Attilio Bettega
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Attilio Bettega (February 19, 1951 -May 2, 1985), was an Italian rally driver.
In 1982 he joined the Lancia squad driving the 037 after some years with Fiat. In his Lancia years he gained 4 podium finishes in rallies counting towards the World Rally Championship. His last podium was also his best one, driving his Lancia to 2nd place at the 1984 San Remo rally. In 1985 he entered the Safari Rally and the Corsica Rally. At the last one it went wrong. On the 4th stage of the rally - Zerubia, Attilio lost control over his Lancia and crashed into a tree which simply ruptured into the driver's seat and killed Attilio instantly. His co-driver Maurizio Perissinot survived the crash uninjured.
It certainly was a freak accident, which pressured the safety aspects of Group B cars. Exactly one year later his former teammate Henri Toivonen died in a fireball accident at the same event, causing a ban for Group B.
Attilio's son, Alex Bettega has followed his father's footsteps and he is also now (2006) a rally driver.
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