The twenty-third edition of the Raid
Augusto Cometti is once again the protagonist in the XXIII edition of the Raid Pavia-Venezia. He has a remarkable curriculum of victories, obtained in the longest motorboat race in the world. After crossing the lagoon finish line of the gardens of S. Elena on his red KD 900 kg, while taking his hands off the steering wheel and raising his fists to the sky to show his success. Cometti sets, on the 432 km of length of the Raid, the average of km/h 159.845 using a time of 2h 26' 45" and also winning, for the fifth time, the Montelera gold cup in the timed stretch Isola Serafini-Casalmaggiore with the speed of km/h 178.582. Of course Cometti owes the feat, in addition to his class as a pilot and deep connoisseur of the river, also to the excellent racer at his disposal. Faithful for some years to the hulls of the Timossi shipyard, for the occasion Cometti installs on the red Pelaochi a brand new engine from BPM, defined as experimental, with the initials Oceanic: it is not a customer version engine, but an engine officially supplied by the parent company of which Cometti himself has been a partner for some time as well as a tester.
And it is precisely in the role of co-owner of BPM that our pilot, after two years of failure to participate in the Raid, decides to to use this engine in the race. Cometti, after winning the race, illustrates the characteristics of the latest creation, specifying that it is still a 5272 cc 60° V-six block, with an estimated power of 280 HP at low revs. Although its shape, despite the different angle, recalls the previous 6 V models of the Atlantic and Superatlantic series, in its mechanics this engine takes up the Artic type. In the final overall classification, in second place we find Guidotti with the Timossi-Maserati 4000cc which, due to some problems with fuel consumption, is forced to refuel three times, losing more than half an hour to Cometti. Evidently for Flavio Guidotti the Raid Pavia-Venezia seems to become enchanted: up until now, in fact, no victory, indeed, in some editions (1954-1955-1956), an innumerable series of inconveniences penalizes him not a little. Not to be overlooked is the debut of Ermanno Marchisio who, due to his poor knowledge of the route, makes mistakes in his route as well as failing to refuel his Timossi-BPM.
Marchisio, however, manages to finish the race placing himself fourth in the overall standings, behind Nando Paglierini: the latter, in fact, finds himself with his outboard racing boat of the X class, squeezed in the grip of the 500 kg kd. Good performances by both Antonio Petrobelli, 4th in the category among the KD with his Celli-BPM and the competitors of the LV 1300 cc. Among these we find Carlo Casalini, winner with his 3 points Lambro, followed by the San Marco boats led by Bernocchi and Casanova (these making their debut in the Raid among the inboard racing boats). For the LV boats a good result: among other things, this Raid is an excellent test bench for the continuous evolution of these small and fast racers, all powered by the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint veloce.

The European Championship
On the waters of the immense and beautiful artificial basin of Vichy, the local Yacht Club and the Moteur Yacht of Ile-de-France organize the continental championship of the Z 2500cc class racers. A championship that sees the Italians Castiglioni, Maderna, Libanori, Petrobelli and Bordoni competing, and the French present with only Chapron: he, however, has a less competitive boat already on paper than those of our pilots.
The "baton" circuit, obtained from this basin that had previously seen the world championships of water skiing, is made up of two straights of 1341.08 m, surmounted by a single buoy for each of the two turns; the same circuit is equally suitable for setting world speed records. Practically a track for high-speed races is born, immersed in the enchanting scenery of the surrounding French countryside.
The competition, divided into four heats, offers countless twists and turns starting from the opening race. In this first heat, in fact, Fortunato Libanori starts one lap late and then has to retire due to a problem with the fuel supply line. Cesare Maderna also immediately finds himself in trouble, due to the breakage of a valve spring. Furthermore, as if that were not enough, Petrobelli, feverish and therefore not in top form, complains of some mechanical problems with his Celli-BPM and Bordoni also finds himself a few dozen meters from the finish line stopped due to a broken drive shaft.
In this incredible massacre of retirements that does not even spare the Frenchman Chapron, the only one who manages to finish, winning this desolate heat, is Gianfranco Castiglioni who wins bringing the new CR engine to success for the first time on his Celli hull.
In the second heat, victory also goes to Castiglioni, over Maderna and Petrobelli who, having partially resolved their mechanical problems, get back into the race. Following us, although considerably behind, are Chapron and Libanori, the latter however having started four laps late and therefore outside the maximum time.
In the third heat, after a fast start by Petrobelli, it is still Castiglioni, during the third lap, who takes the lead, concluding the race in a great way ahead of the Paduan and allowing himself the luxury of lapping Chapron who occupies third position. It is definitely not a good day, however, for Maderna and Libanori who have yet again retired. In the last heat, with the European title already mathematically in the hands of Castiglioni, we witness more of a parade, with his umpteenth first place, ahead of Petrobelli who despite the difficulties manages to finish the race, while Chapron retires. On the podium the tricolor is raised to seal the beautiful and indisputable victory of Castiglioni: for the new European champion, there is also the joy of having managed to set the world record on the 15 miles on the circuit, with an average km/h of 106.292

