Luigi Chinetti

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Luigi Chinetti (July 17, 1901 - August 17, 1994) was an Italian-born Grand Prix racecar driver.

Born in Milan, Chinetti eventually moved to Paris where he raced cars and worked as an automobile salesman. Driving an Alfa Romeo, he captured his first 24 hours of Le Mans with Raymond Sommer in 1932 and the following year with Louis Chiron as co-driver, he won the SPA 24 Hours endurance race in Belgium. He teamed up with Philippe Etancelin in 1934 to win his second 24 hours of Le Mans.

Following the outbreak of World War II, Chinetti went to the United States of America where he became a U.S. citizen in 1946. With the war over, he was back racing in Europe and at the 1949 24 hours of Le Mans race he drove the first Ferrari ever to win the event, setting a record as the only three-time winner of the race. The Ferrari in which Chinetti won the 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans was turned over to Baron Selsdon of Scotland (Peter Mitchell-Thomson) for twenty minutes during the race, making Thomson the official co-driver. Following the race, Thomson purchased that automobile, a Ferrari 166M, through Chinetti. That same year Chinetti won his second SPA 24 Hours, this time driving for Ferrari with Jean Lucas.

In 1951, he was the riding mechanic in the Ferrari 212 that won the grueling Carrera Panamericana race, a 2100-mile, five-day competition across Mexico. Driving the automobiles of more than one manufacturer, Luigi Chinetti competed in every Le Mans motorsport race held between 1932 and 1953.

Luigi Chinetti made a deal with Enzo Ferrari to be a Ferrari factory agent in the United States. He opened the first—and for a while the only—Ferrari dealership in the country. Later his territory became all areas east of the Mississippi River, amounting to half of the country. The tradition associated with Chinetti continued to draw clients from all areas throughout his career. The showroom, which is still open today, is located in Greenwich, Connecticut. It is currently owned by Miller Motorcars, the Ferrari-Maserati dealer in Greenwich.

The first sale Chinetti made through his American dealership was a Ferrari that was raced by—and eventually went into the famous collection of—Briggs Cunningham, but most of the sales he made were kept as close secrets to protect the privacy of his wealthy clients.

Luigi Chinetti also was the founder of the North American Racing Team, an official arm of Ferrari. It became the team that established the high ranking of Ferraris in American racing circuits, and was largely responsible for Ferrari's survival as a retailer of cars through the quantity he sold to wealthy individuals in North America.

Retired to Greenwich, Connecticut, Chinetti died in 1994 at the age of 93.

[edit] External links

• http://www.rrdc.org look at the list of deceased members and scroll down for the biography presented by the Road Racing Drivers Club on their site

Preceded by Earl Howe Henry Birkin	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1932 with: Raymond Sommer	Succeeded by Raymond Sommer Tazio Nuvolari
Preceded by Raymond Sommer Tazio Nuvolari	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1934 with: Philippe Étancelin	Succeeded by Johnny Hindmarsh Luis Fontés
Preceded by Jean-Pierre Wimille Pierre Veyron	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1949 with: Peter Mitchell-Thomson	Succeeded by Louis Rosier Jean-Louis Rosier