Join the Alfa Romeo & Ferrari Club on May 13, 2023 for a spirited drive to Borelli Family Winery followed by an afternoon of wine tasting an delicious food

• 1:00pm The Driving Tour will will begin at Generosta Coffee - 901 Warrendale Village Drive, Warrendale, PA 15086
• 2:00pm Arrive at Borelli Cellars, 30 Hanlin Station Rd, Burgettstown, PA 15021
• 3:00pm Dinner begins

Guest have a choice between the following options:

• $100 / person: Full Dinner and Wine Tasting with 4 varieties of wine
• $75 / person: Full Dinner and cash bar

Dinner highlights:
Hors d'oeuvre Charcuterie platter with Italian Meats, Cheese , Olives, Fruits and Vegetables. This course will be available before sit down dinner 

• Casa Salad will be plated - Served Family Style
• Artichokes wrapped with prosciutto 
• Polpette (Meatballs)
• Pasta
• Pizza
• Dessert 

Spirits and beer are also available.

Join local Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Fiat owners for our first celebration of 2023 and get together for drinks and appetizers at Il Pizzaiolo Cucina Napoletana Warrendale location. The evening will start with a cocktail reception followed by a very informal discussion about 2023 event plans that the various Italian Car Clubs have on the calendar.

The Macchina of Ferrari have been selected as the 2023 Proiettore Macchina. Ferrari has deep roots with both Alfa Romeo and Fiat so this years celebration really encompasses many Italian marques.  One of the exciting topics will be the Marque of the Year celebration at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix.

Please RSVP via the Facebook Link so we can give the restaurant a rough headcount.  We will be in the bar and outdoor area weather permitting.

The AROC 2023 National convention will be held in North Carolina with Registration open now. 
You can click on the image above or "Learn More" below now, so you can see the activities you will enjoy at the 2023 AROC Alfa del Piemonte convention.

AROC is returning to the 2023 US Grand Prix in Austin, TX October 19-23!

We have made arrangements for 20 double-occupancy rooms in downtown Austin.

​We expect this opportunity to sell out quickly - do not delay in signing up!
FOR INFORMATION EMAIL: [email protected]

On Tuesday, February 15 2022 the Three Rivers Alfsiti and the Western Pennyslvania Chapter of the Penn Jersey Ferrari Club of America will jointly host a little macchina love at the Double Tree Hilton in Cranberry Township, PA beginning at 7pm to celebrate the 2022. Looks like we made it. 

Following up on the plans discussed at the Pre- Pandemic Holiday Party in December 2019, local Alfa Romeo and Ferrari owners are hosting a get together and celebrate with some drinks and finger food at the Ember & Vine at DoubleTree Cranberry. The evening will start with a cocktail reception followed by a very informal meeting to discuss some event ideas for the Spring, Summer and Fall including:

• Ferrari Club Spring Thaw
• Cortile Italian Car Show - Featuring Maserati in 2022
• ​Staggerwing Tour and Catz Reception
• Red Belt & Route 18 Driving Tour

All current and former Alfa Romeo and Ferrari Club owners are welcome to attend  as well as local owners of Fiat, Lancia, Lamborghini, Maserati and other Italian Marques.

On June 3, 2021, Giuseppe Antonio "Joe" DiFelice passed away suddenly. Giuseppe came to the United States as a young man of 22 from his beloved Populi, Italy. A kind, gentle and thoughtful man who never had a negative word about anyone, he made his life in the United States as a citizen but never forgot his native country.  

Giuseppe was an expert mechanic and worked exclusively on Italian marques like Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Fiat. If you owned a class Italian Car in the past 30 year, you would have met or at least heard of Giuseppe.