The World Championship
At the Idroscalo in Milan, in mid-October, the Z 2500 cc class is recovered. The world championship, in fact, was supposed to be held as part of the international event in Venice, but adverse weather conditions (heavy rain, wind with significant wave motion) had compromised its progress. In front of an audience as always enthusiastic in appreciating the races featuring the racing boats, this first edition of the Z 2500 world championship is held, even if only Italian pilots are competing. The withdrawal of the pilots from beyond the Alps is probably attributable to the less than brilliant performance offered by their only representative in the race in Vichy (Chapron) who, despite the third place finish, certainly did not create any problems for our Italians. It is also true that other French pilots have tried to contact BPM, almost the total supplier of engines for the Z 2500 cc, also to see if they can improve the ones they themselves use: at the Idroscalo, however, they do not consider showing up, thus leaving the field open to our Italians.
At the start of the first heat there are eight racers, all from the Celli shipyard, seven of which with BPM engines. The pilots in the race are Maderna, Petrobelli, Aliani, Dosi, Libanori, Cerutti, Battaglini, while the new European champion Castiglioni re-presents his CR.
Petrobelli is the fastest to get to the head of the group and lead the carousel, while at the back it is Maderna who gets close to the Paduan pilot, placing himself in second position. While Aliani retires on the fourth lap and Castiglioni, who started quite far behind, manages to reach fourth place, we witness the tough resistance of Petrobelli towards Maderna who presses him ready to take advantage. After a few failed attempts, Maderna, who in the circumstances seemed to have a faster vehicle than Petrobelli, managed to pass his rival halfway through the race, with a maneuver worthy of a true champion, unleashing, in the remaining laps, all the power of his BPM and increasing his advantage to a good six seconds over Petrobelli in the remaining 12 kilometers. The only competitors who remained in the wake of the first two were Libanori and Castiglioni, who however did not seem capable of causing much trouble; even less so Dosi, Cerutti and Aliani who would never fight for the first two positions.
Nothing new also in the second heat that, in carbon copy, records the fast start of Petrobelli with Maderna very close in his slipstream, with the only variation of a Libanori at least initially fighting with the two protagonists. And this is, however, the decisive heat: Petrobelli maintains the lead of the test for the first eight laps resisting the attacks carried out decisively by Maderna and forcing him to navigate on the long straights towards the outside. In this way, Maderna, faces the turns having to widen the radius of action too much and consequently losing precious meters on the rival. But on the ninth lap Maderna's masterpiece is accomplished: at about 200 meters from the turning buoy, after passing in front of the jury post, the young Milanese driver, with a clever maneuver, moves to the inside leaving Petrobelli on the outside. The two red boats, thus paired, face the turn and clearly the one who benefits is Maderna who comes out of the curve first, taking first position again and also winning the second heat. Behind the winner and Petrobelli we find Libanori, Castiglioni and Battaglini.
The last heat serves even more to confirm the leadership of Maderna who immediately takes the lead, staying there for all 12 scheduled laps and keeping Petrobelli and the good Lino Battaglini behind him. Too bad for Libanori and Castiglioni, both victims of mechanical problems and, therefore, forced to surrender. In the final classification, they occupy respectively the fourth and fifth place, preceded by the Venetian Battaglini, by Petrobelli and by Cesare Maderna who enters his name for the first time in the world championship racer class Z 2500 cc, established in 1963. Maderna's feat acquires great importance and enriches his personal book of triumphs, among which stand out the Coppa d'Oro Montelera in the Pavia-Venezia, the four victories in the Ezio Selva golden propeller and the Francesco Toselli trophy. It is not insignificant that Maderna, in the past, had also tried his hand at car racing, then suddenly abandoned it.

