David Rosenthal

Now, toward the end of his racing career, Enzo had also gotten more involved in the actual management of the team and gotten to know some of the managers of Alfa Romeo, the company itself.

So he still has these close connections to the company, which are certainly going to help him in becoming a dealer.

And then...

The very next year, the Alfa Romeo board of directors makes the inexplicable decision to drastically cut back on their racing activities.

And they're going to keep the company team, but only going to enter a few races and the budget is going to be cut.

And so Enzo's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Hang on a sec here.

I need the publicity from the Alfa Romeo racing team.

That's my only connection to fame here and why people would come to my dealership and buy my cars.

I kind of need to have Alfa's racing on a regular basis.

So he goes to Alfa Romeo headquarters in Milan with a proposal.

I understand that you want to cut the expense, you know, sort of day to day of running your own racing team.

What if I take it over?

And all the races that you don't want to run, you bless me, your dealer, Enzo Ferrari, as the official racing agent of Alfa Romeo.

And I'll put together my own private team.

I'll hire the drivers.

I'll hire the mechanics.

I'll cover the costs.

And for Enzo, what better...

marketing activity could you imagine than to become the quasi-official racing agent, sort of second team of Alfa Romeo.