Motorsport contributor Claudio Piazza-Musso, is well-known in local racing circles. The multiple SA circuit-racing champion is now a driver coach and mentor via his company Race Driver SA. In his latest submission Hot Heads in Motorsport he tries to explain why a karting incident in Italy is a warning shot for all motorsport.

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Hundreds of thousands of karters complete millions of laps and race all over the world yearly. Drivers’ ages range from five years old to over 70. Karting is the most popular form of motorsport worldwide. It is also a means of training to become a top-class racing driver. Prestigious titles are awarded at all levels, from regional and national to European and even World titles. Even so, one rarely sees karting exposed to the masses on a regular basis. But this past Sunday is a day the motorsport world will remember for a long time. Karter Luca Corberi made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

So why did karting get such major exposure over the last couple of days, and even has ex-F1 world champion Jenson Button posting his thoughts on social media? Let me break it down for you.

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Unforgiveable incident

The incident involved Luca Corberi who was racing in the KZ World Karting final in Lonato Italy. The video (bottom of post) shows Luca off in the barriers. We assume he was taken out by a fellow competitor due to what transpired next

  • Luca removed his front bumper/nose cone and then proceeded to the edge of the circuit with bumper in hand
  • He then throws it at a competitor after ignoring marshals’ instructions to get behind the barriers
  • He ignores officials’ instructions and crosses the track on three occasions making his way back to the paddock
  • After the race all competitors are lined up to get weighed, he storms a competitor and tries to pin him down
  • Once he is pulled away, his dad storms in and body slams the same racer into the fence
  • Corberi senior happens to also be the owner and manager of the Lonato Karting facility
  • Many people try to separate them and further scuffles ensue with all involved trying to put an end to the, frankly, shocking and unlawful behaviour by father and son

So, it comes as no surprise that karting has received lots of exposure in the last couple of days for all the wrong reasons, it’s sad but this is the way of the world: bad news sells. I have many thoughts on all of this and many opinions and will now open a can of worms by outlining them in this article.

Click here to read up why Claudio thinks Lewis Hamilton is one of the best F1 drivers of all time.

Informed opinion

Which opinion do I start with, the one that you want to hear, so I can get you to agree with me, or the one you don’t agree with that will cause endless debate on what is good and bad, or what is acceptable or not. What kind of a reader are you, the one who can see many perspectives in a situation and up for a good debate. Or are you the hot headed Corberi type who lashes out uncontrollably due to your own inner anger and frustrations. Let’s find out…

An important point to cover is the public apology Luca Corberi posted on social media:

I’d like to apologise to the motorsport community for what I’ve done. There are no excuses to explain why I’ve done such a disgraceful act, this has been something I’ve never done in my 15 years of career, and I really hope it won’t be seen by anybody else in the future. After the race, once I’ve been called by the sporting judges, I’ve asked them to take my licence away because I was fully conscious about my irreparable mistakes, but as they showed me, they don’t have the power for doing it, it’s written in the international rules, so please don’t be against them, they were just doing their work in the best way they could. For this reason I’ve decided to don’t take part to any other motorsport competition for the rest of my life, that’s not a self-justice, it’s simply the right thing to do. My family has been in karting since 1985, we’ve seen it grow, and we’ve seen the best and worst part of it. This episode will be remembered as one of the worst in our sport and that is something I will never forget. I’m not asking indulgence, because I don’t deserve it. I will totally agree with the punishments required. I’m writing today to say sorry even if it’s not enough, because after all the bad things that happened during this event, the worst ever has been done by me, a guy who loves this sport and after the worst day of his life will still remember his good racing memories. Thank you.

Jenson and others speak

My opinion is in line with Jenson Button’s as I do not condone this type of behaviour, both mental and physical abuse in this day and age is just not acceptable. (Button was just one of many top-flight racing drivers who shared the same sentiment on social media – Ed.) I am also of the opinion that Corberi’s public apology shows remorse and acknowledgement of his complete psychotic breakdown. The fact that he is aware of what he was doing and still went through with it, can only mean one thing, his mind was elevated to a state of despair and extreme emotion. This does not justify in any way his actions and he deserves the full might of motorsport law to come down on him and possibly the law of the land as well.

Nothing new

I have been involved in motorsport my entire life and I’ve seen this kind of behaviour many times. The saddest part is not when a competitor has an isolated moment like this that does not fit with his normal behaviour, it is the repeat offenders that have the local authorities covering their bad actions allowing transgressors get away with multiple incidents over many years.

Read Piazza-Musso’s take on the 2019 Kyalami 9 Hour at this link.

Another opinion of mine is a simple one, this behaviour in young kids and adults is 100 per cent the fault of their parents whom either create this mentality, or condone it, or do nothing about it. Point in case, father Corberi was right behind his son and continued the bad behaviour and assaulted the karter immediately after his son had done so.

Living vicariously

What causes these kinds of eruptions? Is it money, power, greed, selfishness, simple bad upbringing, anger, frustration, or a combination? I look back at my early days of racing and the dedication I put into this wonderful sport we all love. I gave it my all, 100 per cent, working full time to make a career out of it. On many occasions I was purposely crashed out by what we called ‘shot gun’ drivers, drivers who intervened so that another competitor could win the championship. I have never acted out on my anger, but I can tell you, the disappointment and anger towards these lowlifes was massive and I was shocked that they could resort to such dirty tactics.

This happens in all arenas where people are determined to achieve certain goals at the expense of others, and by using all methods and tactics available to them. Is it an obsession to achieve certain goals in motorsport that brings this behaviour to the fore? Dreams that are broken, stolen, or just not meant to be. Many, driven and successful parents, live their ambitions and passions through their kids pushing them to extremes that they finally crack and do unspeakable things.

Perhaps the mental health of many are in question, or the stakes are so high with huge investments made in kids to try to succeed in motorsport that it just pushes people over the edge until they snap. Unfortunately these things happen from time to time and need to be curbed with serious penalties. Sanctions should send the message to those on a similar path to rein it in and realise that this type of behaviour will have serious consequences.