Mattia Bucci: an interview to the italian GT Sprint driver

I had the opportunity to interview Mattia Bucci, an italian driver who could be one of the future stars of motorsport! He answered my questions about his racing career, his favourite memories, the motorsport world and much more (including a bit of his personal life too). Curious? Well, let's get to it! Let's see what Mattia has to say about himself.

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A (me): First of all, Mattia, introduce yourself. Tell us a bit about where you're from, which category you race in and who you race for.

M (Mattia): Hello everyone! I'm Mattia Bucci, a driver for Minardi Management (managed by Giovanni Minardi). This year, I raced for the Italian Gran Turismo Sprint Championship with Scuderia Best Lap on the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo in the GT cup category. Besides being Mattia the driver, I'm also a very sociable, funny and sunny guy. Motorsport aside, I'm also a music lover. I study drums in the conservatory. I'm also a DJ. I come from Pescara, a capital in the province of Abruzzo. This city has produced many professional drivers over the years like Vitantonio Liuzzi, Andrea Caldarelli, Jarno Trulli, Loris Spinelli... I hope I can follow their footsteps!

A: what was the most important (or significant) race you've ever took part of and why? M: I have two, actually. The first one is last year's race in Misano, the Formula X Italian series in the category FX Pro series. It's at the centre of my first success in my automobilistic career. It was an enormous emotion because we had suffered a lot in the years before due to lack of budget. Getting to the last championship race and winning was really a lot. And then, the most recent race (which is Monza). I had never raced in Monza before. Just racing in Monza itself with a Ferrari is a dream, but also not getting the pole for a few thousandths and fighting for the win in both races made me very happy and satisfied of every single sacrifice we made with all the people who work with and for me. But most of all taking a trophy home in my debut in Monza, the one I got in race one. Unfortunately on race two we got into a huge accident even if we were fighting for important positions. We closed the weekend with only a second place in race one.

Mattia has some interesting stories to share with us, hasn't he? Knowing that he had never raced in Monza, and getting to hear about how that race was important to him... is something really beautiful. And this is why I chose to become a motorsports journalist. Little things like these ones, who make me happy. Sharing amazing stories with people who are as passionate as me. Talking about motorsport, let's see what Mattia has to say about his first ever memory in this world of engines.

A: what's your first ever memory of the motorsport world?

M: my first ever memory of the motorsport world are my dad and uncle who used to race with mini motorbikes on a little circuit near my house. I remember being in the stroller, at the edge of the track, seeing them race. I started asking them if I could have one since then. They gifted it to me for my birthday, but when I started racing a bit too fast, my dad got scared (because he's a bit scared of motorcycles) so he scared me a little by pulling up on the grass with the motorbike. We moved on to four wheels, which are "a bit safer".

I asked Mattia a slightly different question, that randomly popped up in my head. It's still related to him, in some way, since he drives a Ferrari! But it's a question you're probably not used to read about in my articles. Ready?

A: what's the first thing that comes to your mind when I say "Ferrari"?

M: when someone says "Ferrari", the first words that come to my mind are: PASSION, MADNESS, LOVE. But mostly, FUN. Talking about my memories related to the name Ferrari, I have to say Imola. I've always said I have three dreams / goals: becoming a professional racing driver, racing in Imola, and doing it with a Ferrari. In three months I achieved two out of three of these dreams. Doing the first lap in Imola.. I looked at the circuit. When I got down in Acque Minerali I looked at the steering wheel with the little horse (cavallino), it was an amazing sensation and I also shed a tear so it was really something crazy. It was the moment where I realised that all of the sacrifices we had made until that moment were paying.

A: describe yourself in one word!

M: DETERMINED.

A: which was the most emotional moment of your career until now?

M: surely the most emotional moment of my career (and also the most recent one) was race 2 in Monza because I think I made a really good race, also mentally. I managed the pressure really well, I took the right decisions, when I got to the box everyone was clapping and my dad was crying so it was the most beautiful moment ever. There was also almost my entire family, only a few were missing. It was an incredible moment.

A: what's your favourite thing to do when you're not racing?

M: training at the gym and training on the simulator for the races I'll have to attend. Also cultivating all of the passions I have, one of these being music as I said earlier. And sports in general.

But... being a racing driver? What does it take to become one? I'm sure a lot of people would love to race. Mattia, though, has maken himself clear in the next answer. It isn't easy and a budget is fundamental.

A: is it difficult to enter the motorsport world? What does it take to become a racing driver?

M: it's a complicated world. Caracterized by thousands of contexts, thousands of dynamics. Becoming a driver, today still, is really difficult. Because unfortunately, for a few years now, talent doesn't count anymore. If you don't have a budget you can't show how good you are. So unfortunately it's a world strictly bonded to the economic level. If you have a budget you can race, if you don't... you're at home. It's less meritocratic than before but motorsport is an illness so you have to cultivate it until the end, hoping and putting in maximum effort to close that gap that there can be on an economic level.

Coming to the last question, I wanted to ask Mattia something more personal (that he even talked about in one of the previous answers).

A: talking about you instead, do you have a dream that you really wish could come true? Which is it? M: My dream, as I said earlier, is to become a professional racing driver and making a living from it. I've been working on this since I was a kid and I've been doing a lot of sacrifices. I take some time off my private life, off my quotidianity. So I really hope these sacrifices can yield something bigger than what they yield today. This is why we never give up, we'll believe in it until the end. There is no giving up.

Lastly, Mattia gave some advice to his fans and to anyone who could be reading. This is what he said:

"What I feel like saying to the people who are reading my words, even if I'm a bit too young to give anyone advice, is to never give up. Always believe in what you do and don't let yourself be influenced by critics or negative moments (because there will be a lot). You have to listen to criticism to grow, and personally they're what keeps a fire in me. Dedicate yourself entirely to what you do, to whatever you believe in. So someday you can turn around and say that you made all that was possible to try and make your dream come true. If it went bad, it doesn't matter. If it went well, then... it's a good thing!"- Mattia Bucci

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This is all! I want to thank Mattia for this wonderful interview, it was so fun to write an article about his experience as a driver! Thank you all for reading this and don't forget to follow my instagram profile! (@aleinsidef1)