Alfredo Panella

Alfredo Panella (* 1896 in Genzano di Roma ; † unknown) was an Italian motorcycle racer .

Panella was one of the most successful and famous Italian motorcycle racers in the 1920s and 1930s.

Career

Alfredo Panella was born in Genzano di Roma in the Castelli Romani region south-east of Rome in 1896 . His parents had originally planned a church career for him, but Panella became interested in technology and engines when he was young and began to work in a small workshop . He also competed in cycling races during this time , but was unsuccessful.

After participating in World War I and being seriously injured, Panella was entitled to a small pension. From this he bought his first motorcycle in 1920  - a 1904 Minerva  - and gained initial experience with it. In 1921 he moved to Foligno for work and bought a powerful 500 cm³ Frera Raid Nord-Sud , with which he began his racing career. Panella achieved her first major success with second place at the Circuito dell'Appennino Centrale , which ran over a distance of 630 km.

In 1923 he became a works driver at Galloni , a motorcycle manufacturer based in Borgomanero in Piedmont . Panella achieved numerous good results, especially in the 1926 racing season, in which he won 18 of the 20 races in which he competed and secured the title in the 250cc class of the Italian Road Motorbike Championship .

In 1928 Galloni got into a crisis and Alfredo Panella switched to Ladetto-Blatto . For the Turin-based manufacturer he won the FICM V Grand Prix , which was held on July 28 and 29, 1928 in Geneva as part of the Swiss V Grand Prix on the Circuit de Meyrin , in the class up to 175 cm³ of the European motorcycle championship in 1928 . He prevailed against his compatriot Riccardo Brusi ( Benelli ) and the French Albert Sourdot ( Monet et Goyon ). The following year he secured his second Italian 175 cc championship title.

For the 1930 racing season, Alfredo Panella switched to Moto Guzzi in Mandello del Lario . In 1930, 1931 and 1932 he won the quarter-liter title for Guzzi, the Italian Road Championship. He also won the XV in 1931 . French Grand Prix in Montlhéry and won gold medals at the International Six-Day Race in 1932 and 1933 .

In the mid-1930s, Panella scaled back its racing activities and instead organized motorcycle races and meetings. Nevertheless, he remained active as a racing driver until the mid-1950s.

statistics

title

• 1926 - Italian 250cc champion on Galloni
• 1928 - 175 cm³ European champion on Ladetto-Blatto
• 1929 - Italian 175 cc master on Ladetto Blatto
• 1930 - Italian 250cc champion on Moto Guzzi
• 1931 - Italian 250cc champion on Moto Guzzi
• 1933 - Italian 250cc champion on Moto Guzzi

Race wins

(colored background = European championship run )

year	class	machine	run	route
1925	250 cc	Galloni	Coppa del Mare	Circuito di Montenero
1928	175 cc	Ladetto Blatto	8th Swiss Grand Prix	Circuit de Meyrin
1929	175 cc	Signorelli	X. Targa Florio Motociclistica	Medio circuito delle Madonie
1931	250 cc	Moto Guzzi	XII. Targa Florio Motociclistica	Circuito di Parco della Favorita
	250 cc	Moto Guzzi	Coppa del Mare	Circuito di Montenero
	250 cc	Moto Guzzi	XV. French Grand Prix	Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry

References

literature

• Mario Colombo, L'altra vocazione , Motociclismo September 1991, pp. 142-145.
• Nunzia Manicardi: Il Mistero delle Moto Inglesi di Ferrari . Edizioni Il Fiorino, Modena 2009, ISBN 978-88-7549-291-5 , p. 49, 95 .

Web links

• Alfredo Panella, Italian Racer. southsiders-mc.blogspot.de, August 10, 2010, accessed on February 28, 2015 (English). 
• La Storia - Quando a Borgomanero sfrecciavano le motociclette. www.motogalloni.it, accessed February 28, 2015 (Italian). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Il Centauro n ° 4, February 28, 1938, p. 10 (Italian)
2. ↑ Storia del Campionato Italiano Velocità - 1911–1939. (No longer available online.) Www.civ.tv, archived from the original on March 13, 2015 ; Retrieved February 28, 2015 (Italian).