She raced with the talented racer/journalist Marie-Claude Beaumont in 1975 in an Alpine A441 under the far-sighted Francois Guiters Ecurie Elf Ladies Team, and later won the 1979 Enna Six Hours with Enrico Grimaldi (becoming the first woman to win an FIA Championship event). Born in Frugarolo, Italy, on March 21 1941, she reached adolescence understanding that two aspects of her nature were at odds with public opinion of the day: she loved cars and she was gay. Cowell had a family, she was a war veteran and an avid motoring enthusiast and racer. Lella was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. [2] At first, Lombardis father found her passion for racing hard to accept but embraced it once she finished runner-up in a 1968 race. However, this race only lasted 23 laps until Lombardi was forced to retire with a fuel system problem. 1976 Austrian Grand Prix. Philanthropic enthusiast Count Zanon agreed and offered March 50,000 to run Lombardi in F1 in 1975. You are currently using an outdated browser. Highlights include: being crowned the Italian Formula Three runner up in 1968 and winning the Italian Formula 850 Series in 1970. She endeared herself to the media when she was asked how it felt to handle such big cars and replied: I dont have to carry it, I just have to drive it., WATCH: 10 iconic Williams moments as the team reach 750 GPs at Monaco. Later that season, partnered by Giorgio Francia, she won the Vallelunga Six Hours; the pair would go on to win the 1981 Mugello Six Hours as well. The fact that Cowell had all the traditional trappings of male heterosexuality but was a trans woman helped combat predominant stigmas around trans people, gay men and motoring too. That led to a test in one of Jackie Epsteins ShellSPORT F5000 Lola T330s. However, she was prevented from starting due to an ignition problem. But she was a fighter and never gave up even through the operations. Women began competing as grand-prix racing drivers as early as 1958, when Anna-Maria de Fillipis competed in three Formula One events. The final Grand Prixfor Lombardi was in Austria; a 12th place was her reward. I love motor racing and thats all I want to do. She very tenacious, she from an early age she was attracted to four wheels and motors, preferring scale models to dolls. The following year, Lella joined Christine Dacremont in a Lancia Stratos and finished second in their class. Her best result was ninth at Riverside, but notably when James qualified 11th at Ontario, Lella was only two places behind the man who would be world champion in 1976. 115 Lella Lombardi Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE EDITORIAL All Sports Entertainment News Archival Browse 115 lella lombardi stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Lombardis involvement was short lived as she died of breast cancer on the 3rd March 1992 at the untimely age of fifty. During one of the most controversial weekends in F1 history, set amid a notoriously dangerous Barcelona street circuit . It was easily one of the most consistently successful eras of her career. In 1975 Lombardi took part in all F1 championship weekends apart from the first two races, Argentina and Brazil. She would just say to me, Marie, I have to do Formula 1., READ MORE: 5 reasons F1 fans are still in awe of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve. Italics Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. But the Italian would outlast the American in the race. That's how much I love racing. She learned how to drive behind the wheel of the delivery van for her familys butcher shop. Discover moreclassic cars| classic motorcycles and scooters, The story of the woman who invented the road trip, Attic stories: engines and ingenuity with Paola Lagnena, The customisable Mini Coopers that everyone wanted. She was also a lesbian but Lombardis sexuality was never center stage. 0 It wasnt a publicity stunt. Formula 1 was very important for her and her friend Fiorenza. This perhaps shows us how much attention was paid to the lives of female racers at the time. I went with her from Snetterton to Norwich once: 30mph all the way. Im not terribly conscious of there being a difference between male and female in this sort of thing. Motorcycle clubs were once a sanctuary for gay men and the first road trip ever conducted was pioneered by a woman. Retirements in Belgium and Sweden were followed by a 14th place in Holland, 18th in France and another retirement in Great Britain. Delightful. Starting in karting and moving to Formula Monza and Formula Three, Lombardi advanced through racing until she reached Formula One. The Daily Mail branded her the Tigress of Turin in the lead up to the race. But, Much later, when her chassis was stripped down, the reason why she complained of persistent understeer that became snap oversteer became apparent, when it was discovered that the cast aluminium rear bulkhead had been cracked since Monaco. She worked hard to get what she wanted. More statistics by age for Lella Lombardi Career chart profile Seasons: nr of season from first GP until the last. ", "The rest of the drivers proceeded to put on a display of shunting never before seen. At the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, Lombardi scored half a point, making her the only woman to ever score any championship points in Formula 1. . That she got as far as she did is a testament to her character. [7] In 1974, Lombardi was signed to drive the Shellsport-Luxembourg Lola in F5000 and finished fourth. [2] In 1975, Lombardi was invited to join Vittorio Brambilla and Hans-Joachim Stuck on the March engineering team, racing the full season with Zanon's Lavazza Coffee Companys sponsorship. Beuttler was an excellent amateur driver and dabbled semi-professionally in F1, competing in a number of races over the years. No trouble. Lombardi had also raced in the Firecracker 400 NASCAR race at the Daytona International Speedway in 1977. Lombardi grew up in Italy and developed an interest in racing by driving a delivery van