Proudly created with. While failing to qualify, Pete Lyons, arguably the leading F1 journalist of that era, nevertheless described Lombardi'sintroduction to the world of Formula One like this: "Lella Lombardi drove her BT42 the same chassis with which Pace failed to qualify in France in a brisk enough, and clean enough, manner to impress people favourably.". For Lombardi to gain the respect of such men as the legendary Arturo Merzario (seen above with teammateVittorio Brambilla) was a clear indication of herabilities and bravery. Those were not easy cars to drive basically a Formula 2 with a big, tall lump stuck in the back but she got quicker and quicker during the year. But even today we associate motorsports with something overly fraternal. Maria Grazia Lombardi aka Lella Lombardi (1941-1992) was a female racing driver from Italy who recorded 17 participations (12 starts) in the Formula One World Championship between 1974 and 1976, setting the record as a woman who raced the most in Formula 1. Facebook gives people the power. Lella only complained about the inequality of Formula 1 because nobody had listened to her about changes for the car. There were only two drivers per car back then, and we managed the two-and-a-bit-hour stints easily. Unfortunately, a major miscalculation in the Jean Sage-run team led to their retirement, when they ran out of fuel. Wins [14] Majendie argues this by citing Lombardis example as a racer, who despite her gender, successfully entered Formula One. After a brief experience with karting as a child, Lombardi bought her first car in 1965, racing in Formula Monza. And they finished 11th at Le Mans, despite a long delay because of an electrical glitch that stranded Beckers without engine or headlights; her resourceful fix surprised the team. Lombardi died of breast cancer three weeks before her 51st birthday. The rest of the races were plagued with DNFs or an average finish of 14th place. Find flight for cheapWith its premium plus plan, youll be able to browse flight deals going for up to 90% off in business, premium economy, and economy class. She was judged purely as a racing driver. Bar a disappointing appearance at a Mallory Park round of the 1979 Aurora AFX F1 Championship in Zanons FW06, it would be sports cars, GTs and saloons from here on. Highlights include: being crowned the Italian Formula Three runner up in 1968 and winning the Italian Formula 850 Series in 1970. Lella was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. For a long time, motorsports was defined by its fraternal culturethe big, Cowell continued driving after her transition, winning the 1957, Bid on over 65,000 special objects every week, selected by 240+ experts, the first road trip ever conducted was pioneered by a woman. Lombardi is commemorated by a sculpture in her birthplace, Frugarolo. Into 1974 Epstein signed Lella Lombardi, she had come through Italian racing and European F3 and immediately impressed with her handling of HU18. Date of birth. She wasnt interested in fashion and usually wore trousers if she was in civvies. Could Lella have made it, if Max and Robin had listened and believed her comments, and discovered that cracked rear bulkhead sooner? Motorsports have always been popular with all kinds of people. Sign up to receive marketing communications. But she wanted me to be just as fast and was always giving me tips and help. 0 1975 would prove to be an eventful season for the March Team, as Lombardi scored a Championship point in the Spanish Grand Prix. Formula 1 was very important for her and her friend Fiorenza. Then, Lombardi briefly moved to RAM Racing, her best result being 12th at the Austrian Grand Prix. Though Zanon, a huge fan of Petersons, smoothed matters by helping her find employment elsewhere, the transition was not without problem. That didnt mean it was a wholly unsuccessful year. Lombardi died of breast cancer in Milan on March 3, 1992. Subscribe Shop Subscribe Articles F1 Articles F1 Opinion Mark Hughes History MotoGP Podcasts Competitions The Showroom Articles Not only was she a novice in Formula One, but her car also suffered a broken gearbox in the vital Final Qualifying Session. The 1975 Spanish Grand Prix was cut short while Lombardi was running in sixth place. During the 1980s Lombardi raced touring cars but her form struggled due to ill health - initially chest pains, although the reality would turn out to be much worse. Lella Lombardi: Remembering F1's Female Trailblazer FORMULA 1 8.55M subscribers 131K views 11 months ago #F1 On the 30th anniversary of her death, we look back on the life and career of the. She wasnt rich her father was a butcher and, with no sponsors to begin with, she slept in her truck to save money. Lombardi had had experience of sports-prototypes in the 1975 World Championship for Makes, finishing sixth at Mugello and a class-winning fourth at Monza in Equipe Elf Switzerlands 2-litre Alpine A441, co-driven