Guido Forti (10 July 1940 – 11 January 2013) was the founder and team manager of the now-defunct

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

team

Forti Forti Corse, commonly known as Forti, was an Italian motor racing team chiefly known for its brief and unsuccessful involvement in Formula One in the mid-1990s. It was established in the late 1970s and competed in lower formulae for two decades. ...

. Forti co-founded his "Forti Corse" racing team with businessman

Paolo Guerci Paolo Guerci is an Italian engineer who has spent his career in auto racing. Career Guerci joined forces with retired racing driver Guido Forti to form the Forti racing team in 1972. He remained with the team throughout its rise through Formula ...

in the late 1970s, initially running in Italian and European

Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

. The team made the step up to

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championship ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, but only participated in half of the races. For his debut season in the formulae, Forti had

Nicola Larini Nicola Larini (born 19 March 1964) is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between and . In touring car racing, Larini won the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft in 1993 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, 1993 and the I ...

and Nicola Tesini driving his cars, supplied by fellow newcomers

Dallara Dallara Group S.r.l. is the largest multi-national Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Giampaolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' M ...

. The team's first of nine wins in Formula 3000 came in 1990, with

Gianni Morbidelli Gianni Morbidelli (born 13 January 1968) is an Italian racing driver. He participated in 70 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 11 March 1990. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 8.5 championship points. He most recently competed in ...

driving. Forti opted at the start of the 1994 season that it would be the last for his team in the category, as he had engineered a move into

organised by Carlo Gancia with the financial support of wealthy

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian driver Pedro Diniz. Forti continued with the team throughout its short stint in F1 from to . However, in the middle of the 1996 Formula One season, the team were struggling to secure funding due to Diniz's departure to the

Ligier Ligier () is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Cham ...

team at the start of the year. As a result, a financial deal was struck with the Shannon Group, which announced that it now owned 51% of the team. However, as Forti's financial situation worsened further despite the deal, Guido took Shannon to court to try to get back the 51% of the team he had lost. After an initial loss to Shannon in a court case, Forti managed to regain control of his team, but at this stage the outfit had already missed several Grands Prix and did not return to the sport. Forti was last involved in motor racing in 2003, when he was employed by a Euro Formula 3000 team. He died in January 2013, at the age of 72, in his home city of

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

References

Formula One team owners Formula One team principals 1940 births 2013 deaths Italian motorsport people People from Alessandria {{Italy-autoracing-bio-stub