), wins the race, with Ezio Selva in second place, more careful than ever to manage the situation. In third place we find Liborio Guidotti, while, in fourth, Dell'Orto: the latter demonstrates his value, already well expressed in the smaller outboard displacements, also in the KD 800 kg class. The tail light of the race is the Frenchman Bauchet, while Bukley retires.
Flavio Guidotti was given the same time as Ezio Selva, winner, with six minutes more, of the first heat: in practice, considering that the final classification is based on the sum of the times, for Guidotti there was no hope of gaining the final victory.
The third and final heat offered a great show, as if the outcome of the championship depended on it: Ezio Selva gave vent to the horses of his very powerful Alfa Romeo, winning the race ahead of Flavio Guidotti who paid for a drop in speed of his Maserati, too "squeezed" in the attempt to keep up with the winner's red racing car. In the wake of these protagonists, we find classified Liborio Guidotti and Dell'Orto, who, however, must be praised for having performed well despite their clearly inferior means. Finally, the non-existent Bukley and Bauchet.

Ezio Selva, now the undisputed leader of the KD 800 kg, in addition to the world championship, completes his memorable year with the continental title of the 500 kilos (heir to the 2200 cc) in Aix Le Bains and also wins the tricolor of the 2500 cc racers. The most beautiful emotion, however, Eezio Selva always experiences in Campione when, on the day of his world success, he witnesses the first victory of his eighteen-year-old son Luciano who is making his debut in the 2500 cc restricted class: he manages to conquer the first place ahead of names of the caliber of Dino Celli, Castglioni, Maderna and Scarpa, offering a sample of his innate talent inherited from his father.

In December of the same year, in Miami, Ezio Selva tries again the experience of the Orange Bowl Regatta, the most important American competition reserved for 7-liter class racers. For our champion it is a practically obligatory stage, in fact, he himself defines it as a "commitment of honor" to take part and that in his intentions this should be the last race of his amazing career, before passing on his passion for motorboating to his son Luciano. The Orange Bowl Regatta is held in three heats of 15 miles each (about 25 km). For our pilot it is the third attempt to chase the prestigious affirmation.
In the first heat , Selva is not very lucky: due to a less than optimal start he is forced to recover fighting among the powerful and larger hulls of the Americans. In the end he manages with great class and temperament to finish second, behind the winner George Byers. Observing the behavior of Ezio Selva's Timossi-Alfa Romeo hull, one has the impression that there is something magical in the delicate trim achieved by the Moschettiere,
constantly hovering in the air: his superiority is clear, but also worrying. In the second heat , Byers is once again in the lead, but he, having started early, is disqualified by the jury who, however, does not stop him. Ezio Selva, in second position, continues to chase him despite not knowing the irregularity of his start. His hull is launched at over 200 km/h, but, with the race practically won, tragedy strikes. The Moschettiere hits a freak wave, rears up and after a few moments, with the bow in the air and the stern skimming the water, falls violently into a boiling of spray: for the great champion, unfortunately, it is the end. Among over 25,000 spectators present, the gravity of what happened is perceived. The match was suspended and the following day, at the stadium, the 75,000 spectators present at a football match reserved a minute of silence to honor his memory.

Ezio Selva's career ended tragically after reaping many laurels, despite the fact that this champion of inboard racing arrived rather late to the motorboat circuit. It can be agreed that, in his soul, Selva had always had a passion for aquatic sports: in fact, he tried his hand at diving from the springboard. In 1921, together with his compatriots Cozzi and Cangiullo, he was among the most important exponents in this discipline, winning the Italian title. He was subsequently included in the Italian team in the expedition to the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1922, where he honoured the tricolour flag. Following an accident, he was forced to abandon the "flights" from the 10-metre and longer springboards. Furthermore, before arriving at motorboat racing in 1949, he also took part in some rowing races.


Raid Pavia-Venezia

Hat-trick of victories with yet another win by Augusto Cometti, racing with his sister Camilla, in the seventeenth edition of the Raid Pavia-Venezia, in which all the records of the now traditional race were broken.
The Cometti brothers, achieving an average speed of 137.474 km/h which was considered extraordinary for the time, led to absolute success, for the first time in the Raid, a three-pointer from the Timossi shipyard powered by a 5200 cc BMP Atlantic Super 255, in the C4 inboard racing 800 kg class.
In the final classification, occupying the top positions, behind the Comettis, we find other racers such as the 2500 cc Timossi-Maserati entered in the C3 500 kg class of the unfortunate Comm. Renzo Rivolta. This driver, after a very fast start that earned him the Theo Rossi di Montelera Gold Cup for the high average of 162.544 km in the timed section Piacenza-Cremona, suffered a hull failure. After losing over 40 minutes, Rivolta, thanks to the experience of his navigator, "the faithful Molli", still completed the tiring race, even if the average was penalized: it was still better, even if only slightly, than that recorded by the Monzino-Allone crew with the Abbate-Ferrari of the C4 800 kg class, third classified.
Worthy of note is the significant performance of Cesare Maderna who, aboard a Timossi-BPM racer of the C2 350 kg class, obtained fourth position in the overall ranking.


Inboard racing seasons
Racing season 1958