'Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari' (
November 16,
1892 –
August 11,
1953) was an
Italian motorcycle and
racecar driver, known as "The Flying Mantuan".
Career
Nuvolari was born in
Castel d'Ario,
province of Mantua. He was the fourth son of Arturo Nuvolari (a well off farmer and a known cyclist) and his wife Elisa Zorzi.
He obtained the motorcycle racing licence in
1915, when he was 23, but was soon recalled to the Army as a driver, when Italy entered
World War I. In
1917, He married Carolina Perina in a civil ceremony (quite a scandal for those times).
His career started with motorbikes and he had his first official race on
June 20,
1920 in
Cremona at the Circuito Internazionale Motoristico. He won his first race on
March 20,
1921 in
Verona. In this period he was also successful as an occasional car driver, competing from 1921-24 in 1500cc
Chiribiris and winning the 1924 Circuito del Savio at
Ravenna and the Circuito del
Polesine at
Padua, as well as winning the 1924 Circuito di Tigullio at
Lavagna in a
Bianchi.
He became a professional driver, and soon met
Enzo Ferrari (still a driver and not yet the founder of
Ferrari). Nuvolari quickly became very popular in Italy, where he was called "Il campionissimo delle due ruote", "the two wheeler Campionissimo" (the same title will be later given only to
Fausto Coppi, bicycle champion).
He begun testing himself in
Grand Prix motor racing and he won the prestigious
Targa Florio, in
Sicily, in 1931 and 1932, driving an
Alfa Romeo 8C Monza. After the first win he decided to dedicate himself only to cars. His fame grew rapidly and famous poet
Gabriele D'Annunzio gave him a little golden turtle with dedication: "To the fastest man in the world, the slowest animal". He obtained victories on most of the Italian circuits and in the
Mille Miglia. In 1932 he dominated Grand Prix motor racing, winning the Monaco, French and Italian Grand Prix events.
Perhaps his greatest ever victory was the
German Grand Prix of 1935, where, in an outdated and uncompetitive
Alfa Romeo P3 he defeated Germany's vaunted
Auto Union and
Mercedes Benz racing outfits in front of
Adolf Hitler, who was said to be outraged and refused to shake his hand afterwards. The hosts were so expectant of a German victory that they didn't have an Italian anthem to play. As though he had foreseen his own victory, Nuvolari called on his valet to bring him his suitcase, where upon he produced a record with the Italian national anthem and told them to play it.
Personal misfortune (in a few years he lost both of his two sons) made people even more passionate about him. His determination led him, proverbially, to insist on racing even when the car was losing components, or burning, causing several accidents. He also once competed in a Grand Prix with a broken arm.
Nuvolari won the 1930
Mille Miglia in an
Alfa Romeo. Having started after his team-mate and rival
Achille Varzi, Nuvolari was comfortably leading the race but was still behind Varzi (holder of provisional second position) on the road. In the dim half light of early dawn Nuvolari tailed Varzi with his headlights off, thereby not being visible in the latters rear-view mirrors. He then overtook Varzi on the straight roads approaching the finish at Brescia, by pulling alongside and flicking his headlights on.
Another often told story involves Nuvolari breaking both his legs in a crash and being recommended at least a month's rest by his doctors. Nuvolari is reported to have tied himself to his bike (casts and all) and then won the race.
Among Nuvolari's more memorable achievements was his win in the 1946 Copa Brezzi race in
Turin, when he crossing the finish line while steering his car with a wrench stuck into the steering column and holding the steering wheel outside of his car.
[1]
Nuvolari is also reported to have won a race on three wheels
[2]
He died in August
1953, in his bed.
Ferdinand Porsche called him ''"The greatest driver of the past, the present, and the future.''"
In
1996,
Alfa Romeo named their
concept car Nuvola after him.
In
1998, he was inducted into the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Fifty years after his death in
1953,
Audi created a
concept car in memory of Nuvolari known as the
Audi Nuvolari Quattro.
Major victories
★
Complete European Championship results
() (Races in 'bold' indicate pole position)
External links
★
Official site, including complete list of his races, with placements.
★
Grand Prix History - Hall of Fame, Tazio Nuvolari
★
The Golden Age by Leif Snellman
! colspan="3" style="background: #99ff66;" | Sporting achievements
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