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Sergio Cresto ( USA) (January 19, 1956 – May 2, 1986) was the
co-driver A co-driver is the navigator of a rally car in the sport of rallying, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, commonly by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver (what lies ahead, where to turn, the severity ...
of
Henri Toivonen Henri Pauli Toivonen (25 August 1956 – 2 May 1986) was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his brother, Harri, became a profes ...
at the
Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...
Martini Martini may refer to: * Martini (cocktail) * Martini (vermouth), a brand of vermouth * Martini (surname), an Italian surname * Martini (automobile company), a Swiss automobile company * Automobiles Martini, a French manufacturer of racing cars * M ...
team for the
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...
World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
season. He was also a former co-driver for fellow Lancia employee
Attilio Bettega Attilio Bettega (19 February 1953 – 2 May 1985) was an Italian rally driver.''Autosport'' 50th Anniversary Issue Celebrating 50 years of the Best in Motorsport. page 173. 13 July 2000. Haymarket Specialist Magazines Biography Bettega was bor ...
, who died in an accident during the 1985 Tour de Corse on May 2, 1985. His co-driver
Maurizio Perissinot Maurizio Perissinot (1 February 1951 – 12 December 2004) was an Italian rally co-driver, mainly for Attilio Bettega. He survived the accident at the 1985 Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica ...
survived the crash uninjured. This event happened exactly one year before the accident that claimed the lives of both Sergio Cresto and his driver by then Henri Toivonen on May 2, 1986.


Biography

Sergio Cresto was born in New York on 19 January 1956. As an
Italian American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...
, Cresto lived in
Ospedaletti Ospedaletti ( lij, Spiareti) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region of Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Imperia. Ospedaletti borders the following municipalities: Bordig ...
, near
Sanremo Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...
, away from his brother George A. Cresto in New York. He began racing in an Opel Kadett GT/E with Amedeo Gerbino. In 1979, Cresto was Tonino Tognana's co-driver in a Kadett GT/E, as well as in the more powerful
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 subsidiary ...
two years later. In 1981, Cresto and Tognana came in eight in the Italian Championship. In 1982, Cresto was co-driver with another top driver, Gianfranco Cunico, in a Fiat Ritmo 130, getting good results. The following year, Cresto again changed drivers and ended the season placing three times at the Italian national level: sixth with Michele Cinotto after the third place finishes at Targa Florio and again at Quattro Regioni in a Lancia 037) tenth with Andrea Zanussi (after finishing second at the San Marino Rally in a Lancia 037). With Zanussi, Cresto came in third at Halkidikis as well that year, a European Championship qualifying race. He competed again in the same race the following year with
Carlo Capone Carlo Capone (born 12 April 1957), is a former Italian rally racing driver. He claimed the European Rally Championship in 1984 with a Lancia 037 in front of the late Henri Toivonen in a Porsche 911. His life inspired the character of Loris De Mart ...
in a Lancia 037. After a long successful season and a duel with Henri Toivonen and his Porsche, the Italians eventually won the European Championship. After Maurizio Perissinot's accident, Cresto was Attilio Bettega's co-driver for two races qualifying for the World Championship. In 1985, he raced again with Zanussi for Lancia. In 1986 Cresto was Henri Toivonen's co-driver in a Lancia Delta S4. After a strong start to the season, including a win in the
Rally Monte Carlo 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 ...
, Toivonen and Cresto were the favourites for the World Championship title. Racing into the
Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was the French round of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season until 2008, was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 2011 to 2012, and ...
with a 1:42 lead, they crashed during the eighteenth stage of the rally. Their Lancia went off the side of the road, plunged down a ravine and landed on its roof. The aluminum fuel tank underneath the driver's seat was ruptured by the trees and exploded. Toivonen and Cresto had no time to get out and both men burned to death in their seats. The accident had no witnesses close enough to clearly see the accident. Services for Cresto were held in
Villastellone Villastellone is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 15 km south of Turin. Villastellone borders the following municipalities: Moncalieri, Cambiano, Santena, Poirino, C ...
, Italy, on May 4, 1986. The accident led to the
FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...
's decision to ban
Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
cars after the 1986 season.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cresto, Sergio 1956 births 1986 deaths American rally drivers American people of Italian descent American rally co-drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in France