Sandro Munari (born 27 March 1940), also nicknamed 'Il Drago' (The Dragon) is a former

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

and

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

driver from

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 re ...

Career

Sandro Munari was born in

Cavarzere Cavarzere (; vec, Cavàrzere) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Italian region of Veneto, located about southwest of Venice. Neighbouring municipalities of Cavarzere are: Adria, Agna, Anguillara Veneta, Chi ...

, in the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

region. He began rallying in 1965 and won the Italian Rally Championship in 1967 and 1969, adding the European Rally Championship title in 1973. In 1972 he won the Targa Florio

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 ...

endurance race, partnering Arturo Merzario in a works

Ferrari 312PB The Ferrari 312 PB was a Group 6 Prototype-Sports Car introduced in 1971 by Italian carmaker Ferrari. It was officially designated the 312 P, but often known as the 312 PB to avoid confusion with a previous car of the same name. It was ...

. Also in 1972 Munari claimed his first major rally victory, winning the

Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...

in a works

Lancia Fulvia The Lancia Fulvia (Tipo 818) is an automobile produced by Lancia between 1963 and 1976. Named after Via Fulvia, the Roman road leading from Tortona to Turin, it was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1963 and manufactured in three variants: B ...

. Munari was to become strongly associated with another of Lancia's rally icons – the Lancia Stratos HF. The partnership between the Italian car and the driver scooped a further Monte Carlo Rally hat-trick in the mid-1970s, among a total of seven World Rally Championship victories. Munari also won the 1977 ''FIA Cup for Rally Drivers'' title. Later in his career he competed with a

Fiat 131 Abarth Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...

, finishing third at the 1978 Tour de Corse and sixth at the 1980 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire. His last WRC appearances were at the

Safari Rally The Safari Rally is a rally held in Kenya. It was first held in 1953 as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The event was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 until 2002, before returning in 2021. It is historically r ...

, which he contested from 1981 to 1984, but retired each time.

Bibliography

*Sandro Munari and Cesare De Agostini, ''La coda del Drago'', Edizioni Rombo, Bologna, 1981 *Sandro Munari and Sergio Remondino, ''Sandro Munari: Una vita di traverso'', Giorgio Nada Editore, Milan, 2007

Complete IMC results

Complete WRC results

WRC victories

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Munari, Sandro 1940 births Living people Lancia people Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Venice Italian rally drivers World Rally Champions World Rally Championship drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers European Rally Championship drivers