125 Years of Fiat at Forster

From Thursday the 7th of November to Monday the 11th of November, Forty members of IMSMC participated in a celebration of FIAT, a 125th Anniversary. The celebration was held in Forster NSW, organised by Roger Beattie, the President of the Fiat Club of Victoria. 

Our small first small contingent arrived on Thursday, gathering at the Forster Bowling Club, conveniently located next-door to our hotel... Food & beverage was ample and we as always, in great company. Friday, the remainder of our contingent arrived; a total of 25 Sydney based cars, graced the streets of Forster. Friday Night was special as we all had a pizza & pasta meal at Pezzella's Pizzeria e Bar... we made some noise... a great night!

Our first gathering of cars with other enthusiasts was arranged on Saturday morning, where we met up with 

approximately another 50 FIATS that had arrived from Victoria and Queensland. What a sight! We meandered our way to our lunch stop at Villa D'Este winery, where a BBQ lunch & wine tasting was provided.. another contingent of FIATS met us there, with close to 100 Fiats , historic & modern assembled  with the grapevine in the background. 

Saturday Night, was our display under the stars in John Wright Park... our cars where arranged in the park under lights!! Amazing colours of the historic and modern era of FIATS!! Sunday we assembled again with a cavalcade of cars, a great drive,  making their way to the Pacific Palms Recreation Club for an Alfresco lunch, for many, while some enjoyed the indoor benefits! After lunch, some free time was spent shopping, resting or beaching.  

Our final meal and presentations was  held at the Tuncurry Beach Bowling Club, again the car park and surrounding streets filled with FIATS! A great weekend. WE  ARE TO BE COMMENDED, as IMSMC had the greatest presence & participation of the invited car clubs. Thankyou members!

Also, our two enthusiastic brothers Daniel & Christian Cipri, participating in all and "by default" became official photographers, sharing the "captured moments" with all the invited clubs! Some of our cars required a tiny bit of attention along the way, but happy to report that  everyone made  it home safe & sound....approximately an 800km round trip! 

Happy 125th anniversary FIAT !!!!

Western Sydney Airport

Sunday November 3rd, a group of 30x IMSMC members met up with car clubs from the area and gathered at the Western Sydney International ( WSI) Airport.

 

On a morning that was extremely foggy, our cars assembled among American, Aussie and international muscle cars... one by one we arrived  and created a display of  our Italian designs! As the sun broke through the fog, our cars shone in and around the "other" beautiful designs! Must be an Italian design thing!

 

A coffee van provided fine stimulus, which was required for each participant, as we shared the drive experience to get to the venue.

 

At 9:30, we entered the information centre for a brief presentation on the history, present situation and future of The WSI. Very interesting to see how well the bulilders have met all deadlines, in some cases construction is ahead of schedule.

 

At the conclusion of the presentation, we assembled in a courtyard, for a group photo, with the construction site in the background. We hope to get closer as construction proceeds. Onwards, then, to the Luddenham Village Cafe. Owner & member Daniel Berardinelli, ensuring our hungry Italians were well catered For.  Thankyou Daniel.

 

Our thanks to the staff of the experience centre and colleagues, in ass

isting in the fruition of this event. Thankyou to all involved. We look forward to the next visit and see/hear of all the progress!

Norton Street Festa 2024

 

Sunday the 27th of October, 41 x IMSMC cars, filled the green spaces around the rotunda  inside of  Pioneer Park, Leichhardt, participating  in the Norton street festa - Auto festa - di Leichhardt.

And participate they did! Naturally boot contributions were in order as many members shared their home made delights. The weather turned on a spectacular Sydney spring day! Our cars looked amazing... the colours that we just don't see in our modern cars!!

 

Every member in attendance, received a coffee voucher, which was redeemed from "Grinders"... every member that drove a car, received a pizza voucher, redeemable at Cugini Pizzeria! Peroni sponsored our day in some way... just not quite sure how!

 

It is estimated that 100,000 visitors made their way to Norton Street, this year... Including our Prime minister Anthony Albanese.  He visited the Royal hotel, as luck would have it, a small group of IMSMC enthusiasts were cooling down. As "Albo" walked past our table, one of our enthusiastic senior members, called out, " Hey, You, come here mate!" To which Albo obliged. An IMSMC hat was placed on Albo's head. 

A GREAT photo eventuated, the scene being presented on Ch 9 NEWS, that night. But... as Albo moved on, Our member respectfully, removing our hat from the Prime Ministers head!.. "Give me back my Hat!"

A great day. Certainly one of our highlight events of every year!

 

Thankyou for your participation, members, friends and visitors all.

Concorso 2024

Sunday the 20th of October, 51 member cars were presented at Gough Whitlam Park for the annual Concorso D'Eleganza, invited by the Alfa Romeo owners club of NSW.

