Achille Varzi (8 August 1904 – 1 July 1948) was an Italian Grand Prix driver.

Career

Born in

Galliate Galliate is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin, about northwest Milan and about northeast of Novara. Galliate borders the following municipalities: Cameri ...

province of Novara Novara (It. ''Provincia di Novara'') is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Novara. In 1992, the new Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola was created through the fusion of three geographical areas which had prev ...

(

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), Achille Varzi was the son of a textile manufacturer. As a young man, he was a successful

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

racer of Garelli, DOT,

Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...

and Sunbeam, and rode seven times in the Isle of Man TT from 1924 before switching to auto racing in 1928 where, for the next ten years, he would rival

Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953) was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and single-seaters. A resident of Mantua, he was known as 'Il Mantovano Volante' ( ...

Rudolf Caracciola Otto Wilhelm Rudolf CaracciolaBolsinger and Becker (2002), p. 63 (30 January 1901 – 28 September 1959) was a racing driver from Remagen, Germany. He won the European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the modern Formula One Wo ...

and

Bernd Rosemeyer Bernd Rosemeyer (14 October 1909 – 28 January 1938) was a German racing driver and speed record holder. He is considered one of the greatest racing drivers of all time. Though he was not a member of the Nazi party, he was made a member of the ...

. Varzi's first race car was a Type 35 Bugatti but he shortly changed to driving an

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...

, a brand with which he would score many victories during the 1929 Italian racing season. In 1930 Varzi acquired a vehicle from the relatively new Maserati company. He drove it as well as an Alfa Romeo earning his country's racing championship, a feat he would repeat in 1934. One of his big victories came at the prestigious

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

where he upset the favored

Louis Chiron Louis Alexandre Chiron (3 August 1899 – 22 June 1979) was a Monégasque racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix. Among the greatest drivers between the two World Wars, his career embraced over thirty years, ...

. Following his win at the 1933

Tripoli Grand Prix The Tripoli Grand Prix (Italian: ''Gran Premio di Tripoli'') was a motor racing event first held in 1925 on a racing circuit outside Tripoli, the capital of what was then Italian Tripolitania, now Libya. It lasted until 1940. Background Motor ...

, a race at the time associated with a lottery, Varzi was at the forefront of allegations that the race had been fixed. Varzi won six Grand Prix in 1934 driving the

Alfa Romeo P3 The Alfa Romeo P3, P3 monoposto or Tipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed by Vittorio Jano, one of the Alfa Romeo 8C models. The P3 was first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car and Alfa Romeo's second monoposto after Tipo A monoposto ...

, at Alessandria, Tripoli, Targa Florio, Penya Rhin at Barcelona, Coppa Ciano and Nice. He also became the first driver in history to hold both the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia title in one season Although the Alfa Romeo team had proved to be competitive under the management of

Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobil ...

, Varzi decided to join the

Auto Union Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm fo ...

team, racing for them between 1935 and 1937. This move coincided with Varzi having serious personal problems, including an addiction to

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

and a difficult affair with Ilse Pietsch (Engel/Hubitsch/Feininger), the wife of a fellow driver Paul Pietsch. Quickly overshadowed by teammate

, his trips to the winners circle dropped to only four, but he did win his third Tripoli Grand Prix in his third different vehicle. By 1938 he had dropped out of sight and the advent of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

ended racing in Europe. During the war, Varzi overcame his drug addiction and settled down with his new wife, Norma Colombo. At the end of the War, Varzi made a remarkable comeback at the age of 42. In 1946 he attempted to race a Maserati for the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

but failed to qualify. In 1947, he won three minor Grand Prix races and traveled to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

to race in the

Buenos Aires Grand Prix Buenos Aires Grand Prix may refer to one of two former sporting events: * Buenos Aires Grand Prix (motor racing), a former motor sport race * Buenos Aires Grand Prix (tennis), a former Grand Prix tennis event which continues today as an ATP Wor ...

Death

During practice runs for the

1948 Swiss Grand Prix The 1948 Swiss Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Circuit Bremgarten, near Bern, on 4 July 1948. Despite racing for nearly two hours, at the finishing line Frenchman Jean-Pierre Wimille was only 0.2 seconds behind the race winner, the ...

a light rain fell on the Bremgarten track in Berne, Switzerland. Varzi's

Alfa Romeo 158 The Alfa Romeo 158/159, also known as the ''Alfetta'' (''Little Alfa'' in Italian), is a Grand Prix racing car produced by Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It is one of the most successful racing cars ever; the 158 and its derivative, the 1 ...

skidded on the wet surface, flipping over and crushing him to death. He was buried in his hometown.

Achievements

In 1991, motorsport journalist Giorgio Terruzzi recounted Varzi's story in a book titled ''Una curva cieca – Vita di Achille Varzi''. During his career, Achille Varzi competed in 139 races, winning 33. Some of his major victories include: *

Avusrennen The Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße ('Automobile traffic and training road'), known as AVUS, is a public road in Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1921, it was also used as a motor racing circuit until 1998. Today, the AVUS forms the northern par ...

1933 *

Coppa Acerbo The Coppa Acerbo was an automobile race held in Italy, named after Tito Acerbo, the brother of Giacomo Acerbo, a prominent fascist politician. Following Italy's defeat in World War II, and the consequent demise of fascism, the race was renamed the ...

1930, 1935 * Coppa Ciano 1929, 1934 *

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

1931 * Monza Grand Prix 1929, 1930 * Nice Grand Prix 1934 * Gran Premio del Valentino 1946 *

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

1934 * Monaco Grand Prix 1933 * Penya Rhin Grand Prix 1934 *

1930, 1934 *

San Remo Grand Prix The Gran Premio Automobilistico di San Remo, commonly known as the San Remo Grand Prix, was a Grand Prix / Formula One and motorcycle race held in the north-western coastal town of San Remo (Italy) from 1937 to 1972. The first Grand Prix was he ...

1937 *

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...

1930 *

1933, 1934, 1936 * Tunis Grand Prix, 1931, 1932 * Turin Grand Prix 1946

Legacy

Varzi's death resulted in the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

mandating the wearing of crash helmets for racing, which had been optional previously. In 1950 Varzi's chief mechanic, Amedeo Bignami, co-established the ''Scuderia Achille Varzi'' in Argentina. The team entered some

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

races in equipped with Maseratis 4CL and 4CLT and featured drivers

José Froilán González José Froilán González (October 5, 1922 – June 15, 2013) was an Argentine racing driver, particularly notable for scoring Ferrari's first win in a Formula One World Championship race at the 1951 British Grand Prix. He made his Formula One ...

, Antonio Branca,

Alfredo Pián Alfredo Pián (October 21, 1912 – July 25, 1990) was an Argentinian racing driver. He entered the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix with a Maserati 4CLT run by Scuderia Achille Varzi Achille Varzi (8 August 1904 – 1 July 1948) was an Italian ...

and

Nello Pagani Cirillo Pagani (11 October 1911 – 19 October 2003), nicknamed "Nello", was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. He was born in Milan, Lombardy, and died in Bresso. He was known for his long career, spanning fr ...

. On 5 June 2004 Poste Italiane issued a stamp commemorating Achille Varzi.

Complete European Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Other Grandes Epreuves won

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Post WWII Grandes Épreuves results

( key)

References

External links

Achille Varzi: The Official Website
(Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Varzi, Achille 1904 births 1948 deaths Sportspeople from the Province of Novara Italian racing drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Bugatti people Grand Prix drivers Italian motorcycle racers Isle of Man TT riders Mille Miglia drivers Sport deaths in Switzerland European Championship drivers