Attilio Bettega (19 February 1953 – 2 May 1985) was an Italian

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.''Autosport'' 50th Anniversary Issue Celebrating 50 years of the Best in Motorsport. page 173. 13 July 2000. Haymarket Specialist Magazines

Biography

Bettega was born in

Molveno Molveno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northwest of Trento. It is famous for its positioning on Lake Molveno as a holiday destination, its nearby ski resort ...

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, he joined 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 ...

team driving the

Lancia 037 The Lancia Rally (''Tipo 151'', also known as the Lancia Rally 037, Lancia 037 or Lancia-Abarth #037 from its Abarth project code ''SE037'') was a mid-engine sports car and rally car built by Lancia in the early 1980s to compete in the FIA Group B ...

after some years with

Fiat 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 ...

. In his Lancia years he gained four podium finishes in rallies counting towards the

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 ...

. His last podium was also his most successful one, driving his Lancia to second place at the 1984

Rallye Sanremo Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rall ...

. In the 1985 season, he entered 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 ...

and 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, an ...

. In Corsica, on the fourth

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

of the rally – Zerubia, Bettega lost control of his Lancia and crashed into a tree which ruptured into the driver's seat and killed him instantly. 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. Bettega's death caused the safety of

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 to be called into question. Exactly one year later his former teammate

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 profess ...

and his co-driver

Sergio Cresto Sergio Cresto ( USA) (January 19, 1956 – May 2, 1986) was the co-driver of Henri Toivonen at the Lancia Martini team for the 1986 World Rally Championship season. He was also a former co-driver for fellow Lancia employee Attilio Bettega, who di ...

with the

Lancia Delta S4 The Lancia Delta S4 is a Group B rally car manufactured by the Italian car company Lancia. The Delta S4 competed in the World Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986, until Group B class was disbanded and the cars were eventually banned from competit ...

#4 (same number as Bettega's car) died in a fireball accident at the same event, causing the ban on Group B. Bettega's son,

Alessandro Bettega Alessandro Bettega (born 5 May 1987) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the son of former Juventus and Italian international footballer Roberto Bettega, who also served as Juventus's vice-president. ...

, has followed his father's footsteps and is also a rally driver.

Sources

1953 births 1985 deaths Sportspeople from Trentino Italian rally drivers World Rally Championship drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in France {{Europe-rally-bio-stub