 

The weather, appeared to threaten and potentially  cancel the event, but as "Dante Giacosa" would have it, a splendid spring day was provided, for all to enjoy a wonderful day in the park.

Each member exhibiting their wonderful machines, for all to appreciate and admire. We are fortunate to have a diverse range of historic, classic & modern Italian made vehicles in our club. The designs that have come from Italia  throughout the last century (and beyond) are the envy of the automotive world!

 

The day would not have been complete without the abundance of gelato, caffe' and pannini! But above all, smiles and great friendships, sharing in some of the finer homemade delights, as well.

 

We thank the judges ( IT IS NOT AN EASY JOB!)  for their contribution. 

Tony Albanese, Raffi Babkenian, Gerardo Mediati, Alfred Primerano, Michael Stivala & Nat Stillone! 

Thank YOU!!!

Sedan: Alfredo Primerano: Fiat 1800B

Coupe': Tony Albanese: Fiat 130

Spider: Victor Babkenian: Alfa Duetto

Cinquecento: Sandy Stillone: 500F

Modern: Tim : 695 Abarth.

Restored Pre 1994: Anthony Ussia : Alfa 105

Unrestored pre 1994: Nat Stillone: AutoBianchi Furgoncino

Abarth Pre 2007 Gen )r Replica: Ross Tizzone.Araullo

The four presidents of the respective club
s, selected the wonderful, 1948 FIAT Topolino of Carmine Losinno, as the "Car of Cars" of our club display. Congratulations Carmine!

 

 

A great Day, great outcome.. We look forward to other opportunities to present our wonderful vehicles at the next forthcoming events!

Luddenham Raceway

Sunday the 29th of September, 33 IMSMC Italian stallions, (along with their guests) made their way to the Luddenham Raceway. The intention was to "create the awareness" of a raceway that exists in our backyard!  

Our day began with a registration check in, a collection of a wristbands, a coffee and a cannoli!.. when all was said and done, we assembled on the starting grid, for one of many photoshoot opportunities! As the stallions assembled, the questions were aplenty and all was revealed when we were let out onto the track in 3 separate groups.

 

A nice tight track, with a 60km/h speed limit... our cars managed the tight corners and curves nicely! Don't let the 60km/h limit fool you, it is quite a challenge!

 

A special mention  AND HUGE THANK YOU to member Jerry Martino, who assisted in the idea and organisation of the day... Jerry also providing the sponsorship of the Cannoli! THANK YOU JERRY!

 

The feedback from our participating members certainly lends itself to visiting and participating in a similar event, going forward. we should also look into a "Go-Kart" experience at the same venue... Stand by!

 

Thank You to all who participated in this experience... We'll do that again!

Eastern Creek Classic 2024

Sunday the 25th of August, IMSMC, participated in the Council of Motor Clubs, Sydney motorsport raceway, Eastern Creek classic. 

19 IMSMC cars assembled in Area C, 5 x Fiat 850's were on pitt lane , as a celebration of the 60th anniversary of this great little car.  One Fiat 1100 sedan, was entered into the president's concourse representing our club. Each participant received a commemorative medallion of the 2024 event!

The day was buzzing with many historic classic cars of all makes and models... Our lap was held at 9:50am, each assembling in an orderly fashion and completed their "parade" without incident! 

So many comments from the general public at the conclusion of our lap, "These cars all sound fantastic"

The day proceeded with many visitors to our various displays... so many positive comments and interest in our great cars! Well done IMSMC. A fine contribution!

FerrAgosto 2024

Our day began with an 8am arrival and an 815am departure from the Officeworks carpark in Five Dock. In an orderly fashion, we created a wonderful display of Italian cars (all historic this year) along Parramatta Rd, bound for the streets of Five Dock.

Waves and smiles were plentiful! Upon arrival, on Second avenue, our reverse parking skills were put to the test and the display was complete. 21 classic Italian motor vehicles in all their glory. Our display attracted a crowd throughout the day - all day in fact.. many questions and so many stories told by people reminiscing about their experiences in cars like ours back in the day!

The streets of Five Dock were buzzing, everything from refreshing gelato, drinks, through to hot pizza, porchetta rolls and SO MUCH MORE, including live entertainment.

One familiar face (pictured) could not decide on which was his favourite car... when he was asked if he liked them all, he replied, "YES!"

Motori Italiani

Sunday the 4th of August, saw 51 members, along with families, totalling a group of over 80, with 48 cars, at Terranova on the Grange, for a display of Motori Italiani!

One by one they entered the car park, creating a wonderful display of fine Italian, historic and modern auto's!

Steak & sausage sandwiches were available, pizza too... and for those who chose, a separate menu was organised in a seated area, within the restaurant! The kitchen was put to work and everyone was happy with the outcome. Fine food indeed.

It was certainly a great opportunity to catch up and enjoy a wonderful day together!

We thank the management & staff of Terranova for accommodating and catering to our every need, in their own way!

