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Who was Giovanni Caprara ?


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#1 starlet

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Posted 05 February 2004 - 14:01

Hello to all,

The only information which I know about Giovanni Caprara is that he was italian, and that he loaned his Ferraris for Bobbie Baird, a 225 S and a 500 F2.

Do you have any additionnal informations ?

Thanks.

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#2 Lotus23

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Posted 06 February 2004 - 03:40

starlet, a quick google turns up: 1) a cardinal in the Catholic church and 2) a science-fiction author.

Guess we'll have to look some more!

#3 Graham Clayton

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Posted 21 July 2011 - 11:24



Caprara also supplied the Ferrari 500 that Roy Salvadori drove in the 1952 British GP at Silverstone.

He also entered an OSCA MT4 1100 cc 49 Peter Reece and Jackie Reece in the 1954 Tourist Trophy at Dundrod.


#4 D-Type

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Posted 13 January 2014 - 19:59

I'm reviving this as I too am wondering who "G Caprara" was after I saw he was the entrant of Roy Salvadori in the 1952 British GP.

 

On the thread Englishmen who raced a Grand Prix Ferrari , Gigleux suggests that  Giacomo "Jimmy" Caprara of Genoa may have been an "entrant of convenience" for Bobby Baird so that he didn't have to pay the crippling import duty if he had entered the car in his own name.  This makes sense as Salvadori sometimes co-drove Bobby Baird's sports Ferrari as described on the thread Bobby Baird

 

Was there a similar ownership tax problem with the OSCA driven by the Peter and Jackie Reece, who I believe were cousins?

 

Can anybody add anything further?



#5 Doug Nye

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Posted 13 January 2014 - 20:41

I believe that Caprara was in effect a glorified mechanic, his Italian nationality being exploited to great effect by the British owner/drivers using his services to avoid - ahem - fiscal penalisation (import duties, currency restrictions etc)... I was told his name was Giovanni, not Giacomo.

DCN

#6 Paul Parker

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Posted 13 January 2014 - 20:54

I'm reviving this as I too am wondering who "G Caprara" was after I saw he was the entrant of Roy Salvadori in the 1952 British GP.

 

On the thread Englishmen who raced a Grand Prix Ferrari , Gigleux suggests that  Giacomo "Jimmy" Caprara of Genoa may have been an "entrant of convenience" for Bobby Baird so that he didn't have to pay the crippling import duty if he had entered the car in his own name.  This makes sense as Salvadori sometimes co-drove Bobby Baird's sports Ferrari as described on the thread Bobby Baird

 

Was there a similar ownership tax problem with the OSCA driven by the Peter and Jackie Reece, who I believe were cousins?

 

Can anybody add anything further?

 

I believe that the Scuderia Ambrosiana Maserati 4CLT/48 raced by Reg Parnell in period was another example of getting around the punitive tax and exchange control laws, unnecessary restrictions, endless rationing, repressive, controlling  bureaucracy and more that defined post WW2 Britain into the early 1950s and beyond in certain areas.