by Marie-Claude Beaumont. As Angela Webb, one of the race promoters who knew Lella, says in a retrospective in Motorsport Magazine: She stayed in Italy and flew to each race, yet never asked for expenses. She did her own thing. Anyone seriously expecting the Italian girl to qualify for a place on the grid must show a lamentable knowledge of Grand Prix racing today, but this is no reflection on her efforts, which were very commendable.. (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap. Marie-Claude believes that she and Lella could have won Le Mans in 1975. Back then it was an endurance race rather than a sprint and we were quite competitive. Starting in karting and moving to Formula Monza and Formula Three, Lombardi advanced through racing until she reached Formula One. Lombardi then switched to racing an Alfa Romeo in the European Touring Car Championship from 1982 until the end of her career in '87. Behind the wheel, female drivers compete at the highest levels. She had the strength of a man but a womans sensibility: she was kind and transmitted serenity. He was very ambitious and so we signed big names Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo to show that we meant business. In the 1975 event, she was once again able to qualify and compete with a March-Ford. Lombardi was a versatile racer and tried her hand at numerous disciplines throughout her career. Lella Lombardi Driver Information Born 26 March 1941 Frugarolo, Italy Died 3 March 1992 (aged 50) Milan, Italy Nationality ITA Formula One World Championship Career Statistics Status Deceased World Titles 0 Races 18 (12 starts) Poles 0 Wins 0 Podiums 0 Fastest Laps 0 Points 0.5 First Race 1974 British Grand Prix Last Race 1976 Austrian Grand Prix I wish we could know what Lombardis career could have been had she been listened to in F1, if shed been more adamant at being the center of attention now and again. Sidste udgave: Lella Lombardi, Williams-Ford, USAs Grand Prix 1975, Watkins Glen. I don't know how you can positively spin that as earning it on merit. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Perhaps its the legacy of cars being thought of as symbolic of straight men or the continual presence of concepts like the Grid Girls in F1, a tradition which was only recently discontinued. The race continued for another four laps, resulting in Lombardis sixth-place finish. But the Nrburgring was her best drive, says March co-founder/designer Robin Herd. She wasnt interested in fashion and usually wore trousers if she was in civvies. This was followed by the car being impounded at its next race in Germany, as the team had a dispute with a former driver. Well, I dont agree at all. Poles Lomardi had a successful junior career in the lead up to her time in F1. By creating your free Catawiki account, youll be able to bid on any of our 65,000 special objects up for auction every week. The likes of Tony Brise, Brian Henton, Alan Jones, Larry Perkins and Danny Sullivan didnt even make Monacos final. Her next two entries at Le Mans were not quite as great. That led to a test in one of Jackie Epsteins ShellSPORT F5000 Lola T330s. She raced a Lola-Chevrolet and finished 14th. Status She had an image to keep: Im tough so dont mess with me. She was a loner, really. The relationship between Lombardi and the team soured, ending her career with March. Lella was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. The drivers' concerns were fueled by three recently killed, in otherwise survivable accidents, as a result of poorly installed barriers; certainly this sort of disorganization on the organizers behalf would have no place in modern Formula One. She made it a mere 23 laps until she was forced to retire. Lombardi and Beckers qualified fourth at Daytona, but crashed out after 78 laps when a slower Porsche suffered a blow-out as Beckers drew alongside. Stamina was no problem, either, because you couldnt drive flat out back then and expect to last the distance.. [7] In 1974, Lombardi was signed to drive the Shellsport-Luxembourg Lola in F5000 and finished fourth. Queer drivers are a case in point. She was very professional and we enjoyed working with her. Lella Lombardi was born in 1941 in Frugarolo, a small village in Piedmont, the fourth daughter of a cured meat industrialist. Beuttler was known for his canary-yellow racing look. In 1977, she competed in NASCAR at the Firecracker 400 that took place at Daytona. That 5000 stretched to a year-old Brabham BT42 sponsored by Allied Polymer Group and run at the British GP at Brands Hatch by Hexagon Racing, with help from Epstein. She drove for the factory March team for the whole of the 1975 . To optimise your browsing experience, please update your browser. The following year, Lella joined Christine Dacremont in a Lancia Stratos and finished second in their class. If shed been a bit more glamorous perhaps more people would have noticed.. Such was her tenacity that she