Lightning and the end at Alfa Corse
02/14/2016
It was 1988 when we were allowed to photograph the new ProCar 164 from Alfa Romeo for the first time behind closed doors with Sport-Auto in Balocco.
Unexpected problems such as a missing starter delayed the shoot by hours, but we were kept happy with coffee and sweets. The whole thing was booked as a photo shoot only, without a vehicle test. Normally, this means that I can move around freely and don't have to take the usual safety distances into account.
So at the end of the long straight, I lay down flat on the asphalt and photographed the approaching car. Test driver Giorgio Francia was at the wheel and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw me lying there. He stopped on the spot and screamed that he wouldn't drive another meter like that, it was totally irresponsible. The Alfa officials tried to make it clear to him that it was really just a photo opportunity and that he didn't have to do any qualifying laps. Things slowly but surely calmed down again and after the photo session was over, we drove to the Alfa Corse racing department to take a picture with the technical director Giuseppe Tonti and "his" V10 on the test bench.
In the dark room of the test stand, two flashlights were supposed to shed some light on the darkness. Once everything was set up, the exposure settings were to be adjusted using a test flash. There was a huge bang and everything went pitch black and quiet. The entire Alfa Corse operation was literally paralyzed in a flash. Apparently the fuses in the building could not cope with the lightning energy. In any case, it took quite a while before normal operations were restored.
The Italians took the break in their stride, laughed and asked me to come by more often ...
