72 replies to this topic

[noelstokoe]

I am interested in the Italian racing driver Felice Nazzaro, who was regarded by many as the best pre First World War driver. I have details of what I think are all the main races he took part in, unless somebody knows better:-
1900 July Padova-Bassano-Viicena-Padova 2nd in class (Fiat)
1905 5th July Gordon Bennett Race – 2nd (Fiat)
10th September Florio Cup – 6th (Fiat)
14t October Vanderbilt Cup – 6th (Fiat)
1906 27th June French Grand Prix – 2nd (Fiat)
1907 21st May Targa Florio – 1st (Fiat)
14th June Kaiserpreis – 1st (Fiat)
2nd July French Grand Prix – 1st (Fiat)
1908 7th June Napier v Fiat at Brooklands – 1st (Fiat)
7th September Coppa Florio Bologna – 1st (Fiat)
26th November Savannah Grand Prize – 3rd (Fiat)
1910 8th May Circuit of Modena – 1st in class (Fiat)
11th November Savanna Grand Prize (USA) -
1913 12th March Targa Florio – 1st (Nazzaro)
12th May French Grand Prix – Retired (Itala)
20th July Riunione di Vercelli – 3rd in class (Nazzaro)
1914 31st May Targa Florio – 1st (Nazzaro)
5th July French Grand Prix – Retired (Nazzaro)
1921 4th September Settimana di Brescia – 1st in class (Fiat)
1922 15th July French Grand Prix – 1st (Fiat)
10th September Italian Grand Prix – 2nd (Fiat)
1923 6th September Italian Grand Prix – 2nd (Fiat)
1929 11th August Coppa delle Alpi – Retired (Fiat)
I know he returned to Fiat in about 1922 and was in charge of racing matters and later as a tester, until he retired just before his death in 1940. I understand he was killed in a car crash on the road, but does anybody have more information about that? Also, does anybody know if he had any family and if so, what became of them?

[Paul Rochdale]

http://www.bigscalem.../fiat_1907.html

Yes, it seemed he was killed in a road crash in 1940.

[fines]

Originally posted by noelstokoe
1900 July Padova-Bassano-Viicena-Padova 2nd in class (Fiat)

The date's July 1, and I have him disqualified from that one - sorry, don't know the reason, perhaps I can find out. The car was a 1571 cc 2-cylinder FIAT 6CV, the same he used to win Torino - Asti on Apr 28. In 1901, he used a 3770 cc 4-cylinder FIAT 12CV to win the Giro d'Italia on May 12, Piombino - Grosseto on Aug 24 and Torino - Bologna on Nov 24. No data for 1902 or 1903, but in 1904 he retired from the Brescia - Cremona - Mantova - Brescia race in a 13672 cc Panhard-Levassor 70CV.

About family and other stuff, I'd need to do some research, and don't have time for that until next week. Perhaps someone like Robert Dick will jump in and deliver the goods.

[fines]

More additions and corrections:

1906: Oct 6, 3rd Vanderbilt Cup, Westbury (Long Island), flagged off course running 6th (16286 cc FIAT 130CV)
1907: I have Targa Florio on Apr 21, not May
1908: May 18, 3rd Targa Florio, Buonfornello (Sicily), retired (7433 cc Fiat 50CV)
July 7, 3rd Grand Prix, Dieppe (Seine-Inférieure), retired (12045 cc Fiat 100CV)
I have Coppa Florio on Sep 6, not 7

[fines]

1910: I have Grand Prize on Nov 12, not 11
1913: I have Giro di Sicilia/Targa Florio on May 12, not Mar, and the Grand Prix on Jul 12, not May
1914: I have him retire from the Giro di Sicilia/Targa Florio on May 25, and win the Coppa Florio on May 31
I have the Grand Prix on Jul 4, not 5
1921: Sep 11, 1st Gran Premio Gentlemen 4500 cc, Brescia, flagged off running 6th (4398 cc Nazzaro GP)
1922: Jun 18, 3rd Circuito del Mugello, 1st (4398 cc Nazzaro GP)
I have the Grand Prix on Jul 16, not 15
1923: I have the Gran Premio d'Italia on Sep 9, not 6
1924: Apr 27, 7th Coppa Florio, Buonfornello (Sicily), retired driving relief for Pietro Bordino (1487 cc Fiat 803)
Aug 3, 10th Grand Prix, Lyon, retired (1979 cc Fiat 805/405)
Oct 19, 4th Gran Premio d'Italia, Monza (Lombardy), withdrawn (1979 cc Fiat 805/405)
1927: Oct 1, 2nd British Grand Prix, Brooklands/Weybridge (Surrey), withdrawn (1484 cc Fiat 806/406)

[ReWind]

It seems that December 4th, 1881, as birth date of Felice Nazzaro has found its way into the Internet sources.

