Perhaps its the legacy of cars being thought of as symbolic of straight men or the continual presence of concepts like the Grid Girls in F1, a tradition which was only recently discontinued. She won [from the third row, beating Jacques Laffite and Mike Wilds] and we became very friendly and kept in touch. Facebook gives people the power. Juan Manuel Fangio started in 1950 and had last race in 1958. The likes of Tony Brise, Brian Henton, Alan Jones, Larry Perkins and Danny Sullivan didnt even make Monacos final. Her racing career would flourish from there onwards. Only half points were awarded that day because the race got cut short. Lella was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. She spoke okay English by then, plus Id worked with so many Italian drivers that I could almost speak the language.. Such was her tenacity that she basically taught herselfand also worked for her parents to save the money to pay for her first car, which she bought at the age of 24. Lella Lombardis racing career has influenced the perceptions of subsequent generations of females in racing. She did her own thing. Lombardi finished 31st. We invite you to get behind the wheel with us, it's certain to be an interesting drive. It was too much too soon. It was in one of the formers nimble BMW-engined 2-litre prototypes that Lombardi became the first woman to win a round of an FIA-sanctioned world championship: the 1979 Enna Six Hours, co-driven by hillclimb specialist Enrico Grimaldi. Create your free account today and explore our weekly auctions curated by our team of experts. Quietly impressive, it was much better than her Montjuch performance. The relationship between Lombardi and the team soured, ending her career with March. Amazingly, Lombardi also raced in NASCAR driving in the Firecracker 400 at the Daytona International Speedway in 1977. The first race that season was in South Africa, and Lombardi made it in. That's how much I love racing. Lella Lombardi will be remembered for her achievements in motorsport, her Formula 1 record and being one of only three openly LGBTQ+ F1 drivers. The fact that Cowell had all the traditional trappings of male heterosexuality but was a trans woman helped combat predominant stigmas around trans people, gay men and motoring too. [6]. She worked hard to get what she wanted. She lived well and had little trouble getting sponsorship. We were quite close on lap times, and what was nice with her is that she would hand the car back to me exactly as it was when I had handed it to her. Lella Lombardi 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. Things like that just dont worry me. No entourage. 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. We miss her passion, determination and modesty.. Lombardi and Beckers qualified fourth at Daytona, but crashed out after 78 laps when a slower Porsche suffered a blow-out as Beckers drew alongside. In 1974, Lombardi became the first woman to race at the Race of Champions at Brand Hatch. On her deathbed she asked us to continue the team to preserve what she had achieved. Later that same year, partnered by Giorgio Francia, she won the Vallelunga Six Hours; they would win the 1981 Mugello Six Hours, too. Nel 1988 Lella si ritirata e ha aperto la scuderia Lombardi Autosport, dove diventata team manager. Lombardi later raced in sports cars. Driving Line Accelerating Automotive Passion by providing a fresh angle of what fuels us. Complete European F5000 Championship results, Complete Formula One World Championship results, Complete Shellsport International Series results, Complete British Formula One Championship results, Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results, "Information about Lella Lombardi from historicracing.com", "Trailblazing racer Lella Lombardi remembered, 30 years on from her death", "Pitstop pioneers: the queer drivers who changed motorsports", "Trailblazing racer Lella Lombardi remembered, 30 years on from her death | Formula 1", "Lombardi, Lella (1942) | Encyclopedia.com", "Pioniere. Born in 1942 in Italy. Where better to begin than with the most successful female F1 driver of all time: Lella Lombardi. Lombardi raced a Lola-Chevrolet finishing unclassified in 14th. Tatiana Calderon follows in their wheeltracks this season. 2023 by Bump & Beyond. Lombardi's performances in 1975 were hampered by a cracked rear bulkhead Robin Herd freely admitted in an interview we did in 2009 that he and Max Mosley had "had her over" in 1975, and said that he was most impressed with her performance finishing seventh at the Nurburgring in a race of attrition as she was battling with a puncture. The irony of Beuttlers racing record is that even though he achieved five top-10 finishes in the 28 races he took part in, he never managed to secure any points though todays regulations would have awarded him some. One place and one lap behind him was Lombardi: the first and to date only woman to score a point in a world championship GP, but in a half-points race. While she had some poor seasons behind the wheel of poor cars, she also could consistently log top ten finishes. Half points awarded, Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance), Non-classified finish (<90% race distance). After a crash during Monaco practice, Lombardi would complain consistently of a quirk with her 751: understeering badly into corners, its rear end would suddenly fall over into a big oversteer when power was applied. The rest of the season played out and finished with Lombardi not being able to start the U.S.Grand Prix due to ignition failure on her way to the grid. The subsequent 75 V6 model was less successful and so Lombardi, though she had managed an eighth place in the 1986 Spa 24 Hours co-driven by Drovandi and Roberto Castagna, switched to a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth for 1987. 