Martini Racing turns 50 in 2018 and will be celebrating this important anniversary with the public at Imola’s MotorLegendFestival, taking place from 20 to 22 April, offering visitors the opportunity to retrace the history of a brand that still symbolises racing excellence today.
For this reason, Martini&Rossi will exhibit a series of rare cars that have tied countless victories and so many titles to the unmistakeable red, sky blue and blue logo.
Here below is a list of some of the Martini Racing jewels that will be on show.
FORMULA 1
Brabham Martini BT44-Cosworth: a star of the world championship in 1974 and 1975, in its B version, it was driven by Carlos Reutemann and Carlos Pace. This single-seater served as a base for the futuristic solutions conceived by its designer, the then young Gordon Murray
Brabham Martini BT45-Alfa Romeo: the car competed in the 1976 Formula 1 championship. It was driven by Carlos Reutemann, Carlos Pace, John Watson and Hans Joackhim von Stuck Junior. It took concepts from the BT44 and adapted them to the size and characteristics of the Alfa Romeo 12-cylinder boxer engine.
Lotus Martini 80-Cosworth: the single-seater successor to the 79 model that won the title in 1978 with Mario Andretti. The Italo-American driver used it in three Grand Prix in 1979.
Williams Martini FW38-Mercedes: a star of the 2016 championship, it was driven by Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.
SPORT AND PROTOTYPES
Porsche Martini 917 K: a masterpiece of the Group 5 Sport cars that appeared in the world sports series as of 1969, the 917 K stood out for its cut off tail (K stands for Kurzheck, or short tail) and for its heightened aerodynamics. It mounted a 12-cylinder boxer engine that, over the course of the years, increased from its original 4.5 litres to 5.0 litres. It competed under this guise from 1970 to 1971, after which Group 5 cars were replaced by 3-litre prototypes.
Lancia Martini Beta Montercarlo Turbo: one of the cars that has written Lancia speed racing history. The official Martini Racing examples won the 1981 manufacturers’ title, triumphing both in their own division and overall. The cars were driven by Riccardo Patrese, Piercarlo Ghinzani, Walter Rohr, Michele Alboreto, Eddie Cheever, Hans Heyer and a very young Emanuele Pirro who made his Le Mans 24 Hours debut with this very model, a race he would go on to win five times.
Lancia Martini LC1: a revolutionary sports prototype, created in response to the new 1982 regulation, it had a very brief racing career as the following year brought yet another new regulation. The LCI, created as the Beta Montecarlo in collaboration with Dallara, is still technically and aerodynamically valid even now. It just missed out on the Sport riders’ title with Riccardo Patrese at the wheel.
Lancia Martini LC2: the Group C prototype that took part in the 1983 and 1986 World Endurance Championship with Martini Racing colours. Equipped with a Ferrari-derived V8 twin-turbo engine, it was probably the most beautiful and refined Group C car. Created, like the previous cars, in collaboration with Dallara, it was driven by many important drivers such as Riccardo Patrese, Michele Alboreto, Teo Fabi, Alessandro Nannini, Mauro Baldi, Bob Wollek, Paolo Barilla and Piercarlo Ghinzani. Very fast, it was nevertheless unable to beat its Porsche 956 and Porsche 962 rivals due to reliability issues.
DTM
Alfa Romeo Martini 155: the queen of the DTM, it is one of the Italian manufacturer’s most successful cars of all time. It clocked up 38 wins over 89 races, scoring 19 pole positions and 42 fastest laps. In 1993, it took the title in this very difficult championship, one that only German manufacturers had won up until that point. Nicola Larini was at the wheel.
RALLY
Lancia Martini 037: the queen of the rallying world, it was the successor to the Stratos and one of the most elegant race cars ever built. It won the 1983 world rally championship and was the last rear-wheel drive car to win a title in this specialism.
Lancia Martini Delta S4: the ultimate Group B, very fast, powerful and monstrous in its features. Of the 12 world races it ran, it scored five wins and 15 podiums. It made its debut at the 1985 RAC, immediately scoring the double with Toivonen-Wilson and Alen-Kivimaki. The fatal accident involving Toivonen-Cresto at the 1986 Tour de Corse weighed heavily on the following season, in which Markku Alen won the world riders’ title, later taken away from him after the Federation accepted an appeal made by Peugeot, the cars of which had been excluded from the Sanremo rally due to technical irregularities. The Delta S4, like the other Group B cars, ended its sporting career that year when the technical regulations were changed, following a proposal for slower rally cars.
Lancia Martini Delta: in its various versions, this car won the riders’ world rally championship in 1988 and 1989 with Miki Biasion and in 1987 and 1991 with Juha Kankkunen, meaning that Lancia won six consecutive manufacturers’ world titles.
