Lella Lombardi

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Lella Lombardi
Lella-Garage-Reading-04.jpg
Lombardi in 1976
Born(1941-03-26)26 March 1941
Frugarolo, Piedmont, Italy
Died3 March 1992(1992-03-03) (aged 50)
Milan, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityItaly Italian
Active years19741976
TeamsMarch, RAM, Williams
Entries17 (12 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0.5
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1974 British Grand Prix
Last entry1976 Austrian Grand Prix

Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi (26 March 1941 – 3 March 1992) was a racing driver from Italy.

Born in Frugarolo, Piedmont, she participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 20 July 1974 and finishing her career with half a point. She is the only female Formula One driver in history to have a top six finish in a World Championship race, which she did at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix[1] (Half points were awarded for this race due to a shortened race distance, hence Lombardi received half a point instead of the usual one point). As well as being the sole female driver to score points in Formula One (and the only driver with a career total of half a point), she is one of two who qualified for a Formula One race (the other being compatriot Maria Teresa de Filippis).[2]

Career[]

Early years[]

Lella Lombardi driving a March 751 Formula One car in practice for the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix
Lombardi at the 1975 Race of Champions driving a March 751

Lombardi was born in Frugarolo, a small town in Piedmont in Italy. Her father was a butcher, and Lombardi's first job was to drive the delivery van for her family shop. After a brief experience with karting, she bought her first car in 1965 and raced in Formula Monza. In 1968 she moved on to Italian Formula Three, where she ended the season as runner-up to Franco Bernabei. In 1970 she raced a Biraghi in the Italian Formula 850 series. Lombardi won four of the ten races in the calendar, winning the championship. In 1971 she moved to London where she won the Formula Ford Mexico championship. In 1974 she raced in Formula 5000 with an Eagle Chevrolet.

Formula One[]

Lombardi debuted in Formula One in 1974 with a privately entered Brabham supported by the Italian Automobile Club but failed to qualify.[3] In 1975 she was invited to join Vittorio Brambilla and Hans-Joachim Stuck at March and raced the full season. At the opening race of the campaign in South Africa, Lombardi became the first woman, since Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958, to successfully qualify for a Grand Prix. Her race lasted for 23 laps until she was forced to retire with a fuel system problem. 1975 would prove to be an eventful season for the March Team. Brambilla scored a surprise victory in the rain-shortened 1975 Austrian Grand Prix, while Lombardi scored a Championship point in the Spanish Grand Prix. The race suffered a major tragedy after 25 laps, when the rear wing on Rolf Stommelen's Embassy Hill broke, sending him into the barrier. He bounced off it and back into the road, hitting the barrier across the way and flying over it. While trying to avoid Stommelen as he crossed the track, Carlos Pace crashed. Five spectators were killed by Stommelen's flying car with the driver suffering a broken leg, a broken wrist and two cracked ribs. The race continued for another four laps, during which Jochen Mass passed Jacky Ickx for the lead. On lap 29, the race was halted with Mass the winner, Ickx second and Jean-Pierre Jarier crossed the line in third position. Carlos Reutemann finished fourth ahead of Brambilla, while Lombardi finished in sixth. With the race being stopped before three-fourths of the scheduled race distance was reached, only half points were awarded.[4] Lombardi's other best result was at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, where she finished seventh. At the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen Lombardi had a one-off drive for Williams. She qualified for the race but an ignition problem prevented her from starting.

In 1976, Lombardi was confirmed at March alongside Brambilla and Stuck. She finished 14th at the Brazilian Grand Prix but the team decided to replace her with Ronnie Peterson, who became available after breaking away from Lotus. She then had a short-lived and unsuccessful partnership with RAM Racing, her best result being 12th at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Race of Champions[]

In 1974, Lombardi was the first female racing driver to qualify and compete at the Race of Champions in Brands Hatch. She raced a Lola-Chevrolet and finished 14th but was not classified. In the 1975 event, she was once again able to qualify and compete with a March-Ford. She was forced to retire after 20 laps.

Sports cars[]

Lombardi later raced in sports cars with some success. Her best season was in 1979 when she won the 6 hours of Pergusa and the 6 hours of Vallelunga. She also competed four times at the 24 hours of Le Mans, her best result being in 1976 when she finished 9th in a Porsche Carrera.

