Lorenzo Bandini
Lorenzo Bandini ( born December 21, 1935 in Barce, Libya, † May 10, 1967 in Monte Carlo ) was an Italian racing driver.
Career
Lorenzo Bandini gained his first racing experience when he and a borrowed Fiat 1100 participated in uphill races in 1957. Only a year later he made the first time talked about, when he Lancia Appia Zagato with a won its class at the Mille Miglia. Then started to Bandini 1960 Volpini Formula Junior; first as a private, later as a driver for the Stanguellini team. His achievements during this time were the third place debut in Syracuse (1958 ) as well as victories at the Liberty and Pescara Grand Prix ( 1960).
Mimmo Dei, the team principal of the Scuderia Centro Sud, Bandini was 1961, the opportunity to drive a Formula 1 Cooper T51 -Maserati while not belonging to the World Championship Grand Prix of Pau. Bandini made it in this race on the podium and finished behind Jim Clark and Jo Bonnier third place. Two months later, he played his first Grand Prix in Spa, Belgium. This season, he took on three more World Cup races ( also on Cooper -Maserati ) in part (England, Germany, Italy). The sporting highlight of this year put the victory in the sports car race in Pescara dar.
Bandini signed in 1962 a contract as a driver for the Scuderia Ferrari. He played in this season especially sports car racing, but also participated in three Formula 1 Grand Prix in part (Monaco, Germany, Italy). In Monaco, he took third place and thus his first World Championship points. He also won the World Cup in August to not be counted Mediterranean Grand Prix in Enna.
1963 Bandini was with seven out of ten Formula 1 race at the start. Three of them he drove for the Scuderia Centro Sud BRM on in the last four races of the season, however, he sat back in the Ferrari cockpit. The best finishes this year were each 5 places in England, the USA and South Africa. The sports car season was a success: At the Targa Florio he finished second, just as the 12- hour race at Reims at the side of John Surtees. Together with Ludovico Scarfiotti he won the overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ferrari 250 P.
In 1964 Bandini was next to John Surtees regular driver in the Ferrari Formula 1 team. It should be his most successful season. He collected 23 championship points and were a major win the constructors' championship for the team from Maranello at. In August, he won the Grand Prix of Austria on the airfield circuit in Zeltweg. A somewhat dubious role played Bandini at the season finale in Mexico when he with the BRM of the title contenders Graham Hill collided, whose car was damaged. Then he let his slower team-mate Surtees happen so that he could secure the drivers' championship title.
The Ferrari Formula 1 team had in the 1965 season against a masterful Jim Clark ( Lotus ) and the strong BRM by Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart no chance. Bandini and Surtees drove mostly afterwards, Bandini was able to collect only 13 points in the ten races of the season. At the Grand Prix of Monaco, he scored his best result of the season with the 2nd place. Away from the Formula 1 he recorded together with Nino Vaccarella a victory at the Targa Florio.
1966 separated after just two races of the season the way of Ferrari and John Surtees. Bandini moved so on in the role of team leader. The season was for the " Red " but not very pleasing, apart from the Ferrari double win at his home race in Monza, where Bandini teammates Ludovico Scarfiotti and Mike Parkes occupied the two front seats. Bandini scored a total of twelve championship points, his season highlight was once again the Monaco Grand Prix, where he was second again.
The 1967 season began promisingly for Bandini and Ferrari. Together with his team-mate Chris Amon, he won the 24 - hour race at Daytona and the 1,000 km race at Monza in a Ferrari 330P4 sportscar. In March, he finished the World Cup not to be counted Formula 1 race at Brands Hatch in the final race in second place.
Accident in 1967
At the Grand Prix of Monaco on May 7 Bandini crashed his Ferrari 312F1 in round 82 lying and trying to catch up to shorten the leading Brabham pilots Denis Hulme in second position, apparently exhausted and always inattentive driving Bandini grazed at the entrance the harbor chicane the barriers, after which the car at the exit of the chicane to the left off the track, crashed into a secured only by straw bales bollards and caught fire. Through the many bales of straw and pouring gasoline a large fire, the sparsely -equipped fire department was not up arose. An amateur film gives the impression that explode the car before the collision, but the poor picture quality casts doubt on this conclusion. In the second lap of the race Bandini collided slightly, the engine of the car was damaged and lost on the whole route oil without noticing Bandini. In the final laps his Ferrari therefore slowed down. In an attempt to be faster again, it came to the casualty. Some speculations say Bandini had slipped on his own track oil and therefore crashes. Similar speculations claim that the oil hole on impact very rapidly enlarged and therefore it was an explosion.
Bandini could be freed only after three minutes and died three days later his severe burns. After this accident the race distance in Monaco from 1968 has been reduced from 100 to 80 rounds.
Bandini drove a total of 42 Grand Prix races and took it a win, eight podiums, one pole position and two fastest laps.