“A man
of great passion and ability, a real Ferrari man.” That
is how President Luca di Montezemolo described Giulio
Borsari, a long time Formula 1 mechanic, who passed away
this week.
Born in 1925 in Montale, a short distance from the
Maranello factory, Giulio dedicated his whole life to
his passion for racing.
At the end of 1957, after
ten years at Maserati, ending in the team securing the
Formula 1 World Championship title with Juan Manuel
Fangio, but at the same time pulling out of racing,
Giulio moved from the Trident marque, first to Paganelli
and then to Scuderia Centro-Sud. Then, in 1962, he made
the move to Ferrari.
Giulio spent 17 years with the Prancing Horse, working
alongside many Formula 1 drivers, as well as working on
the Sports Prototype cars. John Surtees was particularly
attached to Giulio, who was Scuderia chief mechanic when
he won the world championship in 1964.
His farewell to racing
came in 1979, at the end of another extraordinary season
for Ferrari, culminating in winning both titles with
Jody Scheckter, Gilles Villeneuve and the 312 T4. In
fact it was at the thirtieth anniversary commemoration
of Gilles that, on 8 May last year at Fiorano, Giulio
met the son, Jacques and many former colleagues, all
part of the Club Meccanici Anziani, the association for
former Formula 1 mechanics, which he founded in 1988.
Giulio continued to play an active role in many
international motoring events and was the head of the
Ferrari Shell Historic Challenge technical commission
from 2000 to 2008. His in-depth knowledge of race cars
meant he was a reference point for everyone who shared a
passion for these cars and for the racing history of the
marque that represents Italian excellence around the
world.
“It was a sad and bleak day, when I walked into Worth
Abbey for my son Harry’s funeral service,” Surtees said.
“The only bit of light to pierce the darkness at that
moment was when I saw Giulio Borsari standing there. My
time with Ferrari was characterised by highs and lows,
but as Enzo Ferrari told me shortly before his death, we
must remember the good things and not the mistakes. I
remember Giulio with great affection and gratitude for
being such a great help to me both in the good times and
the bad and for knowing how to express that special
emotion you can only find in Italy, when we scored our
victories together.”
The pair met one last time on 29 June 2011 at Fiorano,
at a promotional event organised by Shell. With them was
Fernando Alonso, who spent a long time talking with both
men: it was a very significant moment, bringing together
Scuderia Ferrari’s past and its present.