basically taught herselfand also worked for her parents to save the money to pay for her first car, which she bought at the age of 24. At the Spanish Grand Prix in 1975, former butcher's delivery driver and ex Formula 3 Championship runner up, Lella Lombardi, became the first, and still only, female driver to win F1 World Championship points. I first met her that year when she and Fiorenza asked my husband Bruno to help create a team, says Remondi. ), She is commemorated by a bust in her birthplace Frugarolo, near Alessandria, and her eponymous team in Lombardy exists to this day. Looking back on her points-scoring race, Lombardi told the New York Times: I dont think it dawned on me that I was the very first woman to collect championship points. With assistance from her partner Fiorenza, sister and brother-in-law, the Lella cover was soon blown by newsworthy results and, by 1967, she was contesting Italian Formula 3 in a Branca-Ford. Neither of her parents drove and Lella, as she became known, enjoyed her earliest experiences behind the wheel from driving the delivery truck for her father's salami factory. Lella Lombardi died in March 1992 She was one of the few women that have raced the 24 hours of LeMans, witha best result of 4th. Synopsis. No trouble. At the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Lombardi had a one-off drive for Williams. By the time she arrived at Monaco in early June she had scored half of the six victories that would help her become Italys Ford Escort Mexico Challenge champion. Held in Barcelona's Parc de Montjuc, later the site of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, the race passed into legend for other reasons. I feel sorry for her and wonder about it even now.. Philanthropic enthusiast Count Zanon agreed and offered March 50,000 to run Lombardi in F1 in 1975. In Formula One, more than any other branch of the sport, if you are not in the right car at the right time, then you stand little chance of success. We discovered her story while investigating iconic women from history. Lombardi thus joined the ShellSPORT Luxembourg squad for the 74 Rothmans F5000 Championship and her Lola T330 wore 208 as a nod to the famous radio stations frequency. She had an image to keep: Im tough so dont mess with me. Driving Line Accelerating Automotive Passion by providing a fresh angle of what fuels us. Lella Lombardi is a name firmly etched into the motorsport history books. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Podiums Despite these early successes, Lombardis career was marred with obstacles. In 1975, Lombardi joined the March team for a full seasonat that time alongside the macho Vittorio Brambilla (nicknamed the Monza Gorilla) and Hans-Joachim Stuck. I always regard the F5000 race she did with a Matich A50 at Sandown Park later in 1974 as a better indicator of her grit and potential. She was a very good racer, it was very easy with her. Lombardi succeeded at qualifying this time and would be in the field for the South African Grand Prix. Initially we had wanted Inaltera as a sponsor, says team manager Vic Elford. As one might expect, Lombardi turned her hand to endurance racing in both sports and touring cars racing at Le Mans on four occasions, including her final appearance when she partnered with Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister. Just racing and fishing.. Brambilla, perhaps never really pushing that car whenever he was asked to try it, never mentioned the handling problem, but Ronnie Peterson quickly noted it in 1976. The race suffered a major tragedy when the rear wing on Rolf Stommelen's Embassy Hill broke, sending him into the barrier. Fastest Laps It was in one of the formers nimble BMW-engined 2-litre prototypes that Lombardi became the first woman to win a round of an FIA-sanctioned world championship: the 1979 Enna Six Hours, co-driven by hillclimb specialist Enrico Grimaldi. Only a last minute threat by the race organisers to have the entirety of the Formula One equipment impounded by the police induced the drivers to practise in the last session. Lombardi finished 31st. In '74 the title was won by Bob Evans in a T332. We miss her passion, determination and modesty.. She wasnt there to make up the numbers. Those were not easy cars to drive basically a Formula 2 with a big, tall lump stuck in the back but she got quicker and quicker during the year. She is the only woman to date in Formula One history to score points when she finished 6th at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix and picked up half a point. But she was a fighter and never gave up even through the operations. Lombardi is one of two female drivers to qualify for Formula One and is the only female who scored points in Formula One. She qualified 7 seconds off pole in P24 and got half a point because there were 18 DNFs, 5 people died and the race was abandoned.
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