Giulio Masetti

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Giulio Masetti at the 1922 French Grand Prix

Conte Giulio Dainelli da Bagnano Masetti (born December 22, 1894 in Vinci ; † April 25, 1926 in Sclafani Bagni ) was an Italian nobleman and racing car driver who, because of his dominance at the Targa Florio of the early 1920s, was called the "Lion of Madonie “Was known.

Masetti belonged to the da Bagnano Masetti family . This was at the Castello di Uzzano near Greve in Chianti , which had belonged to the family since 1644. His younger brother Carlo Masetti was also a racing driver.

Career

Giulio Masetti belonged to a generation of young racing drivers from a well-to-do family who, as men's drivers, had large financial resources and who pursued the sport more as a hobby. He began his career at the age of 24 at the 10th Targa Florio , which took place on the 108 km long Medio circuito delle Madonie in Sicily . At the wheel of a Fiat , he finished fourth after four laps and 432 km, around 50 minutes behind the winner André Boillot ( Peugeot ).

Masetti later bought by Antonio Ascari one of the Fiat-S-57 / 14B - Grand Prix -vans that the works team of the Turin before the First World War were used.

In the 1920 season, Masetti achieved three second places in important hill climbs in his Italian homeland. At the Parma – Poggio di Berceto hill climb he only had to admit defeat to Giuseppe Campari in an Alfa Romeo . In the Susa - Moncenisio race he finished second behind Remy Reville (Peugeot) and only his friend Carlo Niccolini (Fiat) was faster at the Coppa della Consuma .

Masetti after his victory at the Targa Florio in 1921

At the 1921 Targa Florio , Masetti achieved the first of his two victories in the prestigious race in Sicily in his Fiat S 57 / 14B. He covered the 432 km in 7 hours, 25 minutes and 5.4 seconds and, after a tough battle with Mercedes factory driver Max Sailer on 28/95 hp, won with a little more than two minutes ahead of the German . Furthermore, in the 1921 season Masetti won the first edition of the Gran Premio Gentlemen on the Circuito di Montichiari near Brescia in a Mercedes and was second behind Eugenio Silvani ( Packard Double) in the hill climb from Vermicino to the Rocca di Papa , which was known as the Criterium di Roma Six).

Although Giulio Masetti had signed a contract as a works driver with Mercedes for the 1922 Grand Prix season , he privately registered a 115 hp Mercedes Grand Prix racing car for the 1922 Targa Florio . The car was structurally identical to the works vehicles that were piloted by Otto Salzer and Christian Friedrich Lautenschlager . The only difference was the red paintwork of Masetti's vehicle. He took the lead right after the start. His toughest opponent was the Frenchman Jules Goux on a Ballot 2LS , with which he fought a spectacular battle throughout the race. Masetti won after four laps on the Medio circuito delle Madonie in a time of 6 hours, 50 minutes and 50.2 seconds and thus set a new racing record that was over half an hour below the previous one.

Shortly after this success, Giulio Masetti switched to Alfa Romeo and won the Coppa della Consuma for the Milanese manufacturer in 1922 and 1923. In 1923 he also achieved second place in the Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio at the Circuito del Mugello on the Circuito stradale del Mugello in the Categoria Corsa . At the finish he was less than three minutes behind the overall winner, his friend Gastone Brilli-Peri in a Steyr VI Sport type Klausen .

At the Targa Florio in 1923 , Masetti took fourth place in the RL, in 1924 he came second after a tough battle with Mercedes works driver Christian Werner .

At the end of the 1924 season, Giulio Masetti left Alfa Romeo and switched to Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq for the 1925 season . With the 2-liter Sunbeam 135 HP he won the Klausen race in 1925 and in a Talbot 70 he finished second behind team mate Henry Segrave on the Brooklands- Bahn at the Junior Car Club 200 mile race . He also finished third at the French Grand Prix at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry behind the Delage works team with Benoist / Divo and Wagner / Torchy and set the fastest race lap at the Coppa Montenero , but retired later, as in several other starts this season out.

