Primo Moretti (* 1. Februar 1890 in Camporotondo di Fiastrone; † 1945 in Mandello del Lario) war ein ...
Werdegang
BearbeitenA pioneer of Italian motorcycle racing, Primo Moretti won a number of races in the 1920s and 1930s as a Frera and Moto Guzzi works rider. A popular racer, he enjoyed a long career spanning more than two decades, and continued his professional racing activity until the outbreak of World War II, well after turning his 50.
Born in 1890 at Camporotondo sul Fiastrone, province of Macerata, Italy, Primo Moretti served in the Italian Army as a motorcyclist during World War I. After being discharged, he had his racing debut and in 1920 joined team Frera of Tradate, province of Milan, one of the leading Italian motorcycle brands. In 1921 Moretti won his class in the Italian Motorcycle Championship, taking outright wins in the Italian Grand Prix, held at Pino Torinese, and in the classic "Raid Nord-Sud". This was an about 880-kilometer road race along the Italian peninsula from Milano to Napoli in one stage. Primo Moretti took part in twelve editions of the race, which course was extended to Taranto in the mid-1930s.
Moretti raced with considerable success for Frera until the end of 1924, when he moved to Moto Guzzi, the company which was founded in 1921 by Carlo Guzzi, Giovanni Ravelli and Giorgio Parodi at Mandello Lario, province of Sondrio (now province of Lecco), Italy. The racing team of the make included Ugo Prini and the European Motorcycle Champion Guido Mentasti within its line up. A determined and very fast rider, Primo Moretti remained loyal to Moto Guzzi throughout his life. From 1925 he raced in Italy and Europe, riding Moto Guzzi bikes in the 250, 350 and 500 cm3 classes, achieving a number of class and overall victories against the likes of Tazio Nuvolari, Amedeo Ruggeri, Miro Maffeis, Achille Varzi, his namesake Amilcare Moretti, Terzo Bandini, and others.
In 1932 Primo Moretti founded his own motorcycle dealership in Corso Cavour, Macerata. Moto Moretti then became a small factory which produced a 175 cm3 bike that obtined a fair success racing in the years before the war.
His career's final result occurred in May of 1940. At the age of 50, Primo Moretti managed to finish a fine second place in the sidecar class in the tough Milano-Taranto road race, with his mechanic Umberto Luciani as passenger. It occurred a few weeks before Italy entered World War II, and all the racing activities were suspended.
Primo Moretti was killed in a road accident which happened in 1945. During the first days after the end of the war, his concern was to move to Mandello Lario to resume his contacts with the Moto Guzzi racing department. Moretti started from home in Macerata with a Moto Guzzi three-wheeler, but on the way back the vehicle was hit by an Allied military truck. The accident occurred near the village of Mandello Lario, date of death is still uncertain.
The connection between Moto Guzzi and the family Moretti however continued and that same year one of Primo's seven children, Giovannino Moretti who also was a talented motorcycle rider, made his racing debut as a Moto Guzzi factory rider. Sadly, three years later he lost his life during the Gran Premio d'Autunno, held on 24 October 1948 at Monza. The Macerata Moto Club was named "Moto Club Primo e Giovanni Moretti".
Nowadays the Moretti family is still strictly connected to motorcycling. The old workshop founded by Primo Moretti, which became the oldest Moto Guzzi dealer in the World, is now ran by Primo's daughter and Giovanni's sister Lidia Moretti and her son Roberto Freddi.