I’m afraid it’s wrong & I’m partly responsible for that.

I found that date some time ago on an Italian website (http://www.tecnospac...?idarticolo=337) which meanwhile obviously is defunct. Duly I put it into my respective list in the „Happy Birthday“ thread.

1881 has been Nazzaro’s established year of birth for ages. But for the time being I believe in fact he was born at the end of 1880.

If you look at what is told about how old he was at certain stages of his career & at the time of his death, you’ll come to the conclusion that he must have been born before 1881. So I altered my „Happy Birthday“ entry into December 4th, 1880. But apparently no one has taken notice of that and so the doubtful date keeps spreading over the World Wide Web.

[noelstokoe]

I am a new member, and my first posting is this one about Felice Nazzaro, and am not sure of the correct procedure in keeping a thread going, so I hope the rest is OK.
I am very grateful for the posts from Michael Ferner and Reinhard for the corrections to my original list of Nazzaro's racing history. I found the list on the Museo Dell Automobile, Turin website, which was listed in Italian, so I may well have made a few mistakes with my English/Italian phrase book! I cannot contact them direct until the end of March, as they are closed for new building work at the moment.
The potted-history's I have read about Nazzaro normally mention the cars and trucks he built under the Nazzaro name. I saw David Biggins' fantastic 1913 Nazzaro racer at Brooklands during the centenary celebrations earlier in the year, and I wonder if any other examples exist in the UK? Also I wonder if anybody has any pictures of the Tipo 2, Tipo 3, Tipo 5 or a Nazzaro truck?
As mentioned in my original posting, I would like to find out more about what he did at Fiat from 1922 to 1940 does anybody know where I could find this out from? Is there an archive at Fiat for example, and if so, does anybody have a contact e-mail address for it?
Finally, does anybody know if he had a wife and family, or where he is buried?

Once again, many thanks for the help already given, but if anybody could give me any more help, I would be delighted....

Noel Stokoe

[noelstokoe]

Since I put on my last thread about Felice Nazzaro on in December I thought the trail had gone cold, but then I have found this quote from Barry Lake on another thread dated 2000 regarding Nazzaro's fatal car crash of 1940......

Re: Nazzaro
The circumstances of his death intrigue me. One of the greatest drivers of all time, in the most dangerous racing period of all, dies in a road car accident. ?????. I THINK I remember many years ago reading that he was very ill and crashed over the edge of an alpine road. Possibly suicide. A la Vittorio Jano. In the day's of poor medical treatment, many decided to choose the way they left us. It's not a fitting end to my story, and not fair to him, that he just dies in a road car accident.

.....Does anybody have any views on this or details of period reports about the accident, it would seem such a sad end for such a great driver...

Noel Stokoe

[alessandro silva]

I have a copy of a letter of Nazzaro to Biscaretti (founder of the Museum in Torino) where - answering a precise question - he asserts that he was born in Torino on December 4th 1881.

He died of an illness. Nazzaro's wife died in a car accident during 1923. Hence the confusion, I guess. No suicide I am afraid.

[ReWind]

Originally posted by alessandro silva
I have a copy of a letter of Nazzaro to Biscaretti (founder of the Museum in Torino) where - answering a precise question - he asserts that he was born in Torino on December 4th 1881.

Thank you very much, Alessandro, for finally clearing up this issue.

[noelstokoe]

Thank you very much, Alessandro, for confirming Felice Nazzaro's date of birth and confirming he died of an illness, rather than a car accident.
I understand his last competitive event was The Alpine Trial of 1929, when a team of three Fiat's were entered, does anybody know the results of the Fiat team, as I understand Nazzaro retired, but I do not Know how much of the route he covered before doing so. I would also have liked to know who his team mates were and if they finished the event...

