The ten-year summer of Scuderia Diemme: when a bar becomes a racing team and ragù forges the squad
“A ten-year summer“ is the title of the book that tells the extraordinary story of Scuderia Diemme: a group of friends from Romagna, with no motorsport background, who in the 1970s built one of the most innovative ― and cool ― private teams in the Italian scene. We spoke with the author, Enrico Borghi.
The Bar team
It all began in Lugo, in the province of Ravenna. Romagna in the 1970s: a time when many farmers began leaving the land to venture into business. This was the case for the Melandri family, who founded a company specializing in machinery for wineries. The business thrived, and Rino Melandri quickly became a respected entrepreneur, with both resources and vision. At that point, he decided to dive into mechanics, just as ― not far from there ― Stanguellini, Ferrari, and Lamborghini had done.
After all, Lugo is a land of engines. Here, Enzo Ferrari met Enrico Baracca, father of the famous aviator Francesco, to whom the monument that still dominates the main square is dedicated. Later, he also met Francesco’s mother, Countess Paolina, who ― Ferrari recalled ― once handed him a photo of her son next to his plane, marked with the prancing horse emblem, saying: «Ferrari, put my son’s prancing horse on your cars; it will bring you luck.» As they say, the rest is history.
Enrico then tells us about another key protagonist in this story: the bar. A true everyday theater, with workers as the actors, escaping there at the end of the day. And while bars in Italy are usually temples of football debates, in Lugo, people talk only about cars and motorcycles. It was there that Rino Melandri heard about a local driver, Mario Lega, talented but without much financial backing. And he wasn’t the only one: even within his company was a young man who raced, Giovanni Proni, who every Monday morning would gather a crowd of curious colleagues to hear his incredible stories from the track.
It was in this atmosphere that Rino had his insight: to assemble a team made entirely of Lugo’s drivers and mechanics. A group of friends who raced ― in other words, the bar team. Because the Melandris’ main business remained wine: the racing team was an after-hours pursuit, born more out of passion than entrepreneurial calculation. The book ― Enrico explains ― tells the story of people who said to themselves: «We are not entrepreneurs, we have a job, and in our free time we run a racing team.» Yet, despite the lighthearted way it all began, Diemme ended up surpassing many professional teams, earning admiration and respect in Italy and around the world. After all, they remained a group of friends enjoying themselves, yet capable of extraordinary results: aside from MV Agusta and Yamaha, Diemme was right behind.
From victories to farewell
Melandri is skilled: he knows how to choose the right people. Scuderia Diemme was officially born in 1973, and at its debut, it surprises everyone by winning immediately. It even competes in the World Championship with Johnny Cecotto and beats Giacomo Agostini in the first race in France.
As the results grow, so does their visibility. And Rino, as a shrewd entrepreneur, understands that things must be done properly. By his side is Paolo Pattuelli, a small landowner who, out of passion, becomes a part-time manager ― and does it exceptionally well. Together, they tour paddocks, workshops, and circuits. They observe, study, and figure out what’s needed. And Rino buys everything necessary: the typical Romagna know-how, spiced with a touch of cunning. The paragraph below, dedicated to some anecdotes from the book, is a perfect testament to all of this.
The heart of the team is a group of friends who meet at six in the evening and are still together at midnight. Fortunately, across from the team headquarters is the trattoria La Mirola, which becomes their “official canteen”: endless plates of cappelletti al ragù. After spending so much time together, it’s hard to tell what their real profession is: the daytime job or the evening one? This is precisely the glue that holds Diemme together.
Then comes the crossroads. Diemme had become so good that they could no longer remain underdogs: either they turned professional or they stopped. When the team came within a step of the world championship title, Rino Melandri called it quits. Taking the next step would have meant hiring more people, excluding some friends, answering to financiers ― effectively ending the magic. So he closed the chapter. It was neither a defeat nor a surrender, but an act of courage.
Hence the title carefully chosen by Enrico Borghi: “A ten-year summer.”
«Anyone who knows this area understands. You get to the seaside in August, and you realize it’s almost over. School is about to start again, work is waiting for you. A kind of melancholy sets in. But it’s a sweet melancholy, because you’ve made friends, lived wonderful experiences. The summer of Scuderia Diemme lasted ten years.»
Even the cover photo chosen by the author (at the top of the article) isn’t random.
«It’s a photo of friends joking around. Talking nonsense. Beating Agostini. Taking Cecotto to win world championship races…»
Tales worthy of a film
The book is full of incredible stories.
Like the one about Yamaha motorcycles being smuggled into Italy: in the 1970s, Japanese bikes couldn’t be imported freely into Italy to protect the domestic industry. But it was also a time when Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki were revolutionizing motorcycling. So Diemme improvised: they would leave at night with a truck, put an old bike frame they had recovered from a scrapyard inside, and paint it white and red. Then, at the Swiss border — in the dead of night, when the customs officer was “sleeping” — they would show it, claiming they were going to pick up spare parts. Once across the border, they got rid of the old frame, took the new Yamaha, and returned, saying they had picked up the spare parts. That’s how they got the material to study and copy.
Or the story of the hospitality setup they invented without even realizing it. Today in Formula 1 and MotoGP, motorhomes have two or three floors — and cost more than a racing department. Back then, Rino only cared about his mechanics: Romagnoli who couldn’t accept eating badly while traveling to races. So he organized boxes full of pasta, cappelletti, and ragù. In the back of the paddock, they cooked for everyone. The aroma spread across the paddock, and the English, French, and Swedish teams started coming over, curious. The friendly team from Lugo then added extra seats at the table. They were feeding the whole paddock. There was even a line of people with plates waiting.
The gift of a son
Fifty years later, Rino’s son, Massimo Melandri — today president of Diemme Enologia — wanted to give his father a gift: this book. That’s why Enrico Borghi got to work.
A book full of dreams, anecdotes, and laughter. A book that isn’t about nostalgia, but about joy.
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