From Rio 2016 to Europe’s racetracks: the story of Luca Lunghi, the rider-engineer who does everything on his own

My name is Luca Lunghi and I have been a DI.DI pilot and instructor since 2017. In the paddock they know me as “the one who does everything by himself”: in fact, my team consists of yours truly, taking turns as rider, mechanic, tire technician, manager, telemetry engineer, cook, mental coach…

I was born with a C5–C6 injury to my right upper limb caused by obstetric palsy. Mine was a natural birth but a bit difficult; I weighed 5.7 kilos at birth. Given the situation, my disability is a non-disability because I’ve practically lived with it forever. Thanks to the therapies I received right away, apart from small limitations, I can say I’m normal—or at least that’s how I consider myself.

If I have to consider a traumatic event—meaning something that changed my life before and after—I have to go back to when, almost fifteen, I lost both my parents within a month. A major change in my life after compared to before, which is only possible to imagine. Many, even within Di.Di, say that after a fall you get back up, that after the storm the sun always returns. I drew the same life philosophy: after that double tragedy I was able to achieve important milestones at school, in sports, and professionally.

Out of respect for my parents I could never have tolerated the deterrents—that is, those who looked at my successes with envy—having the last word. I couldn’t picture myself ending up on the wrong path or with existential problems. I would never have borne it if they could have said: “Eh… with what happened to him, that was the only way it could end…”

This was my strength and, in the end, my revenge. Then I met the Di.Di and decided to embrace their project. This group is like a diamond with a thousand facets: it dispenses emotional medicine both to people with disabilities and, above all, to able-bodied people who have the chance to discover the movement.

In 2026 I will take part in the Octo Cup and the European Cup with the Nexum Team colors. The motorcycle is a vehicle that makes me feel good; the motorcycle is a vehicle through which the kids who attend the Di.Di courses experience strong emotions; the motorcycle is a vehicle through which it is possible to bring a smile to children in oncology wards. The motorcycle brings us together, it moves us, and it helps us climb back up when we stumble.