Dario Raoul Resta (17 August 1882 – 3 September 1924), was a British

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. He is best remembered for his successes racing Indy cars in the United States. The 1916 American National Champion, Resta was the winner of the

1916 Indianapolis 500 The 6th International 300-Mile Sweepstakes Race was the sixth running of the Indianapolis 500. It was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1916. The management scheduled the race for 120 laps, , the only Indianapolis 500 s ...

, as well as the

Vanderbilt Cup The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. History An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County, New York, Nass ...

in 1915 and 1916.

Early years

Resta was born in

Faenza Faenza (, ; ; or ; ) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed earthenware pottery, known ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. His family moved him to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the age of two. He began racing there in 1907 when he took part in the Montagu Cup, the very first race staged at the new

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

race track. He set a record of in a half-mile run a few years later. On October 2, 1913, alternating with

Jean Chassagne Julien Jean Chassagne (26 July 1881 – 13 April 1947) was a pioneer submariner, aviator, and French racing driver active 1906–1930. Chassagne finished third in the 1913 French Grand Prix; won the Grand Prix Sunbeams 1921, 1922 TT, 1922 Touris ...

and

Kenelm Lee Guinness Kenelm Edward Lee Guinness MBE (14 August 1887 – 10 April 1937) was a British racing driver of the 1910s and 1920s mostly associated with Sunbeam racing cars. He set a new Land Speed Record in 1922. Also an automotive engineer, he invented ...

in two-hour spells, Resta set up a series of long distance World Records with a Sunbeam Grand Prix car fitted with a single-seater body. After competing 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 and ...

in Europe, including the 1913 French Grand Prix, he went to the U.S.

Coming to America

In early 1915 Resta was brought to the United States by Alphonse Kaufman, an America importer of

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

s, to drive Kaufman's Peugeot EX3. In January he married Mary Wishart, the sister of racer

Spencer Wishart Spencer E. Wishart (December 3, 1889 – August 22, 1914) was an American racing driver. He was active during the early years of Indy car racing. Biography Wishart was born on December 3, 1889, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wishart was kil ...

who had died the previous year. In February he won the

United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

, more properly named the United States Grand Prize, at

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

followed by a victory in the

. After leading during the final stages of that year's

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

, he finished second to

Ralph DePalma Raffaele "Ralph" DePalma (occasionally spelt De Palma, December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an American racing driver who won the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2,0 ...

when his car skidded and he had to make a pit-stop for tyres. Resta then drove his blue Peugeot to victory in the inaugural race on the board track at the Chicago Speedway on 26 June 1915. The race received eighteen pages of coverage in the 1 July 1915, issue of '' Motor Age'' magazine. DarioResta1915ChicagoBoardTrack

The following year, in 1916, en route to winning the United States National Driving Championship, Resta repeated as the winner of the

plus he won the

, the Chicago 300, the Minneapolis 150 and the Omaha 150 races. With

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

raging in Europe and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

entering the war in 1918, races were reduced to a minimum. During 1918 Resta drove a Peugeot at a race in

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn Sheepshead Bay is a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn, New York City. It is bounded by Ocean Parkway to the west; Avenue T and Kings Highway to the north; Nostrand Avenue and Gerritsen Avenue to the east; and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. ...

, a minor event with only a handful of competitors.

Comeback years

In 1923 Resta returned to racing at the age of 39, making his first appearance in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. Next, he made another attempt at Indianapolis but was forced out of the race after . Racing again in Europe, Resta finished 3rd in the Penya Rhin Grand Prix and won the

voiturette A voiturette is a miniature automobile. History ''Voiturette'' was first registered by Léon Bollée in 1895 to name his new motor tricycle. The term became so popular in the early years of the motor industry that it was used by many makers ...

class at the

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix (, ) 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 its centenary in 2013. The race had modest beginnings ...

. He drove for Sunbeam in the 1924 season with teammates

Henry Segrave Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneou ...

and

Death

Resta was killed in England on 3 September 1924 at the age of 42 when his car crashed at

while trying for a new

land speed record The land speed record (LSR) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de M ...

. Resta was driving a

Sunbeam A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a lightbeam, beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of light scatter ...

when a belt on his car broke on the second lap and punctured his tyre sending him out of control. The car crashed through a corrugated iron fence on the Railway Straight and caught fire. This accident also hospitalized his riding-mechanic, Bill Perkins, causing him to miss the San Sebastian Grand Prix a few weeks later. Perkins was Sunbeam driver Kenelm Lee Guinness's regular mechanic and so was substituted by Tom Barrett. Guinness suffered a serious crash during this race, in which Barrett was killed and this accident led to the end of the practice of carrying riding-mechanics during races.

Awards and honors

Resta has been inducted into the following halls of fame: *

Auto Racing Hall of Fame The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, which houses the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. It is intrinsically linked to the Ind ...

(1954)

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

Dario Resta - ChampCarStats.com

Dario Resta - Motorsport Memorial
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Resta, Dario 1882 births 1924 deaths Champ Car champions Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 winners Racing drivers who died while racing Sunbeam Motor Car Company English people of Italian descent Sportspeople of Italian descent Sport deaths in England British expatriates in the United States AAA Championship Car drivers Sportspeople from Faenza English racing drivers Italian British racing drivers