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Race Car Driver Alberto Ascari

Brenda Williams — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:28:44 +0000

Alberto Ascari was literally born into the Grand Prix. He entered this world on July 13, 1918 in Milan, Italy. His father was Antonio Ascari, the Italian racing star of the Grand Prix during the 1920’s. Antonio also owned a Fiat dealership in Milan. As a child Alberto met the celebrities of the racing world who visited his father’s business. He also became acquainted with Enzo Ferrari, his father’s closest friend. Antonio, who was considered Italy’s greatest driver, always took his son to watch the races in which he drove. Then after capturing the lead in the French Grand Prix at Montlehry, Antonio crashed and died. His father’s death did not quell young Alberto’s passion for racing. Rather, it intensified the youth’s desire to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Alberto began his career racing motorcycles and in 1937 the Bianchi Team hired him as a rider. Alberto’s first venture into automobile racing was in 1940 when he entered the Mille Miglia. But the outbreak of World War 2 put his racing career on hold. Alberto was now operating the family business in Milan, which was part of Italy’s war effort. Alberto also partnered With Luigi Villoresi to develop a transport service to send fuel to Italian military depots in North Africa. He had married in 1940 and by the war’s end, he and Mietta had two children. Because of this, Alberto was thinking of giving up racing.

However, when the war ended his friend and partner, Luigi Villoresi, who was also a race driver convinced Alberto to continue.

The two friends then signed on with Maserati. Alberto’s first Grand Prix win was in 1948 at Sanremo, Italy. Later in the year he placed second at the British Grand Prix. By 1952, Luigi and Alberto had attracted the attention of Enzo Ferrari who signed them up to drive for Ferrari. With the Ferrari team, Alberto enjoyed illustrious success, winning nine times in 1950 and six times in 1951. In 1952, he became the only European driver to enter the American Indy 500 but had to retire at the end of lap 40 due to mechanical difficulties. But he had placed first in Europe’s six races and set a record for the fastest lap in each race.

His winning streak continued into 1953 when he won three more races for a total of nine straight wins that, combined with two more later in the year, gave him a second consecutive world championship. However, the most unusual event in his career was its ending. In 1955 while racing at Monaco, he missed a corner and plunged into the sea. After recovering from shock and a broken nose he came to Monza where his friend Eugenio Castellotti was testing a Ferrari.

Alberto decided to do a few laps but spun out on a curve and was killed.The date was May 26, 1955. His father fatally crashed on the 26th. Both father and son were thirty-six years old when they died. They both drove a car numbered 26 and had won thirteen championships. They had also both survived serious crashes four days prior to their untimely deaths and both accidents occurred on relatively easy curves.

Alberto’s winning smile and friendly, unassuming personality had won the love and devotion of his fans who mourned him as a national hero. At his funeral the front columns of the church were draped in black with the inscription: “On the Last Finish Line, meet, O lord, the soul of Alberto Ascari.”

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The Mille Miglia

Brenda Williams — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:28:29 +0000

The origins of this Italian road race go back to a duel between two cities, Milan and Brescia. In 1921 the first Italian Grand Prix had taken place on the Montichiara course near Brescia. However, Milan had constructed the new Monza circuit to host the 1922 Italian Grand Prix. The people of Brescia were highly incensed at what they considered to be the arrogance of their neighbor. Brescia had long been the heartland of Italian motor sport and their citizens did not appreciate being upstaged by Milan. So the Brescia Automobile Club decided that something spectacular must be done to respond to Milan without offending the Royal Automotive Club of Italy.

The Brescia Automobile Club was fortunate that its membership included some very wealthy motor sports enthusiasts, some influential politicians, and talented racing drivers. They also had the expertise of Renzo Castagneto of Verona, a talented organizer who had established a name for himself in motorcycle racing. The club decided to organize a long distance race for production cars. This would provide manufacturers with a much needed vehicle to showcase their products to the public. They, realizing the importance of publicity, they solicited the help of Giovanni Canestrini, who was with the “Gazzetta dello Sport’, a publication supported by the motor industry.

It would be known as the Mille Miglia Cup race and would run the1600 kilometers from Brescia to Rome and back. The choice of Rome as a destination was a political move designed to flatter the incumbent government officials. However, in later years other routes would be used. Only unmodified production cars would be allowed to compete. The first race bean on March 26, 1927 and had an entry fee of one lira. Seventy-seven cars started the inaugural race, all of which were Italian makes. When the race ended, fifty-one had crossed the finish line.

Giuseppe Morandi, driving a 2-litre OM, won with a time of twenty-one hours and five minutes. He had averaged forty-eight miles or 78 kilometres per hour. OM’s captured the top three places. Italian drivers and Italian cars dominated the race before and after the war.

