Editing Tazio Nuvolari (section)

==Racing career==

===Motorcycle racing===
Nuvolari obtained his license for motorcycle racing in 1915 at the age of 23.<ref name="officialsite_bio_1" /> He served in the Italian army as an ambulance driver in [[World War I]], and in 1920{{sfn|Hilton|2003|page=24}} took part in his first motorcycle race at the Circuito Internazionale Motoristico in [[Cremona]]<ref name="officialsite_bio_1" /> but did not finish.{{sfn|Hilton|2003|page=254}} He also raced cars, winning the Coppa Verona reliability trial in 1921.{{sfn|Hilton|2003|page=254}}

In 1925 he became the 350&nbsp;cc European Motorcycling champion by winning the European Grand Prix. At the time, the European Grand Prix was considered the most important race of the motorcycling season and the winners in each category were designated ''European Champions''.<ref name="racing_memory_1925">{{cite web |url=http://racingmemo.free.fr/M%20HISTOIRE/M-HIST%201925.htm |title=History of the motorcycle race: 1925 |access-date=18 April 2007|publisher=Racing Memory|language=fr}}</ref> He won the [[Nations Grand Prix]] four times between 1925 and 1928,<ref name="racing_memory_nations">{{cite web |url=http://racingmemo.free.fr/M%20GRAND%20PRIX/MGP-PALM-ITA.htm |title=History of the Nations Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix |access-date=18 April 2007|publisher=Racing Memory|language=fr}}</ref> and the Lario Circuit race five times between 1925 and 1929, all in the 350&nbsp;cc class on a [[Bianchi (motorcycles)|Bianchi]] motorcycle.<ref name="racing_memory_lario">{{cite web |url=http://racingmemo.free.fr/M%20COURSES%20INTER/MOTO%20LARIO.htm |title=Il Circuito del Lario |access-date=20 August 2007|publisher=Racing Memory|language=fr}}</ref>

It was also in 1925 that [[Alfa Romeo in motorsport|Alfa Romeo]], seeking a driver to replace [[Antonio Ascari]], who had been killed in the [[French Grand Prix]] in July, tested Nuvolari in their Grand Prix car with a view to running him in the [[Italian Grand Prix]] in September. He crashed when the gearbox seized,{{sfn|Walker|Taylor|2001|pages=17-20}} and severely [[wound|lacerated]] his back.{{sfn|Pritchard|1998|page=60}} He was not picked for the team. Six days later, in bandages, with a cushion strapped to his stomach, and lifted onto his motorcycle by Bianchi mechanics for a push-start, he won the rain-soaked Nations Grand Prix at [[Autodromo Nazionale Monza|Monza]].{{sfn|Hilton|2003|page=27}}{{sfn|Walker|Taylor|2001|pages=17-20}}

===Auto racing===

====1930–1932: Alfa Corse====
{{See also|Alfa Corse}}

'''1930'''

[[File:Piloti Alfa Romeo 3.JPG|thumb|Nuvolari (fifth from left), with other Alfa Romeo drivers and [[Enzo Ferrari]]]]
[[File:Nuvolariconsuma.jpg|thumb|Nuvolari racing an [[Alfa Romeo 6C]] 1750GS in the 1930 [[Coppa della Consuma]]]]

In 1930, Nuvolari won his first [[RAC Tourist Trophy]] (he won again in 1933). Motor racing legend has it that when one of the drivers broke the window of a butcher's shop, Nuvolari drove onto the pavement and tried to grab a ham as he passed.{{sfn|Skořepa|1980|page=191}} According to [[S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis|Sammy Davis]] who met him there, Nuvolari enjoyed dark humour and situations when everything went wrong. For example, after he got a ticket for a journey home from the [[Sicilia]]n [[Targa Florio]] he said to [[Enzo Ferrari]], "What a strange businessman you are. What if I am brought back in a coffin?".

