Nino Vaccarella

Nino Vaccarella
Born (1933-03-04) 4 March 1933
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Italy Italian
Active years 1961-1962, 1965
Teams Ferrari, non-works De Tomaso, Lotus, Porsche
Entries 5 (4 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 0
Career points 0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 1961 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry 1965 Italian Grand Prix
Vaccarella at 1970 1000km Nürburgring with Ferrari 512S.

Nino Vaccarella (born 4 March 1933 in Palermo, Sicily) is an Italian former sports car racing and Formula One driver.

His principal achievements include winning the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Targa Florio in 1965, 1971 and 1975, when it no longer was a World Sportscar Championship event.

Sports car career

Sicily-born Vaccarella was well-known for being a Targa Florio specialist. According to Vic Elford "he knew the roads on Sicily like the back of his hand". He was teamed with Umberto Maglioli for the 1960 Targa Florio in a birdcage Maserati, which was owned by the Camoradi team. Maglioli had previously won the race twice; Vaccarella was a schoolteacher in Palermo with a great passion for motorsport. They took the lead in the early afternoon on 8 May and maintained it for three laps until the car broke down. The event was won by Joakim Bonnier and Hans Herrmann in a small silver Porsche.[1] Vaccarella was paired with Lorenzo Bandini in the 1965 Targa Florio when they won with an average speed of 63.7 miles per hour, finishing in 7 hours and 1 minute. 12.4 seconds.[2] In 1966 Vaccarella and Bandini led most of the race until their Ferrari 330 ran off the track after seven laps and was too damaged to continue.[3] While waving his hand to acknowledge the crowd, Vaccarella made eye contact with a retaining wall that carried the inscription Viva Nino.[4] Maglioli and Vaccarella drove a Ford GT-40 to fifth place in the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring.[5] The 8 May 1968 edition of Giornale Di Sicilia proclaimed in its headline, Only Vaccarella Can Bring Off The Miracle. The meaning had to do with the Sicilian driver's great task of gaining victory in the Targa Florio in his 2.5-litre Alfa Romeo, called the Tipo 33. He was up against four German competitors who were driving Porsche 910 models. The Porsches had recently swept the endurance races at Daytona and Sebring. Few experts gave the four Alfa Romeos much of a chance against the flawless Porsches, but Sicilians were trusting the skill of Vaccarella's driving.[4] Vaccarella qualified eighth for the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona in a Ferrari 512S. He also drove the big V12-powered Ferrari 512S in a heroic yet ultimately losing effort in 1970, damaging the car in the final stages. This was one of a series of 11 endurance events held in Europe and North America for the 1970 world manufacturers championship.[6] Vaccarella and Toine Hezemans won the 1971 Targa Florio in an Alfa Romeo. They crossed the finish line over a minute ahead of Andrea de Adamich and Gijs van Lennep, who also drove an Alfa Romeo. This race ended the dominance of Porsche, which had finished first in the previous five Targa Florio races.[7] Vaccarella competed in the 1972 12 Hours of Sebring in one of four Alfa Romeo 33/3TT's to be entered in the event. His driving partner was Nanni Galli.[8] They qualified fifth after another Alfa Romeo of Rolf Stommelen and Peter Revson, who started third.[9]

Formula One

Vacarella was selected for the 1962 Ferrari Formula One race team by Enzo Ferrari. He was joined by John Surtees, Mike Parkes, Willy Mairesse, Bandini, and Ludovico Scarfiotti. He participated in five World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 10 September 1961. He scored no championship points. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races.[10]

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 WDC Points
1961 Scuderia Serenissima De Tomaso F1 Alfa Romeo
Straight-4
MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER ITA
Ret
USA NC 0
1962 Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia Lotus 18/21 Climax Straight-4 NED MON
DNQ
BEL FRA GBR NC 0
Porsche 718 Porsche Flat-4 GER
15
Lotus 24 Climax V8 ITA
9
USA RSA
1965 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 158 Ferrari V8 RSA MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA
12
USA MEX NC 0

Non-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 19 20 21
1961 Scuderia Serenissima De Tomaso F1 Alfa Romeo L4 LOM GLV PAU BRX VIE AIN SYR NAP LON SIL SOL KAN DAN MOD
DNQ
FLG OUL LEW
Cooper T51 Maserati L4 VAL
3
RAN NAT RSA
1962 Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia Lotus 18/21 Climax L4 CAP BRX
DNQ
LOM LAV GLV PAU
6
AIN INT
Ret
NAP MAL CLP RMS MED
Ret
DAN OUL MEX RAN NAT
Porsche 718 Porsche F4 SOL
WD
KAN

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1961 Italy Scuderia Serenissima Italy Ludovico Scarfiotti Maserati Tipo 63 S 3.0 53 DNF DNF
1962 Italy Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia Italy Giorgio Scarlatti Ferrari 250 GTO GT 3.0 172 DNF DNF
1964 Italy SpA Ferrari SEFAC France Jean Guichet Ferrari 275P P 5.0 349 1st 1st
1965 United States North American Racing Team Mexico Pedro Rodríguez Ferrari 365 P1/P2 Spyder P 5.0 320 7th 4th
1966 Italy Scuderia San Marco
United States North American Racing Team
Italy Mario Casoni Ferrari Dino 206S P 2.0 7 DNF DNF
1967 Italy SpA Ferrari SEFAC New Zealand Chris Amon Ferrari 330 P3 Spyder P 5.0 105 DNF DNF
1968 Italy Autodelta SpA Italy Giancarlo Baghetti Alfa Romeo T33/2 P 2.0 150 DNF DNF
1969 France Equipe Matra - Elf France Jean Guichet Matra-Simca MS630 P 3.0 359 5th 3rd
1970 Italy SpA Ferrari SEFAC Italy Ignazio Giunti Ferrari 512S S 5.0 7 DNF DNF
1971 Spain Escuderia Montjuich Spain José Juncadella Ferrari 512M S 5.0 DNF DNF
1972 Italy Autodelta SpA Italy Andrea de Adamich Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3 S 3.0 307 4th 4th

References

  1. Bonnier and Herrman Capture 450-Mile Targa Florio in 7:33:8, New York Times, May 9, 1960, Page 37.
  2. 100,000 In Sicily See Famed Event, New York Times, May 10, 1965, Page 46
  3. Mairesse First In Targa Florio, New York Times, May 9, 1966, Page 74
  4. 1 2 Vaccarella Will Carry Hopes Of Sicilian Auto Fans Today, New York Times, May 5, 1968, Page S27.
  5. Ford's No. 2 Car Is Given 2nd Place, New York Times, April 3, 1967, Page 44
  6. Porsches Capture Next Three Spots, New York Times, January 31, 1970, Page 40
  7. Italian Driver Is Killed in Race Won by Vaccarella-Hezemans, New York Times, May 17, 1971, Page 49
  8. Three Ferrari Teams to Seek Endurance Honors at Sebring, New York Times, March 19, 1972, Page S15.
  9. Andretti Captures Pole at Sebring With Lap Record, New York Times, March 25, 1972, Page 24.
  10. Ferrari Team Named, New York Times, December 2, 1962, Page 253.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Ludovico Scarfiotti
Lorenzo Bandini
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1964 with:
Jean Guichet
Succeeded by
Jochen Rindt
Masten Gregory
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