[Translated with Google]

Alessandro Manetti needs no introduction. His is one of those names that come up when talking about the best drivers in the history of karting. Winner of two world championships, the Italian stopped racing in 2013 at the age of 40 after an enviable career dotted with memorable exploits, which go beyond mere sporting results.

The helmet now seemed to be firmly on the nail when, in 2022, thanks to the introduction of the KZ2 Masters category (dedicated to gear kart drivers over 35) on the weekend of the FIA ​​Karting World Championship KZ, with the Int'l Super Cup, Alessandro decides that the time has come to get back behind the wheel of a kart, in a top-level international race.

Thus, from that day, preparation begins - which intensifies in the last period before the race - aimed at arriving at the weekend of 9-10 September 2023 ready to compete in the FIA ​​Karting International Supercup in Wackrsdorf, Germany. Too bad that 15 days before the event, while in the woods, Manetti was attacked by a wild boar. Yes, you read correctly, a wild boar. The wound is deep, you need to go to the emergency room, you need to get stitches. The wound is on the side, the most stressed part - together with the neck - when driving a kart. The dream of making one of the most exciting returns to racing seems to vanish there, after a year of intense preparation. Not for Manetti who, as mentioned, has always accustomed us to over-the-top feats. Like that time in Ugento, on the occasion of the 2007 European championship, when he ran and won with his body tormented by wounds, the aftermath of a bike accident during training (the story of that historic feat can be found in the article "Once in the Life - Alessandro Manetti: the wounded kart driver, stronger than the pain").
Today, as we write these lines, Alessandro Manetti is competing to win the FIA ​​Karting International Supercup KZ2 Masters title. After the heats he is 3rd overall. He will start second in Super Heat A and then who knows, we'll see. But it doesn't matter, because Alessandro Manetti from Forlì has already won his race, in some way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn9YCEy_G10