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Lorenzo Bandini

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Lorenzo Bandini
Born(1935-12-21)21 December 1935
Marj, Libya
Died10 May 1967(1967-05-10) (aged 31)
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityItaly Italian
Active years1961 – 1967
TeamsScuderia Centro Sud,
Scuderia Ferrari
Entries42
Championships0
Wins1
Podiums8
Career points58
Pole positions1
Fastest laps2
First entry1961 Belgian Grand Prix
First win1964 Austrian Grand Prix
Last win1964 Austrian Grand Prix
Last entry1967 Monaco Grand Prix
Bandini at 1965 1000km Nürburgring with Ferrari Dino
Bandini at 1966 German Grand Prix with Ferrari 312

Lorenzo Bandini (21 December 1935 – 10 May 1967) was an Italian motor racing driver who raced in Formula One for the Scuderia Centro Sud and Ferrari teams.

Career

Bandini was born in Marj,[1] Cyrenaica,[2] Libya, then an Italian colony. The family returned to Italy in 1939 and resided near Florence. When he was 15 his father died. Bandini left home and found a job as an apprentice mechanic in the Freddi workshop in Milan.[2]

He made his way into auto racing from competing on motorcycles.[3] He started racing cars in 1957 in a borrowed Fiat 1100. Goliardo Freddi, acknowledging Bandini's talent, decided to support him.[2] Bandini would later marry Fredi's daughter, Margherita, in 1963, and remained involved with the family's garage in Milan.

He achieved a first class victory at the Mille Miglia, in a Lancia Appia Zagato, in 1958, and a class win the same year in the 500cc Berkeley in the 12-hour race at Monza. He then raced in Formula Junior until 1961. Bandini purchased a Volpini Formula Junior car and placed third in his first race in Sicily. In 1959 and 1960 he drove a Formula Junior Stanguellini. In 1960 he placed fourth in the Formula Junior World Championship.

In 1961 Bandini and fellow Italian driver Giancarlo Baghetti were both in contention for a seat at Ferrari. Ferrari opted for Baghetti, and Bandini went to drive for Guglielmo "Mimmo" Dei's Scuderia Centro Sud. At a non-championship race, he finished third at Pau. Bandini drove his first world championship race at Spa later in 1961. He retired with engine failure. During the winter of 1961-1962 he drove in the Tasman races in Australia and New Zealand.[2]

In 1962 Bandini was hired by Ferrari for the 1962 and 1963 seasons, and moved to Maranello, near the team's headquarters.[4] His debut in a works Ferrari at the Monaco Grand Prix, finishing third.

For 1963 Bandini was retained by Ferrari for sports car races only. Along with Ludovico Scarfiotti, he won the Le Mans 24 Hours race and placed second in the Targa Florio that year, occasionally racing in Formula One for Scuderia Centro Sud.[2] His string of good results, including a fifth place at the British Grand Prix, convinced Ferrari to retain him as a Formula One driver as well for the rest of the season.

In 1964 Bandini had his best Formula One season. He won the first Austrian Grand Prix at the Zeltweg circuit and scored two more podiums in Germany and Italy. At the Mexican Grand Prix, Bandini was running second when he decided to let his team mate John Surtees pass, enabling him to score enough points to win the World Championship.

In 1965 Bandini won the Targa Florio.

In 1966 Surtees left Ferrari in mid-season. Bandini was promoted to team leader. He was unlucky not to win the French and U.S. Grands Prix that year which he dominated before mechanical problems intervened while he was holding a huge lead. Bandini's best finish was a second place at the Monaco Grand Prix in a 2.4 liter V-6 Ferrari behind Jackie Stewart's BRM. Later in the season Bandini helped director John Frankenheimer with his movie "Grand Prix". Bandini recommended the location at the harbour chicane for a crash scene in the movie filmed at the Monte Carlo circuit. In "The Making of Grand Prix", actress Eva Marie Saint noted that, bitterly, this spot would be the site of Bandini's death in the race one year later.

In 1967 Bandini won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1967 and the 1,000 km of Monza, both with Chris Amon.

Accident and death

On May 7, 1967, Bandini was racing at the Monaco Grand Prix, running second to Denny Hulme on the 82nd lap, when he lost control of his car at the harbour chicane. He had just entered the chicane when his Ferrari's left rear wheel hit the guard rail, sending him into an erratic skid. It impacted a light pole and overturned.[5] The car hit straw bales which lined the harbour side, rupturing the fuel tank, and sparks ignited the fuel as the car rolled over, with Bandini trapped beneath it. Marshals flipped his car upright and pulled Bandini, unconscious, out from the flaming Ferrari. It is thought that, during the effort to right the overturned car, fuel leaked on the hot brake line or the exhaust pipe and exploded. A second fire occurred when the fuel tank exploded after Bandini had been pulled away from the Ferrari.[1]

Bandini's sustained third degree burns covering more than 70% of his body, as well as a chest wound and ten chest fractures.[5] Three days after the crash, Bandini succumbed to his injuries at Princess Grace Polyclinic Hospital in Monte Carlo.

