Biagio Nazzaro

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Biagio Nazzaro at the 1922 Targa Florio
Biagio Nazzaro at the 1922 French Grand Prix
Biagio Nazzaro at the 1922 French Grand Prix

Biagio Nazzaro (born July 3, 1890 in Turin , † July 15, 1922 in Strasbourg ) was an Italian motorcycle and automobile racing driver .

Life

Biagio Nazzaro was born in Turin in 1890. His uncle was the successful motorcycle and automobile racer Felice Nazzaro . His nickname was Biasin .

Nazzaro began the newly emerging motorcycle sport in the 1910s. In 1920 he was Italian road champion in the 500 cc class on Della Ferrera . In the following season he won the title in the 1000cc class on Indian and Harley-Davidson and won the Italian Grand Prix in Turin and the 880-kilometer III. Raid north-south from Milan to Naples . He also set a new world record for motorcycles over the flying kilometer on July 10, 1921 in Cremona with an average speed of 154.506 km / h .

At the age of 32, Biagio Nazzaro switched to car racing with the support of his uncle, who was a works driver at Fiat . In 1922 he finished second in a 3-liter Fiat behind Franz Conelli in the Parma – Poggio di Berceto hill climb . Later in the season he competed in the Targa Florio on a factory Fiat 802 . On the second lap of the race, he lost control of his car, got off the track and crashed. Nazzaro and his co-driver got away unharmed, and although his famous uncle Felice did not even call for the race, some media in Europe and America reported a serious accident to Felice Nazzaro.

Deadly accident

Biagio Nazzaro was killed on Saturday, July 15, 1922 at the XVI Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France on the 13.380 km Circuit de Strasbourg road circuit around Duppigheim near Strasbourg . About five hours after the start of the race was Nazzaros Fiat 804 about 800 meters before the hairpin curve of Entzheim at full speed a problem at the rear axle , lost a rear wheel, hit a tree and overturned several times. Biagio Nazzaro and his co-driver Felice Germano were taken to the hospital in Strasbourg, where the pilot died a short time later. There have been various reports about Germano's whereabouts.

On the 58th lap of the race, Nazzaro's team-mate Pietro Bordino had an accident after a similar problem, but escaped uninjured and was classified fourth. The Fiat engineers later recognized a design flaw on the rear axle. Biagio Nazzaro's uncle Felice won the 60-lap race and only found out about his nephew's death at the finish.

Nazzaro's funeral on the Cimitero monumentale di Torino took place with great public sympathy. Among the mourners was, among others, the Fiat President Giovanni Agnelli . A memorial was erected at the site of the accident, which was later removed due to a road widening. The Moto Club di Torino installed a memorial plaque in the Sassi district of Turin, which still exists today. Two years after his death, named Football club of Chiaravalle in Sporting Club Biagio Nazzaro .

Biagio Nazzaro was the first of three Fiat factory drivers who had a fatal accident with the 804 within just 13 months. Evasio Lampiano died on June 14, 1923, and Enrico Giaccone two months later during a test drive in Monza .

In the spring of 1923, Nazzaro's widow also had a fatal accident in a traffic accident involving an Itala near Turin.

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References

Web links

Commons : Biagio Nazzaro  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Biagio Nazzaro. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed on January 13, 2013 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Vincent Glon: 1932-1936, la COPPA MUSSOLINI (Milan-Naples). racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 17, 2013 (French).
  2. ↑ Photo of the plaque
  3. ↑ page of the club (Italian)
  4. ↑ Evasio Lampiano. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed June 17, 2017 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Nazzaro, Biagio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian motorcycle and automobile racer
DATE OF BIRTH July 3, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Turin
DATE OF DEATH July 15, 1922
Place of death Strasbourg