Before we kick off off the discussion about our summer plans we will remember Giuseppe with a toast and a moment of silence during our meeting.

edited by Bernard Martin

In the mid-1970s, Alfa engineer Carlo Chiti designed a flat-12 engine to replace the T33 V8, which achieved some success in taking the 1975 World Sportscar Championship. Bernie Ecclestone, then owner of the Brabham Formula One team, persuaded Alfa Romeo to supply this engine free for the 1976 Formula One season. Although the Brabham-Alfa Romeo's first season was relatively modest, during the 1977 and 1978 World Championships their cars took 14 podium finishes, including two race victories for Niki Lauda.

In 1978 Carlo Chiti developed the Alfa Romeo 115-12 3.0 F12 engine for the Formula 1 constructor Brabham-Alfa Romeo Team.    Niki Lauda won two races in a Brabham BT46 with the Alfa engine in the 1978 season. Brabham designer Gordon Murray persuaded Chiti to produce a flat V12 engine to allow ground effect to be exploited by the team.

1978 was the Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT46B Fancar, designed by Gordon Murray. Its fan, spinning on a horizontal, longitudinal axis at the back of the car, took its power from the main gearbox. The car avoided the sporting ban by claims that the fan's main purpose was for engine cooling as less than 50% of the airflow was used to create a depression under the car. It raced just once, with Niki Lauda winning at the Swedish Grand Prix. The car's supreme advantage was proven after the track became oily. While other cars had to slow, Lauda was able to accelerate over the oil due to the tremendous downforce, which rose with engine speed

When aerodynamic ground effect became important in 1978, it was clear that the low, wide engines would interfere with the large venturi tunnels under the car which were needed to create the ground effect. At Murray's instigation Alfa produced a narrower V12 design in only three months for the 1979 season

Alfa-Romeo’s sportscar-derived flat-12 engine had a capacity of 2995 cc and employed fuel injection and electronic ignition. The engine featured a cast magnesium alloy engine block with aluminium alloy crankcase and magnesium or aluminium cylinder heads. There were four gear-driven valves per cylinder. In Formula One form by 1978 it delivered about 520 bhp at 12,000 rpm, about 50 bhp more than the Cosworth DFV engines used by most teams, as well as a peak 324 lb-ft of torque (439 N·m). However the power came at the expense of greater size, increased fuel and oil consumption and about 40 kg more weight

A flat-12 is a 12-cylinder internal combustion engine in a flat configuration. Rarer, wider, and less tall than a V12, the flat-12 design was used in Formula One and endurance racing and some exotic sports cars.
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Flat-12 engines are generally not horizontally opposed engines (boxers), but rather 180° V-engines. A true boxer has one crankpin journal per piston, while in the 180° V-engine, two opposing pistons share the same crankpin journal. The engine also has a naturally lower center of gravity than a V12.

In December 1979 Alfa Romeo revealed its Formula One race car for the 1980 season. The company named Patrick Depailler, Vittoria Brambilla, and Bruno Giacomelli as its drivers. The racer was nearly identical to one driven by Giacomelli in the 1979 Italian Grand Prix. It was a wing car design with a V-12 engine that generated more than 520 hp (388 kW). Alfa Romeo announced that it was working on a 1,500 cubic centimeter turbocharged engine which was to begin track testing in a Formula One car in the summer of 1980.

In 1981 they had the services of Mario Andretti but continued to be dogged by poor reliability. After a restructuring of Autodelta, the team operations and design of the car were outsourced to Euroracing in 1982, with the works engines still being supplied by Autodelta.  The team's best season was 1983 when the team switched to the turbocharged 890T V8 engine and achieved 6th place in the Constructors' Championship, largely thanks to two second-place finishes for Andrea de Cesaris.

While the turbocharged 890T proved competitive in 1983, more powerful and fuel-efficient engines from BMW, Ferrari, Renault, TAG-Porsche and Honda, plus the FIA imposed 220-liter fuel limit with no re-fuelling allowed during pit stops during 1984, saw the decline of the Euro racing Alfa Romeo team as a competitive force in Grand Prix racing.