Nuvolari and co-driver [[Battista Guidotti]] won the [[Mille Miglia]] in a [[Zagato]]-bodied [[Alfa Romeo 6C]] 1750 GS, becoming the first to complete the race at an average of over {{convert|100|km/h|mi/h|0|abbr=on}}. At night, leading on elapsed time but still lying behind his teammate [[Achille Varzi]] on the road because he had started after him, he tailed Varzi at speeds of up to {{convert|150|km/h|mi/h|0|abbr=on}} with his headlights switched off, so that he could not be seen in the other car's rear-view mirrors. He eventually switched them on to overtake "the shocked"{{sfn|Skořepa|1980|page=191}} Varzi near the finish at [[Brescia]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/mille_miglia_1930.htm | title = Mille Miglia 1930 | work = Grand Prix Racing | access-date = 20 November 2015 | archive-date = 4 May 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110504164727/http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/mille_miglia_1930.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref>

'''1931'''

Towards the end of 1930, Nuvolari decided to stop racing motorcycles and concentrate fully on cars for 1931.{{sfn|Walker|Taylor|2001|pages=17-20}} Regulations for the [[1931 Grand Prix season|season]] required Grand Prix races to be at least 10&nbsp;hours long.{{sfn|Pritchard|1998|page=47}} For the [[1931 Italian Grand Prix|Italian Grand Prix]], Nuvolari was to share an [[Alfa Romeo in motorsport|Alfa Romeo]] with [[Baconin Borzacchini]]. The car started from ninth place on the grid, and when it retired with mechanical problems after 33 laps Nuvolari teamed up with [[Giuseppe Campari]]. The pair took the race win,<ref name="racingdb1">{{cite web|url=http://www.racing-database.com/Race.asp?GP=IX%20Gran%20Premio%20d%B4Italia|title=IX Gran Premio d´Italia|access-date=8 May 2007|publisher=Racing Database|archive-date=29 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929014135/http://www.racing-database.com/Race.asp?GP=IX%20Gran%20Premio%20d%B4Italia|url-status=dead}}</ref> although Nuvolari could not receive the championship points. Apart from the [[1931 Belgian Grand Prix|Belgian Grand Prix]], where he came second, the only other [[European Championship (auto racing)|European Championship]] race was the [[1931 French Grand Prix|French Grand Prix]], where he finished 11th. The same year, he won both the [[Coppa Ciano]] at [[Livorno]] and the arduous [[Targa Florio]], which was run on the 92-mile (146 km) ''Grande'' variant of the super-twisty course that year.

'''1932'''

[[File:Tazio Nuvolari at the 1932 French Grand Prix.jpg|thumb|Nuvolari after winning the [[1932 French Grand Prix]]]]

For [[1932 Grand Prix season|1932]], Grands Prix had to be between five and ten hours long. It was the only season in which Nuvolari regularly drove one of the fastest cars, the [[Alfa Romeo P3]],{{sfn|Pritchard|1998|page=60}} and he took two wins and a second place from the three European Championship Grands Prix, plus victory in the championship by four points from Borzacchini. He achieved four other race wins that year, including the prestigious [[Monaco Grand Prix]] and a second [[Targa Florio]]. Of the latter, his mechanic Mabelli said: "Before the start, Nuvolari told me to go down on the floor of the car every time he shouts, which was a signal that he went to a curve too fast and that we need to lower the car's [[center of mass]]. I spent the whole race on the floor. Nuvolari started to shout in the first curve and wouldn't stop until the last one."

On 28 April 1932 the writer [[Gabriele d'Annunzio]] gave him a golden tortoise badge. Thereafter Nuvolari wore it as a talisman, and it became famously associated with him, along with his initialled yellow jumper.

====1933–1937: Scuderia Ferrari and Maserati====
{{See also|Scuderia Ferrari|Maserati in motorsport}}
{{quote box|quote="Tazio Nuvolari was not simply a racing driver. To Italy he became an idol, a demi-god, a legend, epitomising all that young Italy aspired to be; the man who 'did the impossible', not once but habitually, the David who slew the Goliaths in the great sport of motor racing. He was Il Maestro."|source=Cyril Posthumus{{sfn|Pritchard|1998|page=59}}|width=21%|align=right}}

'''1933'''

The [[1933 Grand Prix season|1933 season]] began a two-year hiatus in the European Championship, and although Alfa Romeo ceased official involvement in Grands Prix their cars continued racing with [[Enzo Ferrari]]'s [[Privateer (motorsport)|privateer]] team. For economic reasons, the P3 was not passed on to Ferrari so they used its predecessor, the Monza.{{sfn|Pritchard|1998|page=49}} Maserati, with a much-improved car, provided the main opposition.

