Gianpiero Moretti, founder of the Italian automotive equipment company Momo, for MOretti-MOnza, and a gentleman sportscar racer, has died at his home in Milan, Italy, at the age of 71 following a long battle with lung cancer.
Moretti was a regular campaigner in IMSA competition during the organization’s glory days of the ’80s and ’90s, mainly in Porsches, but also with March, Alba and Nissan prototypes, and finally with a Ferrari 333SP, a car he lobbied Piero Ferrari to build and with which he won the 1998 Rolex 24 at Daytona to fulfill a long-held dream.
Moretti’s racing career covered nearly 40 seasons and included four starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He always wanted to win Daytona, however, and prior to that ’98 event said of its signature watch award, “With all the money I have spent at Daytona, I could have bought 1,000 Rolexes easily, but I wanted to win this race.”
Teamed with co-drivers Mauro Baldi, Didier Theys and Arie Luyendyk, he did just that the next day, as they brought the MOMO Ferrari back from an 18-lap deficit to finish eight laps ahead of the runner-up Rohr Motorsports Porsche 911 GT1. The winning car was prepared by Kevin Doran, who credits Moretti with helping establish his Doran Enterprises as a top-rank team. “Getting together with Gianpiero and MOMO brought our team back to pro racing after Al Holbert’s death,” Doran said.
The win sparked a remarkable “hat trick” for Moretti as he followed it up with victories later that season in the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Watkins Glen 6 Hours, and then stepped from the cockpit. To all of Moretti’s many friends in and out of the sport, Vintage Racecar extends its sincerest condolences.
