The Soulful Driver’s Newsletter 11 aprile 2020 THE SOULFUL DRIVER

Photo and Words by Tommaso Bertotti

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he last mist from the night floats around the rocky mountainsides in Val , T Graubünden canton, . It's six o'clock in the morning, one more hour and the Hauptstrasse 29 will be closed to regular traffic. I drink a sip of coffee while from the cockpit still warm I watch the sky brightening up, then I review the race course and I check the settings of the D800 one last time. The sun has finally illuminated the first peaks as I walk towards La Rösa, a small settlement on the way to .

Preparations for what is going to start are not finished yet: Organization's cars are unloading equipment and photographers, men in work suits are setting up placards and inflatables where the starting line of very particular hillclimbing event will be. At 7.00 AM a local police patrol finally arrives and stop the traffic. Suddenly there is an almost unreal silence. Everything is ready, everyone is waiting.

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Then, a distant echo: the roar of an old fashioned engine that is coming alive, somewhere a few hundred meters above. The Bernina Gran Turismo 2019 has officially begun.

The initial roar became a chorus, which increases in volume moment by moment. It's a matter of a few minutes, suddenly a color spot far away reveals a car parade proceeding in a single line moving from the Bernina Pass toward us. Indistinguishable, the cars advance, a slow but unstoppable noisy procession. Eventually shapes delineate and I begin to recognize familiar forms. Ferrari 250GT Drogo "Bread-van", GT40 MkIII. A parade of Alfa Romeo and BMW. Rally legends such as Stratos Alitalia and Audi Sport Quattro. The always welcome presence of the 911s, accompanied by a squadron of 356s, other historical models in scattered order. A jubilation of vintage cars finally reaches La Rösa, slows down and makes a u-turn, to line up waiting for the start of the race.

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Drivers switch-off the engines and get out of the cars, some of them discussing with their mechanics about some last-minute adjustment, others checkin personally under the hood. They laugh and joke with each other, ready to face the climb. All of them driven by the same passion, with the intention of honoring these magnificent mechanical animals, saved from the prisons of financial speculation, which would have lock them in a garage to "preserve value".

The sun finally breaks through the last ridges and fully irradiates the valley. It's the signal. Engines are restarted, this time it is not a distant echo but a mighty noise that makes the stomach vibrate: a child in front of me covers his ears, looking at his father with the amazed eyes of happiness for this colorful and tumultuous show. Pilots jump in their narrow and sometimes pretty basic cockpits. They lower the visor, the eyes are focused. Ready…Steady…Go.

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One after another the cars sprint on the asphalt still a bit wet, they take the first corners with cold tyres, balancing like acrobats on the thin wire of grip. The liveries get blurred by speed, while the drivers almost touch walls and guard-rails at the side of the road. Gradually the group breaks up, the waiting line fades out. The calm returns in the valley, and I relax enjoying the warm sun of this alpine afternoon, with the mind already at the second round of races, tomorrow.

It seems impossible, but for those who knows the mountain it's not a surprise. Yesterday was a summer day, today weather is rainy: clouds will not ease the grip, the asphalt will not dry, let alone warming up. Nevertheless, the previous day's script repeats. The echo, the parade, the starting grid row. Someone is missing: maybe mechanical issues, maybe little familiarity with wet conditions. Fair enough, this is not the race of life, we are not writing history pages of Motorsport.

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Time flies, despite the not-so-friendly weather. Race eventually ends and the all the racing circus heads to Poschiavo for the closure ceremony. I get in my car too, and I follow some of them in the descent, already thinking with pride about the little treasure contained in the memory cards.

See you next year, Bernina Gran Turismo. the Solful Drive

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