As well as the illustrious Coppa Florio, teams and drivers at the inaugural COPPA FLORIO 12H Sicily will also compete for the ‘Di Martino’ trophy at the Autodromo di Pergusa.

The COPPA FLORIO 12H Sicily, the fifth round of this year’s 24H SERIES powered by Hankook, will run across two days at the Autodromo di Pergusa, with the green flag set to drop at 11.00 hrs local time on Saturday 10 October. After the first six hours of running – ‘part one’ of the 12-hour endurance event – the first chequered flag will be flown later that same day at 17.00 hrs, signifying CREVENTIC’s now customary overnight intervention.   

The brand new Coppa Di Martino will be awarded to the GT and TCE teams that lead their respective divisions after those opening six hours.

“The new Coppa Di Martino is a brand-new addition to the COPPA FLORIO 12H Sicily and it’s an award we feel our competitors can get very excited about,” explains CREVENTIC sporting coordinator Ole Dörlemann. “We celebrate each of our winners in the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook, including our ‘part one’ victors who take the chequered flag before an overnight intervention.

“For an event that’s being revived after nearly four decades though, we wanted to add a little extra something for our competitors. Something that rewards the dedication required for six hours of endurance racing, and we feel this new Coppa is a great way to both congratulate that effort and keep the competition close.”

The new trophy, named in honour of event primary sponsor Flli Di Martino SpA, marks the first time that teams and drivers will be awarded something other than pole position for the following day’s restart after the opening half of a 24H SERIES event.

“Logistically, the COPPA FLORIO 12H Sicily is arguably one of the biggest challenges we have undertaken since our first race in Dubai in 2006,” Ole Dörlemann continues. “Travelling to the Autodromo di Pergusa will be a great adventure for our teams and drivers, and the fact that CREVENTIC arranges the transportation of all cars and equipment to and from circuits internationally is a program we’re still very proud of and dedicated to. With any ambitious project though comes issues to prevail, and that’s why we’re very grateful to be working with Sicily’s highly experienced Flli Di Martino SpA for this event.

Founded in 1980 by company president Angelo Di Martino, Flli Di Martino SpA today is Sicily’s leading logistics enterprise, with 11 branches spread across Italy, Greece, Spain and Finland and a market focused primarily on Europe, the Middle East and Africa. With attention on efficiency, Di Martino utilizes a multimodal transport network and manages the entire supply chain from origin to destination via sea, rail and/or road.

The Sicilian company incorporates a multitude of industries, including but not limited to, fashion, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), beverages, real estate, e-commerce, and, fittingly for the COPPA FLORIO 12H Sicily for which Di Martino is a primary partner, automotive.

“When we started our company more than 50 years ago, it was a project based on ambition and curiosity,” Angelo Di Martino explains to CREVENTIC. “We were looking for a way to make our territory stronger and our land more connected, and transport sounded like a good way to explore and make something meaningful in that regard.

“The automotive business started when we chased a new opportunity, based on daily challenges we faced with our own fleet. Today, our business continues to grow, so this was a well-placed bet, I’d say. I can proudly state that we never settled and are still driven by the same ambition and curiosity that brought us here in the first place.

“The Autodromo di Pergusa has drawn global attention to our island since the 1950s with exactly the things we do best: cars and driving. Our land is full of unrealized resources and creativity. We are fond of our land and so we are proud to invest in the relaunch of somehow forgotten gems.”