The 890T (the only turbo V8 engine used in GP racing at this time) was very thirsty and suffered badly at fast circuits- particularly both of Alfa's home circuits of Imola and Monza. To temporarily rectify this problem, the team had to run with less boost to save fuel- which made the engine underpowered, and this proved to be a severe hindrance at fast circuits- the kind of circuits where they almost always had to do that.

​The engine was developed but the fuel consumption problems were never really rectified. Riccardo Patrese's third-place finish at the 1984 Italian Grand Prix being the last podium finish for the team, with both Patrese and Eddie Cheever often failing to finish races throughout 1984 and 1985 due to running out of fuel- Cheever ran out of fuel 5 laps before the end at Alfa's home Grand Prix at Monza- close to Alfa's headquarters in Milan.

The team's 1985 car, the Alfa Romeo 185T proved to be so uncompetitive that the 1984 car, the 184T was re-called into service mid-season. After being updated to 1985 specifications the car, now dubbed the 184 TB, was an improvement over the 1985 car, but results were still not forthcoming. In an interview he gave in 2000, Riccardo Patrese described the 185T as "the worst car I ever drove".

In January 2019, Sauber announced the team would rename to Alfa Romeo Racing, but unlike BMW Sauber, the ownership, Swiss racing licence and management structure would remain unchanged. Alfa Romeo's challenger for the 2019 season was the C38, continuing the naming convention from previous Sauber Formula One cars.

The C38 included unique aerodynamic design elements in comparison to its rivals and predecessors, particularly at the front of the car as a result of regulation changes for the new season. 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen and former Sauber reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi were hired as the team's drivers. Giovinazzi briefly led the Singapore Grand Prix for four laps, the first Alfa Romeo driver to lead a lap since Andrea de Cesaris did so at the 1983 Belgian Grand Prix.

The team's best result of the year came at the chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix, where Räikkönen and Giovinazzi were classified 4th and 5th respectively. Alfa Romeo finished the year in 8th place in the Constructors' Championship with 57 points.

Alfa Romeo entered the 2020 season with an unchanged driver lineup. In January 2020 the team announced that they would enter a title sponsorship arrangement with Polish oil company PKN Orlen and that Robert Kubica would join as a reserve driver.

Alfa Romeo Racing would remain as the team's name after Sauber and Alfa Romeo had reached an agreement.
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Raikkonen is due to retire, while Giovinazzi will depart the team at the end of 2021. The team signed Valtteri Bottas and F2 driver Guanyu Zhou for the 2022 season.

Fellow Three Rivers Alfisti member Robert Murphy has been photographing Racing since the early 1970's.  He has an absolutely amazing collection of photography that he shares on his Facebook page and several groups.  Be sure and check out Murph's photos!.

For our first OFFICIAL gathering post Pandemic, we will be meeting that the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix's Cortile. 

This year, the Cortile is featuring Lancia, and it looks like there will be an automobilia vendor bringing some very rare Lancia AND Alfa Romeo collectibles for your home, garage and vehicle.

Just click the button below to go directly to the registration page.

Here is the video from Paul Bowman's presentation last month on Braking Systems.

.Alexander has been a huge fan of European cars and Alfa Romeo's in particular. In Second grade he did a report on Alfa Spiders in the school parking lot to his second-grade teacher and classmates with Paul's  Spider parked behind him.

Here's an overview of what you can expect to learn on the afternoon of Saturday March 6

• Basic theory behind how brakes work
• How do parking brakes work?
• Key inspections and warning signs of impending failure
• Different braking components – how do I tell when it’s time to replace them and what choices do I have?
• How to safely work on brakes
• Basic steps involved in renewing a disc-brake system 
• What if I decide to attend a track day?
• Advanced Topic #1: Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS)
• Advanced Topic #2: Dealing with older high-mileage (especially rusty) vehicles
• Advanced Topic #3: The latest technology - carbon-fiber brakes
• “Zen and the Art of Car Maintenance”

 
Please RSVP so we have an approximate headcount to [email protected]

​You can log in from any web browser at: meet.google.com/opr-krax-zbc

The Three Rivers Alfisti will be supporting the Rally Accross America effort with two upcoming events: 

• July 11, 2020 “Over the River Tour “
• August 29, 2020 "Staggerwinging with Catz"

All of the proceeds from both of these events with be contributed to the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix charities. Be sure to register ASAP!   We will be posting more information on these events with details we get closer.  Below is an article from Hagerty Insurance that explains more about the Rally Accross America.