There were concerns about the promptness of Bandini's rescue. However, investigators from the Principality of Monaco ruled on 10 May that "the security operation had functioned properly."[3] The straw bales, having been banned from all Formula 1 races in response to the accident, were replaced by an extended guard-rail the following year.[6]

Bandini's funeral was held in Reggiolo on 13 May.[7] 100,000 people attended the funeral.[8] He was later buried in the Lambrate cemetery, in Milan.[9][10]

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 WDC Points
1961 Scuderia Centro Sud Cooper T53 Maserati
Straight-4 		MON NED BEL
Ret 		FRA GBR
12 		GER
Ret 		ITA
8 		USA NC 0
1962 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 NED MON
3 		BEL FRA GBR GER
Ret 		ITA
8 		USA RSA 12th 4
1963 Scuderia Centro Sud BRM P57 BRM V8 MON BEL NED FRA
10 		GBR
5 		GER
Ret 		10th 6
Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 ITA
Ret 		USA
5 		MEX
Ret 		RSA
5
1964 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 MON
10 		GBR
5 		GER
3 		AUT
1 		4th 23
Ferrari 158 Ferrari V8 NED
Ret 		BEL
Ret 		FRA
9 		ITA
3
North American Racing Team Ferrari 1512 Ferrari Flat-12 USA
Ret 		MEX
3
1965 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 1512 Ferrari Flat-12 RSA
15 		MON
2 		BEL
9 		FRA
8 		ITA
4 		USA
4 		MEX
8 		6th 13
Ferrari 158 Ferrari V8 GBR
Ret 		NED
9 		GER
6
1966 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 246 Ferrari V6 MON
2 		BEL
3 		9th 12
Ferrari 312/66 Ferrari V12 FRA
NC 		GBR NED
6 		GER
6 		ITA
Ret 		USA
Ret 		MEX
1967 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312/67 Ferrari V12 RSA MON
Ret 		NED BEL FRA GBR GER CAN ITA USA MEX NC 0

Non-Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1961 Scuderia Centro Sud Cooper T53 Maserati
Straight-4 		LOM GLV PAU
3 		BRX VIE AIN SYR
7 		NAP
3 		LON SIL SOL KAN DAN MOD
Ret 		FLG
11 		OUL LEW VAL RAN NAT RSA
1962 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 CAP BRX LOM LAV GLV PAU
5 		AIN INT NAP
2 		MAL CLP RMS SOL KAN MED
1 		DAN OUL MEX RAN NAT
1963 Scuderia Centro Sud BRM P57 BRM V8 LOM GLV PAU IMO
Ret 		SYR AIN INT
DSQ 		ROM SOL
4 		KAN MED
3 		AUT OUL
Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 RAN
2
1964 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 DMT NWT SYR
2 		AIN INT
WD 		SOL
Ret 		MED RAN
1965 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 1512 Ferrari Flat-12 ROC
WD 		SYR
3 		SMT INT
7 		MED RAN
1966 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 246 Ferrari V6 RSA SYR
2 		INT OUL
1967 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312/67 Ferrari V12 ROC
2 		SPC INT SYR OUL ESP

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Hulme Takes Monaco Race; Bandini Seriously Hurt", New York Times, May 8, 1967, Page 59
  2. ^ a b c d e "Lorenzo Bandini", The Times, May 11, 1967, Page 12.
  3. ^ a b "Italy's Bandini Dies Of Monte Carlo Burns", Stars and Stripes, May 11, 1967, Page 20.
  4. ^ Bandini Dies of Race Injuries, New York Times, May 11, 1967, Page 62.
  5. ^ a b "Hulme Wins Monte Carlo; Bandini Hurt", Sheboygan Press, May 8, 1967, Page 13.
  6. ^ Stanley, Louis.T (1969). Grand Prix 10. London: W H Allen Ltd. p. 15. ISBN 0-491-00272-6.
  7. ^ "Mass Held For Bandini", New York Times, May 12, 1967, Page 56.
  8. ^ "100,000 at Bandini Rites", New York Times, May 14, 1967, Page S4.
  9. ^ "Lorenzo Bandini (1935–1967)". Find A Grave Memorial. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  10. ^ Photos of Bandini's tombstone[dead link]. Accessed 2012-12-03.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1963 with:
Ludovico Scarfiotti 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Formula One fatal accidents
10 May 1967 		Succeeded by
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