Julie Tonelli at the last Italian staging of the Margutti Trophy

Despite the exceptionally gloomy weather over Parma, last weekend, the 19th edition of Trofeo Internazionale Andrea Margutti assumed a special importance, due to the fact that it was the last edition in Parma kartdrome.

As during the Winter Cup, three weeks ago, there was a changeover between the pilots who had competed with Julie and the newcomers who now hold high her banner, but are too young to know her.

The Margutti Trophy was created about 20 years ago to pay homage to and keep alive the memory of young Andrea, a karting pilot who had competed with Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, and Danilo Rossi, among others. This trophy is inextricably linked to Parma kartdrome, a circuit that quickly enabled it to become an international sporting event, a must at season debut.

Real motor racing stars were among the protagonists of this unique race: Fisichella and Trulli, of course, but also Robert Kubica, Vitantonio Liuzzi, not to mention all those who took part in the event without winning.

At the end of the year, the closing down of this circuit will mark the end of an era, but also the beginning of a new one. The emotion was palpable when pilots were introduced, while the history of the Trophy was being recalled. However, the Margutti Trophy will not disappear. Mrs. Patrizia Margutti, Andrea’s mother, officially announced that next year the 20th Trofeo Margutti will be organised in Valencia (Spain), in a brand new karting circuit in the Spanish city. The Margutti family deserves our utmost respect for the character and dynamism it has shown in shaping a new future for Andrea’s trophy.

In this kind of international races, Julie’s banner is now held high by pilots coming from all over the world: Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Great Britain, Portugal, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Czech Republic, etc. Race veterans like Armand Convers, Florian Alfano, Davide Forè, Manuel Renaudie, Roberto Muriglio who competed with Julie, will pass on the baton to a new generation of pilots.

• In KF3, young Finnish prodigy Aaro Vainio, a newcomer in Italian races, repeated his winning performance at the Winter Cup and came very close to the final victory at Margutti Trophy. In the same team Maranello, Henri Rajala, a slightly more experience Nordic pilot, was 7th in his semi- final and 16th overall, moving up from the last position after the official time qualifying: a brilliant performance!
• A follower of Julie Tonelli’s, Michelle Gatting, triumphed in Parma: 2nd in the rain, 2nd in the semi-final, Michelle obtained an excellent 4th place in the final.
• Max Goff competed for the first time on his new Topkart chassis, after recently abandoning the Maranello. 12th after the qualifying, well placed during the heats, Max didn’t qualify due to a withdrawal during a semi-final. In the same team, Francisco Abreu, a Portuguese pilot, made his debut at an international competition and succeeded in qualifying for the final.
• Finally, another Portuguese pilot, David Da Luz started with a good 12th final position that testifies his fast progress.
• Roberto Muriglio, a pilot who competes almost exclusively in Italy, had the chance to meet Julie on the Parma circuit. It is not surprising that since then he has been holding high the banner of Julie’s pink butterflies. In KF2, he completely reversed the bad situation he was in after the official time qualifyings and conquered the 15th position in the final.
• The PCR clan had rather poor luck. Jorge Pescador gave up during the semi-final. Despite a good start, Marco Moretti didn’t qualify for the final. Alex Fontana, 9th after the official time qualifying, was the only one who could compete with the best pilots, at least until his kart had mechanical troubles. Anyway, he fought to the very end and conquered the 14th place.

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