Noel Stokoe

[cpbell]

Very interesting info. about one of the early legends. I'm greatly enjoying learning more as I come across these threads.

[alessandro silva]

The Fiat team for the 1929 Coupe des Alpes was composed by Nazzaro, Carlo Salamano and Alessandro Cagno. Quite an impressive team!
The cars were Fiat 525 SS (named type Coupe des Alpes since), a short-lived 6C car of a bit over 3L of capacity and a torpedo type body.
Salamano won a Cup (no penalties) so he is often listed as a winner, Nazzaro retired and I do not find Cagno's result in my notes.

[Brains01]

Hi Noelstroke: just been browsing the web looking for info on an interesting original newspaper advert i came across. It looks to be a quarter page advert from June 18th 1908 advertising Fiats achievements especially 'The World's Championship was won by a Fiat Car, on June 8th 1908 at Brooklands. Recording a World's record of 121.6 Miles per Hour. Also a Brooklands reord of 94 3/4 MPH for the full distance of 27 Miles. I don't know for sure who was driving the car or even which car was being raced. Any Info gratefully recieved.

[fines]

Must've been the infamous 120 mph Brooklands lap by Nazzaro on the 'Mephistopheles' Fiat, although the original post had it on June 7. I can't check because my Brooklands "bible" is too far away, at the other end of the room...

In short, a Fiat and a Napier had a match race that was timed electrically, and even though the Napier led until retiring on lap 3 (from memory) of 10, the official timing had the Fiat averaging 120 mph on lap 2, but manual timers at another part of the circuit wouldn't agree. It was hotly discussed at the time, and although the official results stood, the general feeling was that the time was very unlikely.

[noelstokoe]

Brooklands…..The complete Motor Racing History……by William Boddy MBE
ISBN 1899870563 published 1957 and updated 2001, has a lengthy account of this match between Nazzaro's Fiat and the Napier, and the controversy that has raged since regarding that 121mph lap. These are the times that are quoted:-


Hand Timing Electric Timing
(mph) (mph)
Lap 1 Fiat 107.76 Napier 105.7 Fiat 105.24 Napier 96.15
Lap 2 Fiat 107.98 Napier 105.08 Fiat 121.64 Napier 113.01
Lap 3 Fiat 99.76 Fiat 102.42

Here are the times in seconds per lap

Lap 1 Fiat 92.4 Napier 94.2 Fiat 94.6 Napier 103.55
Lap 2 Fiat 92.2 Napier 94.8 Fiat 81.85 Napier 88.1
Lap 3 Fiat 99.8 Fiat 97.17

In 1931 BARC struck the brilliant idea of issuing those who had lapped at 120mph or more with special badges incorporating a “120mph” inscription, and in addition stamping that date of what SCH Davies rather delightfully referred to as “this indiscretion” on the reverse side. The 121mph lap of Nazzaro of 1908, accepted by the BARC at that time was not included in the list.

It would appear therefore that the timings for the 121mph lap may have been wrong....but who knows!?

Noel Stokoe
PS Are there any photos of the match taking place?

[noelstokoe]

My last posting did not transfer over properly from my word document and the time have merged into one, so I am posting the table again to avoid confusion.
I would love to see a copy of the original 1908 advert referring to the 121mph lap!



Hand Timing Electric Timing
(mph) (mph)
Lap 1 Fiat 107.76 Napier 105.7 Fiat 105.24 Napier 96.15
Lap 2 Fiat 107.98 Napier 105.08 Fiat 121.64 Napier 113.01
Lap 3 Fiat 99.76 Fiat 102.42

Here are the times in seconds per lap

Lap 1 Fiat 92.4 Napier 94.2 Fiat 94.6 Napier 103.55
Lap 2 Fiat 92.2 Napier 94.8 Fiat 81.85 Napier 88.1
Lap 3 Fiat 99.8 Fiat 97.17

Noel Stokoe

[fines]

Noel, you have to put "code" tags around any tables to have them work out like this:

Hand Timing						   Electric Timing

						 (mph)								   (mph)

Lap 1  Fiat 107.76   Napier  105.7				Fiat 105.24	Napier 96.15

Lap 2  Fiat 107.98   Napier  105.08			   Fiat  121.64   Napier 113.01

Lap 3  Fiat 99.76								 Fiat  102.42



Here are the times in seconds per lap



Lap 1  Fiat  92.4	Napier  94.2				 Fiat  94.6	 Napier  103.55

Lap 2  Fiat  92.2	Napier  94.8				 Fiat  81.85	Napier  88.1

Lap 3  Fiat  99.8								 Fiat  97.17

[noelstokoe]

Many thanks Michael for helping me with the table of speeds and times for the 1908 Brooklands duel in 1908 with Nazzaro in the Fiat against the Napier....your posting is how I wanted mine to look on my last two attempts!

