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GPOne Auto, we drive, but we don’t move; Ferrari F40 vs Honda NSX

The curiosity and the pleasure of controlling a mechanical vehicle, whether it’s a car or a motorbike, encourages us to cross the Rubicon with a new section of the site dedicated to four wheels

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All motorcyclists are also motorists, but not all motorists are motorcyclists.

But in what ways does anyone who rides a motorcycle and drives a car differ from those who don’t?

I have my say without claiming that this is a universal truth: for me, a mechanical vehicle, car, motorcycle, but also a bicycle, is not just an object with wheels that allows me to move quickly. When I grab a handlebar or grip a steering wheel, I feel at one with the mechanical means. In one sentence: I start to move. And I appreciate the particularities of each individual vehicle.

This is the reason why, in the course of my life, whenever I have had the opportunity, I wanted to try everything.

On the road and on the track. With my modest abilities but always with the curiosity to try new sensations. Motorcycles of all types, sidecars, as a rider and as a passenger. Then the Paris-Dakar adventure that brought me closer to four wheels and gave me one of the greatest adventures of my life: crossing the finish line of the Pink Lake in Senegal.

Paris-Dakar 1984: Compulsory stop, even in the race, at the Ténéré tree with Tony Merendino and Juan Porcar

There I discovered that the passion for everything that moves you and on whose controls you act is transversal and I felt it through the vibrations that the seat of the Mercedes 230 GE gave me in 1984 and, the following year, when I moved Caroline of Monaco’s gigantic Astra truck to put it in the best position to allow the Princess to see the arrival parade.

Besides, would you believe it? Whenever I rent a car to go to some Grand Prix, as soon as I get off the plane, I take the opportunity to try one that I don't know.

It is not mere curiosity, nor professional deformation: it is a pleasure. Because every motorcycle or car has its own personality. It’s not just a question of horsepower and performance, but of what it transmits. Which can also be just comfort, an awesome stereo system or, increasingly frequently, the possibility of making the reactions of the vehicle tailor-made to yourself thanks to electronics.

Early 1970s: the thrill of being a passenger in a racing sidecar

For this reason, because I am curious and passionate about everything that man has built to move himself - by the way as a boy, when I rode a horse, I realized that every animal is different, in 'performance' and terrain of use - I have decided to include a section dedicated to CARS in GPOne.com.

The reason that prompted me is the same as the one that one year ago led to the creation of the ‘Playtime' section dedicated to Cinema, Travel and Games. Inside each and every one of us there is a little Leonardo Da Vinci. We can discuss for as long as we like if the Genius was better as a painter, engineer, anatomist, sculptor, architect, scientist: the reality is that he was moved by an incredible curiosity. And he had no fear about getting involved in new fields.

He was probably having just as much fun as us when we put together a motorcyclist and a motorist - Luca Cadalora and Andrea Montermini - on a beautiful day at the Modena circuit with two iconic cars: the uncultured Ferrari F40 and the very modern Honda NSX.

No pretence, just to try emotions, discover new sensations and try to transfer them, by telling you all about them.

Which is exactly the same thing that we do every time we follow a Grand Prix, covering the activities of the riders, dreaming of being the rider.

I hope you like the new section, and that it will satisfy some of your curiosity. Whether it’s in a supercar or a small car. We are counting on your participation, your advice, your criticism. We drive, but we don’t move.

 

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