Race for Glory:
Audi vs Lancia, the victory of the rally world championship in 1983
- 27/03/2024
- Federico Riccardo
Since March 14, "Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia," a film directed by Stefano Mordini and starring Riccardo Scamarcio as Cesare Fiorio, former sports director of Lancia, has been released in Italian cinemas. Specifically recounted here is the historic achievement of the Turin automaker, which in the 1983 world rally championship got the better of its rival, Audi Sport. 
Without making spoilers, those familiar with the story know how this duel will end. To director Stefano Mordini and Riccardo Scamarcio (here also a producer and creator of the project, precisely because of a meeting with Cesare Fiorio that took place in Puglia) we must give credit for their willingness to recount an Italian historical moment unknown to younger people. The film has some flaws: the Italian dubbing does not do justice to Scamarcio, and it is not clear whether the focus of the screenplay is to tell the story of Lancia's victory or just the complex figure of Fiorio and his obsession with winning. But once you get into the history of the Italian enterprise, it is hard not to get involved. 
Fun fact: In a couple of scenes, you get a glimpse of Lapo Elkann as ... his grandfather Gianni Agnelli, the lawyer. 
The film, until a few months ago, was to be called "2 win" (to win), but in December it was changed for "commercial" reasons. It is precisely the original title that tells in two simple words the attitude of Cesare Fiorio: a man obsessed with winning, a true "army commander" as he likes to call himself in an interview. There is much more than glory, evoked in the actual title: there is a whole life spent trying to win on his own strength, sometimes by even the most fraudulent means (in a very amusing scene, Fiorio moves Lancias from one parking lot to another so that they look like 200 to pass the scrutiny of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) but still maintaining a clear and precise vision of what would be the triumphant path of Lancia.
Fiorio's determination led to the creation of a super-light car (the Lancia 037) with two-wheel drive, as opposed to the four-wheel drive car designed by Audi. A car that can fly on asphalt but has significant grip problems on difficult and snowy terrain. At the wheel of this bolid he calls on - not with any difficulty - Walter Rohrl, a sort of beekeeping driver/philosopher, cautious and in sharp opposition to Fiorio's optimistic attitude. But it will not be easy to destroy the German army, led by the obnoxious Roland Gumpert (Daniel Bruhl, whom we had already seen years ago in "The Inglorious Bastards"), who, against Italian savoir faire, puts German precision and organization into action.
Fiorio's determination led to the creation of a super-light car (the Lancia 037) with two-wheel drive, as opposed to the four-wheel drive car designed by Audi. A car that can fly on asphalt but has significant grip problems on difficult and snowy terrain. At the wheel of this bolid he calls on - not with any difficulty - Walter Rohrl, a sort of beekeeping driver/philosopher, cautious and in sharp opposition to Fiorio's optimistic attitude. But it will not be easy to destroy the German army, led by the obnoxious Roland Gumpert (Daniel Bruhl, whom we had already seen years ago in "The Inglorious Bastards"), who, against Italian savoir faire, puts German precision and organization into action.
