La Lombardi non aveva ancora compiuto 51 anni ed stata sepolta nel cimitero di Frugarolo, nell'alessandrino, suo paese natale. Lombardis friends remember her fondly as someone humble who enjoyed her life but understood its difficulties. [14] Majendie argues this by citing Lombardis example as a racer, who despite her gender, successfully entered Formula One. 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. The success of becoming the first women to score points in F1 was sadly rather overshadowed due to the death of five spectators during the race. Sadly, after a breast injury in 1985 she started to suffer from the cancer that finally claimed her on March 3, 1992 in Milans San Camillo Clinic, days short of her 51st birthday. Her best results 4ths at Brands, Monza, Oulton Park and Mallory Park. [8] That winter, she met an Italian nobleman, Count Vittorio Zanon, who sponsored her entrance into F1. [2] At the opening race of the campaign in South Africa, Lombardi became the first woman, since Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958, to successfully qualify for a Grand Prix. Lella was far from being the first female female pioneer in racing. Wed been a disaster in terms of sponsorship since bursting into F1 in 1970, says Herd. These were supposedly real mans cars with their big 5.0-litre V8 motors, but she handled them adroitly. Speaking in this month's. You can update your preferences, withdraw your consent at any time, and see a detailed description of the types of cookies we and our partners use in our Cookie Policy. Beuttler was known for his canary-yellow racing look. We invite you to get behind the wheel with us, it's certain to be an interesting drive. BBC News came to her first test with us at Goodwood and she wanted to know why. 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. Im not terribly conscious of there being a difference between male and female in this sort of thing. She moved up through the ranks of local racing and built her reputation as the Tigress of Turinwhen she finished second in the 1968 Italian Formula Three championship. That's how much I love racing. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Wins Born in Frugarolo, Piedmont, she participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 20 July 1974. I feel its simply a competitive sport. 18 (12 starts) Discover moreclassic cars| classic motorcycles and scooters, The story of the woman who invented the road trip, Attic stories: engines and ingenuity with Paola Lagnena, The customisable Mini Coopers that everyone wanted. Check here for latest versions. Later she would race in NASCAR, sharing a Chevrolet with Janet Guthrie in Daytonas Firecracker 400 in 1977 but being classified only 31st after transmission problems. Her racing career would flourish from there onwards. Some of this was cultural, while the rest was sheer bravado in a sport that still regularly claimed the lives of those who competed. She gave them a good going over before finishing third, only two seconds behind Bartlett and sharing fastest lap with Stewart. History of Motorsport . Lombardi later raced in sports cars. That didnt mean it was a wholly unsuccessful year. She'd signed a deal, backed by personal sponsor Lavazza, the leading Italian coffee provider double espressos for everyone! Even Jochen Mass, declared the precipitate winner after 29 laps, scrambled from his McLaren with a face like thunder and threatened violence to smug officials. [3] Lella Lombardi was also one of the first female racers in a same-sex relationship. Stamina was no problem, either, because you couldnt drive flat out back then and expect to last the distance.. Motorsports have always been popular with all kinds of people. She always worked hard, was easy on the car and understood how to get what she wanted from it. 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. Lella Lombardi was also one of the first female racers in a same-sex relationship. Lombardi is the only woman to ever participate in the race of champions 26 March 1941. On retirement from racing in 1988, Lombardi formed her own team Lombardi Autosport. That certainly got their attention. She was undaunted. Where better to begin than with the most successful female F1 driver of all time: Lella Lombardi. Fastest Laps Italian racing driver (1941-1992) Lombardi at 1975 Dutch Grand Prix. Lombardi succeeded at qualifying this time and would be in the field for the South African Grand Prix. She was sure of her illness by 1985. The F1 cars of that time were no easy feat to manage worlds away from the control of today. 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. Delightful. In 1974, Lombardi was the first female racing driver to qualify and compete at the Race of Champions in Brands Hatch. Facebook gives people the power. Highlights include: being crowned the Italian Formula Three runner up in 1968 and winning the Italian Formula 850 Series in 1970. 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. She did her own thing. Lombardis first F1 attempt was at the British Grand Prix in 1974 driving a Brabham supported by the Italian Automobile Club. At present, women hold two team principal positions in F1: Claire Williams and Monica Kaltenborn with Williams Grand Prix and Sauber, respectively. Points She was just the second female driver to ever race in the Formula One World Championship, preceded only by Maria-Teresa de Filippis' pioneering race career in 1958 and '59. Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. Juan Manuel Fangio started in 1950 and had last race in 1958. [12] Lombardi is considered an F1 trailblazer, after which women increasingly joined Formula One in many capacities aside from driving. Some team mates will use up the car letting their ego get in the way trying to beat you, but she had no ego there. Lombardi finished seventh in Augusts German GP, despite a puncture. We would never fight. She had an image to keep: Im tough so dont mess with me. She won [from the third row, beating Jacques Laffite and Mike Wilds] and we became very friendly and kept in touch. Things like that just dont worry me. She failed to qualify RAM Racings BT44B at Brands where Divina Galica, the Webbs latest fast lady, outperformed her and in Germany the car was impounded by court injunction. [2] At first, Lombardis father found her passion for racing hard to accept but embraced it once she finished runner-up in a 1968 race. 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. Retirements in Belgium and Sweden were followed by a 14th place in Holland, 18th in France and another retirement in Great Britain. Races She won the race again in 1981 with Giorgio Francia, with whom she had also won the Vallelunga Six Hours. Regardless of everything though, she still defined herself by her love of motorsports and is remembered by her words: I prefer to have an accident than to fall in love. She admitted privately, however, that it felt like riding a buffalo and, unsurprisingly, Guthrie, who had finished a fine 12th in that years Daytona 500, outqualified her by nine places. She qualified. [2] Initially, Lombardi tried to qualify for Formula One with a privately entered Brabham supported by the Italian Automobile Club but failed to qualify. She was, however, ahead of fellow non-qualifiers Vern Schuppan, Howden Ganley, Mike Wilds and Leo Kinnunen. Frugarolo. Lombardi was not actually from Turin but rather the same area of Italy. The Petersen Automotive Museum will offer a special premiere screening of the film "Beyond Driven: Lella Lombardi and the Women of Formula Racing, "preceded by a social hour and followed by a question-and-answer session with filmmakers and motorsports drivers. That she got as far as she did is a testament to her character. Lombardi is commemorated by a sculpture in her birthplace, Frugarolo. [12] Lombardi is also used as one of the reference points for females in racing. The relationship between Lombardi and the team soured, ending her career with March. Two of his fellows, his brother Wilson and Arturo Merzario, retired after completingone token lap. We had a good relationship and we always agreed. Lombardi died of breast cancer in Milan on March 3, 1992. She was passionate about racing. Recognised by his signature yellow Brabham, Beuttler remained forever, a dash of colour in a grey field. In fact she had already come close to making her GP debut. 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. The World Champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, had the courage of his convictions and did the bare legal minimum of practice, and refused to start the race at all. View the profiles of people named Lella Lombardi. By then she was fighting the cancer that would eventually take her lifeMarch 1992 at the young age of 50. She finished 14th at the Brazilian Grand Prix that year, and subsequently, the team decided to replace her with Ronnie Peterson. Her best result of the season would come at her last Grand Prix, 12th place in Austria. Last Race From that peak it was back down to earth with a bump; Lombardi failed to qualify next in Monaco. She has also driven the highest number on a Formula One car - #208, which was used on her debut at the 1974 British Grand Prix, but did not qualify. In the 1970s, ROC was more of an all star race than the challenge runs in different cars that it is today. 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. It was something of a publicity stunt. Now she impressed racings international set by finishing 12th in F3s most prestigious race. Lombardi also competed numerous times at 24 Hours of Le Mans with her best result, a ninth place finish, coming in 1976. Cowell continued driving after her transition, winning the 1957 Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb. We were too busy building production racing cars. Maria Grazia Lombardi "Lella" Lombardi was a talented and brave driver, racing in Formula One from1974 to 1976. ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap), (key) (note: results shown in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap), (key) (Bold Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Lombardi grew up in Italy and developed an interest in racing by . Join Facebook to connect with Lella Lombardi and others you may know. She was charming but stubborn and independent, and a tremendously careful road driver. She was also a lesbian but Lombardis sexuality was never center stage. 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. We miss her passion, determination and modesty., Lombardi checked into Milans San Camillo Clinic in February 1992 and died on March 3, days short of her 51st birthday. That led to a test in one of Jackie Epsteins ShellSPORT F5000 Lola T330s. This was followed by the car being impounded at its next race in Germany, as the team had a dispute with a former driver. Mike Beuttler was technically the first openly gay F1 driver ever. 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. A very distant 12th place at the next race, Austria, was Lombardis final GP. She was taking home swaths of victories in the lower tiers of racing, ready to make a name for herself. She impressed him not only with her driving but also by her mechanical knowledge and feel. The founder brought a pair of 1975 Brabham BT44B Grand Prix cars with help from the driver Loris Kessel, selling the other seat to whoever could afford them for selected races of the 1976 championship. It wasnt a publicity stunt. Nel 1988 Lella si ritirata e ha aperto la scuderia Lombardi Autosport, dove diventata team manager. Lella was the perfect co-driver, says Beckers. The Daily Mail branded her the Tigress of Turin in the lead up to the race. 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. Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi was, and still is, an inspiration to many women in motorsport.