Mauro Bianchi

Mauro Bianchi
Bianchi's and Vinatier's Alpine A210 Renault at the 1967 Targa Florio
Born31 July 1937 (1937-07-31) (age 87)
Milan, Italy
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1962, 1964-1968
TeamsAlpine
Best finish13th (1966 and 1967)
Class wins1 (1967)

Mauro Bianchi (born 31 July 1937) is an Italian-born Belgian racing driver. He won the 1965 Nürburgring 500 km with his brother Lucien and the 1966 Macau Grand Prix and participated in six editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968.

Personal life

Bianchi was born in Milan, Italy, but moved to Belgium in 1946 when he was still a child, with his father who was a race mechanic working, before the Second World War, in the Alfa Romeo competition department.[1] His brother, Lucien Bianchi, was also a racing driver. They drove to victory together in the 1965 Nürburgring 500 km. Bianchi's grandson, Jules Bianchi, who made his Formula One debut with the Marussia team for the 2013 season competing under the French flag, also died as a result of injuries sustained in a racing accident.[2]

Career

Bianchi joined the Alpine team in 1964, with which he raced in various categories including Formula 3, Formula 2 and endurance.[3] He won the 1966 Macau Grand Prix, making him the only Belgian to do so.[4] Bianchi later won the P1.6 class at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans.[5] During the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans he was involved in a very serious accident.[6][7] Following his brother's fatal accident at Le Mans in 1969, Bianchi retired from racing.[8]

Subsequently he was an engineer and test driver for Venturi, and Alpine developing the A310.

References

  1. ^ "Lucien Bianchi brief obituary". Autocar. Vol. 130 (nbr 3816). 3 April 1969. p. 25.
  2. ^ Smith-Spark, Laura (18 July 2015). "Formula One driver Jules Bianchi dies from crash injuries". CNN. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  3. ^ Roy Smith (15 November 2008). Alpine & Renault: The Development of the Revolutionary Turbo F1 Car 1968-1979. Veloce Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 9781845841775.
  4. ^ "1966 Macau Grand Prix". Motor Sport. Archived from the original on 11 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  5. ^ Spurring 2010, p.2
  6. ^ "Resoconto della gara su www.les24heures.fr" (in French).
  7. ^ "Resoconto gara su Youtube(3ª parte)". YouTube.
  8. ^ Peter, Farkas (18 July 2015). "Akinek az egyetlen ellensége a pályán a daruskocsi volt" (in Hungarian). GP Hirek. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.