Lombardi had also started in NASCAR driving in the Firecracker 400 NASCAR race at the Daytona International Speedway in 1977. There were two other female drivers in the field: American Janet Guthrie and Belgian Christine Beckers. Lombardi finished 31st.[5]

Lombardi retired from racing in 1988. In 1989 she founded her own racing team, Lombardi Autosport.[6]

Death[]

Lombardi died of cancer in Milan on 3 March 1992, aged 50. She is buried in Frugarolo. She was survived by her partner, Fiorenza.[7]

She is commemorated by a bust in her birthplace Frugarolo.

Racing record[]

Complete European F5000 Championship results[]

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos. Pts
1974 ShellSPORT Luxembourg Lola T330 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 BRH
4
MAL
Ret
SIL
10
OUL
5
BRH
8
ZOL
Ret
THR
9
ZAN
7
MUG
6
MNZ
4
MAL
7
MON
6
THR
6
BRH
10
OUL
4
SNE
5
MAL
4
BRH
DNS
5th 88

Complete Formula One World Championship results[]

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts
1974 Allied Polymer Group Brabham Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR
DNQ
GER AUT CAN ITA USA NC 0
1975 March Engineering March Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA
Ret
21st 0.5
Lavazza March March 751 ESP
6
MON
DNQ
BEL
Ret
SWE
Ret
NED
14
FRA
18
GBR
Ret
GER
7
AUT
17
ITA
Ret
Frank Williams Racing Cars Williams FW04 USA
DNS
1976 Lavazza March March 761 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 BRA
14
RSA USW ESP BEL MON SWE FRA NC 0
RAM Racing with Lavazza Brabham BT44B GBR
DNQ
GER
DNQ
AUT
12
NED ITA CAN USA JPN

Formula One non-championship results[]

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3
1974 ShellSPORT Luxembourg Lola T330 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 PRE ROC
NC
INT
13
1975 Lavazza March March 751 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ROC
Ret
INT
12
SUI

24 Hours of Le Mans results[]

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1975 Switzerland Elf Switzerland France Marie-Claude Charmasson Renault-Alpine A441 S
2.0
20 DNF DNF
1976 France Aseptogyl France Christine Dacremont Lancia Stratos-Ferrari GTP 265 20th 2nd
1977 France Inaltera Belgium Christine Beckers Inaltera LM-Ford Cosworth S
+2.0
279 11th 4th
1980 Italy Scuderia Torino Corse United Kingdom Mark Thatcher Osella PA8-BMW S
2.0
157 DNF DNF
Source:[8]

Complete Shellsport International Series results[]

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

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos. Pts
1976 Team P R Reilly Shadow DN1 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 MAL SNE OUL
NC
BRH
9
THR BRH MAL SNE BRH THR OUL BRH BRH 42nd 2

Complete British Formula One Championship results[]

(key) (note: results shown in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos. Pts
1979 Team Agostini Williams FW06 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ZOL OUL BRH MAL
14
SNE THR ZAN DON OUL NOG MAL BRH THR SNE SIL NC 0

NASCAR[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series[]

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 NWCC Pts
1977 Charles Dean 05 Chevy RSD DAY RCH CAR ATL NWS DAR BRI MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY
31
NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT N/A 0

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results[]

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

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos. Pts
Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6 ZOL HOC AVU AVU MFA WUN NÜR NÜR NOR NÜR DIE HOC
10
HOC
6
ZOL NÜR NC 0

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Mariantoni, Luca. "Accadde oggi – 27 Aprile 1975". La Gazzetta dello Sport. RCS. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  2. ^ Haymarker, forix. "Reference". W8 - Who?. Geza Sury. http://www.forix.com/8w/lombardi.html
  3. ^ "Pioniere. Lella Lombardi: "Preferisco un incidente che innamorarmi"". ingenere.it. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Grand Prix Results: Spanish GP, 1975". grandprix.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
  5. ^ NASCAR Winston Cup Profile. http://www.nascar.com/drivers/dps/llombard00/cup/index.html
  6. ^ "Lella Lombardi Auto Sport". Archived from the original on 2010-02-01.
  7. ^ "She made her point". motorsportmagazine.com. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Lella Lombardi, Italy". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved August 28, 2017.

External links[]

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