Valentino Rossi availed of the talents of his friend Drudi, who makes his helmets and styles his look, to help him with his customised 430 16M Spider. Needless to say, the colour yellow and the number 46 are very much in evidence
Aldo Drudi’s personalised Scuderia Spider 16M for Valentino Rossi has been designed with respect for the two names it refers to: the great champion, with the colours and symbols that make him feel so ‘at home’; and Ferrari, a car that demands respect and on which, says Drudi, it would be a mortal sin to add any graphics. And so, with suggestions from Rossi and his dear friend and manager, Alberto Tebaldi, the idea of an individualist car was born. A kind of twoseater racing car, with the cockpit decorated in yellow, a colour inseparable from Rossi, and his famous signature number, 46.
Inside, there are just a few touches of colour, which are reflected in the clear dashboard. Everything else is in a handsome gunmetal grey to highlight the pure shape of the Ferrari. It really is a lovely piece of work.
Aldo Drudi: from bike racer to award-winning graphic designer
The most beautiful way of working is to love what you do; Aldo Drudi is living proof of this. The man who ‘played the wild man on motorbikes with Graziano Rossi [Valentino’s father]’ in the ’80s realised that perhaps he had more talent for design and graphics than for serious action on the track. From that point on, he began a career that soon changed from passion to job and then, in recent years, sophisticated profession. In fact, Drudi and his six-person team have created a super-specialised agency for the production of coordinated graphic design in the world of sport. ‘[We work on] motorbikes first and foremost,’ Drudi says, ‘but now requests are coming in from other fields, from football to horse- riding, to motorcar racing.’ To understand just how much influence this small firm exerts on the forms of sports graphics, you just have to realise that the graphic identity of nearly all the MotoGP and Superbike teams is the result of their work. But that’s not all: ‘Currently, a lot of my time is taken up with work on motorbike safety,’ Drudi continues. ‘With the support of Dr Costa [the doctor who treats and protects motorcyclists] we are collaborating with producers of motorcycle clothing and accessories, like Dainese for example, to find solutions that are both functional and at the same time beautiful designs.’ For his work in this field, Drudi has been awarded the most coveted of Italy’s prizes for architecture and graphic design, the Compasso d’Oro (Golden Compass). Drudi Performance is located in Riccione, on the coast near Rome, where the passion for nightlife and discos is exceeded only by that for motorbikes. ‘We don’t have any time for [nightclubs]. We’re people with dripping goggles and full throttle. Motorbikes are more fun!’
PUBLISHED IN CARS, HOME BY ANTONIO GHINI ON 03.17.2011
Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. (www.ferrari.com)
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