June 28 – The 5th edition of the historic cars Beijing-Paris race arrived last night, June 27, in Gstaad in Switzerland, thus completing the 27th stop of the total 29. The race, which started back in May 28 from the Chinese capital, saw crews cross 8 countries: China, Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland and France, tomorrow. To complete the 12,250 km race, two stops remain: the Gstaad – Troyes, 453 km largely in French territory, and the Troyes – Paris that will bring, after another 190 km, the crews at Place Vendome: one of the most prestigious locations of the French capital, which will be the showcase to the surviving cars. Italy is represented by one crew and one Italian production car, the Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1300 number 57 that Gianmaria Aghem and Piergiovanni Fiorio-Trono were able to drive egregiously, bringing them in 8th place in the 1942-1975 production year category, the most numerous category, and in 5th place in the below 2 liters engine capacity category. “Speaking of displacement – reads a note from the historical Italian Automotoclub – the Fulvietta is a race car with a smaller engine and therefore it was able to defend itself on some tracks, but not to win, because many more HP would have been necessary. While not completely inexperienced, our drivers had never participated in a competition so long that put a strain on their physical performance as well (with only 4 days of rest out of 31 that were overall dedicated to maintenance and engine checks for the Lancia). The car behaved very well, with only a puncture delaying the economy of the race, as other interventions were normal routine replacement of worn parts, given the sometimes prohibitive conditions of the trail.” The preparation was carried out by Savona technicians Italo Barbieri and Roberto Ratto, who literally “invented” solutions tailored to the specific conditions of the race. The Fulvia was provided with a whole range of spare parts: two spare wheels, dual tank, twin batteries, navigation tools… Aghem claimed that, “with so many spares, it weighs like a truck.”
