Amedeo Ruggeri

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Amedeo Ruggeri at the 1932 Targa Florio
Ruggeri and Luigi Fagioli in 1932 at the Targa Florio in front of Ruggeri's Maserati 8C 2800

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).

"Amedeo Ruggeri
Nel Silenzioso Tentativo
Di Abbassare
Il Record Mondial Di Velocità
Periva Tragicamente
A Montlery"

"Amedeo Ruggeri had a fatal accident
while trying to improve
the world speed record in Montlhéry "


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

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 Flag of Italy (1861-1946) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg 20th 14th
7 1
1932 Officine A. Maserati Maserati 8C 3000 Flag of Italy (1861-1946) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio) .svg 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)
1Ruggeri formed a team with Renato Balestrero .

References

Web links

Commons : Amedeo Ruggeri  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Vincent Glon: Milan - Naples et Milan -Tarente. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 9, 2019 (French).
  2. Vincent Glon: Il Circuito Del Lario ou TT Italy. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 9, 2019 (French).
  3. Leif Snellman, Felix Muelas: Arialdo Ruggeri (I). www.kolumbus.fi, November 12, 2018, accessed on February 9, 2019 .
  4. ^ Jader Ruggeri. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed on February 9, 2019 .