12 Hours 1975
Marzio Provini

The legendary Tarquinio Provini had a fulminating career. Over the span of ten years, at the turn of the fifties, he was able to win two world titles in the 125 and 250 GPs in the grand prix, winning twenty out of fifty races and hitting 34 podiums.
Then, marked by injuries, he retired, without losing the affection of all the fans who, in addition to the skills of the pilot, appreciated the man, sincere, direct, very nice and often portrayed
carrying in his arms, in love, the first-born Marzio.
Later he devoted himself to the production of motorcycle models and the Protar brand became synonymous with perfection. He also won in the models … the most popular, most loyal, better than the American and Japanese ones.
Marzio grew up and to continue the family tradition he devoted himself to regularity, under the wing of the “hen” Collina. He almost always raced on the SWM and was also at the start of the 12 Ore in 1975:
“We all had a lot of fun because the organization was excellent and our group of Emilians was large and very goliardic. I remember we slept in Il Ciocco’s bungalows … we slept … we should have slept, but between jokes and jokes, even the night before the race we didn’t sleep more than a couple of hours.
I raced with a KTM 100 paired with Cremonini and since the bike was his, he certainly wasn’t traveling to the limit and it was recommended that in the special section I didn’t force too much. Of course I didn’t listen to him …
Many wonderful memories, like that special stage in the path of the horses, very funny, which remained in everyone’s mind.I had already planned my participation in the next 12 Ore with my trusty SWM 380 paired with a friend who was not at the start of the first edition but who currently competes with a GKD.
But two months ago, the doctors forced me to have a hip replacement operation and the dream receded.
I will have the checkup in early October and if they gave me the green light and there was still a place available I would be, very happy, at the start. Maybe after sleeping a little more the previous night …Se invece non potrò essere alla partenza, verrò ugualmente al Ciocco per salutare ed abbracciare tanti amici e mi organizzerò sperando che il prossimo anno si ripeta questa grande gara”