Masetti on the track during the 1926 Targa Florio
The wreck of Masettis Delage after the fatal accident

Deadly accident

In 1925 , Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq did not register for the Targa Florio, which was Masetti's favorite race. In 1926, too, no factory team was launched in Sicily, so Giulio Masetti obtained permission from his employer to compete for another manufacturer. On Sunday, April 25, 1926, he started the 17th Targa Florio at the wheel of a private Delage Type 2 LCV . This race was to be his last.

His completely white painted car was inferior to the works cars from Peugeot (with Louis Wagner and André Boillot), Bugatti (with Jules Goux , Ferdinando Minoia and Bartolomeo Costantini ) and Delage (with René Thomas , Albert Divo and Robert Benoist).

After a bad start, Masetti tried to make up ground on the top. About 27 km after the start and finish , he reached a bridge at top speed near the intersection where the route from Sclafani Bagni turned towards Caltavuturo . In the second part of the tight double curve there, he lost control of his car. It may have been too fast due to a brake malfunction. Masetti's vehicle slipped off the runway, hit a wall and overturned. He was thrown out of the cockpit and trapped under the bonnet. The first at the scene of the accident was Robert Benoist, who followed Masetti directly. He stopped his car to provide first aid and managed to free the driver from the wreck. Giulio Masetti, however, was already dead.

Giulio Masetti was 31 years old. He left his wife Marchioness Giovanna de Piccolellis. Due to the tragic accident, Delage immediately withdrew his team. The winner of the race was Bartolomeo Costantini in a Bugatti T35 .

Monument on the Futapass

In 1928, a monument was erected on the Futapass , which is part of the Circuito stradale del Mugello and the Mille Miglia route , in Masetti's Tuscan homeland. A memorial stone also commemorates the racing driver at the site of the accident. The first edition of Masetti's home race, the Circuito del Mugello, was held in 1928 as "Targa Masetti".

References

Web links

Commons : Giulio Masetti  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 13 ^ TARGA FLORIO. www.targaflorio.info, accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  2. ^ Raymond Flower: Chianti: the land, the people and the wine . Ed .: Taylor & Francis. 1978, p. 252 (English).
  3. ↑ 10 ^ TARGA FLORIO. www.targaflorio.info, accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  4. ^ X Targa Florio. (No longer available online.) Www.teamdan.com, archived from the original on September 24, 2015 ; accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  5. ↑ 12 ^ TARGA FLORIO. www.targaflorio.info, accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  6. ^ XII Targa Florio. www.teamdan.com, accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  7. ^ I Gran Premio Gentlemen. (No longer available online.) Www.teamdan.com, archived from the original on May 4, 2009 ; accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  8. ↑ Hans Etzrodt: HILL CLIMB WINNERS 1897-1949. www.kolumbus.fi, accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  9. ↑ 13 ^ TARGA FLORIO. www.targaflorio.info, accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  10. ^ XIII Targa Florio. www.teamdan.com, accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  11. ↑ Legendary team leaders in the Targa Florio. www.forix.com, April 2, 1922, accessed February 28, 2018 .
  12. ^ V Junior Car Club "200". (No longer available online.) Www.teamdan.com, archived from the original on May 4, 2009 ; accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  13. ↑ Hans Etzrodt: The 1925 Automobile World Championship. (No longer available online.) Www.kolumbus.fi, archived from the original on August 13, 2007 ; accessed on February 28, 2018 (English).
  14. ↑ 17 ^ TARGA FLORIO - 9 ^ COPPA FLORIO. www.targaflorio.info, accessed on February 28, 2018 (Italian).
  15. ↑ Angelo Grifasi, Mario Grifasi: Targa Florio - Giulio Masetti. www.grifasi-sicilia.com, May 14, 1926, accessed on February 28, 2018 (Italian).
  16. ↑ Chi era Costui? - Giulio Masetti da Bagnano. www.chieracostui.com, accessed February 28, 2018 (Italian).
personal data
SURNAME Masetti, Giulio
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Da Bagnano Masetti, Giulio Dainelli (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian nobleman and racing car driver
DATE OF BIRTH December 22, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Vinci
DATE OF DEATH April 25, 1926
Place of death Sclafani Bagni