Page 2.4 - the life of legendary racing driver tazio nuvolari
Tazio
Nuvolari
1892 - 1953
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Preface:
During his long and illustrious career, the legendary Italian racing driver Tazio Nuvolari had seven 'mortal accidents' as defined by medical technicians and doctors of the day! He not only always survived them, but very often recovered his health in a remarkably short time - perhaps in part to his iron will, incredible determination and strong athletic body. Indeed Nuvolari would often amazingly return to the racetrack after only several days recuperation - sometimes swathed in bandages, or still suffering from debilitating fractures! One newspaper, after a particularly terrible accident he'd suffered whilst riding his motorcycle, even announced his death ...to which the great champion replied with great irony in a later interview:
"When someone announces my death, you have to wait three days before crying. Everything is possible!"
Biography:
Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari was born in Castel d'Ario, near Mantua, on the 16th of November 1892. He was the fourth son of Arturo Nuvolari, a prosperous farmer, and his wife Elisa Zorzi, a housewife from Trento.
The young Tazio was considered a very lively and active boy who didn't much like studying, preferring sports instead. His father was an accomplished cyclist, whilst his uncle Giuseppe was a famous champion cyclist - the latter winning the Italian National Championships several times. Giuseppe would also later score some success overseas in the very first races conducted on motorcycles. Tazio always felt a great admiration for his famous uncle, and was always trying to imitate him.
In early September 1904, Nuvolari, watched an automobile car race for the very first time at the Circuit of Brescia. He was favourably impressed by the speed and heroics of the ace drivers of the time i.e. Vincenzo Lancia, Nazzaro, Cagno, Hémery and Duray. Two other events shortly following this first race, which would leave an indelible mark on the young Italian's personality. Firstly, his uncle Giuseppe would teach him how to ride a motorcycle, and secondly, one night, Tazio would steal his father's car and drove it in the moonlight. Later he would say: "I was about thirteen. How fast was I driving? About 30 kph, no more...".
His great passion for motorcycles and cars, and his competitive spirit were growing ever greater, and in 1915, at the age of 23, Nuvolari finally received the motorcycle race licence he so badly wanted. However, a few months after obtaining this license war broke out, and he was seconded into the army as driver. He drove Red Cross ambulances, heavy lorries and cars for the officers. One famous anecdote has it, that one day, whilst he was driving an officer, Nuvolari drove out onto a stretch of open road at great speed. The officer being driven by him, was later reported as telling his young driver: "Listen to me ...forget driving. You are not cut out for this job!"
Happily he would ignore such advice, and on November 10th, 1917, would even find time to marry Carolina Perina (1894-1981) in a civil ceremony in Milan. On September 4th, 1918, their first child Giorgio was born.
Nuvolari's first motorcycle race was held on the 20th of June 1920, at the Circuito Internazionale Motoristico (International Motorcyclist Circuit) in Cremona. He entered the competition under his son's name, Giorgio. Riding a Della Ferrari, he was sadly forced to retire. On March 20th, 1921, he drove an Ansaldo tipo 4 in his first ever car race - he finished first! By 1923, the 31 year old Nuvolari had made racing not only his over-riding passion but his business. Still competing mainly on two wheels, it didn't take him long to be among the leaders in that sport. He gained many wins on motorcycles during this time ...being surprisingly less fortunate at the time with cars!
During 1924, motorcycles took precedence over motorcars - with nineteen races to five being contested. However, Nuvolari scored his first overall victory at the "Circuito Golfo del Tigullio", driving a Bianchi 2 litres. He was driving a 1.5 litre Chiribiri Tipo Monza when he competed against a man who was going to be another legend in the history of car racing - though not as a driver. The man in question hailed from Modena, and Enzo Ferrari, would later write in his memoirs:
"I met Nuvolari for the first time in front of the Basilica di S. Apollinare in Classe, near Ravenna, during the 2nd "Circuito del Savio. At the start I did not take into consideration that small, thin man; but during the race I realized he was the only one who could threaten my success. I was driving an Alfa Romeo 3 litres while he had a Chiribiri. We crossed the finishing line in that order, and the same happened a few weeks later at the Circuito del Polesine".
