Montezemolo and Ferrari awarded Vaccarella Prize in Taormina

Last Updated: March 9, 2024

Taormina, il premio Vaccarella a Montezemolo e alla Ferrari

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, entrepreneur and former president of Ferrari, receives the prestigious Nino Vaccarella award, established by the Aci Sport Sicilia trustee delegate Daniele Settimo and by the president of the Automobile Club d’Italia Angelo Sticchi Damiani. The two-day event dedicated to the Champions of Motorsport and Karting 2023 kicked off on Friday afternoon at the Palacongressi in Taormina, with a ceremony full of charm and emotions featuring the stars of motorsport disciplines Aci Sport.

Among the superstars of the opening ceremony were Gabriele Minì, Formula 1 driver and winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Antonio Giovinazzi, and all the Sicilian champions awarded by the regional delegation of Aci Sport. “We have closed an important year – said engineer Angelo Sticchi Damiani – full of great satisfactions and tonight we will celebrate some of these. Tonight there are two important figures for Italian motorsport, a beautiful story when Ferrari was winning and a winning Ferrari of today, certainly different but still winning.” “I am particularly pleased to receive this award because it is dedicated to a beautiful person, a man who has given so much to Ferrari who is Nino Vaccarella – said Montezemolo -. We often joked on the phone, I asked him for example if he was stronger than Merzario but I knew that Vaccarella was the strongest. In life as in sports, there are champions and there are extraordinary individuals, one of these is Michael Schumacher, I could spend hours telling you anecdotes. Even anecdotes about Sicily. When we celebrated the 50 years of Ferrari in Sicily, I told him that we would also go for a spin at the Autodromo di Pergusa. We agreed with Todt that we would do a few laps, at most 8 because we were sure we wouldn’t find much audience. Instead, that event was incredible and from the planned 8 laps, Schumi found himself in a sea of people, so from the 8 laps planned, he did 22 having fun and entertaining the audience. Thanks again to you, thanks Sicily and thanks Taormina. I hope to come back soon.”