However, Rudolf Caracciola, a German with an Italian name, won in 1931 driving a Mercedes-Benz. And in 1940 another German driver, Huschke von Hanstein took first place in a BMW 328 Belinetta Touring car. This race, like most other European competitions, was suspended from 1941 to 1946, because of World War II.

Following the war, Clemente Biondetta won three consecutive races from 1947 to 1949 with an Alfa Romeo in 1947 and a Ferrari in 1948 and 1949. Stirling Moss, accompanied by Dennis Jenkinson, was the only British driver to ever win. He drove a Mercedes-Benz SLR 300. Prior to the war, Tazio Nuvolari was a two time winner in an Alfa Romeo. Nuvolari told about following Achille Varzi with his headlights turned off. Varzi thought he was in the lead until, upon reaching the straight, near the finish line; Nuvolari turned on his headlights and passed the shocked Varzi.

In 1957 Spanish driver, Alfonso, Marquis of Portago crashed in the village of Guidizzolo. Alfonso, his co-driver and thirteen spectators were killed. The race was discontinued following this accident.

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Race Drivers Turned Espionage Agents

Brenda Williams — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:02:01 +0000

When World War II came to France, three of her race drivers were excelling on the tracks. Robert Benoist had won the French, Spanish, Italian and British Grand Prix and as the only driver to do this in one year, he received the Legion of Honor from the French Government.

Then in 1937 he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. Benoist’s friend Jean-Pierre Wimille had won the 24 Hours of LeMans partnered with Robert had placed second in the Vanderbilt Cup and had won both the Algerian Grand Prix and the French Grand Prix. Fellow racing driver Grover-Williams, using the alias W. Williams had placed first in the inaugural Monaco Grand Prix, and was a two-time winner of the French Grand Prix.

However, when the Nazis invaded and occupied France, auto racing was over for the duration. France, liked many other Nazi occupied European countries developed an underground resistance army to fight the Nazis in any way they could. The three racing drivers escaped to England. Grover-William joined the Royal Army Service Corps. But due to his fluency in both French and English, the British recruited Grover-William into the SOE. Benoist and Jean-Pierre Wimille also joined the SOE.

SOE was an acronym for the Special Operations Executive, an intelligence group that had been formed to aid Nazi resistance groups operating in the occupied countries of Europe. It was headquartered at 64 Baker Street in London. In the words of Sir Winston Churchill who was Prime Minister at that time, the SOE’s mission was to “set Europe ablaze.” It had a twofold task to train underground armies that would be ready to assist in the coming invasion and to hamper the Nazi war effort through effective sabotage operations.

All three men received extensive training in espionage operations and Grover-Williams was also trained as a demolition specialist. Upon completion of training, Grover-Williams, using the code name Vladmir, was assigned to set up a sabotage network that would be known as ‘Chestnut’ and was parachuted into occupied France on the morning of May 31, 1942. Benoist assisted Grover-Williams in carrying out the work of Chestnut and they were joined by Wimille. However, Chestnut was discovered by the Nazis and all three men were arrested. Benoist made a daring escape by jumping from the patrol car and hiding out until he could return to England. After an unsuccessful trip back to France, Benoist again returned to England but came back to France in March of 1944 and started to work on reviving Chestnut.

In June of 1944, the Nazi’s struck again. This time it was Wimille who made the daring escape. He first dodged the rifles by sprinting between parked cars and then dived into a stream where he floated with only his nose above water until the Nazis departed. Robert Benoist was imprisoned in Buchenwald where he was executed in September of 1944. Grover-Williams was placed in solitary confinement at Sachsenhausen and supposedly faced a firing squad in March 1945. Wimille survived to continue racing. Their experiences
formed the basis for Robert Ryan’s novel, ‘Early One Morning.’

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Ayrton Senna Champion Driver

Brenda Williams — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:02:01 +0000

Ayrton Senna was born Ayrton Senna da Silva on March 21, 1960 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He began his racing career at an early age when he appropriated the go kart that had been given to his older sister Viviane. In 1973, at the age of thirteen, he started entering karting competitions and was just seventeen years old when he won the South American Kart championship; He continued in kart racing until 1981 when he relocated to England to race single seaters. At that time he dropped the da Silva and took his mother’s name of Senna.
In 1982 he won both the British and European Formula Ford 2000.

His record attracted the attention of four Formula 1 Teams and he tested for all four but received only one offer and that was from the Toleman team. Senna scored his first point at the South African Grand Prix, his second race. He scored again at the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks later but because of mechanical problems, was unable to qualify for the San Marino Grand Prix. Later he entered to Monaco Grand Prix but just as he was closing in on the leader the race was stopped due to heavy rainfall.

