Editorial
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Beppe Gabbiani: when testing... Never push to the max
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Being a BM official meant finally doing double duty, on one hand, racing and, on the other, breaking-in and testing new engines, chassis, and tires, which is something Necchi and I did about 2-3 times a week.
I considered this an extraordinary opportunity. It was my great chance to learn the tricks of the trade from Paolo, but also from Baroni and Pernigotti. It was a blast to spend those days on track without the pressure of performance, just bouncing off opinions on whatever technical aspect was at hand.
[...]
We also held some kind of special tests. BM was operative worldwide, so Mister Baruzzi would often rally up his foreign retailers to give them a first-hand opportunity to evaluate the products they would try to sell to drivers and teams (which would become semi-official outfits). Jesolo, Parma, Rome, Fano, you name it.
We spent most of our mornings breaking in the engines. We’d work at the test bench, sure, but then we had to make them run for an hour and fifteen minutes at walking speed, then another fifteen minutes at mid-range, then another dreadful ball-busting 90 minutes, before we could finally push them to the max. [...]
Our French importer often came to these trials with Alain Prost, who already had a very clear sense of how to get around. He was as sly and calculating as I was stupid and impulsive.
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