Raffaella Giacomini: «Ready for our first European Championship. The World Champs is a dream come true»

Head down and work. This is the mantra that probably, even without saying it, all the staff of Franciacorta had well in mind when the new adventure of the kart track started. A staff led by Raffaella Giacomini, hostess and above all passionate about this world, as already confirmed and demonstrated on other occasions, always to our microphones. 

If the European Championship is just around the corner with the official start this Friday 8 July, the Kartodromo di Franciacorta has already made plans official for 2023 when it will host the OK and OKJ World Championships. An achievement that Raffaella herself defines as indescribable and solely the result of the great work that, stone by stone, has led to the rainbow assignment. Despite the happiness and the fact that the work has already begun, it is forbidden to lower one's guard in order to fly even higher and continue to convince those who have believed in this project. 

- Raffaella, are you ready for your first European Championship?
«I can say yes! We have been putting our hearts and souls into it for a long time, not only me of course but all the staff, everyone who is part of Franciacorta. For us it is the first major international race, the first time the FIA has come here and I can say that we really don't sleep at night here. We can't wait to experience it all and wait until Sunday after the races to be able to say "okay it's done!". I am sure that the team of technical and sporting stewards who will be assisting us during the event, especially the ACI Sport side, believe so much in this race that they are sending us messages of great esteem and support, which we are obviously very pleased about. The wish on everyone's part is to have a successful race. I have had the opportunity to meet the FIA personalities elsewhere, they are also looking forward to being with us, there is great anticipation. We just have to prove that we have started in the right world, we never feel that we have arrived but we are always trying to increase our experience and have a basis to work on. I want to thank, and I will never stop doing this, James Geidel, for believing in our structure from the start and bringing the two 'Champions Of The Future' events that allowed us to go through our 'weaning', now we are ready without ever letting our guard down. We already know where we can work for next year, but we are aware of our strengths». 

Precisely on the 'day of truth', the track will celebrate its first two years with an event that could only be of great importance, starting with the ribbon-cutting ceremony in the presence of the authorities and moving on to what can only be defined as a 'pre-race show' where the choir will sing the 'Inno di Mameli', a dance troupe, and an air show made up of nine parachutists who will take off in the direction of the track.

- Besides all the important organisation, Sunday will be the moment of truth. How do you expect it, starting with the spectacle, the race and the award ceremony for the European Champions?
«It will certainly be exciting. Being the track that closes the European Championship and also crowns the new Champions is something that makes us proud. The desire to create a spectacle that people enjoy and that we also enjoy is the right way to crown the dreams of all these guys, on the track and those who make it all possible. They are our people, the motorsport people. I want to say that Sunday will be exactly the circuit's second birthday, we couldn't celebrate it in a better way, there will be important guests and personalities like our mayor and other authorities for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and many other people who, basically, have always believed in it. The presence of all the parties that will make up the pre-race show, from the choir to the dancers to the parachute show, is a way to promote our territory as well, since they are all part of it, and we really like that».  

On the awarding of the World Championship, probably weigh those calls even in extremis that Franciacorta has faced starting from the Rok Superfinal in 2020, the various single-brand trophies, the Italian Championship and then arriving and landing in the RGMMC universe with the double preparation race (Winter Series and Champions Of The Future), of great importance not only to prove one's readiness but also to gain experience with karting at the highest level of all.

- How did you arrive at the World Championship deal?
«It is a goal that really, really means a lot to us. We have been working on it for two years non-stop, believing in us and putting ourselves on the line, taking risks and understanding what the limit is. We applied, of course, and the FIA accepted our candidature straight away, even before this week's European Championship. This, too, can only make us happy, especially because it means that we have sown well in this period and that the Federation and promoters have seen that something goes beyond the race. Hosting a World Championship for us already means now and will mean next year, the achievement of a great goal and a dream for which we never stop working». 

S.Corradengo