26 March 1941(1941-03-26)Frugarolo, Italy We may earn a commission from links on this page. [2] In 1975, Lombardi was invited to join Vittorio Brambilla and Hans-Joachim Stuck on the March engineering team, racing the full season with Zanon's Lavazza Coffee Companys sponsorship. In the 1970s, ROC was more of an all star race than the challenge runs in different cars that it is today. These were supposedly real mans cars with their big 5.0-litre V8 motors, but she handled them adroitly. As one might expect, Lombardi turned her hand to endurance racing in both sports and touring cars racing at Le Mans on four occasions, including her final appearance when she partnered with Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister. 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. In Formula One, more than any other branch of the sport, if you are not in the right car at the right time, then you stand little chance of success. She was much more concerned by the settings than I was, great with the mechanics and very speedy. She raced a Lola-Chevrolet and finished 14th. Could Lella have made it, if Max and Robin had listened and believed her comments, and discovered that cracked rear bulkhead sooner? ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap), (key) (note: results shown in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap), (key) (Bold Pole position awarded by qualifying time. She moved up through the ranks of local racing and built her reputation as the Tigress of Turinwhen she finished second in the 1968 Italian Formula Three championship. Lella Lombardi (and every other woman to ever compete in F1 for that matter) is shit and didn't deserve to score anything. Lella Lombardi is a name firmly etched into the motorsport history books. The race continued for another four laps, resulting in Lombardis sixth-place finish. In 1975, Lombardi joined the March team for a full seasonat that time alongside the macho Vittorio Brambilla (nicknamed the Monza Gorilla) and Hans-Joachim Stuck. She scraped together enough money to go racing and competed in any car she could get her hands on. In 1976, Lombardi was confirmed at March Engineering alongside Brambilla and Stuck. The world in general, and motor racing in particular, was a less enlightened place in the mid-'70s than present day. I love motor racing and thats all I want to do. Her next two entries at Le Mans were not quite as great. And their respect. As one might expect, Lombardi turned her hand to endurance racing in both sports and touring cars racing at Le Mans on four occasions, including her final appearance when she partnered with Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister. She was not interested in music, reading, culture or anything else. Certainly, she would have achieved better results. Though Zanon, a huge fan of Petersons, smoothed matters by helping her find employment elsewhere, the transition was not without problem. Born Maria Grazia 'Lella' Lombardi in Frugarolo, Italy, and so far the only woman to have registered a top six finish in a World Championshop Grand Prix, she took half a point for finishing in 6th place in the prematurely terminated 1975 Spanish GP at Barcelona's Montjuich Park. [8] That winter, she met an Italian nobleman, Count Vittorio Zanon, who sponsored her entrance into F1. Her experience has shaped the involvement of women in racing and how people perceive females in the racing industry. Lella only complained about the inequality of Formula 1 because nobody had listened to her about changes for the car. Born Maria Grazia Lombardi on the 26th March 1941, Lomardi grew up in Frugarolo in the Piedmont area of Italy, where her first job saw her drive the delivery van for her familys butcher shop. Lombardi had had experience of sports-prototypes in the 1975 World Championship for Makes, finishing sixth at Mugello and a class-winning fourth at Monza in Equipe Elf Switzerlands 2-litre Alpine A441, co-driven by Marie-Claude Beaumont. 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. She was in an unreliable car whose problems were only intensified by the fact that the mechanics didnt take Lombardi seriously when she reported complaints to do with the handling. Originally from Frugarolo in Piedmont district of Italy, Lombardi climbed through the junior Formulas, becoming the Ford Escort Mexico Champion and putting on a very assured performance in the Monaco F3 race, ahead of then future World Champion, Alan Jones. At Catawiki, youll be surprised every week with the impressive selection of special objects we have on offer. Racing was her passion, and she was focused on it wholly. Last Race (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap. After she had finished 12th in the prestigious Monaco F3 support race, an impressed John Webb of Brands Hatch fame put her in his Celebrity Escort Mexico series, where she beat Jacques Laffite and Mike Wilds. However, as were her wishes, the team remained active after her death and remains so today. Lella was far from being the first female female pioneer in racing. Her next-best finish was a seventh place at the German Grand Prix. She failed to qualify RAM Racings BT44B at Brands where Divina Galica, the Webbs latest fast lady, outperformed her and in Germany the car was impounded by court injunction. She qualified. As a greater number of females participate in entry-level racing from a young age, we will eventually see another one meet and surpass the groundbreaking achievements of Lella Lombardi. 