In 1925 Nuvolari did not race cars at all. These were the years now considered as his two wheeled ace period. However, summoned for a test drive on September 1st, 1925, at Monza, he was given the triumphant and now iconic Alfa Romeo P2 to test drive ...this being the dominant Grand Prix car of the day. He drove faster and faster for 5 laps - faster than Campari and Marinoni, and close to Antonio Ascari's best lap of the year before. But on the sixth lap, his test drive ended with a spectacular unplanned exit from the track! Had it not been for this, Nuvolari could have taken the place of Ascari, who was killed at Monthléry a month before ...but Vittorio Jano, the Alfa Romeo Racing Director, would not consider him again until 1929! The P2 was heavily damaged, the driver injured, but 12 days later Nuvolari, still aching badly, made his way to Monza where, with a special bandage, he rode his Bianchi 350 and won the Gran Premio delle Nazioni motorcycle race!
In 1926 Tazio was still racing his Bianchi 350, the legendary "Freccia Celeste" (i.e. light blue arrow) and won all the major competitions. He had three serious accidents, the first of these on the Solitude Circuit near Stuttgart, where he came off the track because of the fog, and was very badly injured. The day after, he felt better and left by train to return to Italy. While crossing the border, he was met by one of the members of Bianchi team who was heading to Stuttgart to report on the tragedy and see firsthand what had happened. Apparently the Italian Consul, had sent a very concerned telegram to Rome. Moreover, a German journalist had written about Nuvolari's death in an evening newspaper!
By now Nuvolari was proving incredibly popular with the motorcycle race fans - they called him the "two wheeler Campionissimo" but he still loved cars. And indeed, in 1927, at the wheel of a Bianchi tipo 20, he took part in the first Mille Miglia, finishing tenth overall. But his best results of the season were obtained with his own Bugatti 35 ...gaining two absolute and convincing wins in the "Gran Premio Reale" di Roma and the "Circuito del Garda".
Sometime between 1927 and 1928 Tazio Nuvolari finally made his choice. In order to intensify his own activity as a racing car driver, he started his own racing team in Mantua. He bought four Bugatti Grand Prix cars, and then resold two of them to Achille Varzi - one of his toughest rivals, but also one of his dearest friends ...and to Cesare Pastore. The Scuderia Nuvolari's debut, on March 11th, was a triumph! Nine days after his second son Alberto's birth, Nuvolari won the Gran Prix of Tripoli, scoring his first big international victory. He also won the 'Circuito del Pozzo' in Verona, beating the great Pietro Bordino, who was to sadly die in an accident shortly afterwards. Nuvolari took part in the Circuito di Alessandria - dedicated to the memory of Bordino - honouring the dead former champion with a great win.
1929 was one of the most difficult years in Nuvolari's life and illustrious racing career. He managed himself for all of his competitive activities, but this proved very expensive and time consuming. He tried his best to alternate between car and motorcycle racing, whilst also being a car dealer for Bianchi, Scat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia. He often raced with different cars i.e. Bugatti 35C, OM 665 Speciale, Alfa Romeo 6C 1750SS, Talbot 1500 etc, but he had few successes. For Nuvolari, 1929 was most definitely a year to forget!
The turning point for Nuvolari dates back to 1930. After the failure in Monza the Alfa Romeo team had not taken Tazio Nuvolari into any further consideration ...but Vittorio Jano had not entirely forgotten about him. He now wanted Nuvolari in the Alfa Romeo team and wrote a memorable letter of contract to him. Nuvolari signed the contract and was soon summoned for testing. The official debut could not have been more exciting! Nuvolari at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 won the 4th Mille Miglia in a record time. He was the first driver to complete the long and extremely difficult route at an average speed of over 100 kph. This fact alone brought him to everyone's attention, and made him even more immensely popular.
