Lella Lombardi. She wasnt interested in fashion and usually wore trousers if she was in civvies. At the Spanish Grand Prix in 1975, former butcher's delivery driver and ex Formula 3 Championship runner up, Lella Lombardi, became the first, and still only, female driver to win F1 World Championship points. Motorsports have always been popular with all kinds of people. Frugarolo. The relationship between Lombardi and the team soured, ending her career with March. 26 March 1941(1941-03-26)Frugarolo, Italy Her racing career would flourish from there onwards. She drove for the factory March team for the whole of the 1975 . She was judged purely as a racing driver. Having coped with her Chevrolets worsening transmission problem, Lombardi chose not to restart after a long stoppage for rain and was classified 31st. But at 25 laps into the race, Rolf Stommelen crashed his car and killed five spectators. She was regularly overshadowed by emergent team mate Vittorio Brambilla, never getting within two seconds of him in qualifying. Mike Beuttler was technically the first openly gay F1 driver ever. She was retired after 20 laps. And their respect. Lella Lombardi, F1 driver | Formula 1 Statistics As Angela Webb, one of the race promoters who knew Lella, says in a retrospective in Motorsport Magazine: She stayed in Italy and flew to each race, yet never asked for expenses. Lella Lombardi will be remembered for her achievements in motorsport, her Formula 1 record and being one of only three openly LGBTQ+ F1 drivers. ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap). The relationship between Lombardi and the team soured, ending her career with March. She had the strength of a man but a womans sensibility: she was kind and transmitted serenity. Desire could have cut the F1 mustard in the right car, but I also thought Lella was better than fortune allowed her to look. 0 But she was a fighter and never gave up even through the operations. Lombardi grew up in Italy and developed an interest in racing by . That 5000 stretched to a year-old Brabham BT42 sponsored by Allied Polymer Group and run at the British GP at Brands Hatch by Hexagon Racing, with help from Epstein. The Indy 500's gender segregation had just been nullified, which meant NASCAR had to step up to the plate. In her autobiography, Cowell describes motor racing as the be-all and nearly the end-all of my existence. 1976 Austrian Grand Prix. Nationality I first met her that year when she and Fiorenza asked my husband Bruno to help create a team, says Remondi. Elford: When asked in a press conference how she was coping with such a hefty car, she replied, I dont have to carry it, I just have to drive it.. Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi was, and still is, an inspiration to many women in motorsport. The race was stopped shortly thereafter and half points awarded to those who happened to occupy the top six positions at the time.". In 1989 she founded her own racing team, Lombardi Autosport.[11]. Lella Lombardi | The "forgotten" drivers of F1 The following year, Lella joined Christine Dacremont in a Lancia Stratos and finished second in their class. Her team-mate was established series front-runner Ian Ashley: She was the first woman racing driver to seriously impress me. She stayed in Italy and flew to each race, yet never asked for expenses. (Shed knocked off a year or two to avoid another prejudice. On reflection, however, he was probably looking after himself.. BBC News came to her first test with us at Goodwood and she wanted to know why. In 1971, Lomardi added the Formula Ford Mexico championship title to her collection. It was clear that the Tigress of Turin a geographically misleading nickname coined by a lazy press would not be disgraced should she be given an F1 opportunity. She was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. She and Fiorenza were a beautiful couple, reserved; the spotlight was never on them. Lella Lombardi: "Preferisco un incidente che innamorarmi", http://www.nascar.com/drivers/dps/llombard00/cup/index.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lella_Lombardi&oldid=1132016872, Italian Formula Three Championship drivers, Sportspeople from the Province of Alessandria, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 21:48. I feel its simply a competitive sport. That year, she won both the 6 Hours of Pergusa and the 6 Hours of Vallelungaevents she was competing in as part of both the World Sportscar Championship and the Italian Sportscar Championship. But its boss Charles James wanted to be involved lock, stock and barrel. She admitted privately, however, that it felt like riding a buffalo and, unsurprisingly, Guthrie, who had finished a fine 12th in that years Daytona 500, outqualified her by nine places. In 1976 Lombardi was confirmed at March alongside Brambilla and Stuck. After a further two category victories in 1971, at Monza and Vallelunga, she returned to F3 in 1972 and, with her Lotus 69 running under the Jolly Club umbrella, finished 10th in the standings. Thats unusual for a racing driver. Cowell continued driving after her transition, winning the 1957 Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb. There was no fairy-tale result in South Africa, however, as her car was retired with low fuel pressure. The race only continued for four more laps before it was stopped. Poor Lella, shed had bad traction all along. She would often speak of sacrifices. Her claim to fame is shes the only woman driver to score points in Formula 1, but even that was cut in half. She was sure of her illness by 1985. Qualifying was more problematic, but by the end of the season she was only two tenths shy of Mallory Park pole-sitter Ashley; the gap had been 4.6 seconds back in March. She tried to blame her breast pain on a sailing injury, but her condition degenerated so rapidly that there was no way it could have been anything minor. Lella Lombardi - Wikipedia I liked Lella a lot, Marie-Claude says. Subscribe Shop Subscribe Articles F1 Articles F1 Opinion Mark Hughes History MotoGP Podcasts Competitions The Showroom Articles Her best result was ninth at Riverside, but notably when James qualified 11th at Ontario, Lella was only two places behind the man who would be world champion in 1976. But she wanted me to be just as fast and was always giving me tips and help. She raced with the talented racer/journalist Marie-Claude Beaumont in 1975 in an Alpine A441 under the far-sighted Francois Guiters Ecurie Elf Ladies Team, and later won the 1979 Enna Six Hours with Enrico Grimaldi (becoming the first woman to win an FIA Championship event). Race stopped after 29/75 Laps. Growing up an all-around sportswoman, Lombardi