21 replies to this topic

[Mattthecat]

While Giovanni "Nanni" Galli was supposedly the son of a wealthy textile producer from Bologna the various sources that claim that "his" company "Fruit of the Loom" later became a Williams sponsor seems a bit far-fetched as FOTL clearly is an American company and I haven't seen any mention of him in connection with it.

There is also an artist/designer named Giovanni Galli (who is a lot younger), maybe that's where the confusion comes from.
Or is that his son? And does Nanni have/had any brand to his name?

[Arjan de Roos]

Maybe Galli was involved with the brand making a european promotion possible? FotL was on many racing cars at the end of the seventies and the earlt eighties (Lancia Beta, BMW CsL, Williams F1). Maybe Galli was european representative?

[Paolo]

To the best of my knowledge Fruit of the loom was an Italian company (big in the 80's, gone now) and Galli is the owner.

[Patrick Italiano]

I met Galli one year ago, and he owns a textile business in Prato, near Florence. I have the exact name on his business card, but not at hand here and now.

He is native of that place, not Bologna, and those Tuscan origins helped him getting attention from Chiti, who was native from Pistoia, a few dozen km west of Prato.

[Huw Jadvantich]

Is Gigi Galli the current WRC rally driver any relation?

[fausto]

I think he isn't, Gigi Galli was born in Milan...

[Mattthecat]

To the best of my knowledge Fruit of the loom was an Italian company (big in the 80's, gone now) and Galli is the owner.

Not according to http://en.wikipedia....uit_of_the_Loom

Hence my asking. Thx for the input everyone. And Arjan may have a good point

[GMiranda]

It's with great sadness that I you the sad news of the demise of Nanni Galli. Widely known for his Sport-Prototypes and Touring Car performances, he also delivered some interesting performances with udnerperforming F1 machinery.

Nanni Galli passed away today, shortly after completing 79 years.

[cpbell]

It's with great sadness that I you the sad news of the demise of Nanni Galli. Widely known for his Sport-Prototypes and Touring Car performances, he also delivered some interesting performances with udnerperforming F1 machinery.

Nanni Galli passed away today, shortly after completing 79 years.

Very sad indeed - R.I.P.  I think he was one of that group of Italian endurance specialists (I'm thinking Merzario and Giunti in particular) who are underrated and almost unknown by modern fans due to not having won GPs, yet they were, as we TNFers are aware, fantastic specialists in an era when endurance racing was a very different form of motorsport from Formula 1.

[Richard Jenkins]

Sad news indeed, a great enthusiast and his F1 record does not really reflect his talent.
Just to clarify some points above:
Galli WAS from Bologna but lived almost all his life in Prato.
Galli was the regional distributor for FOTL. The f1 sponsorship was through his distribution company not FOTL direct but they would've likely given him the go-ahead.

[Regazzoni]

Nanni was only born in Bologna, where his father had a business activity, but was 100% from Prato: origins, family and where he lived.

[Doug Nye]

Sad news - a charming man and a very capable racing driver...  RIP.

 

DCN

[Fr@nk]

Nanni was only born in Bologna, where his father had a business activity, but was 100% from Prato: origins, family and where he lived.

That's right. "Nanni" was really  "the Champ of Prato". His Father and mother were both from Prato or its nearby. He was born in Bologna in 1940, only because at the time his father lived here for business and "Nanni" remained in Bologna only in the early years of his life.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Paolo
To the best of my knowledge Fruit of the loom was an Italian company (big in the '80s, gone now) and Galli is the owner.

Some years after this post was made I purchased some 'Fruit of the Loom' products...

And I still see them advertised. They are a brand that appears to be owned by Walmart.

Very good socks, too.

[nicanary]

It wasn't just Lotus Cortinas which 3-wheeled round corners. I watched the 1966 Snetterton 500kms and the Alfa GTAs did the same thing. Nanni Galli was a joy to watch, but was rather outdone by a certain J Rindt.

[Arjan de Roos]

Some years after this post was made I purchased some 'Fruit of the Loom' products...

And I still see them advertised. They are a brand that appears to be owned by Walmart.

Very good socks, too.

And Galli was (as mentioned in obituaries) one of the Italian distributors for this brand. We discussed it in 2006...

[JacnGille]

It wasn't just Lotus Cortinas which 3-wheeled round corners. I watched the 1966 Snetterton 500kms and the Alfa GTAs did the same thing. Nanni Galli was a joy to watch, but was rather outdone by a certain J Rindt.

I've seen pics of Trans Am Alfas doin it and personally shot Al Horbert's IMSA Porsche RSR flyin the right front coming out of T7 at Road Atlanta.

Edited by JacnGille, 16 October 2019 - 19:24.

[1969BOAC500]

I'm sorry to hear of Nanni Galli's passing. Although I was only 13 years old at the time, I still retain vivid memories of Galli giving a truly exuberant performance in an Autodelta 2000GTAm in the 1970 TT at Silverstone. Instant 'schoolboy hero' stuff....... 

[Cynic2]

I have a number of photos I took of Lotus Cortinas racing in SCCA club racing in the US in the late 1960, all with the inside front wheel something like two feet in the air,

 

Certainly there's no arguing with success, but one has to wonder about the chassis stiffness of a car which corners resembling a dog using a fire hydrant for relief.

 

I know that this is a Lotus/Chapman design, and that I know very little about suspension design, but it does seem to me that the handling be improved if the chassis were stiff enough to keep all four wheels in contact with the track for the entire lap?

[Charlieman]

I know that this is a Lotus/Chapman design, and that I know very little about suspension design, but it does seem to me that the handling be improved if the chassis were stiff enough to keep all four wheels in contact with the track for the entire lap?

For independent suspension, the inside wheel lifts when all of the cornering load has been transferred to the outside. At the same time, spring compression pushes the outside corner of the car down and the inside corner goes up. We can conclude that the front of the Cortina was resistant in lateral bending to bear at least its own weight. If the front was "soggy" the inside wheel would remain in contact with the road without bearing any load.

[Tim Murray]

Please could we keep this thread as a tribute thread for Nanni and discuss suspension design elsewhere. Many thanks.

[Cynic2]

Sorry . . . .