Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, entrepreneur and former president of Ferrari, has received the prestigious Nino Vaccarella Award. This recognition was established by ACI Sport Sicilia delegate Daniele Settimo and Automobile Club d’Italia President Angelo Sticchi Damiani.
The two-day event dedicated to the Champions of Motorsport and Karting 2023, organized by the Automobile Club d’Italia, kicked off on Friday afternoon at the Palacongressi in Taormina. The ceremony was rich in charm and emotions, featuring the stars of four-wheel disciplines under ACI Sport.
The day’s program was notably intense due to the large number of winners in Sicily’s six Championships. The venue, a filled auditorium in the enchanting theater of Taormina, added value to an event that, according to the precise will of the Automobile Club d’Italia, promotes the beauty of the territory and, of course, the passion for motorsport.
“We have concluded an important year full of great achievements, and tonight we will celebrate some of them. Tonight, there are two important figures for Italian motorsport, a beautiful history when Ferrari was winning and a winning Ferrari of today, certainly different but still winning,” said engineer Angelo Sticchi Damiani.
“Two parallel stories that we are pleased to reward: one, an endless story like that of Ninni Vaccarella and the one that has just begun with the return to victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the house of Maranello. This award combines these intersecting stories, and I think it’s nice to have brought together these stories that have brought so much honor to our nation.”
The highlight of the afternoon, attended by figures like Mayor of Taormina Cateno De Luca and Mayor of Messina Federico Basile, was the presentation of the “Nino Vaccarella” Award by Giovanni, son of the unforgettable Dean Volante, along with Angelo Sticchi Damiani and Daniele Settimo, to lawyer Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. He received the iconic work, destined for excellence in motorsport, as in the two previous editions.
“I am particularly pleased to receive this award because it is dedicated to a wonderful person, a man who has given so much to Ferrari, that is Nino Vaccarella,” commented Luca di Montezemolo. “With him, we often joked on the phone; I would ask him, for example, if he was stronger than Merzario, but I knew that Vaccarella was the strongest. I am honored to receive this recognition also because I have wonderful memories of this beautiful city, one of the most beautiful in the world. Not everyone knows that at 18, after graduating from the Classical Lyceum, I took my Vespa and came to Sicily to tour it all, and I remember a lot from every place.”
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“In life, as in sports, there are champions and there are extraordinary ones; one of them is Michael Schumacher. I could spend hours telling anecdotes. Also, anecdotes about Sicily. When we celebrated the 50 years of Ferrari in Sicily, I told him that we would go for a few laps at the Pergusa Circuit. We agreed with Jean Todt that we would do a few laps, at most 8, because we were sure we wouldn’t find a large audience. Instead, that event was incredible, and from the planned 8 laps, Schumi did 22, enjoying himself and entertaining the audience. Thanks again to you, thanks Sicily, and thanks Taormina. I hope to return soon.”
ACI Sport Sicilia delegate Daniele Settimo added: “I thank lawyer Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, ACI President Angelo Sticchi Damiani, and Mayor of Taormina Cateno De Luca for making this splendid structure available to us.”
“I also thank Scuderia Ferrari AF Corse, Antonello Coletta, and Antonio Giovinazzi, who, despite their numerous commitments, did not want to miss this celebration where we are honoring our champions. I hope for our athletes as many and further successes in the 2024 season.”
The Vaccarella Award was also presented to Ferrari in recognition of the success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the AF Corse team principal Antonello Colletta’s crew, composed of the trio Pier Guidi, Giovinazzi, and Calado.
“Le Mans is the race all drivers would like to win. The result of this year makes us super proud thanks to an excellent team and a young team. We have a very challenging championship, and we expect to always bring Ferrari and Italy to the fore in the world,” said Antonio Giovinazzi.
The young Sicilian driver Gabriele Minì received the Sicilian Excellence in the World Award for his successes in Formula 3. He mentioned the fruitful test in Bahrain, the venue for the first and only Formula 3 pre-season test.
Returning to compete with the Prema colors, the team with which he won the Italian F4 title in 2020, the Palermo native from Marineo began the wet work that will lead him, in just three weeks, to compete in the 2024 world championship in the colors of the Italian team.
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