Throwback Thursday: MOMO Ferrari Won Daytona, Sebring in 1998

Painted in the distinctive red with yellow trim of his Italian racing equipment company MOMO (for Moretti-Monza), Gianpiero Moretti is well remembered for his race cars of the 1980s and '90s.

Moretti was a fierce competitor, with his cars including the Porsche 935 and Porsche 962. The paint scheme debuted in the 1978 Six Hours of Talladega IMSA Camel GT Challenge, where the No. 30 MOMO Porsche 935 qualified fourth. In upcoming years, the scheme adorned many cars, including the Porsche 935, Porsche 962, Nissan NTP, Ford/Alba, Buick/March and the Audi/Gephart. While similar, the schemes changed from season to season, always different and personally designed by Moretti.

But the car Moretti is best remembered for is his Ferrari 333SP. And if one race stands out, it was the 1998 Rolex 24 At Daytona, when his perseverance finally paid off. A further reward came only a few weeks later when Moretti won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring – the last time a driver and team doubled up in America’s premier endurance races.

Moretti first raced in the Rolex 24 in 1970, running with an underfunded Ferrari team. In 1979, his Jolly Club Porsche 935 started on the pole and led the race before blowing its engine. After coming so close, winning the Rolex 24 became his personal quest – and the source of annual frustration.With the coming of the IMSA World Sports Car in 1994, Moretti persuaded Ferrari that could race in America under the new formula – and win Daytona. The result was the Ferrari 333SP. The car proved to be a game changer. Prepared by Kevin Doran and driven by Moretti and Formula One veteran Eliseo Salazar, the car first appeared three races into the 1994 campaign and finished in the top two in all seven starts – winning three of them.“Driving the MOMO Ferrari was one of the highlights of my 40-year career,” said Salazar, who finished eighth in GT Daytona in a TRG Aston Martin in the recent Rolex 24. “To drive with the Prancing Horse on the steering wheel is very special. It was a great year – our worst result was second. It was great to be with Gianpiero Moretti, one of the stalwarts of racing with his brand, showcasing motor racing to the world.”For 1995, Moretti teamed with Wayne Taylor, the defending World Sports Car champion. They won two races, but failed to finish at Daytona. Young Massimiliano Papis – an Italian with limited Formula One experience on his resume – joined Moretti in 1996, and nearly brought him his coveted watch. Papis put on a thrilling charge, closing to within 65 seconds of Taylor’s Oldsmobile at the checkered flag in the closest Rolex 24 finish at the time. Nicknamed “Mad Max” for his charge, Papis went on to win three races with Moretti that season. “The Ferrari 333SP, together with my Champ Car days, was absolutely the best car I drove in my career,” Papis said. “It had everything that a race car driver wanted: an amazing sound, a V-12 behind you, lots of downforce, really wide tires, low profile – and it was red.“Gianpiero was as everyone should be in motor racing,” Papis added. “He loved the sport, and he did it all the time with a smile on his face. He was a tough guy, but he was very capable of giving you satisfaction. To me, I came to realize want a special person that he was. When you talked to Gianpiero, I like it was going back 40 years in time and talking to a pioneer of the sport, he had such a love for racing, and he loved to keep things simple. He is definitely one of the people I miss the most in racing nowadays.” Andrea Montermini drove for the team in 1997, winning three races but finishing seventh overall at Daytona.Moretti knew that his time was running out to win at Daytona. For 1998 – his 15th attempt at Daytona – the 57-year-old planned to drive two stints, and then let teammates Arie Luyendyk, Mauro Baldi and Didier Theys race for the win. The event came down to a battle between the MOMO Ferrari and the defending Dyson Racing Riley & Scott Mk III of Butch Leitzinger, John Paul Jr., Rob Dyson  and Perry McCarthy. When that car had major problems shortly after 9 a.m., the MOMO Ferrari had a commanding lead. With time running out, Moretti decided to get back in for the final stint.“I thought, I want to see a picture of my car – me inside – winning Daytona,” he said. Moretti went on to win by eight laps, and the story of him winning after years of trying made national news. His victory was not lost on NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt, who used Moretti as inspiration to come back two weeks later to win the Daytona 500 on his 19th try.“It was a great cap on a great career for Gianpiero – it was fun to make that happen for a guy who’s been racing for about 35 years,” said Doran, who continues to field cars in the TUDOR Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. “Winning the Rolex 24 was his drive in motorsports. It was fun to see that come to a successful conclusion after all those years of trying.” “With all the money I have spent at Daytona, I could have bought 1,000 Rolexes easily,” said Moretti, the first and only drive to compete in 150 IMSA Camel GT races. “But I wanted to win this race.”Moretti had said he would quit if he won Daytona. However, he went on to win the Twelve Hours of Sebring and raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans before returning to Italy – wearing his Rolex – to enjoy the memories of his racing career.Moretti passed away on Jan. 14, 2012 – two weeks before the 50th Rolex 24. Race cars continue to carry the traditional MOMO livery in IMSA TUDOR Championship and Porsche GT3 competition, keeping alive the memory of Gianpiero Moretti and one very special day in Daytona.