The sport competitions in Sardinia were not officially seen before 1922. In the absence of an Automobile Club in Sardinia, the first race was organized by the Automobile Club Torino. Thus was born the Sardinian Car Week, designed to host three races of which in fact only two were held: the Gentleman race, reserved for "national" pilots (this term actually identified Sardinian pilots), and the international race, that went from Cagliari to Sassari and back, which saw only seven members. After the WWII the new Automobile Club di Cagliari re-created in 1951 a great race on the long and difficult road track entirely crossing the island from Cagliari to Sassari and then back to Cagliari.
The competition, named "Trofeo della Regione Sarda" in the first two edition, became "Trofeo Internazionale della Sardegna" from the third edition.
During the third edition the driver Diego Capelli went off the road and lost his life. From the fourth edition the event was, in memory, named also "Coppa Diego Capelli. The event, as many other road races, ended its career after the tragic incident occurred at the 1957 Mille Miglia.