4 replies to this topic

[jpm2]

Hello

Vittorio Belmondo is a mistery to me.

As far as I can tell he first appeared in the Grand Prix scene in 1934 in a Maserati 8CM entered by the Gruppo San Giorgio in La Coppa Principessa di Piemonte, held at Posillipo.

Next year he started the Targa Florio at the wheel of a personal Alfa Romeo 8C and performed fairly well, finishing in 7th place, ahead of Hans Ruesch in a similar car.

In 1936 he entered several voiturette races in Italy and Switzerland with his Maserati 4 CM, his best classification being a second place in Lucca. But his Grand Prix participation was limited to the Circuito di Milano, with an Alfa Romeo, where he crashed in the opening lap of the race.

In 1937 he continued to participate in voiturette races with his Maserati 4 CM, mostly in Italy. His best result was a 3rd place in Génova.
In Grand Prix he raced in the Nurburgring, Pescara and Montenero with an Alfa Romeo C entered by Graf Salvi del Pero or by himself, but he was usually at the back of the field.

1938 was his last and best year in Grand Prix racing. He started a couple of races with the Alfa Romeo 308 of Renato Balestrero, but his best result was achieved with the Alfa Romeo 312, entered by Alfa Corse, in the Copa Acerbo (Pescara), where he finished in 3rd place.



Source: Francesco Santuccione & Paolo Smoglica, Il Circuito di Pescara

Can anyone tell us more about Belmondo? Where and when was he born? Is he still alive? Why did he retire at the end of 1938?

Does anyone have a photo of the fellow so we can see what he looked like?

Regards

[Patrick Italiano]

I may or may not have a pic of him somewhere, but what I can tell about your post is that he indeed finished third at Pescara 1938, but not on a 312. He still drove the 308, race number 34, finishing 3rd at 8 min. 35 . 1 He had qualified 8th.

The exact status of the 308s in 1938 is still a mistery. It's not clear wheteher they had been sold or rented by Alfa Corse to the privateers who actually raced them in the GP events. They had been officially entered by Alfa Corse for Pau, Biondetti drove one at Tripoli in replacement of the 316 which proved fast but unreliable during practice, and they were obviously prepared by the Alfa Corse team.

[Patrick Italiano]

I've found Vittorio Belmondo as having owned the Alfa 8C2300 SF28 during the seasons 1934-1935. His first outing at the 1934 Colli Torinesi hillclimb ended with a crash. Among his racing records with that car, worth noting a win at the Circuito di Varese on July 21, 1935 and a 7th place at the Targa Florio the same year. From 1936, he raced a Tipo B ("P3") Alfa.

[jpm2]

My message in a bottle finally reached someone. Thanks for your reply, Patrick Italiano

There can be some misunderstanding with the photo I posted. It illustrates Belmondo's race at Pescara but not in 1938. It is from 1937 instead.

As for the car he was driving in 1938 I trust your word. It matches the information in Francesco Santuccione & Paolo Smoglica's book on Pescara. The wrong information arose from Paul Sheldon's, volume 4, list of entries for the Copa Acerbo. For some reason Sheldon has Vittorio Belmondo at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo 312.

It would be wonderful if you could find a photo of Belmondo. No one seems to have seen the man.

Regards

[Graham Clayton]

Here is a photo of Belmondo's car in 1934:

http://www.motorgrap...b-ala-romeo-8c-

Is Belmondo the chap on the left?

There was a Vittoria Belmondo who was involved with the development of the Vespa scooter. Is this the same man?