Ludovico Scarfiotti

Ludovico Scarfiotti
Born 18 October 1933
Died 8 June 1968 (aged 34)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Italy Italian
Active years 1963 – 1968
Teams Ferrari, Cooper, Anglo American Racers
Races 12 (10 starts)
Wins 1
Podiums 1
Career points 17
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 1
First race 1963 Dutch Grand Prix
First win 1966 Italian Grand Prix
Last win 1966 Italian Grand Prix
Last race 1968 Monaco Grand Prix

Ludovico Scarfiotti (18 October 1933 – 8 June 1968) was a Formula One and sports car driver from Italy. Just prior to entering Formula One, he won the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ferrari. He later participated in 12 World Championship Formula One grands prix, and many non-championship races. He won one World Championship race, and scored a total of 17 championship points. A motor sports competitor for a decade, Scarfiotti won the 1962 European Hillclimb Championship. He was proclaimed Italy's best driver in both 1962 and 1965.[1]

Early life

Scarfiotti was born in Turin. Scarfiotti was associated with cars from his youth. His grandfather was the first president and one of the nine founders of the Fiat automobile company.[1]

Sports car competition

Scarfiotti competed in the 1,000 Kilometres de Paris sports car race in October 1962. He finished third with teammate Colin Davis. The event was won by Pedro Rodríguez and Ricardo Rodríguez driving a Ferrari.[2] Partnered with Lorenzo Bandini, Scarfiotti was victorious in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 1963. Their factory Ferrari achieved an average speed of 117.99 miles per hour over a distance of 2,832 miles (4,558 km). The victory was worth almost $20,000 in various prize money along with prestige, and gave Ferrari its fourth consecutive Le Mans victory.[3]

Ludovico Scarfiotti at the Nürburgring 1964

In 1965, John Surtees and Scarfiotti shared a Ferrari 330 P2 Spyder which gave the marque a fourth consecutive victory at the 1000km Nürburgring race. They led throughout the 44 laps, posting a winning time of 6 hours, 53 minutes, and 5 seconds, for an average speed of 90.46 mph (145.58 km/h).[4] Scarfiotti and Bandini drove a 2-litre Ferrari to second place in the 1966 running of the 1,000 kilometre Nürburgring in which first place went to Phil Hill and Joakim Bonnier driving a 5.4-litre Chevrolet-powered Chaparral. The Ferrari was 90 seconds behind the Chaparral that debuted the automatic transmission in European competition.[5]

Surtees severed relations with the Ferrari racing team following their decision to replace him with Scarfiotti at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Scarfiotti would go on to finish 31st, retiring after 123 laps. Scarfiotti joined Mike Parkes in a Ferrari P4 for the 1000 km Spa in May 1967. They finished a lap behind Jacky Ickx and Richard Thompson, who drove a Ford Mirage (race car). The winning team averaged 120.5 mph (193.9 km/h) and posted a time of 5 hours, 9 minutes, 46.5 seconds.[6]

Teamed with Mike Parkes, Scarfiotti took the new Ferrari P4 coupe to second place behind the sister car (a P4 spyder) driven by Lorenzo Bandini and Chris Amon at the 24 Hours of Daytona, with Ferrari taking the first three positions. The same result took place at the Monza 1,000 km in April. Scarfiotti, again teamed with Parkes finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this time behind the Ford Mark IV driven by A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney. Scarfiotti raced a Ferrari factory car in the September 1967 200-mile Canadian-American Challenge Cup race held on a 2.85-mile (4.59 km) course near Bridgehampton, New York. His sponsor was the North American Racing Team of Luigi Chinetti.[7]

Scarfiotti entered the 1968 Targa Florio, but wrecked his Porsche 907 (#230) on the first day of qualifying and was forced to race with Porsche's T-car[8] which did not last the 720 km long road race.

Formula One

Enzo Ferrari signed Scarfiotti to the Ferrari Formula One team of drivers for 1962 along with Surtees, Willy Mairesse, Bandini, and Nino Vaccarella.[9] Scarfiotti placed sixth in the second Ferrari in the 1963 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. He was a lap behind victor Jim Clark in a Lotus. John Surtees piloted the first Ferrari to third place behind Dan Gurney in a Brabham. Scarfiotti finished fifth in the 1965 Syracuse Grand Prix.[10]

Scarfiotti became the first Italian in fifteen years to win the Italian Grand Prix when he drove his Ferrari to a track record speed of 136.7 mph (220.0 km/h) at the 1966 event. As of the end of the 2014 Formula One season, Scarfiotti is also the last Italian to win it. He completed the 68 laps around the 3.6-mile (5.8 km) Autodromo Nazionale Monza in an event in which Jack Brabham clinched his third Formula One World Championship, despite exiting on the seventh lap.[11]

