“…and could have easily done like Piero, who used the tests to choose his material ad not to facilitate others’ choice”.

Beppe Gabbiani was one of the great karting stars of the 1970s: his karting resume includes two Italian titles and two European crowns.
He has also raced in F1 and specialized in Endourance racing. Today he is an appreciated television voice.

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).

Our French importer often came to these trials with Alain Prost, who already had a very clear sense of how to get around.
He…