Ten Minutes with.....1988 Festival winner, FVL, F3, F3000 and briefly F1 star, Italy's Vincenzo Sospiri
HoFF1600 - Did you know how competitive UK FF1600 was before you came over to race here?
VS - Yes, I did and that was one of the mai...n reasons I went to England. I knew that it had been a really good training ground for a lot of drivers then went on to be successful and I wanted to race against the best drivers.
How much of an influence was John Village in helping you to learn the UK circuits and to get settled here?
JV was a big influence and a huge help. He had so much experience and he was able to teach me a lot, especially the key points on the tracks and that was really important. He also helped me personally as I lived with his family which meant I was in a very good environment, my English got better and I always had people around me. I even used to babysit his children!!
Who were your toughest rivals in 1988?
It’s a long time ago but I remember (Jose) Cordova, (Derek)Higgins, (Richard) Dean, (Pedro) Chaves, (Jonathan) McGall and (Bernard) Dolan. I think maybe I also raced against (Gil) de Ferran that year but I’m not sure. There were a lot of really quick drivers and the fight was always very close on the track.
Just how fierce was the Van Diemen/Reynard/Swift/Mondiale rivalry and do you have any funny stories regarding this?
The rivalry between the manufacturers was pretty intense that year. I remember at the last race, at Cadwell Park, it was between Swift and Van Diemen to win the Championship. Before the green light had come on a Brazilian kid in a Van Diemen made a huge jump start and removed half of the Swift cars from the grid! Strangely enough I think he became a works Van Diemen driver the year after! (sounds like Niko Palhares to me - ed)!!
Which UK circuit was your favourite in 1600?
There are some brilliant circuits in England and I really loved racing there. I think my favourite circuits are Oulton Park, Brands Hatch and Donington – where I either used to always win or crash!
What are your memories of the 1988 festival and your poor start in the Final?!!
The Festival is a really nice memory for me as it was a win which was very important for my career, and a win which everyone remembers even now. Yes, I did make a bad start – because I had left the car in neutral by mistake (I hope none of my drivers read this!). It was because at the first start the two cars on the front row (Higgins and Cordova - ed) jumped the start and said it was because they couldn’t see the lights well. So there was a long discussion about what to do. In the end they decided to do the start again, leave the front drivers where they were with no penalty and to start the race with a waved flag. I was so concentrated on the flag man that I forgot to put the car in gear.
Would you say FF1600 was a great benefit to your racing career?
Definitely. I think it was the key point in my single seater career. The cars were brilliant, nice to drive and that year taught me so much. There was always tough fighting on the track and it was very close racing – which is the best way to learn.
My thanks go to both Vincenzo and Jessica Groombridge (Vincenzo's wife) for their time and for putting up with my emails! Vincenzo is now manager/owner of Euronova Racing who compete in Auto GP, F3 and Formula Abarth.
Please see www.euronova-racing.com for more information.
How much of an influence was John Village in helping you to learn the UK circuits and to get settled here?
JV was a big influence and a huge help. He had so much experience and he was able to teach me a lot, especially the key points on the tracks and that was really important. He also helped me personally as I lived with his family which meant I was in a very good environment, my English got better and I always had people around me. I even used to babysit his children!!
Who were your toughest rivals in 1988?
It’s a long time ago but I remember (Jose) Cordova, (Derek)Higgins, (Richard) Dean, (Pedro) Chaves, (Jonathan) McGall and (Bernard) Dolan. I think maybe I also raced against (Gil) de Ferran that year but I’m not sure. There were a lot of really quick drivers and the fight was always very close on the track.
Just how fierce was the Van Diemen/Reynard/Swift/Mondiale rivalry and do you have any funny stories regarding this?
The rivalry between the manufacturers was pretty intense that year. I remember at the last race, at Cadwell Park, it was between Swift and Van Diemen to win the Championship. Before the green light had come on a Brazilian kid in a Van Diemen made a huge jump start and removed half of the Swift cars from the grid! Strangely enough I think he became a works Van Diemen driver the year after! (sounds like Niko Palhares to me - ed)!!
Which UK circuit was your favourite in 1600?
There are some brilliant circuits in England and I really loved racing there. I think my favourite circuits are Oulton Park, Brands Hatch and Donington – where I either used to always win or crash!
What are your memories of the 1988 festival and your poor start in the Final?!!
The Festival is a really nice memory for me as it was a win which was very important for my career, and a win which everyone remembers even now. Yes, I did make a bad start – because I had left the car in neutral by mistake (I hope none of my drivers read this!). It was because at the first start the two cars on the front row (Higgins and Cordova - ed) jumped the start and said it was because they couldn’t see the lights well. So there was a long discussion about what to do. In the end they decided to do the start again, leave the front drivers where they were with no penalty and to start the race with a waved flag. I was so concentrated on the flag man that I forgot to put the car in gear.
Would you say FF1600 was a great benefit to your racing career?
Definitely. I think it was the key point in my single seater career. The cars were brilliant, nice to drive and that year taught me so much. There was always tough fighting on the track and it was very close racing – which is the best way to learn.
My thanks go to both Vincenzo and Jessica Groombridge (Vincenzo's wife) for their time and for putting up with my emails! Vincenzo is now manager/owner of Euronova Racing who compete in Auto GP, F3 and Formula Abarth.
Please see www.euronova-racing.com for more information.
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