In Modena, Mauro Forghieri was waved goodbye on his last journey

In Modena, Mauro Forghieri, the legendary engineer who created the Ferrari racing cars that John Surtiss, Niki Lauda and Jody Scheckter have competed with over the years and won races and titles in Formula 1, made their final journey. The mournful ceremony at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter was attended by Mattia Binotto, Piero Ferrari and René Arnoux.

Forghieri’s life path was interrupted last Wednesday, he was 87 years old, and Giampaolo Dallara, another famous Italian engineer, founder and head of Dallara, said at the funeral what kind of mark he had left in the history of motorsport.

“Of all of us, Mauro was the best because he was the most versatile,” he said. – He himself was involved in the design of all parts of the car: engine, gearbox, chassis and developed the aerodynamics.

He built not only Formula 1 cars, but also Formula 2, Le Mans, mountaineers. His normal state was the constant desire to do something. He was a great person, we were friends all our lives…”

Mauro Forghieri worked at Ferrari from 1962 to 1984, during which time the team from Maranello won the Constructors’ Cup seven times and the riders became world champions four times. Of them, only Jody Scheckter is alive today, and he wanted to come to Modena for the funeral, but according to Gazzetta dello Sport, his passport turned out to be expired.

The ceremony brought together many of Forghiera’s former colleagues, not only Ferrari employees, but also engineers and mechanics who work for Maserati and Lamborghini. Of course there were also riders: in addition to the already mentioned René Arnoux, who took 3rd place in the championship of 1983, these are Bruno Giacomelli and Pierluigi Martini.