Mystery

This photo is a bit of a mystery, identified as a race in Ganzirri (Messina). There was a Circuito Laghi di Ganzirri during the late 1950s to early '60s. It was briefly reopened in some form in 1971, but a spate of racing fatalities closed it permanently. Obviously if this is Laghi di Ganzirri it could only be 1971.

Some background

This car is based on the Fiat 500F chassis, which differed from earlier Fiat 500 models with its conventional non-suicide doors. The Abarth 695 differed from a standard Fiat not only in displacement (~700cc versus 500cc), but in numerous other details. Available options included wider fenders, disc brakes, 10" Campagnolo wheels and a five speed gearbox.

The original registration date of this car was May 2, 1968. The registration reflects the fuel type (benzina), bore and stroke (76mm/76mm), total displacement (689,5cc), and a four speed gearbox. Abarth advertised 695 output as 38 CV.

The car was actively raced between 1968 and 1974, after which the 700cc class more or less ceased to exist. This racing history is partially documented in the Elvio Deganello - Renato Donati book Abarth 595/695:

3° Coppa Val d'Anapo-Sortino. Sortino, 6 Ottobre 1968
12° Coppa Belmonte Città di Avola. Avola, 23 Marzo 1969
XIII Coppa Monti Iblei. Ragusa, 20 Luglio 1969
XV Trapani-Monte Erice. Trapani, 10 Agosto 1969
2° Salita Cefalù-Gibilmanna. Cefalù, 31 Agosto 1969
IV Val d'Anapo-Sortino. Siracusa, 12 Ottobre 1969
28° Corsa del Monte Pellegrino. Palermo, 14 Giugno 1970
XIV Coppa Monti Iblei. Ragusa, 6 Settembre 1970
XVII Coppa Nissena. Caltanissetta, 13 Settembre 1970
Corsa dell'Etna. Catania, 20 Settembre 1970
V Coppa Val d'Anapo-Sortino. Sortino, 4 Ottobre 1970
XV Coppa Monti Iblei. Ragusa, 5 Settembre 1971
XVIII Coppa Nissena. Caltanissetta, 26 Settembre 1971
30° Corsa del Monte Pellegrino. Palermo, 25 Giugno 1972
Trofeo Scuderia Etna. Pergusa, 27 Agosto 1972
XXIII Catania-Etna. Catania, 17 Settembre 1972
XIX Coppa Nissena. Caltanissetta, 24 Settembre 1972
VII Val d'Anapo-Sortino. Siracusa, 1 Ottobre 1972
Nicastro-Acquaviva. Catanzaro, 29 Aprile 1973
3° Trofeo Scuderia Etna. Pergusa, 14 Luglio 1974
XXV Corsa dell'Etna. Pergusa 15 Settembre 1974

A long time coming

I've been planning to do this for a while, keeping a record of the restoration and race prep of my 1968 Abarth 695, but until now haven't made the time. I hope that having finally done something, even something as meager as posting a blog, will motivate me to:

a) begin some long overdue work on the car

and

b) keep track of it here, mostly for my own future reference