Gabriele Rumi (4 September 1939 – 21 May 2001) was an Italian

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

team owner. He was born in

Palazzolo sull'Oglio Palazzolo sull'Oglio (Brescian and Bergamasque: ; locally ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia, in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is located south of Lake Iseo, bordering the Province of Bergamo, and has a population ...

Career

Early career

Rumi's grandfather Gabriele Rumi opened an

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

. Rumi took over the running of the business in 1961. Within the decade, Rumi visited the Monte Bondone hillclimb event near

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

. In 1970 Rumi decided to diversify the business into the light alloy sector, to produce parts for engines and other uses for motor vehicles. In 1972 he started his own alloy wheel business,

Fondmetal Fondmetal S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of alloy wheels, founded in 1972 by Gabriele Rumi. A Formula One constructor of the same name, also owned by Rumi, competed in the and seasons, scoring no championship points. The company also spon ...

Formula One

Rumi began his involvement in

motor racing when he sponsored fellow countryman

Piercarlo Ghinzani Piercarlo Ghinzani (born 16 January 1952) is a former racing driver from Italy. He currently manages his own racing team, Team Ghinzani, which was created in 1992 and is currently involved in several Formula Three championships. Early career Bef ...

. In 1990, Rumi bought the

Osella Osella is an Italian racing car manufacturer and former Formula One team. They participated in 132 Grands Prix between 1980 and 1990. They achieved two points finishes and scored five championship points. Early days Named after its founder V ...

team and renamed the team Fondmetal the following year. Fondmetal was shut down at the end of 1992 due to the high costs of running the team. However, the company remained in Formula One by leasing out their own wind tunnel to other competitors. In 1996, Rumi returned to the position of a team owner when he was a member of a consortium which brought

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followin ...

and became the team's majority shareholder in 1997. At the end of 2000, Rumi sold his shares in Minardi to the Pan-American Sports Network who sponsored their driver

Gastón Mazzacane Gastón Hugo Mazzacane (born 8 May 1975) is an Argentine racing driver. He participated in 21 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 12 March 2000. He scored no championship points. His father, Hugo Mazzacane named him after Argentine touring car r ...

who later sold the team to Australian businessman

Paul Stoddart Paul Stoddart (born 26 May 1955) is an Australian businessman, airline owner and former Minardi Formula One team boss. Personal life Born in Coburg, Melbourne, Australia, and attended Preston Technical School and St Joseph's College Melbou ...

Death

Rumi died of cancer on 21 May 2001 aged 61.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumi, Gabriele 1939 births 2001 deaths People from the Province of Brescia Deaths from cancer in Lombardy Formula One team owners Italian motorsport people