Auto Italia 2022
Ken Willimott
Auto Italia in Canberra is over for another year and there has been lots of Maserati involvement during the event.
It all started with a drive down to Canberra on Saturday April 2nd. A group of about 8 Maserati's, both old and new, met at Camden Valley Inn for brunch before heading off just after midday. It was a fun trip with a lot of jostling and challenging places, the Maserati engines roaring as we headed down the highway. Closer to Canberra the group dispersed to their respective accommodation to prepare for the night's activities.
Some had tickets to the Greek Exhibition at the National Museum whilst others came along to the museum for the cocktails immediately afterwards. The Cocktail Party and Dinner events at the National Museum of Australia, were proudly sponsored by Maserati Australia. Club members played a part in organising things in the evening, some manning the doors and helping with setup. Todd took on a comparing role throughout the night.
With the drinks flowing there were plenty of opportunities to catch up with Maserati friends and other Italian car owners, old and new and talk about our Italian vehicles, past, present and future. This was helped by a beautiful MC20 on display in the dining room, provided by the Sydney Maserati dealership. During dinner a talk by Spencer Martin, who has raced numerous vehicles as far back as the 1960's, eventually driving for Bob Jane's racing team, was complemented by a slide show of his racing history. After dinner, a few people kicked on for coffees or drinks, luckily for all of us daylight saving ended and we all got an extra hour to sleep-in in the morning.
The weather on the big day turned out to be kind, with the rain holding off and the sun showing up, along with hundreds of beautifully presented pieces of Italian motoring history. The Maserati club scored pride of place out on the oval and with 38 Maserati vehicles registered, there was a great cross-section of vehicles to admire. The club members were active on the day providing many of the judges for scoring numerous of the other marques under the leadership of Todd, who headed up the judging panel. Congratulations to Peter, Richard and Walter who took out places for the top three Maserati's on the day. The club was also active in the fashion stakes with 3 of the 8 finalists in the Auto Italia Best Dressed Competition coming from our Maserati Club.
With the day done some members returned home, some went onto other destinations and some stayed on for another night to catch up and wind down. Thanks to all the people from the Auto Italia organisation and from our own club who played a part in making this such a successful event. I can't wait for next year and a chance to line up for another shot at one of the prizes!
