A new era begins for inboard sailing
In 1981 we witness the "swan song" of the promotional Fiat 128 class. It is in fact the last season of this successful formula that certainly had the merit of bringing many neophytes closer to national inboard sailing.
Now there is no longer any interest in continuing on this path, perhaps updating the category with the introduction of catamarans (increasingly in fashion for the inboard of the future), in place of the three-point forward-drive. Instead, it is preferred to ban the category itself, eliminating the idea of ​​a conceptually new hull and even suppressing the Fiat 1300 cc engine considered outdated. In the meantime, here in Italy, as already mentioned, an attempt is being made to relaunch the international R1 1000 cc class, recognizing it as a worthy successor to the aforementioned category, but since the number of registered drivers is slightly decreasing compared to the first outings of last season, it was decided, in order to compete in a dignified championship, to combine them with the few remaining competitors of the Formula Fiat 128, naturally drawing up two separate classifications.
The experiment of the two classes, however, is not very satisfying; the comparison between the R1 and Fiat 128 hulls leads to the consideration that for now the latter provide decidedly better performance. The hope is that in the short term it will be the R1 hulls that will reverse the trend, demonstrating their competitiveness thanks to the freely tuned engines.
The last edition of the Italian Formula Fiat 128 Championship was won by Gian Battista Lanzutti ahead of Franco Leidi and Ruggero Borelli, while Angelo Palazzi entered his name in the roll of honor of the Italian R1 Championship for the first time, followed by Gastone Dorigo and Sergio Gallotti.
Palazzi took to success a three-pointer launched a few years earlier by the Lucini and Frigerio shipyard and powered by a Hillman, whose development was handled by expert preparer Lino De Virgilis. During this racing season, some innovations were seen on the hulls of the R1 class, which anticipated the future technical and mechanical metamorphosis of inboard racing boats.

This evolutionary phase is experienced, both by preparers and by hull builders, with great frenzy and soon infects all inboard classes. In some cases we witness a real evolution in others a regression.
Maurizio Selva, owner of the homonymous company manufacturing outboard engines based in Tirano (SO), tries his hand at R1 with a catamaran from the Gardin shipyard.
On this hull a Selva 1000 cc outboard engine without a cowl is installed vertically at the stern. The engine block is firmly fixed to the hull and specially covered by the extension of the fairing while the foot is left free to turn and moved by the usual linkage.
In all respects the perceived impression is that of a real inboard catamaran and despite the fact that the noise is different from the fascinating one of the engines derived from the car, the valid stratagem is soon adopted by other famous builders.
Carlo Popoli, for example, put into the water a three-point forward-steering hull built in his own shipyard with the same solution used on Selva's catamaran, that is, a cantilevered engine on the stern and a swivelling foot. This interesting complex, entrusted to Edmondo Bergamini from Ferrara, 1979 Italian Champion of the Fiat 128, unfortunately showed considerable problems with the set-up of all its parts (hull, engine, propellers) and although it appeared quite fast, it was rarely seen in a race.
Even the famous Clerici shipyard, which has always specialized in the construction of catamarans for the outboard classes, tried its hand at the R1 1000 cc, presenting a boat similar to Selva's; a solution that the following year it would also transfer to the higher class (R3 2000 cc).

It is however necessary to remember that already in 1980, in addition to the aforementioned "innovation" by Renato Molinari seen at the R3 World Championship in Sabaudia, also the engineer Fabio Buzzi had experimented, on an Entrobordo Sport S3 hull by Cigala and Bertinetti, the application of a Mercury outboard 2000 cc engine block, fixed on the hull precisely behind the driver. The solution of using a two-stroke outboard engine is in any case advantageous since even with the same power the weight is decidedly lower than that of any automotive-derived engine.
This forward-drive boat that transferred power to the propeller shaft thanks to a special joint, obtained good results in some long-distance races with Fulvio Bertinetti.

In 1981 Fabio Buzzi launched another three-point R3 by Cigala and Bertinetti that used the same solution and entrusted it to the already 1980 Italian Champion of the Formula Fiat 128, Giulio Grippa from Bergamo, making his debut in this category.
On the straights the hull offered notable speed performance but naturally found it difficult, compared to catamarans, in setting up the tight turns, formed, thanks to the new regulation, by only two buoys.
This penalty caused this project to be abandoned; Crippa's boat will compete on the circuit only in the current year.

