Life Racing Engines

## Life

**Life** was a Formula One constructor from Formigine, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The company was named for its founder, Ernesto Vita ("Vita" is Italian for "Life"). Life first emerged on the Formula One scene in 1990, trying to market their unconventional W12 3.5-litre engine.

The team had a disastrous single season, and failed to make the grid in all 15 attempted starts during the 1990 season, often clocking in laps many seconds slower than their next competitor.

## Racing history

Life's W12, or "broad arrow," engine was created by former Ferrari engineer Franco Rocchi, who was also responsible for Ferrari's 3-litre V8 for the 308 GTB and GTS in the 1970s. Rocchi's W12 ambitions dated back to 1967, when he built a 500 cc (31 cu in) single-module W3 as a prototype for a 3-litre W18 Ferrari engine with 480 bhp (358 kW; 487 PS). Following his dismissal in 1980, Rocchi worked privately on a W12 engine. The engine, according to his concept, has three banks of four DOHC cylinders, making it short like a V8 but higher than a standard V-banked engine. Guy Nègre of Moteurs Guy Nègre in France worked on a similar machine, which debuted in 1989 before being privately tested in an out-of-date AGS JH22 chassis. Apart from the W12 configuration, there were no other commonalities between the engines, nor were there any relationships between their designers. The W12 architecture of Life is very similar to that of the Napier-Lion W12 engine.

Ernesto Vita was able to persuade the retired ex-Ferrari engineer to return to the drawing board in order to make the W12 concept a reality. The W12 of Rocchi was completed in the first half of the 1989 Formula One season. Turbocharged engines were no longer permitted in Formula One, and the rules mandated a normally aspirated engine. New engine manufacturers (such as Ilmor, Judd, and Yamaha) entered Formula One, and new concepts emerged. Ferrari and Lamborghini employed V12 engines (successfully in the former's case), Carlo Chiti's Motori Moderni attempted unsuccessfully to resuscitate flat-12 engines, badged as Subarus and used by the Coloni team, and Renault and Honda created V10 engines, which were successfully used by Williams and McLaren.

Vita intended to sell the engine concept to a wealthy Formula One team. During 1989, he searched for a partner without any success. He eventually gave up looking and chose to run the engine on his own in the 1990 Formula One season. The headquarters of the team were initially separated between the technical offices in Reggio nell'Emilia and the plant in Formigine, near Modena, until being regrouped under the same roof in Formigine. While hardly cutting-edge, the facility did have a "Borghi e Severi" dyno bench and corresponding AVL datalogging computers for the development of the W12 motor, standard toolshop machines, and a warehouse. Because Life was unable to develop a car on its own, the team purchased a still-born Formula One chassis from First Racing. At the time, the FIRST team, led by ex-F1 driver Lamberto Leoni, had planned to enter F1 after a successful season in Formula 3000 with drivers such as Pierluigi Martini and Marco Apicella. They assembled a Judd engine deal and commissioned a chassis design. The experienced Brazilian Richard Divila drew out an early concept based on Martini and Apicella's fairly small measurements and the March 88B they were piloting in F3000.

However, because Divila was shortly going to the Ligier Formula One team for 1989, and the March 88B had some fundamental design issues, the final design of the FIRST chassis was subcontracted out to a Milan design studio, where it was handled by an ex-Ferrari and Zakspeed engineer. Gabriele Tarquini had agreed to drive the car, and by the end of 1988, the first FIRST machine had been built, just in time for a run at the 1988 Formula One Indoor Trophy. These were the yearly show-races held in honour of Attilio Bettega in connection with the Bologna Motor Show. The entire endeavour was underfunded, and it showed. When Divila examined the finished product, he was worried by the gearbox castings, major faults in the suspension pick-up points, an overheated chassis mould, and a dangerous steering column. According to him, the car was only useful as a "interesting flowerpot." He informed FIRST team management that the car was a time bomb, urged prospective drivers not to enter it, and took legal action to prevent his name from being associated with the deathtrap. This chassis, however, was modified with Rocchi's W12 engine in late 1989. Gianni Marelli, another former Ferrari employee, had done the majority of the engineering work. The car, now known as the Life L190, was completed in February 1990 and tested briefly at Vallelunga and Monza.

The squad began the current season with two chassis (including one spare), four engines and spare parts. The W12 proved to be the year's least powerful engine, producing 480 bhp (358 kW; 487 PS) while others produced 600 to 700 bhp (447 to 522 kW; 608 to 710 PS). At the same time, the ex-First L190 chassis, weighing 530 kg (1,168 lb), was one of the heaviest cars in the field. The handling was poor, as was the reliability. As a result, the Life couldn't outrun a Formula Three car. Several drivers, including Gabriele Tarquini, Pierluigi Martini, Roberto Moreno and Gianni Morbidelli, were approached to drive for the team, as was Rob Wilson of New Zealand, who expressed interest in driving for the team.

Sir Jack Brabham's son Gary Brabham was eventually signed to drive, with Franco Scapini hired as a test driver and Sergio Barbasio hired as team manager. Test driver Scapini was also a contender for the second seat, but he was denied an FIA Super Licence. Brabham later reported that the car did not have a working tachometer and that the crew had to borrow a tyre pressure gauge from the EuroBrun squad. The team's previous mechanics deny this claim. He also attempted, but failed, to persuade the team to move to a Judd *CV* V8. After a disagreement with Vita, designer Gianni Marelli also quit the project at this point. The team then signed Bruno Giacomelli, an Italian veteran who last competed in Formula One in 1983. Giacomelli was an appealing offer because he had recent Formula 1 car experience as a test driver for Leyton House Racing and solid relationships with Engine Developments, the company that designed and constructed the Judd Formula One engines.

The race team usually consisted of only ten people: the racing drivers; Sergio Barbasio (team manager); Franco Scapini (test driver); Francesca Papa (Ernesto Vita's wife); Maurizio Ferrari (engineer); Emilio Gabrielli (truckie and mechanic); and the three mechanics: chief mechanic Oliver Piazzi, Heinz Willi Mueller and Luca Cassoni.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Ludvigsen, Karl (2005). *The V12 Engine*. Sparkford, Yeovil: Haynes. pp. 356–358. ISBN 1844250040.
2. ↑ Collantine, Keith (June 29, 2009). Life L190 – the worst F1 car ever – to run at Goodwood Festival of Speed. RaceFans.
3. ↑ Life Racing F1, la pire écurie de tous les temps (August 22, 2020).
4. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Wilson for Brabham at Life?". *Motoring News*. 23 May 1990.
5. ↑ Franco Scapini (19 February 2020).
6. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Life in danger?". *Motoring News*. 2 May 1990.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Brabham: Life after Life?". *Motoring News*. 11 April 1990.
8. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Life endangered?". *Motoring News*. 25 April 1990.

## External links

* Profile at Formula One Rejects
* The untold story of Formula 1’s most bizarre team: Life F1