Senna took his first pole position in Formula 1 in 1985, winning the Portuguese Grand Prix however he had difficulty getting along with his partner De Angelis. He had also started to earn the criticism of other drivers for some of his strategies on the track. In 1986 he won the Spanish Grand Prix, barely edging out Nigel Mansell. In 1987 while attempting to win the Spa-Francorchamps Senna collided with Mansell who confronted him after the race, criticizing Senna’s strategies on the track.

Senna moved to McLaren in 1988 where he ran afoul of Alain Prost who was at that time double world champion. Here began the intense rivalry that would spark a series of track incidents in the days to come. By 1989 the two drivers were battling on the track and conducting psychological warfare off of it. In 1990 Senna had a collision with Prost as a result of a controversy over the pole position. Senna blamed the race officials but Prost blamed Senna.
By 1993, Senna did not have a contract with any team and was driving on a race by race basis. However, in 1994 he agreed to drive for the Williams-Renault team that was also Prost’s team. Prost retired from racing at that time rather than be a teammate of Senna.

In the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Senna was leading the pack when on Lap 7; his car skidded off the track and hit a concrete barrier. Senna was killed. There was considerable controversy surrounding the accident and his subsequent death. Both had a profound impact on Formula One as many safety measures were then implemented and no driver has died in his car since that time.

He was buried in Brazil and his home country turned out in droves for his funeral to mourn the legendary driver who had won three Formula One championships.

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Robert Marcel Charles Benoist

Brenda Williams — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:44:00 +0000

One of France’s legendary racing drivers, and a war hero Benoist was born on March 20, 1895 in France. His father was employed by Baron Henri de Rothschild as a gamekeeper. As a young man, Robert craved excitement so he joined the French infantry in World War I. Then he transferred to the Armee de l’Air where he served as a fighter pilot and flying instructor. When the war ended Benoist returned home and went to work for the de Marcay car company as a test driver. He left de Marcay for employment at
Salmson where he built a successful record as a cyclecar racer.

In 1924 Delage hired Benoist to drive for them. The following year, partnered with Albert Divo. Benoist placed first in the French Grand Prix. Two years later, in 1927, Benoist again won the French Grand Prix and in the same year, won the Spanish, Italian and British Grand Prix. These wins earned Delage a season championship title. Benoist was also the only driver to win all four events in the same year and for this feat, the French government awarded him the Legion of Honor.

Then Delage quit racing so Benoist went to the Bugatti team and came in second in the San Sebastian Grand Prix held in Spain in 1928. In 1929 Benoist partnered with Attilio Marinoni and together they won the Spa 24 Hours race held in Belgium, driving an Alfa Romeo. Benoist did not race anymore until 1934 when he again joined the Bugatti team and won the 1935 Picardie Grande Prix together with the Course de Cote de Chateau Thierry. At the same time, Bugatti appointed Benoist as head of their competition department responsible for their LeMans program. In 1937, he and Jean-Pierre Wimille entered and won the 24 Hours of LeMans. Again, Benoist retired from racing.

Benoist was living at his country home in Auffargis when the Nazis invaded France in Word War ll. He, along with fellow racing drivers Jean-Pierre Wimille and William Grover-Williams fled to England. Upon arrival there they enlisted in the British forces but were recruited into the Special Operations Executive or SOE. The SOE was a branch of British intelligence that had been organized to assist the various resistance movements that were being established throughout Nazi occupied countries in Europe. Along with Grover-Williams and Wimille, Benoist worked to organize ‘Chestnut’ a network designed to set up sabotage operations against the Nazis and recruit guerrilla soldiers who would be available to help the Allies when they invaded Europe.

In June of 1943, the Nazis, thanks to an informant, discovered Chestnut and arrested their operatives. Benoist was able to escape the Gestapo by jumping out of the patrol car that was transporting him to the Nazi headquarters. He then escaped from France back to England. However, Benoist returned to France to try to revive Chestnut. This time he was arrested again and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp. He was executed there in September of 1944. He was honored by both England and France as one of the SOE agents who gave his life to liberate France. After Germany surrendered, Paris held an automobile race entitled the ‘Coupe Robert Benoist’ in memory of the man who was both a racing and a war hero.

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The Driver Who Left Too Soon

Brenda Williams — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:28:31 +0000

Jean-Pierre Wimille was born in Paris on February 26,1908. His father was a motor sports enthusiast who wrote for the Petit Parisien newspaper. However, Jean-Pierre’s role model was Robert Benoist who was France’s star driver at that time. Jean-Pierre began his racing career when he was 22. He started out as a wild driver but his victories soon identified him as a rising star on the racing horizon. In 1933, Robert Benoist, who led the Bugatti team and who had been Wimille’s inspiration hired Jean-Pierre to drive for them. However, the company was having difficulty competing in Grand Prix racing, with the new kids on the block, Mercedes and Auto Union, and decided to concentrate on sports car racing. So in 1937 Wimille found himself teamed with Benoist in the 24 Hours of LeMans. They won the event and Wimille became the fourth driver in auto racing history to win the 24 Hours of LeMans on his first attempt.

