Italian legend Arturo Merzario – who is utterly synonymous with the many racing successes of Alfa Romeo’s 33 sportscar – will drive the famous winning machine at Motor Legend Festival this weekend when he gets into the cockpit of an example from the official ‘Museo Storico’ collection that’s being brought to the event.
Mezario in fact will also be an official “patron” of the Motor Legend Festival 2018, which takes place at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola from 20-22 April.
The driver from Civenna will join Riccardo Patrese and Giacomo Agostini as spokesperson for this unique event which, in addition to the first FIA Masters Historic Championship races reserved for F1 single-seaters, prototype sports cars, GT and vintage touring cars, will include special events involving all disciplines of two- and four-wheel motor sports.
Merzario’s presence as a spokesman is no coincidence: the Italian driver has a very close relationship with Imola. In 1971 it was he who claimed the first victory of the Ferrari 512 M which dominated the 300 km race, then valid for the Interseries championship, while the following year he won the 500 km with the Ferrari 312 PB, the car which that season triumphed in the Prototype World Championship.
His participation in Motor Legend Festival will be active: he will lower himself into the cockpit of one of the Alfa Romeo 33s of the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo in Arese.
It certainly won't be the first time he's got back into the famous car, now 75 years old, Merzario is still an active racing driver in Italian historic and endurance championships and over the last decade has driven the 33TT12 up the 'Hill' at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on several occasions amongst other racecars.
The Alfa Romeo 33 is a racing sportscar Merzario enjoyed huge success with. In 1975 he helped Alfa Romeo claim the World Sportscar Championship title by winning four of the nine races (for three of the victories he was partnered by Jacques Laffite while for the other Jochen Mass shared the cockpit) in the Willi Kauhsen-entered 33TT12.
The same year Merzario partnered local Sicilian legend Nino Vaccarella to Targa Florio victory in an Autodelta-run 33TT12.
Two years later, this time in the Autodelta entered 33SC12, Merzario won four of the eight races that comprised the 1977 World Sportscar Championship to help Alfa Romeo seal its second manufacturers title in three years. It was a dominant year for the 33SC12 as the Autodelta team won all eight races that comprised the calendar.
The Motor Legend Festival will also host an event reserved for Alfa Romeo’s 33, with the racecars set to parade down the track.