Remaining in the Z 2500 class, we witness the revenge of Petrobelli who wins the Italian title precisely preceding his rivals Maderna and Castiglioni, Dosi, Cerutti and Libanori. A beautiful championship awarded over the distance of five trials held in Sesto Calende, Castelgandolfo, Turin, Luino and Angera.


The European title for the inboard racing V 1300 cc
In 1963, the inboard racing boats of the V 1300 cc category also fought for the first continental title in their short history, which began, as far as competitions in Italy are concerned, in 1959. This first edition also began on Lake Orta with drivers of three nationalities at the starting line. Our Italians lined up the two-time Italian champion Giulio De Angelis, together with Guido Caimi, Capucchio, Bernocchi and Maurelli. France instead had the drivers Renè Milon, Roger Altwess and Gabriel Vouillon and the Swiss Confederation showed up with Frederich Wyss. It did not go unnoticed, as all the competitors in the water were aboard racers from the Molinari A. shipyard, all powered by Alfa Romeo 1300 Giulietta Sprint engines. As per the rules, the European title of the V 1300 cc was also awarded with a final classification based on the sum of the three best scores in the four races held. Despite the competition being clearly dominated by the Italian riders, uncertainty hovers until the fourth final heat. De Angelis, Caimi and Capucchio win the first, second and third heats respectively. Two second places are then achieved by De Angelis, a second and a fourth place by Caimi, a third place and a retirement by Capucchio. Our other racers Maurelli and Bernocchi struggle to keep up with the pace of the winners, while the French and the only Swiss in the race demonstrate, for now, very little competitiveness. In the decisive final heat De Angelis, who boasts a slightly higher score in the standings, gives vent to all the power of his engine: he thus wins the race and the title, despite being subjected to tenacious pressure from Guido Caimi who has to settle for the place of honour. Unlucky, on the other hand, is Capucchio whose excessive impetuosity leads him to incur a downgrading for early start and to lose any remaining hopes of fighting for the title.
Great is the happiness of De Angelis who enters his name in the roll of honor of the continental championship class V 1300 and also that of the entire Italian team that places Caimi in second place, Capucchio in third and Maurelli in fourth author of a more than convincing test; in fifth position we find, first among the foreigners, the Frenchman Milon, sixth the Swiss Wyss and seventh the unfortunate Bernocchi. Giulio De Angelis then completes his exceptional year of victories by winning the Italian championship of the V 1300 cc for the third consecutive time (the Roman driver, in addition to doing well in the inboard racing, wins, in his career, titles also in the outboard racing). The


The National Championship
In the five national championship races (Sesto Calende, Bolsena, Ferrara, Auronzo, Angera) De Angelis precedes, in the final ranking, thirteen competitors including the surprising Bernocchi (second), Caimi (third), Capucchio (fourth) and Maurelli (fifth), plus another nine competitors including names of the calibre of Caimi Franco, Riola, Crespi, Perziano and Ottone.