It has been alleged that Nuvolari was involved in a race-fixing scandal at the [[Tripoli Grand Prix]]. The story is that he conspired with [[Achille Varzi]] and [[Baconin Borzacchini]] to fix the race in order to profit from the Libyan state lottery, in which 30 tickets were drawn before the race—one for each starter—and the holder of the ticket corresponding to the victorious driver won 7.5 million lire.{{sfn|Tibballs|2004|pages=103–106}} Others say the allegation was unfounded and that it originated with [[Alfred Neubauer]], the [[Mercedes-Benz]] team manager at the time, who was well known as a [[raconteur]] with a penchant for spicing up a story.<ref name="goldenage-tripoli">{{cite web|url=http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/trip33.htm |title=Tripoli 1933: A hard look at the legend |access-date=31 May 2007 |publisher=The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing |first1=H. Donald |last1=Capps |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611140122/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/trip33.htm |archive-date=11 June 2007 }}</ref> Neubauer's version does not altogether hold true with documented records of events, which indicate that Nuvolari, Varzi, and [[Baconin Borzacchini|Borzacchini]] agreed to pool the prize money should one of them win.<ref name="goldenage-tripoli" />

For the [[1933 24 Hours of Le Mans]], Alfa Romeo teamed Nuvolari with [[Raymond Sommer]].{{sfn|Tibballs|2004|pages=107–109}} Sommer asked to drive the majority of the race as he was more familiar with the circuit and thought Nuvolari would probably break the car.{{sfn|Tibballs|2004|pages=103–106}} When Nuvolari countered that he was a leading Grand Prix driver and Le Mans was a simple layout that would not trouble him, they agreed to divide the driving equally.{{sfn|Tibballs|2004|pages=103–106}} In the race, they built a two-lap lead before a leaking fuel tank forced them to stop at the pits, where the leak was plugged by chewing gum.{{sfn|Tibballs|2004|pages=103–106}} More stops were necessary as the makeshift repair came undone several times.{{sfn|Tibballs|2004|pages=103–106}} Nuvolari, driving through to the end of the race, broke the lap record nine times and won by approximately {{convert|400|yd|m}}.{{sfn|Tibballs|2004|pages=103–106}}

'''1934'''

{{quote box|quote="Let any who say it was foolhardy at least be honest and admit it was one of the finest exhibitions of pluck and grit ever seen. By such men are victories won!"|source=[[Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe|Earl Howe]], on Nuvolari racing in the 1934 AVUS-Rennen with a broken leg in a plaster cast{{sfn|Pritchard|1998|page=60}}|width=21%|align=right}}

[[File:Dreyfus and Nuvolari at the 1935 Grand Prix de Pau.jpg|thumb|right|Nuvolari driving an Alfa Romeo P3 in the 1935 Grand Prix de Pau]]
[[File:Tazio Nuvolari after victory at the 1935 Grand Prix de Pau.jpg|thumb|Nuvolari after winning the 1935 Grand Prix de Pau]]

In April 1934 Nuvolari entered the [[Monaco Grand Prix]] in a privately owned [[Bugatti]] and worked up to third place before brake problems forced him back to fifth at the finish, two laps behind the winner, [[Guy Moll]].<ref name="goldenage-1934-2">{{cite web |url=http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp341.htm#3 |title=VI Grand Prix de Monaco |access-date=20 August 2007 |publisher=The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing |first1=Leif |last1=Snellman |first2=Felix |last2=Muelas |archive-date=18 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218155736/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp341.htm#3 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Racing in heavy rain at [[Alessandria]] in the ''Circuito di [[Pietro Bordino]]'' race, he crashed and broke a leg: balked by [[Carlo Felice Trossi|Trossi]]'s [[Alfa Romeo P3]], he lost control of his privately entered [[Maserati 8CM]], which skidded, rolled, and hit a tree.{{sfn|Hilton|2003|page=128}} Bored in hospital, he decided to enter the [[AVUS|AVUS-Rennen]] just over four weeks later.{{sfn|Pritchard|1998|page=60}} As his left leg was too badly injured to operate the clutch, his Maserati was modified for him to work the pedals with his right foot.{{sfn|Hilton|2003|page=261}} Troubled by [[cramp]], he finished fifth.{{sfn|Pritchard|1998|page=60}}

