“Ale, do you trust me?”. “Certain”. A relationship of trust triggered by a simple lunch to which both Emiliano Tozzi, writer, and Alessandro Pier Guidi, Ferrari driver in the Hypercar class with the 499P #51, were invited. The link in this trust lies in the name of Franco Giuliani, president of the Scuderia Ferrari Club of Alessandria, who has established a fraternal, protective, special relationship with the driver from Alessandria.
This and much more emerged at the Teatro Civico of Tortona, on the evening of Friday 21 June, on the occasion of the presentation of the book “On the roof of the world. Ale Pier Guidi 51”, by Minerva Edizioni, in which not only the author Emiliano Tozzi, but also Alessandro, the local driver, participated. A book that, yes, tells the story of a pilot, but without being a simple biography. Not even the date of his birth is mentioned about Alessandro. The reason? Have Pier Guidi told through the people who are part of his intense life.
After Spa 2021, a race that Ferrari hadn’t won for 17 years, Emiliano realized with amazement that no one had yet written anything about Alessandro. For him it seemed clear that he had peculiarities that needed to be told, which could not just stop at what he won or what he didn’t win.
“Pier Guidi is a normal man who is a driver in life – says Emiliano – and I wanted his humanity to be conveyed through the people closest to him and who are part of his daily life: the added value brought into Ferrari’s competitive context” . “I understood, and I wanted it to emerge, that his capacity for analysis also came from a tranquility and human warmth that he had at home. That was an image that the people around him, with whom Ale has a strong empathy, conveyed to me.”
“Ale”, the most common nickname-diminutive of Pier Guidi among his people. Like “Ale uno di noi”, the slogan that occupies most of the banners with which Franco, together with his wife Claudia and the rest of the club, support him around the world. The 31 chapters of this book were born from a chat in the back room of Franco’s own coffee capsule shop, “the connecting link”. And there, among drills, washers and boxes, sitting at a table in front – obviously – of a coffee, there are Pier Guidi and Emiliano, equipped with a notebook for notes.
Alessandra Dellecà, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Emiliano Tozzi during the presentation of the book “Sul Tetto Del Mondo – Ale Pier Guidi #51”
Photo by: Beatrice Frangione
“I agreed to tell my story because right from the start I had the feeling that Emiliano was the right person – says Alessandro – usually when I meet someone my first impression is negative or positive… with Emiliano it was positive, when he proposed to me to I accepted to write a book about my story, even though I was surprised.” And in a slightly longer time than it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee, Pier Guidi retraces his life, the joyful and painful moments, bringing out every emotion: “I experience emotions in different ways: when I run I have a cold approach and luckily I manage to maintain this attitude, which is easy when you are in the car unlike when you are outside. Retracing my story, some emotions came out, more than anything I relived what I experienced in that moment. I was talking to Emiliano, telling him the many, many things, good and bad, that have happened to me in my life and career, and I felt the same emotions again.”
“I never deny both the positive and the positive things that have made up my life. Because it’s obvious that in hindsight one would change many things, but at the time I did those things I thought it was the best for me. We need to learn from mistakes, not repeat them, and for me this is a fundamental step in my life. Nobody makes mistakes, over time I accepted the negative things and tried to make the right decision.”
And if on the one hand there are those who relive their emotions, on the other there are those who have the arduous task of treating those emotions with care. To understand the will of those who tell them, to handle them with caution. For Emiliano, the most delicate moment was writing the chapter in which “Ale” recounts his profound relationship with his father: “Finding keys that did not touch his sensitivity and at the same time gave me the opportunity to make him understand how important the father figure was without mentioning the mourning, was fundamental. Sara told me one day, Ale’s mother was amazed at the delicacy with which you handled the topic. I knew it was the only way. Because you have to have that sensitivity the moment someone entrusts you with their life, even a narrative one. And take a step back, letting the protagonist of the story be at the forefront, also through the voices of his friends and the Ferrari context.”
“Will be”. Sara is Alessandro’s life partner. His first supporter, the one who “supports him before supporting” as Pier Guidi himself says, who helps him wake up during a 24 of Le Mans when earplugs don’t let you hear the alarm ringtone. Sara, that when she is in the pits, the team is happy, because her driver is calm. Sara is home, as are Franco, Claudia, her lifelong friend Alessandro Valeri and Francesco Castaldi, journalist for “La Stampa” in Turin. Like Marco Petrini and Nicola Villani, the voices of the Italian WEC commentary on Eurosport. And like much else that is contained in 31 chapters.
A question, however, arises spontaneously. What does it feel like to climb “to the roof of the world”? Alessandro responds like this: “It’s nice, because it’s what I’ve worked for all my life and I’ve worked a lot. To do this I put a lot of effort, a lot of work, a lot of passion, like James, Antonio and all the guys who follow us and are part of the team. The pilot is always the one you see, but there are many who do not appear to the general public and who work as hard as us. The team is a big family, only by living it can you understand what it represents and the unity that characterizes it. With the Hypercar program we are many, but not that many. The bond is very close, it is one of our strengths.”
One year after the legendary victory at Le Mans, Alessandro talks about his book after a third place achieved on the day of victory of the 499P #50. A result achieved after having faced “a difficult phase, when during the night we risked being lapped and the hopes of a podium were now a glimmer of light: third place was a great result, without ever giving up we got there – states Pier Guidi – We probably didn’t win because, from what I understand, I only win at Le Mans in odd years!”.
“In some ways this year’s edition was difficult, and in other respects last season’s was difficult. It was the first in a Hypercar. Each 24 Hours of Le Mans has its own story and each is very complicated, also because the weather is never very kind. This year was probably easier from the point of view of the reliability of the car, we were more aware that the car was ok. This year our opponents know our potential, while in 2023 we were considered somewhat of an outsider. This season only in Qatar did we go slowly, in Imola we made mistakes, in Spa we know well how it went… we could have won both Spa and Imola. We are much more competitive than in 2023, and we were also competitive at Le Mans, we were faster even if we didn’t win.”
And although, by his admission, the car is faster than last season, Alessandro would never, ever trade last year’s victory for a victory at Le Mans just gone. Winning the Centenary edition is something “special, because it is unique”. Unique, like his story. Told in the book but contained entirely in the pages of the notepad that Emiliano had brought with him that day in the back room of the capsule shop. And which, since Friday 21 June, has been in the hands of Alessandro.
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