Maverick Life

MOTORSPORT

Iconic family, iconic race track, iconic backdrop

Iconic family, iconic race track, iconic backdrop
Daily Maverick is here too, with the Pirro family, Jan Lammers and British saloon-car ace Anthony Reid. Image: Supplied / Greg Mills

Emanuele Pirro is a household name in international motorsport. A five-time winner of the Le Mans 24-hour race, Formula 1 driver for Benetton and Dallara, test-driver for McLaren during the all-conquering years of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, FIA driver steward and member of its circuit commission, Italian karting champion… the honours and achievements could fill many pages.

The motorsport champion has never before raced with his sons, Cris (29) and Goffredo Pirro (26), the latter known to all as “Goofy”. 

Both of them have accomplished motorsport careers; Cris a performance engineer with Alfa F1, and Goofy with a leading Italian F3 team. Both have a background in karting, like their father, and have raced successfully in junior formula.

The Cape International 9 Hour at the Killarney circuit on Saturday, 10 December provides the opportunity for this notable family get-together in one of the Team Africa Le Mans Ginetta GT3s. 

Emanuele Pirro says of the opportunity: “It’s one thing to be here in beautiful Cape Town. It’s another to be at Killarney, a circuit loaded with history and with possibly,” pointing out Table Mountain in the distance, “the best backdrop in motorsport. But to do this with your family is a dream come true.”

Iconic motorsport family, iconic backdrop: Cris, Emanuele and Goofy Pirro. Image: Supplied / Greg Mills

Iconic motorsport family, iconic backdrop: Cris, Emanuele and Goofy Pirro. Image: Supplied / Greg Mills

Team Africa Le Mans advertises the anti-poaching cause, showing that petrolheads too can be concerned about wider environmental concerns. As the team manager, former Kenya rally champion David Horsey, notes: “Motorsport in Africa is not just about speed and competition. We take that for granted. To be sustainable, it has to be at least as much about what we give back, as what we take out of the planet.”

The other Ginetta GTs, which carry support also for the Ukrainian cause, feature British touring car stars Anthony Reid and Murray Shepherd, along with the Dutch legend Jan Lammers, himself an F1 driver and Le Mans winner. 

For Jan, who has competed frequently in Cape Town, 2022 marks a special return on the formal announcement of the lease extension for Killarney from the city of Cape Town. The return of international motorsport at Killarney and through the city with Formula E next year, heralds “what promises to be an even richer chapter for a racetrack and facility,” reminds Lammers, “that has already hosted two GPs and World Rally X. The field at the Cape International 9 Hour is a powerful statement as to where it wants to take motorsport and the engineering, tourism and other commercial multipliers that it enables.”

Emanuele Pirro, Le Mans legend. Image: Supplied / Greg Mills

Emanuele Pirro, Le Mans legend. Image: Supplied / Greg Mills

The Pirro family. Image: Supplied / Greg Mills

The Pirro family. Image: Supplied / Greg Mills

The presence of the Pirros and the other motorsport superstars also reminds South Africans that, even during the darkness of rolling blackouts and chaos of government, the country is blessed with extraordinary talent – and great weather. 

“The South African season, with its summer months slap-bang in the European winter, contains enormous potential for an increase in motorsport, especially historic racing, given the history of Killarney,” says Anthony Reid, a senior driver at the UK’s Goodwood Revival meeting. 

Emanuele Pirro won Le Mans five times with Audi. Image: Supplied

Emanuele Pirro won Le Mans five times with Audi. Image: Supplied

Audi's Emanuele Pirro during the ''Le Mans 24h Race'' at the Le Sarthe Circuit on June 17, 2006 in Le Mans, France. Image: John Marsh / Getty Images

Audi’s Emanuele Pirro during the ”Le Mans 24h Race” at the Le Sarthe Circuit on June 17, 2006 in Le Mans, France. Image: John Marsh / Getty Images

Figures show that the classic and heritage car sector is, in Britain, twice the size of the whisky industry, and about the same as the art economy. The average historic car enthusiast in the UK, for example, spends £8,000 a year on their classic cars, if they own one, a little more than half of which is spent at a garage. Historic motorsport in the UK is calculated to account for more than £600m in annual expenditure, broken down into historic racing (worth £371-million a year), owner clubs (£111-million) and historic rallying (£253-million). Vehicle museums add in £62-million and historic vehicle magazines contribute £59-million. And there are significant multipliers to such events, from accommodation to food, auction houses to media, and of course, advertising and hospitality. 

The Goodwood Festival and Revival, for instance, together attract more than half a million spectators over their nine days, bringing in more than £100-million for the UK economy. This provides employment for about 150 people and more in the 20-day build up to the event, plus another 250 and more over the nine days, also generating more than 100,000 “person nights” accommodation in terms of the wider spend. The festival also enjoys a social media viewership of more than 50 million. Goodwood Racing’s top 30 videos on YouTube are estimated to have generated $354,600 in advertising revenue.

But the last word is best left to Marlene Pirro. 

“Rather than being apprehensive, it makes me very proud to see husband and sons race together, already an incredible memory in a wonderful city.” DM/ML

Dr Mills drives for Team Africa Le Mans in his spare time. 

The Cape 9 Hour starts at noon on Saturday, 10 December, with supporting events from 8am. Tickets are available at the gate or from Webtickets.

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