The IMSMC contribution to the day was extremely significant with 6 trophies on offer.... our club "cleaned up!" Including , best modern & historic classes for; sedans, convertibles, coupe's... and a special interest category!

The day completed with a trophy presentation;

Historic Sedan: Giuseppe Lecce: 1963 Fiat 1100

Modern Sedan: Julia Fakhouri: Abarth 695

Historic Convertible: Tony Albanese: 1968 Alfa Romeo

Historic Coupe': Leo Di Rocco: 1964 Fiat 850 Sport

Modern Coupe': Nat Stillone: 2002 Maserati Cabrio

Special Interest: John Losinno: 1989 Alfa Romeo - Carabiniere.

We'll always do our best to participate and contribute to the wider community! It was estimated that approximately 400 visitors, enjoyed participating in our presentation!

Thank You IMSMC!1

Haynes Flat

Oh what a day! Sydney( Lane Cove) turned on a spectacular day, for 60+ members, family and friends, to enjoy an abundance of pizza, special foods, beverages and great company at Haynes Flat.

From the early arrivals, to the late departures, sharing of each other's homemade delights was the order of the day! While sharing all these goodies, it was with great anticipation that we awaited the arrival of the pizza man... and right on cue, the truck was spotted, guided into place, and the cooking began. 

It was feared, initially, that they weren't going to keep up with a bunch of hungry IMSMC'ists... but, they did a great job, with a few pizza's left over at the end of the day. Interestingly... NO NUTELLA PIZZAS were leftover.

Wonderful to see so many old faces, that have joined our club recently... they too bringing family & friends for a great day!

AGM 2024

Sunday the 7th of July,  saw 53 members along with 13 partners, participate in our annual general meeting at Club Marconi, Bossley Park, in the Michelini room.

 

The meeting was very informative! Financials were presented to every member. Forthcoming events for the remainder of the year were presented, with overwhelming interest shown by our assembly.

 

With formalities completed, each person enjoyed  the "famous" Marconi pasta dishes of penne napoletana & tortellini boscaiola! The staff & management of Club Marconi, are to be commended on their generosity, efficiency and support shown to our club. THANK YOU CLUB MARCONI

 

A wonderful Lemoncello cake from Siderno Pasticceria , topped off our desert, with everyone exclaiming how exquisite the cake was!

 

Our club raffle was a huge success, supported by our famous group of enthusiasts. We thank our sponsors, and all those that donated for the huge success. This assists our Club to donate to various Charities, in the forthcoming year.

 

The committee, remains unchanged - We thank them for their continued efforts in maintaining enthusiasm & diverse interests, maintaining a greatly successful club.

 

Our Committee for 2024/25 is;

 

President: John Di Rocco

Vice President: Elissa Losinno

Secretary: Corey Hoskin

Treasurer & Plates Registrar: Leo Di Rocco

 

Committee Representatives;

 

Robert Losinno

Michael Stivala

Cate Stivala

Festa Della Repubblica Carnes Hill

On Wednesday the 29th of May, 16 x IMSMC members with partners, were invited to a celebration of La Festa Della Repubblica in Carnes Hill. The invitation was an expression of thanks to all supporters & sponsors of the Allora newspaper & respective association. A four course meal was enjoyed by all, after a number of dignitaries welcomed the large group to the lunch, paying respect to Australia, Italy and all "Italo-Australiani".

 

A fund raiser was held, resulting in 3 prizes gathered by our group.

 

In true Italian style, there was loud discussion, laughter and dancing! A wonderful afternoon, enjoyed by all.

 

Festa Della Repubblica 2024

On Sunday the 26th of May, 40 x IMSMC cars were presented at Club Marconi, Bossley Park, as a contribution to the Festa Della Repubblica. In total, 71 members brought family and friends making up significant numbers.

EVERY ONE of our cars looked FANTASTIC. They attracted huge crowds as visitors to our display, created a mood of ITALIANISSIMO - a significant contribution to all things Italian on the day.

This year we had an unveiling of a beautiful 1965 Fiat 1100 Riviera, presented by Giuseppe Lecce. A real credit to him. Well done Giuseppe! This car was elected by the Marconi Executive, giving him  wonderful recognition of his beautiful creation. Gerardo Mediati, was also given recognition of his beautifully presented 1957 FIAT 600 Multipla, as was Natale Stillone, with his recently acquired 1969 FIAT ( AutoBianchi) Giardiniera.

This year we also honoured Lino De Iulio, who we lost in January. Lino always took part in this iconic yearly event, since our clubs first appearance in 2008 and was certainly fundamental in developing the strong association that exists between Club Marconi and IMSMC. Oriana De Iulio was presented a trophy, in Lino's honour.

A huge thankyou to Oriana De Iulio, Maria & Carmel Losinno, Sara Chiapetta, for their time devoted in the day to the club stall.