Amedeo Ruggeri

Amedeo Ruggeri (born June 14, 1889 in Bologna , † December 7, 1932 in Linas , France ) was an Italian motorcycle and automobile racer .
Ruggeri, who was of sturdy build, is considered one of the most famous Italian motorcycle racers of the 1920s and a pioneer of his sport. He was popular with spectators for his aggressive and spectacular driving style and was known as The Lion of Bologna .
Career
Amedeo Ruggeri began his motorsport career after the First World War on a Belgian Saroléa and won his first race in the Velodrome in the Giardino della Montagnola in his hometown of Bologna. He took part a total of six times in the Raid Nord-Sud , an approximately 880 km long stage race on public roads across the Italian peninsula from Milan to Naples . While he had to give up on his debut in 1920, Ruggeri was third on a 1000 cc Indian in 1921 , won in 1922 on a 1000 cc Harley-Davidson and in 1924 finished fourth on a 500 cc Indian.
In the 1921 season Amedeo Ruggeri won the Circuito del Lario race on a 1000 cc Harley-Davidson . The following year he won the first-ever Gran Premio delle Nazioni on the high-speed railway from Monza on a Harley-Davidson in the 1000cc category . In 1923 Ruggeri was Italian road champion in the 1000 category. That year he formed the Indian factory team with Biagio Nazzaro and Miro Maffeis .
Despite his physique, Ruggeri also competed on small machines. In 1925 he won the first German Grand Prix at the Berlin AVUS on a 125 cm³ GD . In addition, on Garanzini- JAP he finished second behind the British Jock Porter ( New Gerrard ) in the 250 cc race for the Nations' Grand Prix in Monza . As the second FICM Grand Prix for the European motorcycle championship was run at the same time in this race , Ruggeri was thus 250 cc vice European champion in 1925 .
In the 1926 season, Amedeo Ruggeri won his last motorcycle race on Moto Guzzi in Bologna. He then switched to automobile racing and drove for Talbot , OM and Maserati . He achieved his greatest successes in the factory team of the modenese manufacturer in the early 1930s.
In 1929 Ruggeri was second behind Clemente Biondetti at the Coppa Collina Pistoiese . In 1930 he finished the hillclimb Bobbio Passo Penice and Senigallia - there behind Luigi Arcangeli Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS - also each second place. At the Circuito Tre Province 1930 he was third on a Maserati Tipo 26 behind Arcangeli and Mario Tadini (both Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS). In the 1931 season Amedeo Ruggeri took part in a privately used Talbot-Darracq 700 in the Italian Grand Prix in Monza and finished seventh in the 10-hour race together with Renato Balestrero .
In 1932 , Ruggeri competed for the Maserati factory team Officine Alfieri Maserati in the European Grand Prix Championship and competed in the Italian and German Grands Prix on an 8C 2800 . While he was eighth in Monza, he retired from the main race (Group I) at the Nürburgring with engine failure. In the Group II race (cars over 800 to 1500 cc) he finished third on a Maserati 4CM together with Ernesto Maserati . At the Targa Florio in Sicily in 1932 , he finished fifth overall on an 8C 2800.
Deadly accident
Amedeo Ruggeri had a fatal accident on December 7, 1932 on the 12.5 km long Anneau de Vitesse of the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry in France . He lost while trying to improve the hour record, on his 13th lap at the output of the west curve control of his 4.9-liter sixteen-cylinder - Maserati V5 . The car rolled over several times, Ruggeri was thrown out of the cockpit, hit the concrete track and was fatally injured. The cause of the accident was never fully established. Possibly his little knowledge of the route played a role.
Ruggeri was 43 years old. He received at the Cimitero Monumentale della Certosa di Bologna in an honorary grave . In addition to Ruggeri , the tomb designed by Amedeo Minguzzi also reminds of another local racing driver, Olindo Raggi, who died in an accident . The monument is located at the east entrance of the cemetery and also contains the grave of Ruggeri's wife Vittoria (1893–1979).
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Inscription on Ruggeri's tomb. |
family
Amedeo Ruggeri's brother Arialdo was also a racing car driver and competed in Grand Prix races in the 1930s. Like their father, his sons Jader and Luigi were motorcycle racers. Jader Ruggeri had a fatal accident at the Swiss Grand Prix in 1947 , at which the European motorcycle championship was held at the same time , in Bremgarten near Bern on a 500 cm³ factory Gilera .
statistics
Motorcycling
title
- 1923 - Italian 1000cc champion on Indian
Race wins
year | class | machine | run | route |
---|---|---|---|---|
1921 | 1000 cm³ and overall rating |
Harley-Davidson | Circuito del Lario | Circuito del Lario |
1922 | 1000 cc | Harley-Davidson | I. Gran Premio delle Nazioni | Monza |
1000 cc | Harley-Davidson | IV. Raid North-South | Milan - Naples | |
1925 | 500 cm³ and overall rating |
Moto Guzzi | Circuito del Lario | Circuito del Lario |
125 cc | GD |
Grand Prix of Germany / AVUS race |
AVUS | |
1926 | Overall rating | Moto Guzzi | V. Giro Motociclisto d'Italia | Milan - Rome - Milan |
Automobile sport
Pre-war grands prix results
season | team | dare | 1 | 2 | 3 | Points | position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1931 | Private | Talbot-Darracq 700 | ![]() |
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20th | 14th |
7 1 | |||||||
1932 | Officine A. Maserati | Maserati 8C 3000 | ![]() |
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19th | 8th. |
8th | Ret |
Legend | |||
---|---|---|---|
colour | meaning | EM points | |
gold | victory | 1 | |
silver | 2nd place | 2 | |
bronze | 3rd place | 3 | |
green | Classified, covered more than 75% of the race distance | 4th | |
blue | not entitled to points, covered between 50% and 75% of the race distance | 5 | |
violet | not eligible for points, covered between 25% and 50% of the race distance | 6th | |
red | not eligible for points, covered less than 25% of the race distance | 7th | |
colour | abbreviation | meaning | EM points |
black | DSQ | disqualified | 8th |
White | DNS | did not start | |
DNA | did not arrive | ||
other | P / bold | Pole position | |
SR / italic | Fastest race lap | ||
DNF | Race not finished (did not finish) |
References
Web links
- Amedeo Ruggeri. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed on February 9, 2019 .
- Leif Snellman, Felix Muelas: Amedeo Ruggeri (I). www.kolumbus.fi, November 12, 2018, accessed on February 9, 2019 .
- More in one incident of the campione di motociclismo Olindo Raggi. www.bibliotecasalaborsa.it, August 9, 2013, accessed on February 9, 2019 (Italian).
- Sara Benuzzi: Monumento Raggi Ruggeri. www.storiaememoriadibologna.it, accessed February 9, 2019 (Italian).
- Nel Pantheon dei motori corre la memoria dei piloti. La Repubblica , July 23, 2014, accessed February 9, 2019 (Italian).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vincent Glon: Milan - Naples et Milan -Tarente. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 9, 2019 (French).
- ↑ Vincent Glon: Il Circuito Del Lario ou TT Italy. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 9, 2019 (French).
- ↑ Leif Snellman, Felix Muelas: Arialdo Ruggeri (I). www.kolumbus.fi, November 12, 2018, accessed on February 9, 2019 .
- ^ Jader Ruggeri. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed on February 9, 2019 .
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Ruggeri, Amedeo |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian motorcycle and automobile racer |
DATE OF BIRTH | June 14, 1889 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Bologna , Italy |
DATE OF DEATH | December 7, 1932 |
Place of death | Linas , France |