Noel Stokoe

[Brains01]

Noel, i would be more than happy to send you a copy of this advert. Let me know where to email a photo of it.
The original was saved from destruction purely by chance. It had been used as insulation? against a backing of hessian which had then been wallpapered over in a old merchant house. Considering all this it is in remarkable condition with only a few minor bits of damage.

[Vitesse2]

The original report in The Times quotes a one lap speed of 111½ mph for the Fiat, with an average of 97¾ mph over the whole race distance.

Oh, and a correction - the match race took place on June 6th, not the 7th, which was a Sunday.

[noelstokoe]

Hi there Brains1,

I would love a copy of the advert, my email address is noelstokoe@talktalk.net

Many thanks,

Noel Stokoe

[noelstokoe]

Hi there Vitesse2,

Please could I ask you for the date of The Times report, as I would like to read it in full.

Very best wishes,

Noel Stokoe

[Vitesse2]

Noel: check your email ;)

[Hans Etzrodt]

Felice Nazzaro died of natural causes on 21. March, 1940 in Torino, Italy.

[noelstokoe]

Many thanks Hans for confirming that Felice Nazzaro died of natural causes on 21. March, 1940 in Torino, Italy....Does anybody know where he is buried?

Noel Stokoe

[Paul Rochdale]

Noel

My guess would be that, bearing in mind his status, the Cimitero di Monumentale di Torino but you would need to contact them to confirm this. I have been unable to locate an email address.

Paul

[noelstokoe]

Many thanks Paul for telling me about the Cimitero di Monumentale di Torino as a possible site as to where Felice Nazzaro may be buried. I have typed in the Cimitero di Monumentale di Torino into Google and it has brought up the website details, and as you said, it does not appear to have an email address and I am not clever enough to read the Italian on the site! I have however found a postal address, so I will write to them, unless anybody else has any ideas?!
Thank you again everybody for your continued help and interest.
Noel Stokoe

[wdm]

noelstokoe,

I presume you've read "Great Racing Drivers" by David Hodges? It has a chapter dedicated to Nazzaro and, in any case, should be required reading for anyone interested in the "early days".

[noelstokoe]

Many thanks WDM....Yes I have a copy, it is excellent reading!
Noel Stokoe

[Brains01]

Noel, i glad you liked the copies of the original advert regarding the FIAT. With this in mind , have you been able to confirm the dates as per the advert.????

[noelstokoe]

Many thanks again for the copy of the Fiat advert you sent me. As you know, the advert says the Fiat/Napier race at Brooklands was on 8th June 1908. As seen above I had the race as 7th June, but VITESSE2 said it should have been 6th June. The New York Times of 9th June 1908 in their account referred to "Brooklands yesterday", so I would favour the 8th myself now, as two contempory reports use that date.
Noel Stokoe

[D-Type]

7th June 1908 was a Sunday so a Brooklands race would not have been permitted.

Saturday 6th June sounds more likely than Monday 8th June

Edited by D-Type, 21 September 2009 - 16:37.

[Vitesse2]

Noel's right - it was on Monday 8th. I misread a passage in The Times' report: there was also racing on the Saturday, but the match race was definitely on Whit Monday.

[speedman13]

Does anyone know the correct location of Felice Nazzaro's grave.
Many sites list the Cimitero Monumentale in Torino but I have been through the records of every cemetery in Turin to no avail.

