Faggioli wins 53rd Castellana hillclimb in Italian mountain championship finale

The 53rd edition of the Cronoscalata della Castellana, held on 27 September near Orvieto, concluded the Italian Mountain Velocity Championship with a dominant performance by Simone Faggioli. The Florentine driver, competing in a Nova Proto Np01 Zytek, won both race runs with a combined time of 5'35"76 (2'47"90 in run one; 2'47"86 in run two), securing his sixth victory at the event and his fifth consecutive national title. The hillclimb attracted 197 competitors across multiple categories and was broadcast live on ACI Sport TV social channels, with a delayed transmission scheduled for 28 September on Sky Italia (channel 228) and TvSat (channel 52).

The 6.19-kilometre course on the SS79 from San Giorgio to Colonnetta di Prodo proved decisive for the championship contenders. Stefano Di Fulvio, the Abruzzese vice-champion, finished second in a turbocharged Np01, 3.34 seconds adrift, while Samuele Cassibba of Comiso, Sicily, completed the podium in a Nova Proto Np01 Synergy, 8.15 seconds back. Luigi Fazzino of Melilli claimed fourth place overall with an Osella Pa30 Zytek, narrowly ahead of Giuseppe Vacca in fifth. Faggioli dedicated his victory to Paolo Roselli, a recently deceased organiser and race director who was instrumental in the event's history.

The motorcycle-derived engine prototypes provided close competition throughout the day. Filippo Ferretti, the local Orvieto driver, secured sixth place and the motorcycle-engine class victory in a Wolf GB08 Thunder, just ahead of Ivan Pezzolla from Puglia, who was making his return to racing and debuting in a Nova Proto Np03. Michele Gregori finished eighth overall and third in the motorcycle-engine category, while Fausto Ferretti, Filippo's younger brother, took ninth place and the under-25 class win, also in a Wolf GB08 Thunder.

In the touring and modified categories, Giuseppe D'Angelo led a Ferrari Challenge sweep in the GT group with his 488, edging Rosario Iaquinta (458) by four tenths—Iaquinta won run two and the GT Cup class—and Kadija Mourtaji (296). Salvatore Tortora, already a national champion, dominated the TCR class in an Audi RS3 LMS. Among the Racing Start groups, Kristian Fiorucci of Gubbio won the RS Cup in a Peugeot 308 for his second consecutive victory, while Giovanni Tagliente of Martina Franca led the RS Plus category in a Seat Leon Cupra ST. Piero Lottini, the Pisan driver, won the historic cars competition for the third time at Orvieto, piloting an Osella Pa9/90 BMW with a time of 6'57"22.

The event marked the 60th anniversary of the Castellana and was organised by Asd La Castellana with support from multiple partners. Conditions were ideal throughout the weekend, with competitors and spectators praising the technical nature of the course and the quality of the organisation.