1930 would prove a busy year, with Nuvolari racing ever more often. At the Trieste - Opicina he gave the new born Scuderia Ferrari their first ever win, and soon became their standard bearer. He also won the Cuneo-Colle della Maddalena, the 'Vittorio Veneto-Cansiglio' and the Tourist Trophy run at the Ards Circuit near Belfast. During 1930 Nuvolari decided to retire from motorcycle racing - an activity in which he had excelled for a long time - with four final exploits. Among them the Lario Trophy, where he was first overall, first in class, and drove the fastest lap. His 350CC Bianchi crossed the finishing line before all the 500CC motorcycles!
1931 was one of the most active years for Nuvolari. He drove in 20 races with three particularly memorable victories i.e. the Targa Florio, the Italian Grand Prix and the Coppa Ciano. He raced the Reale Gran Premio di Roma with an old Bugatti 35C ... but drove all the other races with the Alfa Romeo cars of Scuderia Nuvolari i.e. the 6CC 1500SS, the Tipo A monoposto ...and above all the 8C 2300.
By now, the 'Flying Mantuan' as he was called, had a reputation that blazed across the racing world. Out of 16 races, Nuvolari won seven. The Grand Prix of Monaco, the Targa Florio, the Italian Grand Prix, the French Grand prix, the Circuito di Avellino, the Coppa Ciano and the Coppa Acerbo. There were also five first in class and nine fastest laps. The only race he did not manage to complete was the Mille Miglia - coming out of Florence, his car ran off the road. Nuvolari's triumphal year was made complete by two other titles of great prestige - the Italian driver's championship and the International Championship - won on the basis of the three victories in the Grand Prix races of Italy, France and Germany.
Nuvolari was frequently on the front page of many newspapers. He found himself feted by many of the "Greats" of the time. The poet Gabriele D'Annunzio received him at The Vittoriale degli Italiani, whereupon Nuvolari was given a little golden turtle bearing the dedication: "To the fastest man in the world, the slowest animal". Tazio considered this little piece of jewellery as a good luck charm and it became his personal symbol. He had it embroidered on the yellow jersey he wore whilst racing, printed on all of his stationery, and painted on the side of the personal airplane that he acquired some years later. He also had some copies made - which just as the famous poet had done for him - he gave to friends, those dear to him ...and for those who could be important to his career. Several months later, just after his win in the Coppa Acerbo, Benito Mussolini received him in Rome, and happily posed with him for the photographers, stood by an Alfa Romeo P3.
In 1933 Nuvolari won 11 races, and whilst could be considered a very successful season on most counts, it was characterized by disagreements and tension. Nuvolari won the Tunisian Grand Prix, the Mille Miglia, the Circuit of Alessandria, the Eifelrennen, the Grand Prix of Nimes and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But then he decided to leave the Scuderia Ferrari team. Nuvolari's decision to leave the team was led by a conviction that by doing so, and by going it alone, he could attract better cars and make more money whilst doing so. At the start of the Belgium Grand Prix, he appeared with a Maserati 8CM prepared by his personal mechanic Decimo Compagnoni. He won in Belgium, in the Coppa Ciano and in the Grand Prix of Nice, ending the season racing on the Spanish track in San Sebastian, where he had a serious accident. During 1933 he drove a total of five different cars, these being the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spyder (Passo Corto), Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Le Mans, 8C 2600 Monza, Maserati 8CM. He had also a MG Magnette K3 for the Tourist Trophy where Nuvolari was, of course, first overall.
The 1934 season began with a new formula for Grand Prix cars - a 750kg weight restriction was issued to stop the dangerous escalation of increasing engine power. The German car makers of Mercedes-Benz and the newborn Auto Union made their entrance, and before long their domination was overwhelming. Nuvolari set up his own team, but his cars were not terribly competitive. So the '34 season began rather unfavourably for him, and on April 22nd, at the Circuito "Bordino" in Alessandria he had what was to be considered the most serious accident of his entire career. Little more than a month later however, he stoically started the Avusrennen still on crutches with his left leg in a cast! He finished 5th! He raced at many circuits and suffered many retirements (9 out of 23 races) but his performances were considered modest by his own very high standards. But towards the end of the season, things went a little better and he won in Modena and Naples. He drove seven different cars during this season i.e. the Bugatti 59, Maserati 8CM, Maserati 6C34, Alfa Romeo (private, of course) 8C 2300 Monza, 6C 2300 B Pescara and 8C 2600 Monza.