had the opportunity to become anything she wanted, but she didnt fall in love with racing until she was in her twenties. Two of his fellows, his brother Wilson and Arturo Merzario, retired after completingone token lap. She was a racing driver first and foremost. It was easily one of the most consistently successful eras of her career. He eventually qualified fifth, from where he triggered a first-corner pile-up. She won the race again in 1981 with Giorgio Francia, with whom she had also won the Vallelunga Six Hours. [2] At first, Lombardis father found her passion for racing hard to accept but embraced it once she finished runner-up in a 1968 race. Those were not easy cars to drive basically a Formula 2 with a big, tall lump stuck in the back but she got quicker and quicker during the year. Fresh from bridging the Indy 500s gender gap, and contesting the Winston Cup on a shoestring, Guthrie was dismayed by the Europeans red-carpet welcome. Leena Gade is one of a growing number of female engineers in the sport, with multiple Le Mans victories to her credit while working for AudiSport. Queer drivers are a case in point. I can - Lella Lombardi - Car Throttle ", "The rest of the drivers proceeded to put on a display of shunting never before seen. Please update your cookie preferences, WATCH: F1 for beginners Everything you need to know about F1 ahead of the new season, Live Blog Held in Barcelona's Parc de Montjuc, later the site of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, the race passed into legend for other reasons. Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi (26 March 1941 - 3 March 1992) was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. She wasnt far off team mate John Watsons times initially in a similar car, but failed to qualify by nine-tenths after a driveshaft failure. Lombardi's story has impacted generations of racers. She was a very good racer, it was very easy with her. Janet Guthrie, Sarah Fisher, Lyn St James, Danica Patrick and Simona de Silvestro all raced in IndyCars, Danica winning a race at Motegi, and Simona showing a racers courage after a fiery inversion at Indianapolis. She always worked hard, was easy on the car and understood how to get what she wanted from it. Showing Editorial results for lella lombardi. Lella was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. In fact we got zero PR from it. She was 50 years old and was buried in Frugarolo. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Lombardis involvement was short lived as she died of breast cancer on the 3rd March 1992 at the untimely age of fifty. I totally trusted him. Behind the wheel, female drivers compete at the highest levels. Lombardi also competed numerous times at 24 Hours of Le Mans with her best result, a ninth place finish, coming in 1976. She was up against the cream of Australias macho heroes, notably eventual winner Max Stewart and Big Rev Kevin Bartlett in their Lolas. Podium Percentage : 23.96%. Women began competing as grand-prix racing drivers as early as 1958, when Anna-Maria de Fillipis competed in three Formula One events. I wish we could know what Lombardis career could have been had she been listened to in F1, if shed been more adamant at being the center of attention now and again. I feel sorry for her and wonder about it even now.. We miss her passion, determination and modesty., Lombardi checked into Milans San Camillo Clinic in February 1992 and died on March 3, days short of her 51st birthday. Born in 1941 in Frugarolo, Italy, Lombardi first started driving as the delivery person for her family shop (they were butchers). She didnt care. No trouble. asks Mark Hughes. She did what many failed F1 drivers did and still do: She took to sports cars, a discipline shed dabbled in in 1975 with her first Le Mans entry, an Alpine shared with Marie-Claude Beaumont. And because its usually the woman of the house who makes the major interior design decisions, we decided to run an all-woman crew. We had a good relationship and we always agreed. Lombardi was the first woman to qualify and compete in the Race of Champions in Brands Hatch and raced in sports cars. Pete Lyons summed up the mess that FormulaOne stumbled into at this race: "The first 1975 GP in Europe was an unmitigated debacle. While she remains one of the elite few women who've raced in Formula One, and the only of them to gain a score, motorsport continues to evolve, and in many ways, reflects the social progress seen elsewhere. And post-war, we had Maria Teresa de Filippis a bold trailblazer herself French sportscar racer and rallyist Marie-Claude Beaumont, Desire Wilson, Deborah Gregg, Olympic skier Davina Galica, Lella herself and Giovanna Amati. She died of breast cancer in 1992 at the age of 50, survived by her partner Fiorenza, who had been by her side for much of her career. [14] Majendie argues this by citing Lombardis example as a racer, who despite her gender, successfully entered Formula One. Racing was her passion, and she was focused on it wholly. There were only two drivers per car back then, and we managed the two-and-a-bit-hour stints easily. Unfortunately, a major miscalculation in the Jean Sage-run team led to their retirement, when they ran out of fuel. You can update your preferences, withdraw your consent at any time, and see a detailed description of the types of cookies we and our partners use in our Cookie Policy. Could Lella have made it, if Max and Robin had listened and believed her comments, and discovered that cracked rear bulkhead sooner? Lombardi was a versatile racer and tried her hand at numerous disciplines throughout her career. Though Zanon, a huge fan of Petersons, smoothed matters by helping her find employment elsewhere, the transition was not without problem. Join Facebook to connect with Lella Lombardi and others you may know. In 1979 she won both the 6 hours of Pergusa and 6 hours of Vallelunga races. This was followed by the car being impounded at its next race in Germany, as the team had a dispute with a former driver. Rather than ask to be entirely funded in her efforts behind the wheel of the Brabham, she paid her way herself. Mar 2020 - Present2 years 11 months. Lella Lombardi - Wikiwand Her next-best finish was a seventh place at the German Grand Prix. Michele Mouton came within a whisker of becoming the World Rally Champion, Lilian Bryner has won the Spa 24 Hours, and Sabine Schmitz has twice triumphed at the Nrburgring 24. A start in the 1976 Brazil Grand Prix with a 14th place finish would be the end of Lombardi's career with the March team; she was then replaced by the great Ronnie Peterson.

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