Clemente Biondetti (18 October 1898 – 24 February 1955) was an Italian

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

driver. Born into a working-class family, Biondetti raced motorcycles before turning to automobiles where he had greater success.

Biography

Born in

Buddusò Buddusò (Gallurese: ''Buddusò'', sc, Uddusò) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southwest of Olbia. Buddusò borders the following municipalit ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, into a working-class family, Biondetti began his racing career in motorcycles in 1923 but in 1927 turned to automobiles. By 1931 his performance earned him a spot in

Grand Prix motor racing Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car an ...

with the

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

factory team. His success racing on circuits was minimal, but he was one of the best in tough endurance events. 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." ...

8C 2900b, Clemente Biondetti won the 1938

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 ...

for

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

s and at the

Coppa Ciano The Coppa Ciano was an automobile race held in Italy. Originally referred to as Coppa Montenero or Circuito Montenero, the Coppa Ciano name was officially in use between 1927 and 1939. History During the years immediately following World War I se ...

finished second in the voiturette class then third in the main event. In 1939, he won the

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 ...

voiturette class and took second place at the

Swiss Grand Prix The Swiss Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Suisse, german: Großer Preis der Schweiz, it, Gran Premio di Svizzera), was the premier auto race of Switzerland. In its later years it was a Formula One race. History Bremgarten (1934–1939, 1947 ...

. His racing career came to a halt following the outbreak 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 opposin ...

in 1940. By the time he was able to resume racing after the war, he was already 49 years old. Nevertheless, he dominated Italian endurance racing, driving to victory in the Mille Miglia for three straight years from 1947 through 1949 and the

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 ...

in 1948 and 1949. He won more Mille Miglias than any other driver in history. Clemente Biondetti 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 event, the

1950 Italian Grand Prix The 1950 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 September 1950 at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. It was race 7 of 7 in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers. In this race, Nino Farina became the first World Drivers' Champion, ...

. Driving a self-built

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

hybrid car, engine problems forced him out of the race thus he failed to score any championship points. Biondetti loved racing cars and continued to compete in sports car and endurance events, earning a second-place finish in a Ferrari at the 12 Hours of Pescara in 1952 against much younger drivers. After suffering from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

for a number of years, he was forced to retire in 1954. He succumbed to cancer on 24 February 1955 in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. As a result, he became the first Formula One World Championship driver to die of natural causes. 1938-04-03 Mille Miglia winner Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B sn412031 Biondetti Stefani.jpg, Biondetti and Stefano wins 1938 Mille Miglia. 1947 Mille Miglia Alfa 8C 2900B Biondetti.jpg, Biondetti wins 1947 Mille Miglia. 1948-04-04 Targa Florio Ferrari 166 001S Biondetti Troubetzkoy.png, Biondetti and Troubetzkoy wins 1948 Targa Florio in

Ferrari 166 S :''See also the 166 Inter GT car'' :''See also the 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans'' :''See also the Ferrari-Abarth 166 MM/53'' The Ferrari 166 S was a sports racing car built by Ferrari between 1948 and 1953, an evolution of its '' Colombo'' V12-p ...

. 1948-04-24 Mille Miglia Ferrari 166 sn003S winner Biondetti Navone.jpg, Biondetti and Navone wins 1948 Mille Miglia in

. 1949-03-20 Targa Florio WINNER Ferrari 166 006i Biondetti Benedetti.jpg, Biondetti and Benedetti wins 1949 Targa Florio in Ferrari 166 SC. 1949-04-24 Mille Miglia WINNER Ferrari 166 0008M Biondetti boy.jpg, Biondetti wins 1949 Mille Miglia. 1951-06-03 Coppa Toscana Ferrari Jaguar Biondetti Vinci.jpg, Biondetti Ferrari-Jaguar Special driven to a 4th place in 1951 Coppa della Toscana.

Major victories

1939 *

1938, 1947, 1948, 1949 *

1948, 1949

Racing record

Complete European Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Post WWII Grandes Épreuves results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Mille Miglia results

Complete Targa Florio results

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biondetti, Clemente 1898 births 1955 deaths People from the Province of Sassari Italian racing drivers Italian Formula One drivers Grand Prix drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Sportspeople from Sardinia European Championship drivers Deaths from cancer in Tuscany