[paulhooft]

Not Many people know that there is a stone for Felice Nazarro's Nephew Baggio Nazarro on the N422 Entzheim to Innenheim,
500 meters from the rotonde..
He was killed during the 1922 Grand Prix of France.. over time the stone was moved a little.
The correct place was very close to te rotonde, so it is not the exact place..
That is the same ploblem with to place were Jean Bugatti was Killed in 1939:
There is a stone on on a curve the Duppigheim to Entzheim road, where to road earlier goed straigh on
There is another less known but correct stone on a road from the 1922 hairpin going westward,
as the original road is now part of the Airfield of Strassbourg at Entzheim
Paul Hooft

[Arjan de Roos]

Does anyone know the correct location of Felice Nazzaro's grave.
Many sites list the Cimitero Monumentale in Torino but I have been through the records of every cemetery in Turin to no avail.

There is a site on the Cimitero Monumentale in Torino.
http://www.comune.to...ntale/frame.htm
Also with a search function. I could only find Biaggio Nazzaro.
Also found that Battista "Pinin" Farina and Nino Farina have been buried there. No Felice though according to this site.

[Reedy]

Did Nazzaro live in Turin or in a surrounding village, is there a picture of his house anywhere on the web.

[noelstokoe]

Did Nazzaro live in Turin or in a surrounding village, is there a picture of his house anywhere on the web.

I am grateful to Paul hooft/Arjan de Roos/Reedy for their posts to my initial posting over a year ago regarding Felice Nazzaro. I am sorry that nobody seems to know where he is buried, considering he was one of the early greats in motor racing. I know that after his retirement from motor racing he continued to work for Fiat right up to his retirement in 1940, only to die a few months after.
Since a boy I have been interested in him but I have never seen any articles he may have written on his motor racing career or his time while working at Fiat, or when building his own cars. Does anybody know if he ever did. I enjoy reading articles written by the drivers themselves, a typical example was on the Fiat S76 topic written by Arthur Duray on his land speed record attempt in the car. If anybody knows of any such articles written by Felice Nazzaro I would love to hear from them.

[bradbury west]

Whilst the link in Paul's original Post no 2 is a model makers' site, it is worth looking at, especially via the main Page link - top right- as it provides some excellent period photographs for the 1907 FIAT, plus Mephistopheles, plus the 508, and Alfa Monza, with some driver profiles and portraits. All good archive material for TNFers.
Roger Lund

Edited by bradbury west, 09 November 2009 - 13:30.

[paulhooft]

The 1966 book The Great Racing Drivers by David Hodges has a 6 page article about Felice Nazzaro writen by W.F. Bradley
Paul Hooft

I am grateful to Paul hooft/Arjan de Roos/Reedy for their posts to my initial posting over a year ago regarding Felice Nazzaro. I am sorry that nobody seems to know where he is buried, considering he was one of the early greats in motor racing. I know that after his retirement from motor racing he continued to work for Fiat right up to his retirement in 1940, only to die a few months after.
Since a boy I have been interested in him but I have never seen any articles he may have written on his motor racing career or his time while working at Fiat, or when building his own cars. Does anybody know if he ever did. I enjoy reading articles written by the drivers themselves, a typical example was on the Fiat S76 topic written by Arthur Duray on his land speed record attempt in the car. If anybody knows of any such articles written by Felice Nazzaro I would love to hear from them.

[Antonio Valla]

Hi. Felice Nazzaro was my great-grandfather on my mother's side. I'm looking at some of his pictures hanging in my office. He did not die in an auto accident (though his wife did), but died of natural causes in 1940. The list looks fairly complete, and most of his trophies are still with my family. His only daughter (Gilda Nazzaro Petrazzini) was my grandmother, and she had two children (my mother, Lucilla, and my uncle, Gianni). Lucilla passed away this year, leaving me and my two brothers. Born in Italy, we all now live in the USA, but keep very strong links to europe and to our racing heritage. Thank you for remembering "Nonno Felice".

