Ettore Muro Chimeri (4 June 1921 – 27 February 1960) was a

racing driver 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 ...

from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. He was born in Lodi, near

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy, but his family later settled in Venezuela. He was the first Venezuelan ever to compete in a Formula One Grand Prix. He became a popular gentleman racing driver and competed with success in many local races in Venezuela. He raced in the Venezuelan Grand Prix held in Los Proceres,

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

. His success and skill in car racing, gave him the enthusiasm for keep going forward, and he started an international professional promotion, racing sport cars and one-seater cars. 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, the

1960 Argentine Grand Prix The 1960 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on 7 February 1960. It was race 1 of 10 in the 1960 World Championship of Drivers and race 1 of 9 in the 1960 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. This ...

on 7 February 1960, in his

Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made. Mechanical details The 250F principally used the SSG 220 bhp (@ 7400 rpm) 2 ...

(a car he owned, previously raced by

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

and Francisco Godia, prepared in Venezuela and sold to an Italian buyer sometime after his death) failing to finish the race having experienced electrical problems. He scored no championship points, but he wished to keep going in the Formula One calendar that year. Two weeks later, while practicing for the Gran Premio Libertad

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 ...

race at the Camp Freedom military airfield on the edge of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, his Ferrari 250TR crashed through barriers and plunged into a ravine. Chimeri was flown to hospital, where he died later that day. Chimeri was the first Venezuelan driver entered into a Formula One Grand Prix, and the local interest in him and his sporting career has kept his memory alive. In 2004 some local motorwriters gave him enough votes to take a place in the "Salón de la Fama del Automovilismo Venezolano" organized by the local motor press writers organization FUNDAUTO.

Complete Formula One World 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 ...

)

References

External links

F1 Rejects profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chimeri, Ettore 1921 births 1960 deaths Italian emigrants to Venezuela Venezuelan racing drivers Venezuelan Formula One drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in Cuba People from Lodi, Lombardy Sportspeople from the Province of Lodi