OCTOBER 28, 2005

Karting gets a new head and F1 takes notice

The world of karting has a new head and Ferrari will no doubt be thankful for it. Luigi "Gino" Macaluso is a highly successful entrepreneur from the watch industry, with a passion for Ferraris.

The world of karting has a new head and Ferrari will no doubt be thankful for it. Luigi Gino Macaluso is a highly successful entrepreneur from the watch industry, with a passion for Ferraris.

A graduate of architecture from Turin University, Macaluso wanted to be a racing driver in his youth and in the late 1960s became friends with Enzo Ferrari's son Piero and Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. He competed, mainly in rallying, but in 1974 went to work for SSIH, the company that later became Swatch, moving from the advertising division to become the firm's managing director in Italy. He left the firm in 1982 and established his own watch distribution business called Tradema and began buying shares in Girard-Perragaux. He won control of the business in 1992 and used his Ferrari connections to negotiate a deal to use the prancing horse logo on watch dials, beginning in 1994. Girard-Perregaux has since developed a full line of sporty Pour Ferrari timepieces.

The appointment of Macaluso as head of the CIK will give him a vote on the FIA World Council although he will probably need to make sure that he is not seen as being too pro-Ferrari.