QUOTE
Nuvolari!
Tazio Nuvolari 1.Tazio Nuvolari 1.Tazio Nuvolari always assumed he would die at the wheel of a racing car. Fifty years ago today, he died in bed, the victim of a massive stroke suffered nine months previously, his lungs damaged beyond repair after decades of breathing in toxic exhaust fumes.
It's said that more than 50,000 people attended his funeral in his home town of Mantua. One of them was Enzo Ferrari, who had to stop at a plumber's shop to ask for directions. The plumber did not recognise him but appreciated the fact that this stranger wanted to pay his respects to the local legend. "Thank you for coming," he said. "A man like that will not be born again."
Nuvolari was the man heroes considered to be their hero. He was the childhood idol of, for example, Juan Manuel Fangio, whose record of five World Championship titles was unequalled for nearly half a century. Bernd Rosemeyer, one of the very few drivers who was able to get to grips with the ferocious Auto Unions of the 1930s, ignored the fact that he and Nuvolari shared no common language and chose him to be the godfather of his son; who else on the planet, Rosemeyer felt, was worthy of Bernd Jnr?
Prince Birabongse Bhanutej Bhanubandh of Siam, who under the name B. Bira became one of Britain's most successful pre-War drivers, went to the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in 1936. A social gathering before the race brought out the English public schoolboy in him rather than the oriental royalty. He was madly excited at being in the company of the world's best drivers, but despite the presence of Rosemeyer, Caracciola, Stuck, Farina and Taruffi, the one that made the biggest impression on him - simply because they were in the same building at the same time - was Nuvolari.
So many years on, it's difficult to say exactly why his contemporaries were in such awe of him, but we can make a few guesses. He was, of course, a brilliant and totally uncompromising driver. His competitiveness had been shown during his days as a champion motorcyclist, when he refused to let trivialities such as two broken legs prevent him from taking the saddle.
At Ten-Tenths All The Way
His riding exploits may have helped to make him a fearless driver (it would be by no means the only example of this). Sitting alongside him was certainly not for those of a nervous disposition, as a young mechanic found during the 1932 Targa Florio. The arrangement was that Nuvolari would give a warning cry every time he was about to fling his Alfa Romeo into an especially tricky corner so that his inexperienced passenger could take cover behind the dashboard. After the race, the mechanic was asked how things had gone. "Nuvolari started shouting at the first bend and finished at the last one!" he said, picking himself up off the floor.
Tazio Nuvolari 1.Tazio Nuvolari 1.Tazio Nuvolari always assumed he would die at the wheel of a racing car. Fifty years ago today, he died in bed, the victim of a massive stroke suffered nine months previously, his lungs damaged beyond repair after decades of breathing in toxic exhaust fumes.
It's said that more than 50,000 people attended his funeral in his home town of Mantua. One of them was Enzo Ferrari, who had to stop at a plumber's shop to ask for directions. The plumber did not recognise him but appreciated the fact that this stranger wanted to pay his respects to the local legend. "Thank you for coming," he said. "A man like that will not be born again."
Nuvolari was the man heroes considered to be their hero. He was the childhood idol of, for example, Juan Manuel Fangio, whose record of five World Championship titles was unequalled for nearly half a century. Bernd Rosemeyer, one of the very few drivers who was able to get to grips with the ferocious Auto Unions of the 1930s, ignored the fact that he and Nuvolari shared no common language and chose him to be the godfather of his son; who else on the planet, Rosemeyer felt, was worthy of Bernd Jnr?
Prince Birabongse Bhanutej Bhanubandh of Siam, who under the name B. Bira became one of Britain's most successful pre-War drivers, went to the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in 1936. A social gathering before the race brought out the English public schoolboy in him rather than the oriental royalty. He was madly excited at being in the company of the world's best drivers, but despite the presence of Rosemeyer, Caracciola, Stuck, Farina and Taruffi, the one that made the biggest impression on him - simply because they were in the same building at the same time - was Nuvolari.
So many years on, it's difficult to say exactly why his contemporaries were in such awe of him, but we can make a few guesses. He was, of course, a brilliant and totally uncompromising driver. His competitiveness had been shown during his days as a champion motorcyclist, when he refused to let trivialities such as two broken legs prevent him from taking the saddle.
At Ten-Tenths All The Way
His riding exploits may have helped to make him a fearless driver (it would be by no means the only example of this). Sitting alongside him was certainly not for those of a nervous disposition, as a young mechanic found during the 1932 Targa Florio. The arrangement was that Nuvolari would give a warning cry every time he was about to fling his Alfa Romeo into an especially tricky corner so that his inexperienced passenger could take cover behind the dashboard. After the race, the mechanic was asked how things had gone. "Nuvolari started shouting at the first bend and finished at the last one!" he said, picking himself up off the floor.
itv.com