Wimille tried another race in a single seater with Enzo Ferrari in 1938 but by then the German teams dominated. Later, Enzo would refer to Jean-Pierre as “one of the greatest drivers representing France.” Wimille went back to Bugatti in 1939 and won the 24 Hours of LeMans a second time, this time partnered with Pierre Veyron. But World War 2 erupted and Wimille joined the French Armee de l’ Air. Defeat came soon and his unit was demobilized as the Nazis occupied France. He and his two colleagues and friends, Grover-Williams and Robert Benoist fled to England where they were recruited into the Special Operations Executive (SOE). This was a British Intelligence Unit that had been formed to assist resistance outfits in the Nazi occupied countries of Europe.

All three, following intensive training were re-assigned back to France to develop a sabotage network known as ‘Chestnut.’ Unfortunately, the Nazis discovered the network and raided their headquarters. Wimille escaped, sprinting between the parked cars, and finally diving into a stream where he floated with only his nose above the water’s surface until the Germans departed. His partners, Benoist and Grover-Williams were arrested and later executed. When Paris was liberated, Wimille joined the Free French Air Force and flew missions over Germany.

After the war, he resumed his racing career with his first race being the Robert Benoist Cup. He won. Then he began racing for Alfa Romeo and Simca-Gordini. Jean-Pierre raced and won against Juan-Manuel Fangio in the Grand Prix of Rosario in South America. In Europe, he racked up one Grand Prix win after another earning the reputation of Europe’s best driver. In January of 1949 Wimille left for Argentina to compete in the Grand Prix General Peron in Buenos Aires. During a practice session, he crashed, crushing his chest and suffering serious head injuries. He was dead on arrival at the hospital.

Racing experts agree that had there been a World Championship in 1948 Wimille would have won it. Later the French government posthumously honored Jean-Pierre with the Legion d’Honneur and erected a memorial to him at the Porte Dauphine.

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Nazi-era Race Car for Auction

admin — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:37:03 +0000

A rare Nazi-era vehicle concealed from the German mine shaft during World War II is now on display for two days at Audiâ€™s showroom on Park Avenue. The silver D-Type from Auto Union, Audiâ€™s forerunner, will eventually be auctioned on February 17 in Paris as part of Christieâ€™s Retromobile auto sale. The race car is estimated to be worth millions of dollars and it is expected to fetch around $12 million to $15 million.

Christieâ€™s said, â€œWhile Adolph Hitler gave about 500,000 reichsmarks to Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz to promote racing and technology, the car is not specifically affiliated with the Third Reich.â€ The D-Type on display, the grandfather of modern race cars, is one of only 2 in existence. Said car has revolutionized automotive racing by putting the driver in front of the engine instead of behind it. It speeds up to 185 miles per hour.

â€œThis car was really quite ahead of its time,â€ said Rupert Banner, head of Christieâ€™s International Motor Cars division. â€œIt was revolutionary. It changed the face of racing.â€ Over 20 Auto Union series cars were manufactured between 1933 and 1939. The D-Type, designed by Ferdinand Porsche, has a body shape likened to an airplane fuselage. The driver sits sunken into the body of the metal, and the wheels. The latter appears like oversized bicycle tires having independent suspension. Automakers of today are improving their line from race cars like the D-Type. As a fact, the latest and greatest formulation for fast street or light track vehicles having EBC Redstuff are also inspired by race cars like the D-Type.

â€œThere was a kind of memory loss after the war,â€ said Audi historian Thomas Erdmann. â€œIt took really until the early 1960s and later on to the 1980s for car design to catch up to these cars.â€ Just before World War II, the D-Type won the 1939 French Grand Prix. The car, also called the Silver Arrow, was filmed winding through country roads for use in newsreels across Europe. â€œThey vanished, lost behind the Iron Curtain,â€ Erdmann added.

In the racing realm, German cars were always using the color silver, French use blue and British green. These colors eventually became their trademarks. This is the reason behind the sleek silver color of the D-Type.

During the heyday of the World War II, Auto Union workers hid the cars in a mine shaft in eastern Germany to shun using them for scrap metal. After the historic war, the Russians discovered the cars and took them to their own country, along with dismantled Auto Union factories, to re-create motorsports. The cars were taken apart.

An American car collector came across car parts in a scrap heap in Ukraine and took them back to England. There, Crosthwaite & Gardinerâ€™s auto experts restored it. Christieâ€™s did not divulge who is selling it.

Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.

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