By the time of the [[Penya Rhin Grand Prix]] in late June, Nuvolari's leg was finally out of plaster but still painful. He retired his Maserati with technical problems.<ref name="goldenage-1934-3">{{cite web |url=http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp342.htm#18 |title=V° Gran Premio de Penya Rhin |access-date=20 August 2007 |publisher=The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing |first1=Leif |last1=Snellman |first2=Felix |last2=Muelas |archive-date=20 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620105040/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp342.htm#18 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the [[Italian Grand Prix]], he debuted Maserati's new 6C-34 model. It performed poorly and Nuvolari could finish only fifth, three laps behind the [[Mercedes-Benz W25]]s of [[Rudolf Caracciola|Caracciola]] and [[Luigi Fagioli|Fagioli]], and also trailing the [[Auto Union racing car|Auto Union As]] of [[Hans Stuck|Stuck]] and Leiningen, and the [[Alfa Romeo P3]]s of [[Carlo Felice Trossi|Trossi]], [[Gianfranco Comotti|Comotti]], and [[Louis Chiron|Chiron]].<ref name="goldenage-1934-4">{{cite web |url=http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp345.htm#35 |title=XII° Gran Premio d'Italia |access-date=20 August 2007 |publisher=The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing |first1=Leif |last1=Snellman |first2=Felix |last2=Muelas |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202403/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp345.htm#35 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

At the end of September, he finished third in the [[Czechoslovakian Grand Prix]] ([[Masaryk Circuit]]), behind Caracciola and Stuck.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://auto.idnes.cz/maserati-6c-34-praha-033-/auto_ojetiny.aspx?c=A140425_161813_auto_ojetiny_fdv |title=Autofotka týdne: Vzácné maserati bylo na pár dnů v Praze |date=27 April 2014 |language=cs|work=Zdroj |access-date=20 November 2015}}</ref>

'''1935'''

For [[1935 Grand Prix season|1935]], Nuvolari set his sights on a drive with the German [[Auto Union]] team.{{sfn|Rendall|1995|page=140}} It lacked top-line drivers but relented to pressure from [[Achille Varzi]], which did not want Nuvolari in the team.{{sfn|Rendall|1995|page=140}} Nuvolari then approached Enzo Ferrari, who at first rebuffed him as he had previously walked out on the team.{{sfn|Rendall|1995|page=140}} Italy's prime minister [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] helped persuade Ferrari to take Nuvolari back.{{sfn|Rendall|1995|page=140}}

This was the year that Nuvolari achieved 'The Impossible Victory',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nivola.org/nuv2e.asp#germ35 |title=One against all |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104024104/http://www.nivola.org/nuv2e.asp |archive-date=4 November 2014 }}</ref> which many regard as the greatest win in all of motor racing history:{{sfn|Skořepa|1980|page=191}}<ref name="alfalegend.com">{{cite web|url=http://alfalegend.com/nuvolari_page.htm |title=Alfa legend |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229084545/http://alfalegend.com/nuvolari_page.htm |archive-date=29 December 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/nuvo_bio.htm | title = Nuvolari | work = Grand Prix History | access-date = 13 February 2005 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050206004123/http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/nuvo_bio.htm | archive-date = 6 February 2005 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="speedace.info">{{cite web | url = http://www.speedace.info/grand_prix_history.htm | title = The Greatest Victory of all time |work=Grand Prix History}}</ref> driving an outclassed Alfa Romeo P3 (3167&nbsp;cc, supercharged, 265&nbsp;hp) in the [[1935 German Grand Prix|German Grand Prix]] at the [[Nürburgring]], he beat all the dominant German cars—five [[Mercedes-Benz W25]]s (3990&nbsp;cc, 8C, supercharged, {{convert|375|HP|abbr=on}} driven by Caracciola, Fagioli, [[Hermann Lang|Lang]], [[Manfred von Brauchitsch|von Brauchitsch]], and Geyer), and four [[Auto Union racing car|Auto Union Bs]] (4950&nbsp;cc, 16C, supercharged, {{convert|375|hp|abbr=on}} driven by [[Bernd Rosemeyer|Rosemeyer]], Varzi, [[Hans Stuck|Stuck]], and [[Paul Pietsch|Pietsch]]). The crowd of 300,000 applauded Nuvolari, but the representatives of [[Nazi Germany]] were enraged.<ref name="speedace.info"/>