At the end of the 1934 season, Nuvolari entered into negotiations with Auto Union. It is also known that in September Nuvolari had a double test drive with the 16C Tipo A rear engine - the first test at the Grand Prix in Spain, on the Lasarte Circuit in San Sebastian - the second in Brno, at the Masaryk Circuit. However, some Auto Union drivers, most notably Stuck, opposed the signing of Tazio Nuvolari, and the contract was never completed. Auto Union would engage the services of Achille Varzi instead.
So the 'Flying Mantuan' made his peace and signed with Enzo Ferrari ...and so in 1935 Tazio Nuvolari was back in the Scuderia Ferrari. He soon began to win again, in the first race of the season at Pau, in an Alfa Romeo Tipo B called P3, and again in Bergamo, Biella and Turin with a more powerful and modified model P3 of the Scuderia Ferrari. His most impressive performance was the 'impossible victory' in the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, driving the obsolete Alfa Romeo P3 (3167cm3, compressor, 265HP) versus the ultimate, all conquering home team's cars of five Mercedes Benz W25 (3990 cm3, 8C, compressor, 375HP) and four Auto Union Tipo B (4950cm3, 16C, compressor, 375HP). Nuvolari simply amazed everybody, scoring maybe his most epic and emblematic win.
Nuvolari started the 1936 racing season by suffering another terrible accident on May the 8th. Practicing for the Tripoli Grand Prix he was thrown from the car sustaining multiple contusions and apparently cracking a couple of vertebrae. However the next day, although limping heavily, he returned to the track and in a tremendous pain managed to finish eight! On June 7th, in Barcelona, on the 21st in Budapest, on the 28th in Milan, he beat the all dominant German cars where he was first once more in the Alfa Romeo 12C, beating Achille Varzi's Auto Union. He sent the rapturous crowd wild with other two wins i.e. the Coppa Ciano and the Modena Circuit. Finally he conquered the Americas with a runaway win in the Vanderbilt Cup. He drove two Alfa Romeos - the 8C-35 and the 12C-36.
The 1937 season was dominated by the German teams, who won most, if not all, of the year's races - so it was a notably poor year for all the other drivers. But above all such racing concerns, Nuvolari suffered a notable death in his family. On June 27th, whilst he was travelling overseas for the Valderbilt Cup on board the 'Normandie' Nuvolari received a telegram from Mantua informing him of the death of his eldest son, Giorgio, from myocarditis. The boy would have been 19 later that year! The success of the previous season seemed long gone, and to make matters even worse, during the race itself, the Alfa Romeo driven by Nuvolari caught fire ...the driver once more having to remove himself from the car in haste. He had another accident during testing on the Turin circuit, competed in few races - nine altogether - and only achieved one win, at the Grand Prix in Milan. His cars simply could not compete with the power of the mighty Mercedes and awesome Auto Unions!
1938 saw the season open with new engine regulations for Grand Prix cars - but the new rules did little to change the status quo! Alfa Romeo had on track the new 308 (2991cm3, 8C compressor, 295CV, 260kph) but Mercedes Benz responded with the W154 (2962cm3, 12C compressor, 468CV, 300 kph). During practice for the Grand Prix of Pau, Nuvolari's Alfa Romeo caught fire. He was bruised and suffered a few slight burns to his face, arms and legs. More than anything, he was severely shocked. Its recorded at this time that he paused for a good, long, hard think about his career, and decided to retire from racing ...but soon rethought his decision. He then left for a trip to the United States. He visited Indianapolis where he tried - wearing only a shirt and tie, and a borrowed helmet - a couple of single seaters, but these were not to his satisfaction. On his return to Europe he finally signed with Auto Union. They were looking for a driver who could take the place of the young Bernard Rosemeyer, who had died on January 28th while attempting a record on the Frankfurt-Darmstadt motorway.