I am interested in the Italian racing driver Felice Nazzaro, who was regarded by many as the best pre First World War driver. I have details of what I think are all the main races he took part in, unless somebody knows better:-
1900 July Padova-Bassano-Viicena-Padova 2nd in class (Fiat)
1905 5th July Gordon Bennett Race – 2nd (Fiat)
10th September Florio Cup – 6th (Fiat)
14t October Vanderbilt Cup – 6th (Fiat)
1906 27th June French Grand Prix – 2nd (Fiat)
1907 21st May Targa Florio – 1st (Fiat)
14th June Kaiserpreis – 1st (Fiat)
2nd July French Grand Prix – 1st (Fiat)
1908 7th June Napier v Fiat at Brooklands – 1st (Fiat)
7th September Coppa Florio Bologna – 1st (Fiat)
26th November Savannah Grand Prize – 3rd (Fiat)
1910 8th May Circuit of Modena – 1st in class (Fiat)
11th November Savanna Grand Prize (USA) -
1913 12th March Targa Florio – 1st (Nazzaro)
12th May French Grand Prix – Retired (Itala)
20th July Riunione di Vercelli – 3rd in class (Nazzaro)
1914 31st May Targa Florio – 1st (Nazzaro)
5th July French Grand Prix – Retired (Nazzaro)
1921 4th September Settimana di Brescia – 1st in class (Fiat)
1922 15th July French Grand Prix – 1st (Fiat)
10th September Italian Grand Prix – 2nd (Fiat)
1923 6th September Italian Grand Prix – 2nd (Fiat)
1929 11th August Coppa delle Alpi – Retired (Fiat)
I know he returned to Fiat in about 1922 and was in charge of racing matters and later as a tester, until he retired just before his death in 1940. I understand he was killed in a car crash on the road, but does anybody have more information about that? Also, does anybody know if he had any family and if so, what became of them?

[bradbury west]

Hi. Felice Nazzaro was my great-grandfather on my mother's side. Thank you for remembering "Nonno Felice".

Antonio, bienvenuto. You are leaning on an open door here, and are among appreciative and enthusiastic friends.
Roger Lund

[noelstokoe]

Hi. Felice Nazzaro was my great-grandfather on my mother's side. I'm looking at some of his pictures hanging in my office. He did not die in an auto accident (though his wife did), but died of natural causes in 1940. The list looks fairly complete, and most of his trophies are still with my family. His only daughter (Gilda Nazzaro Petrazzini) was my grandmother, and she had two children (my mother, Lucilla, and my uncle, Gianni). Lucilla passed away this year, leaving me and my two brothers. Born in Italy, we all now live in the USA, but keep very strong links to europe and to our racing heritage. Thank you for remembering "Nonno Felice".

[noelstokoe]

Hi Antonio, I am delighted you have joined this forum, as I am sure you will find it interesting.

I did try to email you direct, but it looks like it must have failed to reach you.

As you can see, I have been interested in your Great Great Grandfather, Felice, since I was a schoolboy in the 1950's and just wish that more had been published about him.

I mentioned in my failed email that I saw the 1913 Nazzaro car at Brooklands in 2007, which I took seveal pictures of. If you would like me to email these on to you, I would be pleased to send them on if you send me your email...mine is noelstokoe@talktalk.net

I am sorry, but I have not worked out how to upload pictures onto this site yet!

I do hope you will contact me.

Very best wishes,

Noel Stokoe

[ranocchio61]

visit Targa Florio
www.amicidellatargaflorio.com

photo Felice Nazzaro

Edited by ranocchio61, 02 December 2009 - 20:33.

[sparklingstudio]

Hi. Felice Nazzaro was my great-grandfather on my mother's side. I'm looking at some of his pictures hanging in my office. He did not die in an auto accident (though his wife did), but died of natural causes in 1940. The list looks fairly complete, and most of his trophies are still with my family. His only daughter (Gilda Nazzaro Petrazzini) was my grandmother, and she had two children (my mother, Lucilla, and my uncle, Gianni). Lucilla passed away this year, leaving me and my two brothers. Born in Italy, we all now live in the USA, but keep very strong links to europe and to our racing heritage. Thank you for remembering "Nonno Felice".

Hi Antonio,
I'm looking for some info about Carolina Nazzaro, in particular her partecipation to the Corsa delle Cascine in 1921. In that race she was in the same car, as assistant, of Maria Antonietta Avanzo: Maria wrote about this in her book "La mia vita a 100 km all'ora” and also Donatella Biffignandi, in a interview to Gilda Nazzaro Petrazzini, wrote about this experience. What I need are more details and, if possible, picture with these two wnderful women. I'm italian, I think you too! So, if you want, you can aswer me to this @ adress: sparklingstudio@alice.it.
Thanks a lot

Luca

[noelstokoe]

