Rumi, Gabriele
Name: Rumi, Gabriele
Job description: Majority stakeholder
Date of Birth: 1940
Died: 21st of May, 2001
Minardi link: Gabriele held a majority stake in the Minardi.
Original article: Salvo Toscano
Job description: Majority stakeholder
Date of Birth: 1940
Died: 21st of May, 2001
Minardi link: Gabriele held a majority stake in the Minardi.
Original article: Salvo Toscano
In Minardi's history few people have been as important as Gabriele Rumi. Man from the "deep North" of Italy, the rich Lombardy, Gabriele Rumi came from a family that had worked in the metal industry for three generations. He took over the business in 1961 and in 1970 decided to diversify the business into the light alloy business, producing parts for engines and other automotive component, launching his alloy wheel business in 1972.
Rumi became an enthusiastic racing fan in the 1960s but he had come to the sport too late to be a driver himself. This is why he chose another way to leave his mark in motorsports. In 1983 he began sponsoring Italian GP driver Piercarlo Ghinzani, who was driving an Osella. Back in the 80s there were several small squads from Italy in Formula One. The following year, his company Fondmetal began supplying lightweight racing wheels to Tyrrel, Williams and Ligier.
Rumi bought Osella in 1990 and turned it into Fondmetal in 1991. He opened a new factory in Palosco, near Bergamo. The cars, however, were built in England. This was too expensive and the Fondmetal team adventure did not last long. Rumi withdrew the team from F1 in 1992, its best results were two tenth places. Gabriele however didn't quit Formula One. He joined forces with former Ferrari aerodynamicist Jean Claude Migeot, and bought the Casumaro windtunnel. The new company, Fondmetal Technologies, began doing design consultancy work for F1 teams such as Benetton and Tyrrel.
Rumi entered Minardi's history in 1996: he was part of the consortium that bought the Faenza based team, after its joint venture with Scuderia Italia turned out to be a failure. At the end of 1997 Rumi bought Flavio Briatore's share and became the majority shareholder in the team. Flavio had planned to sell the team to British American Tobacco, but Rumi and Gian Carlo Minardi blocked the deal. Rumi invested a lot of money and hired Cesare Fiorio to be the team's sporting director. During Rumi's years Gustav Brunner built good cars for Minardi, but the team never had an engine capable of propelling the team further up the grid. Nevertheless there were highlights like Gene's sixth place at the Nürburgring (1999). The team finished 10th in 1999 and 2000. At the end of 2000 there were talks about a deal with Argentinean company PSN to buy the team. But the deal never materialised. It was a dramatic moment for Minardi: Gabriele Rumi was seriously ill, the team was out of money, there was no deal for tires, drivers and engines. In January 2001, after a winter of uncertainty, Australian Paul Stoddart bought all of Rumi's shares in the Minardi team.
Gabriele died of cancer that very year, in May. He was 61. Minardi always had many links with Italy's Lombardy region, with sponsors and technical partners like Allegrini and Brembo, both Lombard companies.
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