A VISIT TO ALESSANDRO PICCINI’S WORKSHOP OF DREAMS

Giacomo Mantovani

05 December 2021

The 4-time world champion, with his son Alessio, has set up a dream space for karting enthusiasts. Where? In Montelupo Fiorentino, among memorabilia that represent the history of karting, impressive equipment and… much more. We visited it for you and show it to you devoid of secrets

Alessandro Piccini needs no introduction for kart lovers: 4 world titles and works driver for the most prestigious brands in the sport during a career spanning over 40 years (which you can read about in the article "Editorial - Alessandro Piccini: 40 years in karting"). However, not everyone knows that the Italian champion - having hung up his driver’s helmet - vented his passion by setting up a workshop that, in the eyes of enthusiasts, is like being catapulted into Pinocchio's playland! However, these spaces are far from representing an exercise in style or the regret of years past. Indeed, you can perceive the atmosphere of competition and the track, the most modern and those at the highest level, inside the walls of this industrial building. In fact, in addition to tuning racing engines, Alessandro follows his son Alessio’s career as a driver, currently employed by the Birel ART team. Without a doubt, the functional and rational layout of each space is astonishing, nothing is left to chance and, on the contrary, every corner takes on a meaning dictated by daily use and the experience gained by the 4-time world champion. Precision, maniacal order and cleanliness are the main components of these spaces, so much so that they rival the kitchens of the greatest Michelin-starred chefs in the world. Without overlooking the fact that every choice in terms of furniture, instruments and various tools represents the top in its specific sector. Stuff that blew us away the entire time of our visit.

Alessandro Piccini during the interview that we managed to conduct during our visit to his workshop in Montelupo Fiorentino (Florence - Italy) in autumn 2021.

That’s not all. This well-equipped industrial building offers something unique that few other workshops in the world can boast: it’s a true karting time machine. You look to the right and see the kart in which Alessandro won his first world championship in 1987, you look to the left and see a row of trophies as tall as an 8-year-old child, you open a drawer and find a small DELLORTO museum featuring carburetors of every type and era. Then, there's more, there's Alessandro. An inexhaustible source of anecdotes, stories and memories. He can tell you first-hand about events that marked the history of international karting, episodes that up until now you had only read about in the newspapers and that he, on the other hand, experienced directly and tells you in person. It’s worth clarifying, which is something that cannot be taken for granted when you find yourself inside these walls, that the workshop set up by Alessandro is entirely private. Basically, it’s conceptually the stereotypical garage in which, among the cartons, junk and lawn mowers, enthusiasts set up their own karts. However, in practice, looking around, the feeling you get is that of finding yourself in the factory of an award-winning racing team, where in addition to having every instrument and tool, ample space has been dedicated to the well-being and comfort of those who work and spend most of their time there. Even the bicycle parking lot at the entrance is automated and "retractable", as if to say: "All you have to think about here is cultivating your passion for karting in the utmost comfort".