Clemente Biondetti

Clemente Biondetti
	Biondetti in 1938
Born	18 October 1898; Buddusò, Italy
Died	24 February 1955 (aged 56); Florence, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1950
Teams	privateer Ferrari
Entries	1 (1 start)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1950 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry	1950 Italian Grand Prix

Clemente Biondetti (18 October 1898 – 24 February 1955)^[1] was an Italian auto racing driver.^[2] Born into a working-class family, Biondetti raced motorcycles before turning to automobiles where he had greater success.

Biography

Born in Buddusò, Sardinia, into a working-class family, Biondetti began his racing career in motorcycles in 1923 but in 1927 turned to automobiles. He was nicknamed "The Wolf of Tuscany". By 1931 his performance earned him a spot in Grand Prix motor racing with the Maserati factory team.

His success racing on circuits was minimal, but he was one of the best in tough endurance events. Driving an Alfa Romeo 8C 2900b, Clemente Biondetti won the 1938 Mille Miglia for sports cars and at the Coppa Ciano finished second in the voiturette class then third in the main event. In 1939, he won the Coppa Acerbo voiturette class and took second place at the Swiss Grand Prix. His racing career came to a halt following the outbreak of World War II in 1940. By the time he was able to resume racing after the war, he was already 49 years old. Nevertheless, he dominated Italian endurance racing, driving to victory in the Mille Miglia for three straight years from 1947 through 1949 and the Targa Florio in 1948 and 1949. He won more Mille Miglias than any other driver in history.

Clemente Biondetti participated in one Formula One World Championship event, the 1950 Italian Grand Prix. Driving a self-built Ferrari-Jaguar hybrid car, engine problems forced him out of the race thus he failed to score any championship points. Biondetti loved racing cars and continued to compete in sports car and endurance events, earning a second-place finish in a Ferrari at the 12 Hours of Pescara in 1952 against much younger drivers. After suffering from cancer for a number of years, he was forced to retire in 1954. He succumbed to cancer on 24 February 1955 in Florence.^[3] As a result, he became the first Formula One World Championship driver to die of natural causes.

Biondetti and Stefano wins 1938 Mille Miglia.
Biondetti wins 1947 Mille Miglia.
Biondetti and Troubetzkoy wins 1948 Targa Florio in Ferrari 166 S.
Biondetti and Navone wins 1948 Mille Miglia in Ferrari 166 S.
Biondetti and Benedetti wins 1949 Targa Florio in Ferrari 166 SC.
Biondetti wins 1949 Mille Miglia.
Biondetti Ferrari-Jaguar Special driven to a 4th place in 1951 Coppa della Toscana.

Major victories

Coppa Acerbo 1939
Mille Miglia 1938, 1947, 1948, 1949
Targa Florio 1948, 1949

Racing record

Complete European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	EDC	Pts
1931	Officine A. Maserati	Maserati 26M	Maserati 2.5 L8 s	ITA	FRA 3	BEL			12th	19
1936	Scuderia Maremmana	Maserati 6C-34	Maserati 3.7 L6 s	MON	GER	SUI Ret	ITA Ret		25th	29
1937	Scuderia Maremmana	Maserati 6C-34	Maserati 3.7 L6 s	BEL	GER	MON Ret	SUI		15th	34
1937	Scuderia Ferrari	Alfa Romeo 12C-36	Alfa Romeo 4.1 V12 s					ITA Ret	15th	34
1938	Alfa Corse	Alfa Romeo Tipo 312	Alfa Romeo 3.0 V12 s	FRA	GER Ret	SUI			13th	27
1938	Alfa Corse	Alfa Romeo Tipo 316	Alfa Romeo 3.0 V16 s				ITA 4		13th	27
1939	Alfa Corse	Alfa Romeo 158	Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 s	BEL	FRA	GER	SUI 9		16th	28
Source:^[4]

Post WWII Grandes Épreuves results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5
1948	Scuderia Inter	Ferrari 166 C	Ferrari 166 2.0 V12	MON	SUI Ret	FRA	ITA
1949	Luigi Platé	Talbot 700	Talbot 700 1.5 L8 s	GBR	BEL	SUI Ret	FRA
1949	A. de Filippis	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s					ITA Ret
Source:^[5]^[6]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	WDC	Pts
1950	A. de Filippis	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s	GBR	MON DNA	500	SUI	BEL	FRA		NC	0
1950	Clemente Biondetti	Biondetti/Ferrari 166 SC	Jaguar XK 3.4 L6							ITA Ret	NC	0
Source:^[7]^[6]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1938	Raymond Sommer	Raymond Sommer	Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring	5.0	219	DNF	DNF
1951	Jaguar Cars Ltd	Leslie Johnson	Jaguar XK-120C	S 5.0	50	DNF	DNF
1953	Scuderia Lancia	José Froilán González	Lancia D20	S 8.0	213	DNF	DNF
Source:^[8]

Complete Mille Miglia results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers/Navigator	Car	Class	Pos.	Class Pos.
1936		Cerasa	Alfa Romeo P3	+2.0c	4th	4th
1937	Scuderia Ferrari	Mazzetti	Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A	S+2.0	DNF
1938	Alfa Corse	Stefani	Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Spider MM Touring	S3.0s	1st
1940		Stefani	Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Spider Touring	3.0	4th	2nd
1947		Romano	Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Berlinetta Touring	S3.0	1st
1948	Scuderia Ferrari	Navone	Ferrari 166 S Coupé Allemano	S2.0	1st
1949	Scuderia Ferrari	Salani	Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta Touring	S2.0	1st
1950	Clemente Biondetti	Bronzoni	Jaguar XK120	S+2.0	8th	5th
1951		Cortini	Biondetti Ferrari-Jaguar Special	S/GT+2.0	DNF
1952	Squadra Guastalla	Ercoli	Ferrari 225 S Spyder Vignale	S+2.0	DNF (Fire)
1953	Scuderia Lancia	Barovero	Lancia D20 Pinin Farina	S+2.0	8th	7th
1954	Clemente Biondetti		Ferrari 250 MM Pinin Farina	S+2.0	4th	2nd
Source:^[8]

Complete Targa Florio results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers/Navigator	Car	Class	Pos.	Class Pos.
1948	Scuderia Inter	Troubetzkoy	Ferrari 166 S Spyder Allemano	S2.0	1st
1949	Scuderia Inter	Benedetti	Ferrari 166 SC	S+1.1	1st
1950	Clemente Biondetti	Bronzoni	Jaguar XK120	S+2.0	DNF (Engine)
1954			Ferrari 250 MM	S+2.0	5th	3rd
Source:^[8]