Forghieri shares a humorous moment with Commendatore Ferrari during testing at Monza. The two first became acquainted when Forghieri was a boy. Photo: Giorgio Nada
Motorland, Italy, is amazing. It really is just a couple of towns, one Maranello, with a population of just over 17,000, the other, Modena, with 186,000, plus their surrounding areas. Yet since the 1920s it has been the pulsating heart of Italian motor racing and a lot more besides. Much of Motorland’s success is, of course, down to the iron-willed, notoriously impatient Enzo Ferrari. Most of his employees, who contributed to establishing and running this mighty Italian p.r. machine, came from the local area. Until, that is, Fiat tiptoed into the company and gradually brought its influence to bear to perpetuate this world-beater.
One of the locals was a bespectacled kid whose dad, Reclus, was a tuner at Scuderia Ferrari before and after the Second World War. The youngster’s name was Mauro Forghieri, and the Ferraris he was destined to design and develop would win 11 Formula One World Championships.
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