"That’s how I ended up in Jacksonville, Florida, to support an unknown Brazilian driver in the Formula K World Championship, Augusto “Guga” Ribas....".

It was 1986, I had been in IAME for 12 years, but I was such a huge motor-head that I’d hit the track every weekend.
That’s how I became friends with Gianni Piazza, an esteemed tuner that had just launched the Nordikas team. It was a nice outfit, brand new, and at first I’d lend a hand push-starting karts.

But with time I felt useless hanging around just to do that, so I started helping out as a mechanic.
During the week, I’d work for IAME and whenever there were races, I’d ask for permission to follow them with Nordikas, since they used our engines.

That’s how I ended up in Jacksonville, Florida, to support an unknown Brazilian driver in the Formula K World Championship, Augusto “Guga” Ribas. I’d never seen him before and I never crossed paths with him again.

When I first laid eyes on him, so skinny, in that unbearable heat and humidity, I didn’t think he’d amount to much.
Instead, ..