Piacenza: Illegal Night Races Are Back and Turning Into a Social Media Show

• Night of 2 September 2026: according to media reports, full-throttle runs and wheelies on Via Bazzani near the bypass, even while trucks were passing through
• Meeting points are arranged via social media, spectators film the action and post the videos
• Back in 2023, videos from the Statale 45 showing 150 km/h through corners and roundabouts taken against the flow of traffic caused a stir

Summer nights on the outskirts of Piacenza are currently anything but quiet. The city lies in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, around 70 kilometres south-east of Milan. According to media reports, headlights and screaming engines are pulling residents out of their sleep as motorcyclists take each other on along the arterial roads. The races are not spontaneous, they are arranged in advance on social networks. And it is not only about the riders themselves: the public is invited too, so that nobody misses the spectacle.

What happened in Piacenza on the night of 2 September?

On the night of 2 September 2026, illegal motorcycle races took place in the Montale area near the Piacenza bypass, according to media reports. Passing motorists heard the engine noise and reported that riders were going full throttle and pulling wheelies on Via Bazzani.

The races were not held on a closed circuit but on a road that remained open to normal traffic. Local media report that the riders carried on even as trucks passed through. A large number of young spectators watched from the roadside, cheered the riders on, filmed the action and then posted the videos on social networks.

According to media reports, the pattern is always the same: the runs with wheelies, lane changes and overtaking manoeuvres are followed by the celebration online, with the videos serving as proof of the rider’s performance. For residents, that means not only noise at night but also the worry that unsuspecting road users could get caught up in it.

Are these really races in Piacenza?

Whether actual races in the strict sense were held on Via Bazzani cannot be established clearly from the reports. The wheelies described point more towards showing off in front of an audience than towards a contest for the fastest time.

In a race, the point is to cover a distance as quickly as possible. A wheelie costs time: as long as the front wheel is in the air, the rider can neither accelerate fully nor hold a clean line. Anyone genuinely racing keeps the front wheel down. The fact that the reports from Piacenza mention wheelies and races in the same breath suggests that this is less about organised contests and more about exuberant riding and stunts in front of spectators who film the whole thing.

That barely changes the assessment. Wheelies, lane changes and full-throttle runs on a road open to traffic are illegal and dangerous in any case, regardless of whether somebody is racing the clock or other riders. The word race, as used in the coverage, therefore describes the residents’ perception rather than what is actually happening on the road.

Why are illegal motorcycle races in Piacenza nothing new?

The area around Piacenza already made headlines in the summer of 2023 over risky motorcycle videos, back then it was about the Statale 45 between Piacenza and Genoa. With its hundreds of hairpins, the route through the Val Trebbia is regarded among motorcyclists as one of the finest roads in northern Italy, and for years it has also attracted riders who do not stick to the rules.

According to media reports, the videos from that time showed speeds of up to 150 km/h through corners, plus overtaking manoeuvres across the double solid line, passing on the right and slaloming between cars. It was all recorded with cameras mounted on the bike, and in some cases from the air with drones. In some clips, young women sat on the pillion seat and could audibly be heard to be frightened. One quote from one of the videos is “Basta, ho paura”, meaning “Stop, I’m scared”.

One stunt was considered particularly risky: a rider went through the roundabout at Cernusca against the flow of traffic. A few kilometres further on he stopped, and his friends commented in the video: “Hai sette vite tu”, meaning “You have seven lives”. According to the reports, the companions came from neighbouring regions, above all from Lombardy, from Milan and Monza.

What role do YouTube and TikTok play in the races?

According to media reports, the videos are not a by-product but professionally edited and part of a business model. There are said to be hundreds to thousands of such clips, and in the comments the Val Trebbia is referred to as a “giostra” (carousel) or a “pista” (race track).

That also explains why the daily checks by the Carabinieri and the Polstrada along the Statale 45 apparently make little impression on the riders. For part of the scene, reach online is the real motivation. According to the reports, some clips show the speedometer climbing to just short of the 200 km/h mark before a corner.

Is there more than adrenaline behind the races in Piacenza?

Whether money is also involved in the races in Piacenza has not been established so far. The Italian trade press has, however, raised the possibility that illegal betting could play a role.

If that suspicion were confirmed, according to this assessment it would no longer be simply a matter of reckless behaviour but of organised crime. Official statements from the authorities on the incidents at Montale or on any investigations have not been issued so far.

The Piacenza case therefore joins a series of reports about illegal motorcycle races in Italy in which social networks serve both as a meeting point and as a stage. For residents on the outskirts of Piacenza, the open question for now is how much longer the nights will be shaped by screaming engines.

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