September 9, 2023: The F1 driver Riccardo Patrese visited the paddock of the Alfa Revival Cup, closely following his friend Emilio Petrone, one of the protagonists of the championship by Canossa, at the wheel of a beautiful GTAm.
Patrese, as a great enthusiast and former driver of the Biscione, showed great interest and told us that his passion for the Alfa Romeo brand is not casual.
“I have always been an Alfista because my brother was an engineer in Alfa Romeo and that always allowed me to have the latest news. In 1977, the year of my debut in F1, I was invited to test the 33 on the track of Balocco. That was a very nice car, it had won the world championship and it had the official colors, sponsored by Fernet Branca. It was a good feeling to drive it, as a young man in my first year of F1.
In 1984 and 85 I became an Alfa Romeo driver in F1, but those were difficult years. Then, in 1988, I raced in the Supeturism with the 75, along with Nannini and Larini, in the Italian Championship and I won a race, in Magione.
Also in 1988, with the Alfa 75 IMSA, I raced and won the Giro d’Italia with Miki Biasion. It was difficult to drive that turbo-engine car on the track, but it was also very pleasant and fast. Undoubtedly, for Miki the task was even more difficult because he had to drive it on the dirt”.
Does seeing your friend Emilio race in the Alfa Revival Cup bring out special emotions?
“Emilio is a friend and seeing these cars takes me back to when I was a kid reading Auto Italiana to follow the karts. On those same pages they talked about the races of the Alfa GTAms, with which drivers such as Merzario and De Adamich raced. To watch these cars racing today, at the Alfa Revival Cup, gives me some good emotions. Moreover, they explained to me that these cars in the race today are built following a modern footprint that respects current safety standards”.
Would you be curious in getting behind the wheel for a test?
“If I got proposed to test a GTAm? I would love to, if they invited me I would not back down and I would drive it very gladly”.