Dear Luca,

I started the topic on the Autosport Forum about Felice Nazzaro just over two years ago now, as I wanted to find out more about this great driver, who I have been interested in since I was a boy in the 1950's.
Nothing new had been posted for some time until Antonio wrote to say that his grandmother was Felice's daughter Gilda. I sent an email direct to Antonio, but did not get a reply so I posted a reply on the Forum, but he did not reply to that either.
You have since posted a request for information about Carolina Nazzaro who drove in the 1921 Corsa della Cascine. I am sorry that I do not have any information about this event, but I would be very interested to know who Carolina was, she must have been related to Felice?
I have found it very hard to find out information about Felice, as he does not appear to have written down his experiences anywhere about his racing days, his car manufacture or his time at Fiat, which is a great shame. He must have had some amazing stories to tell, as not many people travelled very far from their homes in the early 1900's, but he travelled all over Europe and the USA during his racing career.
Very best wishes,

Noel Stokoe

[Vitesse2]

Noel - as you're about again, were you aware that the early years (up to 1922) of the New York Times archive can now be accessed for free?

Start by searching from the Home Page and then click on the "All Results Since 1851" link (the default search only covers the last 30 days).

http://www.nytimes.com/

There are many entries under "Nazzaro" - and I didn't even check the usual mis-spellings!

Edited by Vitesse2, 09 January 2010 - 19:04.

[noelstokoe]

Many thanks Vitesse2...I have had a great time looking thro' the newspaper archive, and still have lots to look thro'!

I have even found a Nazzaro quote..........

1910 Savannah Race “The Grand Prize”
Nazzaro Praises American Drivers…Famous Italian Pilot, However, does not expect to see his record broken…The New York Times 9th October 1910.

Felice Nazzaro, the famous Italian driver who came to this country to compete in the Grand Prize race in a Fiat car, is one of the most interesting figures in the motor-racing world. His most brilliant showings in America were in Fiats in the Savannah Grand Prize in 1908 and some of the previous Vanderbilt Cup Races. In the Grand Prize he was the lion of the race, when a stop to change tyres forced him to relinquish the victory to his team mate, Wagner, in another Fiat – one of the most brilliant finishes in motoring history.
In 1907 Nazzaro captured in succession every big road race in Europe, including The Targa Florio, Kaiser’s Cup – the great German Race and the Grand Prix of France establishing a new world’s best average of seventy-one miles an hour. In 1908 on the Brooklands cement track in England he made the wonderful average of 121.58 miles per hour, and later, by winning the Florio Cup race, he scored the world’s record road race average of 74½ miles per hour.
Speaking in Italian of Grant’s recent victory in the Vanderbilt Cup race, Nazzaro said; “It was a splendid victory, Grant averaged at about 65.15 miles an hour, as did Dawson, Aitken and Disbrow, who drove well. Wagner, De Palma, and I consider this fast indeed. However the other two members of our team and myself will endeavour to break this record in the Grand Prize, and I think it will be possible, barring much tyre trouble. My own world’s roads race record of 74½ miles an hour, of course, not be equalled. I do not wish to appear conceited in saying this, but I expect racing experts will agree with me when I say this average speed cannot be equalled on any road course in this country. It is a physical impossibility. In fact, I doubt if it will ever be broken on any road. The Florio Cup circuit was like a billiard table, and it was then that I took more chances than in any other race.
I expect to be in the Grand Prize in this country whenever it is held. It has been my lot to drive in fast company before, but I fully expect to face every bit as formidable field of cars and drivers in this year’s Grand Prize as I have ever driven against. As regards your American drivers, I must say I take my hat off to the way some of them drove in the Vanderbilt. It strikes me that racing has decidedly modernised since I was here two years ago. Certainly American cars are now being made much faster and better. Naturally you American pilots are going to try and out drive us foreigners, and if you succeed all honour for you. If one of us wins, we will be the ones most pleased. It is true that you Americans are now better fitted to combat the foreign drivers than ever before in an International race, and if the foreigners show best, I believe the victory will be less one-sided than in previous years. Your people and newspapers have always been most kind to me, and I am glad indeed to be able to drive against such sportsmanlike entrants as are on the list for the Grand Prize. I feel it is safe to predict that from a driving standpoint the racing will be every bit as brilliant as the last Vanderbilt, if not more so.”

Anybody know of any others?
Noel Stokoe