Alfonso Thiele (5 April 1920 – 15 July 1986)[3] was an Italian and American racing driver. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on 4 September 1960. He scored no championship points. Most of his career was spent in sports car racing.
Working as a test driver for Abarth he participated in many events and races. In 1955 he was a member of the team that completed 3,743.642 km at an average speed of 155.985 km/h at the Monza track. One week later, with journalists present and participating, the team set the 500 km, 500-mile, 1,000 km, 48-hour and 72-hour records.[5]
Personal life
During World War II Thiele was a captain of the Office of Strategic Services of Italian anti-fascist partisans. There he met Walkiria Terradura, another partisan who was later awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valour. They married and briefly lived in the United States after the war, before returning to Italy.