For the above-mentioned category, the European Championship is held in Cremona, on the Po River. The Italians Renato Molinari, Francesco Manfredini, Alcide Ballotta, Ermes Prospero and Virgilio Molinari take part in the race, plus the modest Frenchmen Painvain and Jaubertie and the Swede Ronald Paulsson. Prospero, Painvain and Virgilio Molinari are the only ones who participate with three-point hulls (Lucini and Frigerio the first two, an old Molivio the third) while the other pilots are at the helm of catamarans. The engines are very varied; Evinrude, BMW 4 valves derived from Formula 2 cars (which from the initial 2400 cc have been reduced to 2000 cc), Alfa Romeo, Renault (for the Frenchman Ivon Jaubertie), Volvo Penta (for the Swede Paulsson).
Renato Molinari with a brand new catamaran of his own construction, powered by a 2-stroke Evinrude engine block of approximately 290 HP fixed inboard and joined to the stern drive with a gear drop system, indisputably wins the first three heats remaining in the lead from the beginning to the end of the scheduled laps. Now mathematically champion, he does not show up to compete in the fourth and final race which is won by the local pilot Manfredini, who, thanks to this result, obtains second place in the final classification preceding the tenacious Parma driver Ballotta, both at the helm of Molinari catamarans powered by BMW.
It is noteworthy that Manfredini abandons his three-point Popoli and shows up this season at the helm of the winning catamaran that belonged to Nicola Mora, while Ballotta, former pilot of the Fuoribordo Sport classes with traditional hull, immediately shows his skill in driving the catamaran taken over from Guido Caimi (the famous 1979 experiment with the Dino Ferrari).
Praiseworthy performance by the reigning World Champion Ermes Prospero who, as always, shows the determination of the best days. Unfortunately, however, he is forced to give up in the attempt to bring his racer to the overall victory because, although alongside the catamarans on the straights, he pays the price in the tight turns.

From a report of a race on the Po we move on to one organized on Lake Bolsena, Marta, where within the event entitled "Gran Premio Alto Lazio", the World Title of the R3 2000 cc Inboard Race is awarded.
Unfortunately, an annoying wind blows on the race course, putting the organizers and especially the pilots to the test, who are forced to carry out only three of the four scheduled heats. For Renato Molinari, three heats are more than enough; he triumphs clearly in all of them, distancing his opponents.
For Ballotta and Manfredini there is nothing to be done, their catamarans powered by BMWs occupy the second and third place in the final classification respectively, while the outgoing champion Ermes Prospero only takes the fifth final position, overtaken also by the surprising Frenchman Jacques Painvain who, with a racer very similar to his, is more than comfortable on the rough sea.
In sixth place is the Scandinavian driver Roland Paulsson who with his heavy catamaran is never in the running for the top positions, while the unlucky Giulio Crippa, due to the "acrobatic" setup of his Mercury-powered C & B and some mechanical problems, does not even finish a heat. The situation is different in the Italian championship of the R3 2000 cc, divided into six races: Milan-Idroscalo, Piacenza, Boretto, Lignano, San Nazzaro and Milan-Idroscalo again. After a slow start due above all to the competitiveness problems of his A.Molinari-Alfa Romeo catamaran, Manfredini, thanks to the better performance guaranteed by the new BMW engine, manages from the Boretto race onwards to recover points in the standings by overtaking his toughest opponent: the Veronese Ermes Prospero.
Manfredini wins the national title preceding Alcide Ballotta, Ermes Prospero and Giulio Crippa in the standings; it is worth noting the failure to participate in the championship of Renato Molinari.
The R3N 2000 cc, with only three-point boats competing, saw the brilliant success in the championship of the Pavia driver Adriano Muggiati, standard-bearer of the Migliavacca Corse team. This class, now orphaned by the last great racers such as Ruggeri, Petrobelli, Guido Caimi and Nicola Mora to name the most famous, is still alive thanks to the debut of drivers coming from the Fiat 128 promotional formula. An example above all Muggiati, an immediate winner.


