GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
Commentary by Vladimir Pajevic
Senior Heritage Editor
Which of two Fleron cars actually won the 1967 Fléron race?
Among the clippings from old car magazines, I found the page, chosen who knows why and when, with the photograph of Ing. Carlo Chiti, Giovanni Manfredini and Giuliano Luppi observing a splendid 33.2 car.
The text, an interview with Giuliano Luppi, was filled with passionate praise to the 'firstborn' of the whole lineage of the 33, the "Periscopica" series. In it's debut, it won the 1967 Freron race, forever remembered as the first step of a great return to the world's racetracks for the Milanese brand.
Luppi confirmed that chassis AR750.33.001... the 'eldest daughter' of the Autodelta T-33 series family... won that very first victory and the laurel wreath at Fléron, a suburb of Liège in Belgium.
He wrote this resolute affirmation with firmness and with an abundance of details. His historical text recalls...however another opposite opinion pronounced with similar fervor from the pages of a recently published book...printed many decades later.
In that book two authors are boasting about their long visit to the archive of the Centro Documentazione Alfa Romeo where they proudly rewrote the history of the 33/2.
According to their research based on the invoices and written notes made by Autodelta people, long-sought chassis numbers finally emerged from the mists of uncertain data and confirmed the true story of the cars adorned with the green four-leaf clover on the sides.
But which car really won the race in the gray surroundings of the Liège hinterland on that cold morning of March 12, 1967?
Is it possible that the chassis expert Giuliano Luppi... who knew every Autodelta-built car better than anyone else... could be so grossly mistaken about the actual idenity of the winning car?
The name of the driver and dominator of the race, Teodoro "Dorino" Zeccoli, who replaced the indisposed Andrea de Adamich, was undoubtedly the true protagonist of that first victory on the long road to the World Championship won years later after hard battles in the circuits.
Is this the same car he triumphed with back on March 12, 1967...the subject of two conflicting opinions?
At AutodeltaGoldenYears.com it has been our duty to undertake research in an attempt to solve the mystery, while respecting good sense... with the hope of finding the right connection and put an “end” to this controversy forever.
Ed McDonough, a refined connoisseur of Alfa Romeo racing mysteries and noted Alfa Romeo authority, wrote in one of his texts:
“Explaining the evolution of Alfa Romeo racing models is, at best, challenging and most of the time exasperating. After about 25 years of working on it, I almost succeeded, but I never trust my memory without referring to the right experts. "
What better indication is there than seeking the answer at the source? With that thought in mind I consulted the architect Marco Cajani, an expert on the Alfa Romeo cars, as well as the owner and keeper of the AR750.33.001, the mythical car from our query.
In Seregno, among the many jewels from Cajani’s collection, lies a figure in plain sight... the “Periscopica”, the “Fléron type”... lying lazily with its impalpable and elusive, almost divine charm.
Marco is a friendly eternal man, an excellent driver and tireless conversationalist on Alfa Romeo issues, with an immense knowledge. When I explained to him the motive for my visit, he thought for a while then with a disarming smile told me:
"You are a painter. If one day some art critics, as good and well-known as you want, would attribute one of your works with a certificate to some other author, and the owner of that painting, prompted by some doubt of them, came to ask your opinion, which of the judgments expressed would be the right and accepted one?"
The author's paintings, when doubts are raised about their originality, are authenticated by the artist, if he/she is still alive ... the 001 has the signature of those who handled and used it.
Marco Cajani continued to tell the story of his acquisition of the Fleron car:
"I personally went through the Alfa Romeo labyrinth touching everything with my hand, and I learned everything in that world must be challended and proven."
"When I encountered a evidentuary document put forth by Lino Cogliandro (the man in charge of Communications at Alfa Romeo, S.p.A.), I learned that AR750.33.001 had been lying under a tarp in the courtyard in Settimo Milanese. As a reference, I was immediately told the car had been the winner of the Fleron race in Belgium, as well as being the very first 33/2 ever produced".
"It was intact and only the hood and rear tail section were missing. It took patience and a lot of diplomacy to buy it, but in the end it came. I received it dismembered – this modality of giving the cars was a habit of the Company at that time – and all the numbers and pieces were right, but the restoration took time."
"Upon the advice of Ing. Carlo Chiti, I decided to keep the original configuration with single ignition, and the restoration of the engine was entrusted to Carlo Facetti, while the body panels are the work by Giovanni Giordanengo, who had the authentic wooden forms made by Raineri."