After three test drives, he drove the rear engined silver single seater Tipo D to two memorable victories - the Italian Grand Prix in Monza and, two weeks later, the British Grand Prix at Donington ...where he delighted and thrilled the British crowd with his mastery! But the racing calendar was shortened as threats of war increased, and indeed World War II had already broken out when the Grand Prix of Belgrade was run on the 3rd of September. It was the last success, and the last race Auto Union ever competed in. Nuvolari won, ending an extraordinary era, which saw him become truly a legendary motor sport figure!
In 1946, after the hostilities of WWII had ceased, Nuvolari suffered another personal tragedy. On the 11th of April his second son died, aged only 18. Somehow he found the strength to start racing again. On the 12th of May he raced at the Grand Prix of Marseilles. He showed that he was anything but past history, achieving the fastest lap before his engine let him down. He would race anywhere, anyhow he could, to suppress his great pain.
He may not have won as often as he had before, but Nuvolari became more and more beloved by race fans. In Turin, on September 3rd, he started the Coppa Brezzi driving a Cisitalia D46. He was in the lead at the end of the first lap, but on the second one passed in front of the pit area waving the steering wheel, which had come off in his hands! He did another lap driving the steering column ...but then he had to stop for the inevitable repairs. He started again, and ended the race in 13th place. The story went around the world and added more legend to his already formidable myth.
Nuvolari started only six races in 1947. He had an overall win at the Circuito of Parma, and yet the facts so given, make it seem a fairly ordinary year - and not much for a legendary champion like him! But the facts do not tell the whole story! Another race added even more to the Nuvolari myth - the Mille Miglia. Tazio, by now 55, still managed his usual array of incredible feats! He went into the the lead of the race with his little Cisitalia 202 Spyder and was well ahead of the chasing pack. He fought off fatigue (note that, that year the route was 1800 instead of 1600km long), vomiting attacks and the incessant rain. He suffered an ignition fault, which was repaired, but a violent storm filled his cockpit with rainwater! He had to stop briefly. When he restarted, Biondetti's Type 8C 2900 Alfa Romeo Berlinetta had passed him, entering Brescia in the lead. Tazio, who had thrilled the hearts of millions of Italians, was right behind him, despite the aforementioned difficulties!
1948 saw the great man drive in only five races, finishing fourth in one, seventh in another and not classified in the rest. However one of these retirements - the XV Mille Miglia - became what now many consider to be his last great drive. The Cisitalia which was especially prepared for him broke down during testing and could not be repaired in time. It seemed impossible that Nuvolari could do the race, but the day before the start, Enzo Ferrari offered him a 166S. Tazio gladly accepted Ferrari's offer and on the 2nd of May, with no practice at all (his last drive dating back to September 14th of the previous year) he took his place at the start! He took off as if he were 20 years old, and not nearing 60! In Pescara he was leading, by the Rome stage he was 12 minutes ahead, in Livorno 20 minutes, at Florence half an hour. His drive was irresistible, but the car was breaking up! First it lost a mud guard, then the bonnet, then the bolts holding the seats in place. Finally, in Reggio Emilia a broken leaf spring pivot blew away the hopes of an happy ending to the last of Tazio Nuvolari's epic great drives.
In 1949 he only raced once, almost symbolically, at Marseilles, where he completed just one lap before handing the Maserati A6GCS to Piero Carini.
He was back behind the wheel of a racing car in 1950, with what would become his final races. He was at the Giro di Sicilia/Targa Florio, but had to retire due to a broken gear box after a few kilometers. On April 10th, he raced at the Palermo-Montepellegrino hill climb, registering 5th overall, and first in his class. His car was the Cisitalia 204 Spyder Sport elaborated by Abarth.
Although he never announced his retirement from racing, this was to be his last win and his last ever drive, too. He was seen less often, becoming increasingly isolated, and his health steadily declined. He died on August 11th, 1953, in his bed ...and not, as he had so frequently chanced, and had perhaps wished for ...at the wheel of a racing car!
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