Sad news - Giampiero Moretti has died

oh damn. godspeed gianpiero. i enjoyed this gentleman racer. he will be missed but his imsa participation will be long remembered.

pcb

 

he raced some very fast porsche 935's as well.

 

Very sad news.

Gianpiero Moretti was one of racing's true characters.

He was always ready with a smile, a joke and the
always present hugh pot of pasta simmering in his
garage.

The red and yellow MOMO liveried cars had to be among
the most beautiful entries ever including the 935s, 962s,
Nissan GTPs and the 333-SPs.

Great memories.

BHW

 

Wow - what happened? He was rather young...RIP!

 

It was fun to watch him and his 333 SP team race in the '90s. I'll remember him every time I see the "MOMO" logo on my steering wheel. R.I.P. Gianpiero.

 

very true. all of my sports cars have had a momo steering wheel...it seemed that since i was 16, it was always the first thing that was modified.

 

I heard lung cancer but I've yet to see this substantiated...the original source was some guy's Flickr page.

 

A colorful guy from a colorful period. He lived a full life, though.

CW

 

As a guy who owns and vintage races a couple of 935's Giampiero is one of the larger than life figures in motorsports racing . He was a great sportsman and will be missed.
A good friend bought one of his 935's a few years ago that I was happy to supply some very hard to find 935 parts for the restoration. We showed it at Amelia Island last year. Nothing like the Giampiero's MOMO livery.
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The "Gentleman Racer" was one of a kind. Moretti has influenced me as much as anyone ever has. It is a very sad day. I've owned over the past 7 years, over 40 of his early steering wheels and still have around 11 beautiful, fairly historic old Momo wheels.

I highly recommend this story by Paulo D'Alessio over on Sports car digest:
http://www.sportscardigest.com/gianpiero-moretti-witness-to-the-times/

Riposa in pace amico mio. Ti amo

Mark Morrissey
Moretti Illuminati — Ordo Templi Moretti

 

I remember rooting for Mr. Moretti and his 333sp and it was awesome when he finally won the Daytona 24hr. RIP sir.

 

RIP... I got to see bunch of mid 90's races w/ 333SP's.. I always loved seeing the red and yellow MOMO team.. It always felt like it was..almost. a factory team.... the sound of the 333's SCReaming around tracks like Watkins Glen will always stay with me... I have Tons of pics I took and got to meet him once......I know there has been a running passion is gone/ passion not gone half tongue in cheek debate in the discussions forum.. It is people like Mr. Moretti who remind us why we need passion in our lives..

 

nice post and so true.

 

Very sad to hear - RIP G.M.

 

Sad news: he was very pleasant the few times I had a chance to speak with him and he was definitely the quintessential privateer. RIP

 

A colleague in Europe who raced against and with
Moretti informs me that he'd been fighting cancer
for several years.

BHW

 

Great guy who I visited with 5 - 6 times over the years. Very fan friendly, even tempered, and an all-time great character. Central Casting couldn't have made him more memorable!
RIP, Mr. Moretti.

 

Sounds as if you were lucky enough to enjoy his company? I only know him by name and his achievements but he will be missed.

 

R.I.P.

Moretti, in the era he owned MOMO (prior to selling it to Breed Technologies), was also a generous businessman. Each year at the annual industry trade show in Las Vegas, Moretti hosted a lavish dinner party for his North and South American distributors. During the early 90's the top distributor of the year was awarded a new Momo-equipped sports car. In '93 for example, the car was the new RX7 twin turbo. In '95, it was the BMW E36 M3. Great guy who displayed class and style wherever he went.

 

RIP.

I bought some years ago a Mazda Miata which came with a wooden Momo steering wheel installed, and I think it´s the best looking thing of the car.

 

A Porsche GT is entered at Daytona for this weekend's 24 Hours race painted in the MOMO Colors. It has Moretti name listed with the drivers, and a picture of him on the hood. How beautiful. It is a big honor for us to remember him also by being on the car with out DVA sticker as well as on the Daytona 1998 winner 333SP. Go Porsche #26...

http://www.motorsport.com/#!/grandam/photo/main-gallery/26-ngt-motorsport-porsche-gt3-henrique-cisneros-sean-edwards-carlos-kauffmann-nick-ta-9/?r=5463&y=2012&s=5&id=1284303&i=164