Alfonso Thiele (5 April 1920 – 15 July 1986)
was a
racing driver who held dual citizenship of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, though he spent most of his life in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. He participated in one
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, ...
World Championship Grand Prix, on 4 September 1960. He scored no championship points. Most of his career was spent in
sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...
.
World War II
During World War II Thiele was a captain of the
Office of Strategic Services of Italian anti-fascist partisans.
[
]
Driving career
Working as a test driver for Abarth
Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and Car tuning, performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its FCA Italy, Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a ...
he participated in many events and races. In 1955 he was a member of the team that completed 3,743.642 km at an average speed of 155.985 km/h at the Monza track. One week later, with journalists present and participating, the team set the 500 km, 500-mile, 1,000 km, 48-hour and 72-hour records.[Enzari, Fiat Abarth record breakers](_blank)
/ref>
Personal life
During World War II Thiele was a captain of the Office of Strategic Services of Italian anti-fascist partisans. There he met Walkiria Terradura, another partisan who was later awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valour
The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry.
Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, ...
. They married and briefly lived with in the United States after the war, before returning to Italy. She remained active in politics and in the veterans' organisation, the National Association of Italian Partisans.
Complete Formula One Grand Prix results
( key)
Sports car results
Source: [Racing Sports Cars.com Results for Alfonso Thiele](_blank)
/ref>
References
1920 births
1986 deaths
American racing drivers
American Formula One drivers
Scuderia Centro Sud Formula One drivers
Italian racing drivers
Italian Formula One drivers
Sportspeople from Istanbul
Italian emigrants to the United States
Italian expatriates in the Ottoman Empire
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