Imola mondiale. Le radici del motocross italiano 1948-1965.

"Imola mondiale" has been produced to preserve the memory of the Golden Era of Italian motocross. Imola was the first city in Italy to host a motocross event at the highest of levels: the World Championship. Thanks to the insistence of Dr. Francesco Costa, on 23 May 1948 took place the first international competition in the Acque Minerali Park. Setting foot on Italian soil for the first time, the northern European pioneers of this spectacular sport enthralled a huge, varied crowd. From 1948 to 1965, the Park in Imola formed the backdrop for this amazing celebration and became famous as a magical place where man, machine and nature came together. Older generations enthusiastically recall names such as Marcel Meunier, Auguste Mingels, Bill Nilsson, Sten Lundin and Rolf Tibblin. These mighty heroes were tall, fearless and so strong that could make their bombastic 150 kg bikes fly through the air and overcome any earthly obstacle.

The wealth of images in this book are the result of painstaking research by the authors, who searched through the photographic archives of contemporary professional photographers as well as members of the public. The photographs they uncovered were then carefully restored and returned to their original splendour, showing the daring feats of the riders and the passionate fervour which pervaded those amazing competitions. The images they have chosen form a complete historical reconstruction of all the championships. The texts are based on information taken from both specialist magazines of the time and the memories of people still alive today (including the authors), who witnessed those events first hand as organizers or simply enthusiasts.