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. By then she was fighting the cancer that would eventually take her lifeMarch 1992 at the young age of 50. Lella Lombardi races, wins and teams | Motorsport Database - Motor Sport Magazine Find out about British F1 driver, Lella Lombardi, their career, history and character information incl. [3] Lella Lombardi was also one of the first female racers in a same-sex relationship. Cowell continued driving after her transition, winning the 1957 Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb. Though officials erected barricades and bosses manned the barriers because the drivers were rightly unamused by Montjuchs laughable Acme Inc Armco, the latter would eventually kowtow and race with a collective madness bar world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who stayed true to his word and refused to start. However, she was prevented from starting due to an ignition problem. That she got as far as she did is a testament to her character. In 1974, Lombardi was the first female racing driver to qualify and compete at the Race of Champions in Brands Hatch. Because it was a short race, Lombardi was only awarded a half of a point. Beuttler was an excellent amateur driver and dabbled semi-professionally in F1, competing in a number of races over the years. Lella was the perfect co-driver, says Beckers. Sadly, after a breast injury in 1985 she started to suffer from the cancer that finally claimed her on March 3, 1992 in Milans San Camillo Clinic, days short of her 51st birthday. [12] Lombardi is also used as one of the reference points for females in racing. However, Lombardi had an eventful driving career, aside from Formula One. She was also the only woman to score a point (in a fact half . She continued to impress, and ran the series in 1974. 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. Motorcycle clubs were once a sanctuary for gay men and the first road trip ever conducted was pioneered by a woman. Maria Grazia Lombardi had spent 10 years climbing motor racings rungs, beginning with the Monza-based Formula 875. [12] Lombardi is considered an F1 trailblazer, after which women increasingly joined Formula One in many capacities aside from driving. That certainly got their attention. Janet Guthrie and Christine Beckers were competing alongside Lombardi, who finished in 31st. Neither of her parents drove and Lella, as she became known, enjoyed her earliest experiences behind the wheel from driving the delivery truck for her father's salami factory. Discover moreclassic cars| classic motorcycles and scooters, The story of the woman who invented the road trip, Attic stories: engines and ingenuity with Paola Lagnena, The customisable Mini Coopers that everyone wanted. Status Inaltera [a wallpaper manufacturer] was about to launch in America in 1977 and so we entered the Daytona 24 Hours, too. 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. A very distant 12th place at the next race, Austria, was Lombardis final GP. Lombardi returned to F1 in 1976 for the British Grand Prix but failed to qualify the aging RAM Racing Brabham BT44 she was piloting. That was the first time we saw her, says John Webb, the UKs most go-ahead promoter of the period. HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from the first practice session of the new F1 season in Bahrain, WATCH: Ride onboard as Alonso sets the fastest lap in Friday practice in Bahrain, Hulkenberg points out area where Haas 'have a lot of work to do' despite taking P5 in FP2, 2003-2023 Formula One World Championship Limited. No trouble.. Theres a lot of glamour surrounding the first girl to do Motor well in Formula One, but in some Sports ways the whole business is overrated. Its perfect. Many of the members of the March team expressed their regret at having been so resistant to her ideas, knowing that she could have become an open wheel success if only shed had a reliable car. [12] According to The Multimedia Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World, because of Lella Lombardi, there are more women involved in other aspects of Formula One, especially "traditionally female" jobs such as modeling. Lombardi grew up in Italy and developed an interest in racing by driving a delivery van for her family. 0 In '74 the title was won by Bob Evans in a T332. We know who could win the F1 championship in 2023, but who will have the car to maximise their talent? Lombardi kept her personal affairs particularly quiet to protect the identity of her lover, Fiorenza. 