Emilio Materassi

When searching for the Enzo Ferrari tread i found this driver : Emilio Materassi wich i find very interesting.
Here is some Facts.

1. He won the Montenero circuit at Livorno back to back 4 times ( 1925,1926,1927,1928 ). I believe he won all of them he entered.
2. He died at he’s peak in the European Gp at Monza in maybe the second worst racing accident killing himself and 27 spectators
3. He modified several of he’s cars himself, putting a Hispano-suiza engine in maybe he’s first car an Itala, and modifying the suspension on the Talbot 700 he got killed in.
4. at he’s dead Gazzetta dello Sport placed him between the 5 best drivers
5. I can find these cars he drove : Itala Spl Hispana Suiza, Maserati 26 (8C-1500), Bugatti T35C and Talbot 700.



Who was he?
Was he really one of the best? Or is he flattered by he’s early tragic deadth?.
What cars drove he and wich of them did he modify?.
Why would he change from a Bugatti T35C to a Talbot 700, when according to
http://www.kolumbus....ellman/gpw2.htm the Bugatti’s was doing all the winning?

Bjørn

Sources
http://www.kolumbus....ellman/gpw2.htm
List of Montenero circuit and other wins

http://w3.newnet.it/...o_materassi.htm
story in Italian with pictures of him and his fatal crash

http://alexcaraddict...m/tdarracq.html
Story about him modifying Talbots

http://www.fortuneci...1949/f11926.htm
Indication of that he’s Itala has been modified with a Hispana Suiza engine

Briefly...
He was one of the very best of his time
The Itala special was commissioned from Alfieri Maserati and was based on an Itala - for which marque Materassi was Tuscan agent - but fitted with a very special 4.7-litre eight-cylinder Hispano-Suiza engine
I imagine, without checking, that the Bugatti 35Cs he raced were as a member of the factory team, whereas the Talbots were his own. Scuderia Materassi was formed in early 1928 after he took over the entire stock of Talbot GP cars, four eight-cylinder models and two older fours.

He was indeed a works Bugatti driver in 1927. He seems to have carried out substantial modifications to the 700s during 1928, working with Bertarione, the original designer. One wonders what might have happened had he survived into 1929 since the cars were still very competitive in the hands of Brilli-Peri and Arcangeli that year. Even in 1930 Brivio placed one fourth in the Coppa Acerbo.

Giovanni Lurani wrote:

"Needless to say that I wsa one of the most ardent supportes of the Materassi "Scuderia" which had become the first team in Italy organised by drivers and not by car manuacturers, Emilio Materassi had done things propoerly and with great care and had drawn up a plan of action in which he himslef had to attack and break up his rivals, and in case of damage to his car, go on with Comotti's car which was to run a waiting race, while Briil Peri and Arcangeli had to remain with the leaders, and to come out and win later. I was in the Materassi pits in charge of the lively Florentine journalist Sergio Codeluppi, and every now and then went to the grand stands.

"On the fatal 18th lap, by sheer luck I left the stands and went back to Materassi's pits from which I had a terrifying view of Materassi's tragic accident which, in adddition to his own, brought about the death of over 20 spectators, where just barely two minutes before I had been standing at the very spot where the massacre occurred! This catastrophe and the subsequent withdrawal of the other Talbots, as well as the other frightening incident to Borzacchini who on the straight ran into a stationary car and lost a wheel, slowed up Varzi, who gave the wheel over to Campari, thus leaving Louis Chiron to win with his Bugatti.

"The reason why Emilio left the track is still a mystery today in spite of te enquiry made at the time, I, who had lived with him during the anxious days of the practicing and had witnessed the polemics on the eve of the race, when, in consequence of a claim advanced relating to the weight of the Talbots, it seemed that the Scuderia could not run, cannot exclude that a sudden illness caused the tragedy which threw so many families into mourning and deprived international sporing circles of such a great sportsman."

Thank you Roger Clark, Vitesse2 and David McKinney

Is it possible that Emilio Materassi maybe would have started manufacturing he's own cars, if so maybe the Tifosi's would have been cheering on a Materassi and not a Ferrari !!!.
Is there some books covering Emilio Materassi career.

Bjørn

Thank you Roger Clark, Vitesse2 and David McKinney

Is it possible that Emilio Materassi maybe would have started manufacturing he's own cars, if so maybe the Tifosi's would have been cheering on a Materassi and not a Ferrari !!!.
Is there some books covering Emilio Materassi career.

Bjørn

No, unfortunately no books about him until now.
In few days it will be available my book (in italian language, sorry) : "Emilio Materassi, un campione dimenticato" the complete race's history of the driver from the very early race (1919 Coppa della Consuma, an hillclimb race near Florence) until the last one the tragic Monza's Italian Grand Prix.
More than 380 pages with the report of all the Emilio's races and some awesome photos.
The book will be available in the las week of september 2012. If you are looking for it, you could write to: info@studionoferini.it the publishing house of this book.

The cover


An example of the statistics