We made it! We left off last year with hope that the Magione Superbattle would become an annual event, attracting time attack enthusiasts from all over Italy and Europe. Not only did we succeed, this year we made the event twice as big. Two full days of track action with all the excitement that only Japanese time attack events can provide.
For those who missed last year’s event recap on Speedhunters, let us give you a bit of a backstory. The idea for this event started many years ago during a trip to Japan – specifically, a day out at Tsukuba Circuit for the now defunct Battle Evome.
The atmosphere at Tsukuba was unlike anything we had ever experienced before. The people, the quality of the cars, and the iconic location itself was all amazing and not something you could ever forget. Anyone who has attended a major time attack event in Japan will surely understand what we are talking about.
Our idea was to bring a similar event to Italy, and the choice of circuit fell on Autodromo dell’Umbria, Umberto Mario Borzacchini – better known as Magione Racetrack. Located in the quiet, green region of Umbria, this circuit is far away from the iconic Italian tracks, but its layout and length (2.50km/1.55mi) is very similar to Tsukuba TC2000, making it perfect for time attack.
The first Magione Superbattle event last year was contested over the course of a single day, but this year we decided to step things up. The 2023 event was run over two days, with free practice day on Saturday and the Superbattle on Sunday. The upside of this was more track time for those who travelled from afar (we had competitors from Portugal and Cyprus as an example).
We doubled the attendance and brought an extreme variety of cars to the track. Not only that, we also introduced a kei-style car class – inevitably Europeanized for minicars – to give more people an opportunity to compete in the Superbattle.
It didn’t take long on Saturday for some respectable times lap times to be laid down, something helped by the low ambient temperature and drying asphalt. The lap times set on the practice day didn’t count for Sunday’s Superbattle, but were included in the circuit’s lap time ranking list, which has been kept current since 2017 when the track was resurfaced. The 50 fastest lap ranking follows the one Option magazine keeps for Tsukuba Circuit, and includes category records.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t great for Sunday. The drivers had to fight the rain and cold, but that just pushed them to set the very best times they could in the wet. On average, lap times were five seconds slower than in the dry, which I think highlights the skill of the drivers, especially those whose cars don’t have ABS or electronic driving aids.
In the coming years, we will do everything possible to keep this dream alive. That is, returning annually to the track we like to call the ‘Italian Tsukuba’, where a great variety of cars, driven by private individuals, racing for pure fun or to represent a workshop, come together and enjoy time attack racing in between a pasta dish and an arrosticino (skewered grilled meat) or two.
We’re dedicated to making the Magione Superbattle the reference time attack event in Italy. There are so many people we have to thank, both locally and from overseas, who also want to see the Superbattle succeed. Special thanks to Raceproject, Superlap (Cyprus), 365 Shine, Mucho Carbon, Tsunamimotorengigneering, LAB, JP Garage, BARP, and AF Preparazioni.
Words by Alessio Cavaletti
Instagram: rsidecava
& Alessio Papini
Instagram: alessio_papini
Photography by Luigi Vetuschi
Instagram: luigivetuschi_ph
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