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 very tenacious, she from an early age she was attracted to four wheels and motors, preferring scale models to dolls. A former butchers delivery driver turned F1 racer, shes still the only woman to ever rack up F1 World Championship points and was lovingly known by the press as Turins Tiger. Even Jochen Mass, declared the precipitate winner after 29 laps, scrambled from his McLaren with a face like thunder and threatened violence to smug officials. Thats something I dont have any problems sharing with my male colleagues. This was despite the fact that she maintained a great relationship with team owner Robin Herd, who spoke only praise of Lombardi: She wasnt a publicity seeker. Feeling this to be an overt bid by NASCAR to discredit her operation, her offer of help to these sisters-in-arms, though genuine, was made through gritted teeth. Despite these early successes, Lombardis career was marred with obstacles. Lella Lombardi died in March 1992 She was one of the few women that have raced the 24 hours of LeMans, witha best result of 4th. She endeared herself to the media when she was asked how it felt to handle such big cars and replied: I dont have to carry it, I just have to drive it., WATCH: 10 iconic Williams moments as the team reach 750 GPs at Monaco. Behind the wheel, female drivers compete at the highest levels. Women began competing as grand-prix racing drivers as early as 1958, when Anna-Maria de Fillipis competed in three Formula One events. At the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, Lombardi scored half a point, making her the only woman to ever score any championship points in Formula 1. . Lella was my recommendation. 0 The thing I like is the feeling when you pass the checkered flag first. Lombardis most successful season was 1979. ITA Lella was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. [5] She was 50 years old and was buried in Frugarolo. Delightful. She did her own thing. Even her major success that year was tinged with tragedy. Lombardis involvement was short lived as she died of breast cancer on the 3rd March 1992 at the untimely age of fifty. This, and other good results, attracted attention, with whichLombardi obtained backing to try and run in the 1974 British Grand Prix. She was tough and had great duration.. In the pre-war days there were speedy heroines such as Elizabeth Junek, Kay Petre and Gwenda Hawkes, the latter duo starring on the daunting Brooklands concrete saucer. 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. In 1977, she competed in NASCAR at the Firecracker 400 that took place at Daytona. Her team-mate was established series front-runner Ian Ashley: She was the first woman racing driver to seriously impress me. 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. She finished, but she wasnt driving a particularly great car. Lombardi won the Fiat-engined Formula 850 Championship of 1970 in a Biraghi, scoring four victories at Monza against future F1 DNQ-ers Alberto Colombo and Giorgio Francia. Look for the latest news stories and features, sent straight to your inbox! Motor Sport correspondent Denis Jenkinson reckoned hers, A game try. With the race being stopped before three-fourths of the scheduled race distance was reached, only half points were awarded. We discovered her story while investigating iconic women from history. 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. Unfortunately, she failed to qualify for the race. Lombardi was a versatile racer and tried her hand at numerous disciplines throughout her career. Philanthropic enthusiast Count Zanon agreed and offered March 50,000 to run Lombardi in F1 in 1975. The Indy 500's gender segregation had just been nullified, which meant NASCAR had to step up to the plate. Roberta Cowells motoring history is often eclipsed by her reputation as the first person to undergo gender reassignment surgery in Britain, in her case from male to female. As her former Formula 5000 teammate Ian Ashley noted to Motorsport Magazine: She was the first woman racing driver to seriously impress me. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. [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. Italics Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. Had Lombardi not begun to get sicklater discovered to be breast cancershe likely would have continued in racing past the late 80s, when she was forced to retire. A successful placing in the 1965 Formula Monza, however, gave Lombardi away, when her parents read about her in the papers. Lella Lombardi remains the only woman on F1's score sheet, but her passion brought impressive racing achievements elsewhere, too Montjuich 1975: Lella Lombardi hustles her March to sixth place and the only GP point for a woman albeit halved by the shortened race DPPI Author Paul Fearnley 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Marie-Claude believes that she and Lella could have won Le Mans in 1975. Back then it was an endurance race rather than a sprint and we were quite competitive. The drivers' concerns were fueled by three recently killed, in otherwise survivable accidents, as a result of poorly installed barriers; certainly this sort of disorganization on the organizers behalf would have no place in modern Formula One. Purtroppo, il 3 marzo del 1992, morta di cancro. In 1979 she won both the 6 hours of Pergusa and 6 hours of Vallelunga races. But he skipped 1952 season. For a long time, motorsports was defined by its fraternal culturethe big cars, big engines and even bigger egosa high-octane experience that wasn't particularly accessible to people who didnt fit into the straight male mould. The male gaze has shaped motorsports, which is why those drivers that operate outside of its sight and yet succeed within it, are so remarkable. 18 (12 starts) Lombardi is the only woman to ever participate in the race of champions Its difficult to celebrate a points-scoring position in those circumstances. Lombardi's career in the Grand Prix arena was done, but her career in motorsport was not. 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.

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