Following the death of Bandini from burns sustained during the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix, Ferrari decided to enter two cars for Scarfiotti and Parkes in the 1967 Syracuse Grand Prix. Scarfiotti drove a 1966 3-litre Ferrari 312 whereas Parkes drove a 1967 with the 1966 nose to accommodate his long frame.[12] They shared the victory when they crossed the finish line in an unusual dead heat. They were clocked at 113.65 mph (182.90 km/h), recording an official time of 1 hour 40 minutes 58 seconds for the 191.2-mile (307.7 km) race.[13]

Brian Redman and Scarfiotti came in third and fourth respectively at the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix in Jarama. Both drove for Cooper, with Redman competing in only his second Formula One Grand Prix. The race marked the first win for Graham Hill since 1965.[14]

Driving a Cooper, Scarfiotti placed fourth in the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix, an event marked by mechanical breakdowns that eliminated 11 of 16 starters before the race was completed.[15]

Death

Ludovico Scarfiotti died in 1968 at a hillclimbing event on the Roßfeldhöhenringstraße near Berchtesgaden, Germany, in the German Alps. He became the third Grand Prix driver to die in 1968, following Jim Clark and Mike Spence. Scarfiotti wrecked his Porsche 910 during trials when the car veered abruptly off the Rossfeldstrasse track and catapulted ten yards down a tree-covered slope. The Porsche hung in the trees and Scarfiotti was thrown from the cockpit. He was discovered, badly injured, fifty yards away. He died in an ambulance of numerous fractures. Huschke von Hanstein, the team manager of Porsche, stated that he had never been associated with a fatal accident during the eighteen years he had been in charge of the team. 60 yards (55 m) of burned rubber braking indicated that Scarfiotti had slammed on his brakes at the final moment.

Scarfiotti was married to Ida Benignetti and had two children from a previous relationship.[1]

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 WDC Points
1963 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 MON BEL
WD		 NED
6		 FRA
DNS		 GBR GER ITA USA MEX RSA 16th 1
1964 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 156 Ferrari V6 MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER AUT ITA
9		 USA MEX NC 0
1965 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 1512 Ferrari V12 RSA MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX
DNS		 NC 0
1966 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 246 Ferrari V6 MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER
Ret		 10th 9
Ferrari 312/66 Ferrari V12 ITA
1		 USA MEX
1967 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312/67 Ferrari V12 RSA MON NED
6		 BEL
NC		 FRA GBR GER CAN 21st 1
Anglo American Racers Eagle T1G Weslake V12 ITA
Ret		 USA MEX
1968 Cooper Car Company Cooper T86 Maserati V12 RSA
Ret		 16th 6
Cooper T86B BRM V12 ESP
4		 MON
4		 BEL NED FRA GBR GER ITA CAN USA MEX

Non-Championship Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6
1965 Ludovico Scarfiotti BRM P578 BRM V8 ROC
NC		 SYR
5		 SMT INT MED RAN
1967 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 312 Ferrari V12 ROC
5		 SPC INT
1		 SYR OUL ESP

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Scarfiotti, 34, Killed In Car-Racing Crash, New York Times, June 9, 1968, Page S1.
  2. ↑ Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez First in France With a Ferrari, New York Times, October 22, 1962, Page 52.
  3. ↑ Italian Ferrari Sets 2 Marks in Winning Le Mans Race, New York Times, June 17, 1963, Page 45.
  4. ↑ Driver Is Killed In German Race, New York Times, May 24, 1965, Page 43.
  5. ↑ Italians Are Next In 2-Liter Ferrari, New York Times, June 6, 1966, Page 57.
  6. ↑ Ickx, Thompson Win Belgian Race, New York Times, May 2, 1967, Page 59.
  7. ↑ Hulme Paces Bridgehampton Trials, New York Times, September 17, 1967, Page S9.
  8. ↑ Vaccarella Will Carry Hopes Of Sicilian Auto Fans Today, New York Times, May 5, 1968, Page S7.
  9. ↑ Ferrari Team Named, New York Times, December 2, 1962, p. 253.
  10. ↑ Clark Sets Mark With Lotus-Climax In Sicily Auto Race, New York Times, April 5, 1965, p. 40.
  11. ↑ Italian Wins at Monza; Ginther Hurt in Crash, Los Angeles Times, September 5, 1966, p. B5.
  12. ↑ Two Ferraris Are Entered In Italian Formula One Race, New York Times, May 21, 1967, p. 23.
  13. ↑ Surtees, Driving a Lola, Takes 2-Heat Grand Prix of Limburg (Belgium), New York Times, May 22, 1967, p. 61.
  14. ↑ Graham Hill of Britain Drives Lotus Ford to Victory in Spanish Grand Prix, New York Times, May 13, 1968, p. 60
  15. ↑ Graham Hill Takes Monaco Grand Prix, New York Times, May 27, 1968, Page 66.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Olivier Gendebien
Phil Hill		 Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1963 with:
Lorenzo Bandini 		Succeeded by
Jean Guichet
Nino Vaccarella