Jeff Peek, Events, Hagerty Community
23 June 2020

Lilly Pray has a passion for cars, and now she’s channeling that energy into an organized drive that will give back to the community. Lilly, a nurse in Boulder, Colorado, serves an ambassador for Rally Across America, a grassroots organization whose goal is to raise more than $1 million for nonprofit groups across the U.S.
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As a frontline medical worker and car lover, the fundraising tour is right in Pray’s wheelhouse, and it all started with her dad. Malcom Pray Jr. was a successful car dealer and well-known collector who gave generously to the Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Club, Red Cross, USO, and other local charities in Greenwich, Connecticut.

“My father taught me how to drive classic cars,” she says of Malcom, who passed away in 2013. “If I wanted to spend time with my dad, it was in the garage with him, as well as attending a lot of auctions and concours events.

“I’ve been a concours judge for many years, and it is probably how I made my dad the proudest when I started judging at Hilton Head Concours 19 years ago. He instilled in me a great sense of giving and giving back to my community,” she says.

Lilly Pray began working in the medical field in 1987, first as volunteer, which led to a career as a firefighter/paramedic. She became an RN in 2010 and volunteers as a victim advocate for the Boulder Police Department.

“My brother died in a car crash in 1986,” she says of Malcolm Pray III. “It was a life changing event. My life motto has been always to ‘help the weaker hikers on their journey.’ So as an EMS provider, and now a RN, I guess I’m still helping the weaker hikers and holding their hands in whatever way I can.”
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She jumped at the opportunity to help Rally Across America, which hosted its inaugural drive on June 7, with proceeds going to the Connecticut Foodbank. A total of 41 cars took part, with each driver donating the suggested $100.

Lilly says the idea began with her friends Frank Taylor and Wendy and Jim Petty, who organized the drive as a way to recognize and give to 501(c)3 nonprofits in their area that have greatly suffered during the COVID-19 lockdown. Pray happened to be in Connecticut at the time, so she immediately registered her 1987 Porsche 911. Since Rally Across America hopes to have ambassadors in every state (and average eight drives per state), she took the lead for Colorado.

The first drive that Pray is organizing is set for June 28, beginning and ending in Boulder. Her chosen beneficiary is the Denver-based Morgan Adams Foundation, which raises funds for pediatric cancer research. “The MAF holds the best four-hour concours in the world,” she says, “and they had to cancel their annual major fundraiser on August 24 due to the ongoing events with COVID.”
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She has planned two other drives for July 26 and August 16. They will follow a route “into the foothills of the mountains—an easy 60-mile drive lasting 3–4 hours.” As a registered nurse, Lilly is well aware of the possible negative ramifications of any gathering, so social distancing guidelines will be observed. “We just want to get out in our cars and help the nonprofit community,” she says.

She’ll be driving the 1959 Porsche Convertible D that she has owned for 25 years. If you’re sensing a Porsche pattern here, you’re onto something. Lilly’s daughter is named Portia.

Pray says Rally Across America events are planned in six states so far, including one later this year, organized by Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter, that will travel country roads from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Virginia International Speedway and include a parade lap on the track. Details are forthcoming.

“Driving cars makes me happy,” Lilly says. “My car friends really are my family, and there is nothing as fun as gathering for a family reunion—whether it’s at a concours event, a 1000-mile drive, or a short day-run with friends.”
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Rally Across America ambassadors are being sought in every state. If you’re interested in becoming an ambassador or joining a ride near you, contact Lilly Pray at [email protected].

Here are the links to both of our club events.  Sign up for one of both!