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Doctor Costa’s voice is tired, fatigued but not by the weight of the years - he’s 81 - but by the bitterness of seeing the dream – fulfilled - of his Mobile Clinic disappear.
The son of Checco, the legendary organizer of the Imola 200 Miles and an infinity of other symbolic races, in the first edition of the 200, on 23 April 1972 provided medical assistance to the riders in the event of a crash with the help of a life-jacket, a special vest containing everything necessary for first aid, developed by Costa himself.
It was the riders themselves who asked him to continue the work, and even the great Giacomo Agostini, always one step ahead in terms of safety, wanted Costa alongside him on the occasion of his debut overseas, at the Daytona 200 miles.
It was only in 1976 that Dr. Claudio Costa, who at the time travelled personally by car, risking arrest in countries where he could not practice his medical profession, came the idea of the Clinica Mobile, which saw the light the following year thanks to the generosity of Gino Misano, legendary owner of AGV helmets.
“The first memory of thinking about the clinic is this - says dottorcosta, reached by telephone - I was working at Rizzoli, and they brought me the design of the clinic: we spread it on the floor, it was a plan. From the first moment I fell in love with the idea, my father Checco was immediately on my side and Amisano gave me the financial support to make it happen. I had the distinct feeling that I had created something that could save lives ”.
And it saved them.
"The clinic came about because there was no medical assistance, it had to save lives, and it did so with dozens of riders, from Graziano Rossi, Valentino's father, at Imola, to Virginio Ferrari, Franco Uncini, Phillippe Coulon and many others ".
A symbol, that was the Clinica. A neutral and friendly territory within the paddock, where two rivals for the world title could meet to heal themselves, knowing that they would have the same treatment, with additionally a healthy ration of care and affection.
“The clinic as an altar to recover from fractures, to return to holding the handlebars and pursue the dream of the podium – Costa’s memory becomes a flight of fancy – riders are sacred forms, who knows if they want all this to disappear. Although it is true that the time of heroes is over. It cannot last for eternity, they are cycles in which mankind can prove its worth, then everything shatters. When Dorna arrived, the Clinic had exhausted its saving purpose, but from what I have been told at least the symbol will remain, even if in a foreign land, my favourite daughter will be replaced and from now on she will live in a foreign land ".
Dr. Costa doesn’t express any judgement about this change however.
"I don’t judge human beings, in order not to be judged, of course I am embittered – he admitted - but for sure I have less bitterness in the mouth than Dr. Zaza, who had safeguarded my inheritance up to now".
HERE ARE SOME DOCTOR COSTA BOOKS
