Ralph DePalma

Ralph DePalma ( born January 23, 1884 in Troia, Italy, † March 31, 1956 in South Pasadena, United States) was an American race car driver.

Career

Ralp DePalma was born in Italy. His family emigrated to the U.S. when he was eight years old. As a 22 -year-old he began to deny motorcycle racing before he moved in 1909 to automotive racing. This year, the American Automobile Association (AAA ) national championship began to discharge.

DePalma was immediately in automobile racing successfully. In 1911 he won the first championship race at the Milwaukee Mile. He lost the 500 miles of Indianapolis in 1912 in a dramatic way: After he almost led the entire race of the third round - he led 196 of 200 laps - broke his Mercedes a piston. At this time there were only two laps to go. His mechanic and he had to push the car to the finish, and he finished at the end of twelfth grade. In the further course of the season he was able to secure the championship. On 5 October 1912 he was nearly killed in an accident at the Vanderbilt Cup at the Milwaukee Mile. He spent a long time in the hospital, but recovered and was able to race again from the spring of 1913.

1912 and 1914 he won the National Trophy in Elign Elign, Illinois. In 1914 he won the biggest victory in his own eyes when he hit Barney Oldfield and won the Vanderbilt Cup in Santa Monica, California. DePalma was dismissed by the Mercer racing team for Barney Oldfield. In a Mercedes " Gray Ghost " DePalma was a tactical masterstroke and beat Oldfield, who was traveling in a clearly faster car. In that year he also won his second championship. The following year, the long-awaited victory at last he succeeded in the Indianapolis 500

Ralph DePalma was a strong competitor, but one of the most popular riders both under his racing colleagues and among the fans because of his athleticism, a property that he showed on and off the track. In June 1917, he lost to Barney Oldfield in a series of 10 - to 25-mile match races at the Milwaukee Mile. On 12 February 1919 he drove in Daytona Beach, Florida in a Packard, a new world speed record with a speed of 149.875 mph ( = 241.2 km / h ) over a mile. For International Races 1920 were introduced the 3-liter engine capacity limit for the engines in the U.S. and Europe. DePalma began this year to me the French automobile manufacturer Ballot. His Ballot was one of the fastest in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 1920, but the bad luck pursued him in the race. DePalma was traveling with other Americans to Le Mans, to take part in the Grand Prix of France. There, he finished second behind Jimmy Murphy in a Duesenberg.

In the Hollywood film High Speed ​​from 1920 he got a small role, and in 1924 he played the Champion Racing Drama for Life by Wilfried Lucas. In 1923 he founded the DePalma Manufacturing Company in Detroit to produce racing cars, automotive and aircraft engines.

When Ralph DePalma ended his racing career, he had played in 2889 and won the race in 2557 it. He died in 1956 in South Pasadena, and was buried in Culver City. The Mercedes in which he lost 500 1912 the Indianapolis is issued at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

DePalma was the brother of Indy 500 participant John DePalma and the uncle of the Indy 500 winner in 1923 Peter DePaolo.

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