for her family. The thing I like is the feeling when you pass the checkered flag first. After a crash during Monaco practice, Lombardi would complain consistently of a quirk with her 751: understeering badly into corners, its rear end would suddenly fall over into a big oversteer when power was applied. From that peak it was back down to earth with a bump; Lombardi failed to qualify next in Monaco. She was taking home swaths of victories in the lower tiers of racing, ready to make a name for herself. Remondi told Motorsport Magazine: She would often speak of sacrifices. Just racing and fishing.. She finished fifth overall, with four fourth places, two fifths and three sixths. We were quite close on lap times, and what was nice with her is that she would hand the car back to me exactly as it was when I had handed it to her. When Lella Lombardi climbed out of her Matra after the shortened 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, she didnt believe shed done anything unique. Petersons return from Lotus after the Brazilian GP also signalled the end of Lombardis time with March. This was despite the fact that she maintained a great relationship with team owner Robin Herd, who spoke only. Lombardi is commemorated by a sculpture in her birthplace, Frugarolo. First Race Its difficult to celebrate a points-scoring position in those circumstances. She lived well and had little trouble getting sponsorship. She had the strength of a man but a womans sensibility: she was kind and transmitted serenity. As a trans woman, Cowell won the 1957 Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb, one of the worlds oldest motorsports events. The relationship between Lombardi and the team soured, ending her career with March. Only half points were awarded that day because the race got cut short. Maria Grazia Lombardi was born in Piedmont, Italy, on March 26th 1941. Thats unusual for a racing driver. She worked hard to get what she wanted. If shed been a bit more glamorous perhaps more people would have noticed.. She remembered how foreign people appreciated her but at the same time she wanted to be known in Italy despite the difficulties of being accepted in a very male world.. Its hard to be competitive when you dont have the equipment to do so. Record keeping was scarce in the 60s and 70s, and the quiet, nondescript Lombardi wasnt one to steal the public eye, especially due to her sexuality. 18 (12 starts) The rest of the races were plagued with DNFs or an average finish of 14th place. For a long time, motorsports was defined by its fraternal culturethe big, Cowell continued driving after her transition, winning the 1957, Bid on over 65,000 special objects every week, selected by 240+ experts, the first road trip ever conducted was pioneered by a woman. Lombardi finished 31st. The first race that season was in South Africa, and Lombardi made it in. Quietly impressive, it was much better than her Montjuch performance. Unfortunately, she failed to qualify for the race. I really think that there are too many women who perhaps feel that motor racing is essentially a masculine affair. Purtroppo, il 3 marzo del 1992, morta di cancro. READ MORE: 10 F1 cars we wish were as quick as they looked, She crashed in Monaco and didnt qualify, finished seventh in Germany, 14th in Holland, 17th in Austria and 18th in France, and non-started a Williams FW04 in America. She continued in sports cars until the beginning of the 80s, when she swapped over to the much less-publicized touring car racing. She did what many failed F1 drivers did and still do: She took to sports cars, a discipline shed dabbled in in 1975 with her first Le Mans entry, an Alpine shared with Marie-Claude Beaumont. Search instead in Creative? Proudly created with. The drivers' concerns were fueled by three recently killed, in otherwise survivable accidents, as a result of poorly installed barriers; certainly this sort of disorganization on the organizers behalf would have no place in modern Formula One. Soon she broke through worldwide, winning the Formula Ford Mexico series and made her Formula One debut in 1974. At the Spanish Grand Prix in 1975, former butcher's delivery driver and ex Formula 3 Championship runner up, Lella Lombardi, became the first, and still only, female driver to win F1 World Championship points. Lella voted to race, with Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, Ronnie Peterson, Vittorio Brambilla, Tony Brise, Jacky Ickx and Bob Evans sharing the idea. 26 March 1941(1941-03-26)Frugarolo, Italy She was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. Many of the members of the March team expressed their regret at having been so resistant to her ideas, knowing that she could have become an open wheel success if only shed had a reliable car. That was the first time we saw her, says John Webb, the UKs most go-ahead promoter of the period. The next race, the German Grand Prix, was held at Nrburgring on the 14.189-mile Nordschleife not for the faint of heart. Even Jochen Mass, declared the precipitate winner after 29 laps, scrambled from his McLaren with a face like thunder and threatened violence to smug officials. The world in general, and motor racing in particular, was a less enlightened place in the mid-'70s than present day. Even her major success that year was tinged with tragedy. It was in one of their BMW-powered 2-litre prototypes that she became the first woman to win a round of an FIA-sanctioned World Championship, the 1979 Enna-Pergusa Six Hours, with hill-climb specialist Enrico Grimaldi as her co-driver. Held in Barcelona's Parc de Montjuc, later the site of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, the race passed into legend for other reasons. Originally from Frugarolo in Piedmont district of Italy, Lombardi climbed through the junior Formulas, becoming the Ford Escort Mexico Champion and putting on a very assured performance in the Monaco F3 race, ahead of then future World Champion, Alan Jones.
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