9° Coppa Faro 2026: Cassibba and Riolo Take Wins at Italian Historic Hillclimb Finale
Giovanni Cassibba clinched the Classic division victory while Salvatore Riolo dominated the Historic category at the 9th Coppa Faro season finale in Pesaro.
The Italian Historic Hillclimb Championship concluded its season in the Marche region with the running of the 9° Coppa Faro in Pesaro. Held under cool but dry conditions, the nearly 4-kilometre course drew plenty of spectators for the final showdown of the year.
In the Classic classification, Sicilian veteran Giovanni Cassibba captured overall honours behind the wheel of his Osella PA 20/S BMW. Marco Ulivi followed in second place aboard an Osella PA 20/S Honda, which also earned him victory in the under-1.6-litre class. Edoardo Zenobi rounded out the Classic podium driving a Citroen Saxo VTS, taking the touring car win in the process. Contender Stefano Peroni suffered mechanical issues in heat one with his Osella PA 20/S BMW, but returned after trackside repairs to set the second-fastest Classic time in the second heat.
The Historic classification saw another commanding performance from Salvatore Riolo, who piloted his PRC A6 BMW to overall victory. Piero Lottini took second overall in an Osella PA9/90 BMW, with Arnaldo Pinto completing the podium in a Lucchini SP90 Alfa Romeo after fending off Giuliano Peroni (Osella PA8/9 BMW) by just 1.22 seconds over two timed heats. Despite missing the podium, Peroni secured the win in Historic Category 3. Alessandro Trentini finished fifth overall in a Lucchini SN87 Alfa Romeo, followed by Maurizio Rossi in a Bogani SN 2500 Alfa Romeo.
Among historic touring car runners, Ildebrando Motti topped the standings and clinched Category 2 in a Porsche 911 Carrera RS. Giuseppe Valenti steered his Peugeot 205 Rallye to second among touring cars and took the Category 4 class win, narrowly beating Salvatore Asta in a BMW E30 M3 by 1.07 seconds across both runs.
Austrian competitors also made their mark in Pesaro. Harald Mössler drove his Daren MK3 Cosworth to eighth overall and secured the Category 1 victory. Gregor Frötscher followed in second in Category 1 and claimed class A3 (up to 1.3 litres) with an Austin Mini Cooper S, while compatriot Josef Heinrich finished sixth in Category 1 and second in class A3. In Category 3, Georg Köck took seventh overall and won class C1 (up to 1.3 litres) in his British Leyland Mini 1275 GT.