In the classic motorboat meeting in Lecco, in July 1963, the European championship of the big KD 900 kilo racing cars is included, and in the Campione meeting the world championship. But these championships do not offer, beyond the names of absolute prestige of the Italian team, other reasons for interest. There is little to be happy about in fact: at the risk of repeating ourselves to the point of boredom, we must, at least for now, be content with titles that continue to not interest the other Federations that only see the presence of Lombard pilots.
In Lecco we find only five drivers lined up: Flavio and Giorgio Guidotti on Timossi-Maserati 5600 cc, Nando Dell'Orto on Timossi-Maserati 5000, Ermanno Marchisio on Timossi-Maserati 5600 and Gian Luigi Crivelli on Celli-Maserati 5000. At the end of the opening round of the championship that lives mainly on the excellent performance of Flavio Guidotti, the latter secures the victory over Dell'Orto and Marchisio, real outsiders. In fourth place, rather late, is Crivelli. It is also a bad day for Giogo Guidotti, immediately KO at the first start, despite having the hull of his father, Liborio, absent from the competition. But, in the second round, even Marchisio is no longer in the game due to a mechanical problem (broken valve plate) on his Maserati: for the Ezio Selva champion it is the final surrender. Flavio Guidotti also wins this heat, keeping Dell'Orto and Crivelli in his wake. In the third heat, Dell'Orto prevails, prevailing, by just two seconds and, with a sprint finish, over Flavio Guidotti. And it is he who wins again, in the fourth final heat, with a solo finish. At the end, in order to assign the European KD 900 kg title, it is necessary to resort to the UIM sporting regulation, and more precisely to article 237, amended by the UIM itself with communication no. 13 of 23 August 1963. It stipulated that among the first two classified with a tie score, the competitor who has completed the fastest heat and not the fastest lap should be awarded. In the end, Dell'Orto prevails over Flavio Guidotti, thanks to his fastest performance (the third) which, however, sees both achieve excellent times: for Dell'Orto 12'14"3, while for Guidotti 12'16"1. For Nando Dell'Orto it is the first continental title won in his career.

Under the pouring rain, in the Campione world championship, Ermanno Marchisio, faithful to the motto "there's no two without three", takes the laurel for the third consecutive year, taking revenge for the unfortunate race in Lecco. Nando Dell'Orto, welcomed with great interest and fresh from the title won, is no longer able to repeat the previous good performance and after a disappointing sixth place in the first heat, gives up on re-entering the race due to problems with the fuel pump. Marchisio, who reuses the hull with which he triumphed on these waters in 1962, demonstrates a clear superiority over his opponents, more aggressive than ever, like the three standard-bearers of the Guidotti team (father Liborio and his sons Flavio and Giuorgio).
The first heat provides a bit of a thrill, with Marchisio initially slowed down: a little later, however, after having gained second position, overtaking Crivelli, he sets off in pursuit of Giorgio Guidotti. Towards the middle of the race, the engine hood of Giorgio Guidotti's Timossi-Maserati comes off and two laps later it falls into the water. Marchisio follows him, manages to overtake him and wins the heat with a time of 11'17"4. In second place is Giorgio Guidotti with 11'24"1, in third is Crivelli with 11'46"1 and following Flavio Guidotti. Closing out the carousel are Liborio Guidotti and Dell'Orto.
In the second heat Dell'Orto and Flavio Guidotti do not participate: the latter unfortunately finds himself in difficulty with the starter motor. For Marchisio, by now, the world championship is all uphill: in fact, with great ease, he also triumphs in this test and with a time of 11'18"2, he mathematically wins the title. In second place we find Liborio Guidotti with 11'32"1, in third Giorgio Guidotti with 12'05"3 who competes with an occasional engine cover and not suitable for this hull. Crivelli and Battaglini retire, the latter never really in the fight due to the poor competitiveness of his complex. In the last race we see Flavio Guidotti again in the race who wins duelling with Marchisio who is more than happy with second place; in third place we see dad Liborio. Among the retired we must point out the unfortunate Giorgio Guidotti.
Of the foreigners, so pompously announced on the eve of this race (it was even said that the biggest names in star-spangled motorboating would arrive from overseas), there is absolutely no trace.