All--really all--of the history of motor sports in recent decades has passed through the Bologna Motor Show, its exhibition areas and, especially, its fiery arenas. Arenas where millions of spectators have been able to see in action, follow from up close and rub elbows with the pilots and vehicles that have been the absolute protagonists of the engine world. In thirty years the International Car and Motorcycle Exhibition has hosted the greatest car and motorcycle champions, as well as the cars and motorcycles that have won everything there was to be won in every corner of the planet.

The Motor Show is celebrating its thirtieth birthday at this 2005 edition, and celebrating in the best possible way: with the usual schedule of valuable exhibitions and conventions, which have earned it inclusion in the OICA (Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles) calendar alongside the famous “Auto Shows” of Frankfurt, Detroit, Tokyo, Paris and Geneva. But also with a high-impact program of sporting events. Events that make the international Bologna show unique in the world.

The fulcrum of everything at the Motor Show will be, as usual, the Lonsdale Arena, the magical “basin” carved into the BolognaFiere exhibition areas that can contain over 50,000 spectators, and that this year, as always, will host the test drives and exhibitions organized by the Manufacturers and 30 races involving more than 200 pilots.

The great encounters with sports will start right away, beginning on the first day of opening to the public. Saturday 3 December it will be the Bomb Boogie Gran Turismo Challenge that officially inaugurates the 2005 sports program, with the best GT series pilots at the starting line. This is a major overture from both an entertainment and technical standpoint, which during the championship saw vehicles like the Ferrari 550 Maranello, the Maserati MC12, the Lister Storm, the Lamborghini Murcielago, and the Saleen S7R - Chrysler Viper hit the track. The one-seater Jordan EJ15B will also be starring the same day, greeting the Italian public right from the racing area of the Bologna Motor Show. The program will be rounded out by the Trophy Maserati.
But the queen of the first weekend will be, per long-standing tradition, her: the Maranello red. The Ferrari Formula One team will perform on the track on Sunday 4 December with an uninterrupted series of pit stops and track circuits, which will allow the public in attendance to “hear,” live, the voice of the one-seater and see the Ferrari team at work. But the first Sunday of the 2005 Motor Show will also be enriched by the Bomb Boogie Eurotouring, a contest between the top stars of the international Touring category championship and the Ferrari Challenge Trophy Pirelli, as well as the Uniroyal Fun Cup Trophy.
The week's program will also include another two days dedicated to speed; Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 December. On the track will be the best Italian pilots of Bomb Boogie Formula 3000, the Ferrari Challenge Cup Shell and the Mazda trophy.

Starting on Wednesday 7 December, rally stars will descend on the Lonsdale Arena. The asphalt track is replaced with an earth/asphalt mix, and over the five intense days dedicated to rally racing visitors will see the best vehicles of the various categories in action. Starting with the Italy Trophy WRC, continuing with the Super N Trophy, the Super 1600 and the grand finale with the Findomestic Bettega Memorial and the nighttime encounter of the Dante Salvay “Night Sprint”, scheduled in the late afternoon of Saturday 10 December. The Findomestic Bettega Memorial will experience its decisive day on Sunday 11 December. The usual challenge between international rally stars will have a special flavor this year, twenty years after the death of the supreme champion Attilio Bettega. The Findomestic Bettega Memorial, the top classic of indoor rallies, already have the assured participation of the official Ford, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Peugeot teams. Don't forget that during the five days dedicated to rallies--one more than the usual Motor Show calendar, there will also be other interesting appointments such as the CSAI Federal School Trophy, the finale of the Subaru Cup, the Trophy Lady, dedicated to the best Italian women rally drivers, and the Peugeot trophy.

A must-see event, finally, on Thursday 8 December. At the Findomestic Bikers Rally, some Moto GP and Superbike champions will duke it out on board the small but extremely high-performance Fiat Panda Rally. Among the top motorcycle stars for the last weekend are participants in the Eastpak Freestyle Contest, a race involving the leading Freestyle specialists. Another can't-miss event, with the progress beyond every limit by champions in this specialty, who will keep all of the spectators of the Londsdale Arena in breathless excitement.