JS(CC)38c RAF cover commemorating the special event in 1981 where F-104 aircraft raced against F1 racing cars. The artwork by Tony Theobald of the cover shows Gilles Villeneuve in his Ferrari 126C preparing to race Lockheed F-104 Starfighter 51-07 of 51 Stormo ITAF. Underneath Lockheed F-104 Starfighter 51-13 leads the Brabham while at the bottom Bruno Giacomelli in the Alfa Romeo 179 races Lockheed F-104 Starfigter 51-10.

Formula 1 Versus Lockheed F-104 At Istrana, Treviso Air Base on 21 November 1981, one thousand spectators were able to witness the unusual sight of Formula 1 cars competing against F-104 aircraft of No 51 Squadron, Italian Air Force. The contest which saw fighter pilots challenging F-1 drivers in 6 races was followed with tremendous interest and passion by supporters of aviation and motorsport. The Lockheed F-104 fought hard against the F-1 cars of Alpha Romeo, Brabham and Ferrari.

The cover bears Italian stamp cancelled with Roma postmark for the 75th Anniversary of the Italian Air Force 28 March 1998 and has been flown in a F-104 ASA Starfighter of No 22 Squadron ITAF by Lieutenant Conel Ciovanni Caporale ITAF the squadron commander.

The confrontation between a car and an aeroplane had very old roots, since the parallel paths of the 2 types of transport met on several previous occasions. When the aeroplane was in the initial development of flight, the car had a distinct advantage over the aircraft but with the advent of the jet engine and supersonic flight, this was reversed. In 1919, in Denmark, Minoia won against a Bleriot, in a 5 kilometre race. In 1932, at Rome, Urbe Airport, a car driven by Tazio Nuvolari lost against an aeroplane, while an aeroplane was beaten by a motorcycle driven by Piero Taruffi. The aeroplanes and the cars had always raced in their own environment but the race at Istrana was the first where the two means of transport both raced on the ground.

 In the 6 races the Lockheed F-104, had different configurations and weights: ‘heavy’ was with tip tanks full of fuel; ‘medium’ was with tip tanks empty and ‘light’ was without tip tanks. The aircraft were further handicapped on the day because of misty weather necessitating extra diversion fuel to Grossetto; this resulted in a hefty weight penalty. F-1 won 5 of the 6 races over 1,000 metres on the parallel runways of Teviso, as shown in the table and irrespective of the result, rivers of champagne flowed for all contenders thus concluding a wonderful day.

RACE 1
Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 179 C/2 18.05
Major Walter Santacroce 51-44 (Heavy) 19.26

RACE 2
Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 126CK 053 16.55
Lieutenant Daniele Martinelli 51-03 (Heavy) 20.05

RACE 3
Nelson Piquet Brabham BT49/9 17.45
Major Gianfranco Da Pos 51-45 (Medium) 18.26

RACE 4
Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 179 C/2 17.75
Major Gianfranco Bono 51-15 (Medium) 18.25

RACE 5
Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 126CK 053 17.80
Lt Colonel Luigi Tenerello 51-40 (Light) 19.00

RACE 6
Ricardo Patrese Brabham BT49/9 19.98
Major Leandro De Vincenti 51-07 (Light) 18.05

 *** Gilles Villeneuve set the fastest time in RACE 2 at an average speed of  217.5kph/135.95mph

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