The Alfa Romeo Owners of Connecticut chapter is again sponsoring Forza Italiana! — two days of driver’s school, open practice and timed laps to be held on Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13 at Lime Rock Park. Despite escalating track and insurance costs, everything possible has been done to keep the fees reasonable, and to maximize your track time.

Unchanged this year is the requirement for a Snell-90 or newer helmet; and safety equipment (seat belts, roll-bar coverage) must be identical for driver and front passenger. Those of you with open cars will need to have a roll bar that extends 2 inches above both driver’s and passenger’s helmets — insurance rules no longer allow cars with street roll bars onto the track.

To accommodate Lime Rock Park’s schedule, on Friday we will use the skid pad, short-track, and braking facilities on the top of the hill that are normally used by the Skip Barber Racing School. There will be classroom and in-car instruction with Skip Barber instructors. Participants will experience over- and understeer control using Skip Barber vehicles especially prepared for the skid pad, as well as handling of increasing- and decreasing-radius curves, and threshold braking. Here’s your opportunity to experience what the Skip Barber Racing School teaches, and at low cost. Friday will be limited to 32 cars.

On Saturday, to maximize track time, the limit will be 60 cars, each of which must come to the track pre-tech inspected. The first group will be on the track at 9:00 sharp, the earliest that local ordinances allow. ARO-CT has the reputation of running the smoothest and safest track event around, and this year will be no different. There will be paid corner workers.

There will also be a Paddock Party after the closing of the track on Saturday. Bring snacks to share and a cooler of beverages and join us for schmoozing and noshing … and distribution of awards, serious and otherwise.

This is your chance to learn all about the new Massachusetts emission testing program and how it affects your Alfa! (Other New England states have similar programs, and the ones that don’t eventually will, thanks to Federal and local environmental concerns.) AONE member Tom Letourneau is an official with the Rhode Island emissions testing program (Rhode Island uses the same basic equipment as Massachusetts), and has graciously offered to set up a demonstration and give a talk exclusively for our club!

We’ll gather at Mel’s Sunoco station, a RI inspection station just over the Massachusetts line in Pawtucket (right on the South Attleboro line off of route I-95), where the demo will start at 12:00 noon sharp! Tom will run one of our Alfas through the procedure (both a dyno test and a two-speed idle), explain what’s going on, and answer any questions we might have. This is a great opportunity to learn what emissions testing entails so that you’ll know what you’re dealing with as your Alfa, uh, matures!

Then, at 2:00 PM, we’ll repair to Mama Spumoni’s, an excellent yet inexpensive Italian eatery directly across the street for a little lunch and socializing.

You can attend the Tech Session at noon, show up for lunch at 2:00, or (the best bet) do both! Because of space limitations, please contact Tom Letourneau before June 6 to let him know your plans. You can reach him via email, by phone at 401-334-3315, or drop him a note at 24 Old Reservoir Road, Cumberland, RI 02864-1633.

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