The R°° class World Championship
After nine years, powerboating returns to Campione d'Italia, a small Italian enclave in Swiss territory. The assignment of the World Championship for the R°° Corsa Inboards is scheduled, the organization of which is handled by the Eugenio Molinari Team.
Unfortunately, the 50s and 60s are now far away (the true golden years for inboard sailing), when the beautiful racers, piloted by illustrious names such as Ezio Selva, Ermanno Marchisio, the Guidotti family, etc., competed, year after year, right on these waters, for the coveted world title which, as already mentioned, most of the time, was limited to an all-Italian or if we want a typically Lombard challenge.
In this edition of the World Championship, in addition to our pilots, who took to the water some with new catamarans, some on classic three-pointers not recently built, we also find the Swiss Ulrich and Hoffmann.
Joseph Ulrich, an old glory of the red-cross motorboating, in the past competed with the great protagonists of the KD and now, no longer so young, returns every year to our country and takes part, with his Livio Molinari - BPM (a 14-year-old "barcone", once owned by Renzo Faroppa) in some long-distance races such as the Giro and the Centomiglia del Lario and the Trofeo Due Ponti of Boretto Po.
The other Swiss Paul Hoffmann has another old "relic"; it is a very well-kept three-point Herzog-BPM, very similar to the legendary Italian hulls of the Timossi shipyard in Azzano and finished with an elegant and well-finished red-yellow livery.
The Italian team is strong with the presence of the reigning World Champion, namely the driver and constructor Eugenio Molinari who brings back to the race the same three-pointer powered by BPM with which he won the title the previous year in Syracuse and with which he recently won the Raid Pavia-Venezia.
In addition to Molinari, the Italian team is composed of Carlo Bodega, Giuseppe Todeschini, Giovanni Cima and Tullio Abbate. The latter, another excellent Larian builder, always a rival of the Eugenio and Angelo Molinari shipyards, debuts his latest creation, a sleek wooden catamaran 7.15 m long, 2.50 m wide and with a total weight of 1200 kg.
This racing car, powered by a supercharged Chevrolet 8-cylinder V-engine of 850 HP prepared by GBE of San Gabriel in California, is nothing more than the development of his famous four-point engine used by the same builder to establish the world speed record for diesel motorboats with 184 km/h.
On this occasion, Abbate installs a turbocharged engine on the hull, defining this technical choice as almost obligatory. In fact, this engine, unlike aspirated engines, whose running costs have now reached astronomical levels, guarantees lower costs; at equal power, with an estimated pressure of 1 / 1.3 atmospheres and turning at 1000 / 1300 rpm less than a particularly aggressive aspirated engine, it greatly limits the possible mechanical breakages. All this is tested in ten hours of tests carried out without encountering the slightest problem.
Carlo Bodega also shows up at the helm of a catamaran, in this case built by the Renato Molinari shipyard and powered by an 8200 cc Mercruiser Tornado with injection that unleashes almost 640 HP. However, this engine, which Bodega purchased from Giuseppe Colnaghi, is not brand new, rather it is rather "squeezed" and at the end of its career.
Finally, Giovanni Cima relies on his old yellow Timossi powered by an 8200 cc BPM Vulcano. This glorious racer turns out to be "third hand", as it was initially owned by Liborio Guidotti and later by Massimo Signorini who modified it and rated it for the Entrobordo Sport Unlimited (S°°) class.
The competition sees only Abbate and Todeschini fighting for the lead, especially by virtue of the potential of the vehicles exhibited.
Abbate, after the success obtained in the first heat in front of Todeschini, also repeats in the second. At the end of the race, however, a judge reports that the winner has hit a buoy during the second lap and so, according to the rules, he is downgraded, dropping him to fifth place, and giving Todeschini the advantage, who finds himself first.
Abbate also wins the third heat, always ahead of Todeschini, while in the fourth heat a minor problem with the ignition system stops the white catamaran from the Como manufacturer, allowing Todeschini to win the heat again.
In the sum of the points, Todeschini prevails, but Abbate lodges a complaint, using not only witnesses but also a film from Swiss television. Nevertheless, for the jury he is guilty of hitting the buoy. Therefore, amidst a thousand controversies and endless discussions, the R°° World Championship is won by Giuseppe Todeschini, a driver from Lecco who has recently taken part in the top inboard category, but with a very respectable past with the monohull hulls of the Turismo Veloce Nazionale classes (TVN1 -TVN2).
A further complaint to the Italian Motorboat Federation will be of no use: even for the Sole Judge, it is right that the title remains in the hands of Todeschini.

In the final ranking, after the two protagonists, we find in third place the former World Champion Eugenio Molinari followed by Bodega, Cima, Ulrich and Hoffmann, the latter never in competition with our pilots. In the "noise" of the controversies and mix-ups, which occurred in this race, I also point out the "incident" of the first heat in which the competitors, not realizing the starting signal, continue unaware to race well beyond the five minutes of launch required by the regulation. The only one to realize, even if late, that the start had taken place is Cima who launches and begins the heat, imitated shortly after by Ulrich.
The jury, availing itself of article 205.61 (UIM Regulation), stops the race for "force majeure" (??) rejecting Cima's complaint.