'''1936'''

Nuvolari had a big accident in May during practice for the Tripoli Grand Prix and it is alleged that he broke some vertebrae. Despite a limp, he took part in the race the following day and finished eighth.<ref name="alfalegend.com"/> In October, he traveled to the U.S. for the [[AAA Contest Board|American Automobile Association]] (AAA) sanctioned [[1936 Vanderbilt Cup|Vanderbilt Cup]]. Starting eighth, Nuvolari took the lead from [[Antonio Brivio]] on the second lap of the 75-lap event, leading from then until the finish.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1936 George Vanderbilt Cup |url=http://www.champcarstats.com/races/193604.htm |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=www.champcarstats.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tazio Nuvolari |url=http://www.champcarstats.com/drivers/NuvolariTazio.htm |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=www.champcarstats.com}}</ref>

'''1937'''

At the beginning of [[1937 Grand Prix season|1937]], Alfa Romeo took its works team back from Ferrari and entered it as part of the [[Alfa Corse]] team.{{sfn|Rendall|1995|page=146}} Nuvolari stayed with Alfa Romeo despite becoming increasingly frustrated with the poor build quality of its racing cars.{{sfn|Rendall|1995|page=149}}

At the [[Coppa Acerbo]], Alfa Romeo's new 12C-37 car proved to be slow and unreliable. Frustrated, Nuvolari handed his car over to [[Giuseppe Farina]] mid-race. Not wanting to leave Alfa Romeo, he drove an Auto Union in the Swiss Grand Prix as a one-off. After the [[1937 Italian Grand Prix|Italian Grand Prix]], Alfa Romeo withdrew from racing for the remainder of the season and dismissed [[Vittorio Jano]], its chief designer.{{sfn|Rendall|1995|page=149}}

====1938–1939: Auto Union====
{{See also|Auto Union}}

'''1938'''

Although Nuvolari started [[1938 Grand Prix season|1938]] as an Alfa Romeo driver, a split fuel tank in the first race of the season at [[Pau Grand Prix|Pau]] was enough for him to walk out on the team, critical of the poor workmanship that was exhibited. He announced his retirement from Grand Prix racing and took a holiday in America. At the same time, Auto Union was having to rely on inexperienced drivers. Following the [[Tripoli Grand Prix]] they contacted Nuvolari who, having been refreshed from his break, agreed to drive for the highly successful German team, who were running radical mid-engined cars.{{sfn|Rendall|1995|page=153}} Nuvolari found further success with Auto Union; now driving a faster and more reliable car that enabled him to compete for victories and the European Championship, Nuvolari won his home Grand Prix at Monza and won the Donington Grand Prix in England.

'''1939'''

In [[1939 Grand Prix season|1939]] he won [[Belgrade]] Grand Prix which was held on 3 September 1939, the last one before outbreak of [[World War II]].<ref name="Belgrade">{{Cite web|url=http://cfm.globalf1.net/?page_id=104 |title=Motorsport and WWII - The 1939 Belgrade Grand Prix |access-date=18 November 2012 |first1=Scott |last1=Russell |work=globalf1.net |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718182323/http://cfm.globalf1.net/?page_id=104 |archive-date=18 July 2007 }}</ref>