The 53rd Trofeo Città di Torino wrapped up on 7 April 2026 at Torino-Aeritalia, completing a week of competition that drew 30 pilots across three classes. Based at one of northern Italy's most historically significant aerodromes, the contest ran from 1 to 7 April with six scoring tasks flown over the Piedmontese landscape, the Alps and the foothills that frame this part of the Po Valley.

The event was organised around three distinct competitions running in parallel. The Trofeo Città di Torino itself served as the open class trophy, drawing the broadest field. Alongside it, the Campionato Italiano Classe 18m functioned as the Italian 18-metre class championship, with many of the same pilots scoring simultaneously in both. The Lega Amatori catered to club and amateur pilots flying less competitive machinery, offering a meaningful contest within their own cohort.

Tasks were set as Assigned Area Tasks, with the main classes given 2 hours and 20 minutes on most days, while the Lega Amatori worked to a 1 hour 40 minute window. The task areas centred on familiar Piedmontese turnpoints including Brione, Oropa, Bussoleno, Caretto and Balangero, with pilots routing through the terrain between the Alps to the west and the foothills to the north and east of Turin.

The Trofeo Città di Torino

The overall trophy was taken by the pairing of Sironi and Venturini, flying an Arcus T for the Aero Club Aeronautica d'Italia dell'Ovest (ACAO). Their final tally of 3,158 points held off Ugo Pavesi in second on 2,984 and Alessandro Busca in third on 2,854. The margins were not enormous — Pavesi trailed by 174 points — and the leaderboard had shifted considerably through the week.

Busca, flying a Ventus 2cxa 18m for the Aosta club, had the most telling single-task performance of the competition. On Task 4, flown on 4 April over a nominal distance of around 254 km, he achieved the fastest speed across the field at 94.14 kph, covering 231.77 km within the task window. Sironi and Venturini were second on that day at 91.60 kph, with Pavesi third at 91.15 kph. Despite Busca's day win, Sironi and Venturini held the overall lead through their consistency over the preceding tasks.

The Italian 18-Metre Championship

The Campionato Italiano Classe 18m used the same tasks as the open trophy but scored separately. Here Ugo Pavesi took the title with 2,604 points, ahead of Andrea Ferrero on 2,533 and Sandro Etalle on 2,516. The top three were separated by fewer than 90 points, which speaks to the closeness of the class racing through the week. Ferrero flew an AS 33 Es 18m for ACAO, while Etalle represented the Aeroclub di Rieti in a Ventus 3T.

Alessandro Busca, despite his fastest task on day four, finished the championship in a lower position overall, illustrating that consistent daily scoring tends to outweigh individual task victories in a points-based format.

The Lega Amatori

The amateur league produced its own genuine competition. Luigi Giardino, flying a DG 500 20m for the Aeroclub Torino, finished on top with 3,124 points, with Silvio Siriotto second on 2,805 in a DG 1000 20m. The Andrea Bosso, Gulmini and Benedetto crew rounded out the podium on 1,020 points, flying a DG 300.

The amateur class tasks were appropriately scaled — around 201 km in nominal distance with a shorter time window — and speeds reflected the different nature of the flying: on Task 4, Giardino and Siriotto were completing the task at around 58 kph, compared to the 94 kph being turned in at the sharp end of the main field.

The Setting 

Torino-Aeritalia sits in the northwest of the city and has long been the base for Piedmontese soaring. The airspace around Turin demands careful task planning, with the Alps providing reliable thermal sources in season, though April conditions can vary considerably from day to day. Six tasks from six available days represents a solid competition, and the final day on 7 April was declared a non-flying day.

The organisation acknowledged the logistical complexity of running the event at this location, with multiple operational constraints to navigate. Club members and volunteers managed both ground operations and flight activity throughout the week.

5e Year History

The Trofeo Città di Torino has now been running for over five decades, which makes it one of the longer-established regional gliding competitions in Italy. The 53rd edition attracted a compact but competitive field of 30 pilots, many of whom are regulars on the Italian circuit, and delivered six tasks of genuine racing. 

Full results at soaringspot.com/en_gb/53-trofeo-citta-di-torino-torino-aeritalia-2026