Franco Cantando wins the European Championship of the R1
class At the end of the 1981 season, on the waters of Rolasco di Casale, the race that awards the European title of the Entrobordo Corsa R1 1000 cc class takes place.
The Milanese Franco Cantando, not new to international victories, becomes champion in a competition that only includes the presence of Italian pilots.
The much hoped-for large participation of the British team remains unfulfilled. Unfortunately, the lack of comparison leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of the Italian pilots, who, given the good performances provided in this championship, would certainly have jeopardized the British leadership.
Franco Cantando wins in three of the four heats, leaving all his opponents in his wake, including, in particular, the only Gardin-Selva catamaran driven on this occasion by Maurizio Selva's uncle, Luigi.
The latter, after having won the first heat, suffers a downgrading in the second for hitting a buoy, thus leaving the way clear for the Milanese pilot.
Cantando achieved victory also thanks to its excellent preparer, Nestore Brazzi from Mantua who, for the Lucini and Frigerio hull, prepared a 920 cc Hillman engine increased to 1000 cc of Sunbeam derivation (to be clear, the one used in the 70s in the automotive field on Formula 3 cars).
In the final championship standings, behind the winner, we find in second place Gastone Dorigo, a Venetian driver with proven experience at the wheel of an Abbate-Fiat hull and third Luigi Selva whose catamaran, lacking reliability, precluded him from results more in keeping with his potential (problems already encountered during the Italian Championship trials by his nephews Maurizio and Lorenzo).
Sergio Gallotti (Abbate-Fiat) and the new Italian Champion Angelo Palazzi (Lucini and Frigerio-Hillman "Speed ​​Car") finish next.

Among the many interesting innovations noted in 1981, the one studied by the talented and ingenious preparer from Villastrada (MN), Nestore Brazzi, for the Celli hull of the pilot Giuseppe Mattioli, is causing a stir. On the old racer, which had long been a laboratory for ideas and experiments, such as the installation of a showy stern spoiler, Brazzi decides to replace the glorious 6-cylinder in-line Alla Romeo 2500 engine with two engines in series, also Alfa Romeo, but of 2000 cc each.
The idea, even if with very different purposes, is to imitate, almost thirty years later, the legendary twin-engine "Laura 3" with which Mario Verga attempted to beat the absolute speed record. In fact, the same merits and defects are highlighted, namely great efficiency on straights and a precarious balance in setting up turns. The hull, given its displacement of 4000 cc, is rated in the R5 class (up to 5000 cc) and used only in long-distance races such as the Raid Pavia-Venezia and the Due Ponti di Boretto which remain the most important competitions in this case and the only testing ground for technical innovations. Unfortunately, due to several retirements, Giuseppe Mattioli and subsequently other pilots such as Franco Cantando, Franco Bonazzi and Angelo Perelli (the last buyer), are unable to achieve significant results with this fragile and sophisticated vessel.


The Raid Pavia-Venezia
Eugenio Molinari, after many attempts, manages to win the 41st edition of the Raid Pavia-Venezia, using a time of 2h 34' 30" on the 383 km of the race, at a not amazing average, considering that he uses his tried and tested three-point BPM 8000 cc of the Entrobordo Sport S°°, of 148.737 Km/h. Unlucky Antonio Petrobelli who, after having recorded the best performance in the first part of the Raid (Pavia-Isola Serafini sector) is the victim of a mechanical failure that forces him to abandon the race.
Worth mentioning is the good performance of Giulio Ricci who with his Lucini and Frigerio-Alfa Romeo 2000 cc racer (belonging to Nicola Mora) wins, in addition to the class victory and the third place overall in the final ranking, also the Coppa d'Oro Theo Rossi di Montelera Trophy for having covered the stretch Pontelagoscuro-Voltagrimana at a speed of 152.247 Km/h.
In a Raid where we are mainly talking about rather low averages, I feel it is right to remember the good outcome of the diesel hulls, all built by FB Marine Design of the engineer Fabio Buzzi and all arrived at the final finish line in Malamocco without any particular problems.
Buzzi, first in the category in 3h 22' 18", aboard a three-pointer in Kevlar and carbon fibres powered by VM, Gian Franco Secoli (Nanni Diesel) and Eugenio Rizzi (Mercedes) who took thirteenth place overall and the Balsamo Trophy.


The other cross-country races
Antonio Petrobelli makes up for his unfortunate participation in the Raid by winning the important Trofeo Due Ponti in Boretto Po, now in its 13th edition. It is a victory with a special flavour, because with his Celli-BPM R°° class racer he manages to beat the powerful Molinari-Mercruiser catamaran of Todeschini who a week later will win (as already mentioned) the World Title in the category in Campione d'Italia and then also the Centomiglia del Lario after a heated duel with Carlo Bodega. After the Raid, Eugenio Molinari confirms himself for the third consecutive time (the sixth since the competition has existed) as winner of the Giro del Lario in Bellagio, dominating from the start in front of a large group of participants and obtaining the high average of over 163 km/h which, although not representing the new record of the competition, is still a performance of considerable importance. Behind Molinari is the Swiss Paul Hoffmann.