34 Facts About Clay Regazzoni

Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni was a Swiss racing driver.

Clay Regazzoni competed in Formula One races from 1970 to 1980, winning five Grands Prix.

Clay Regazzoni was replaced by Carlos Reutemann at Williams for 1980 and moved back to Ensign.

Clay Regazzoni did not stop racing, however; he competed in the Paris-Dakar rally and Sebring 12 hours using a hand controlled car during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Gianclaudio Clay Regazzoni was born in Mendrisio, Switzerland on 5 September 1939, a few days after the start of the Second World War.

Clay Regazzoni grew up in Porza, in the Canton of Ticino, part of the Italian speaking region of Switzerland.

Clay Regazzoni was married to Maria Pia, with whom he had two children: Alessia and Gian Maria.

Clay Regazzoni first started competing in car races in 1963, at the comparatively late age of 24.

Clay Regazzoni managed to duck down low enough in the driving seat for the rail to pass above him, missing his head by a tiny margin.

In Formula Two, Clay Regazzoni had found the ideal partner in Tecno.

Clay Regazzoni's hard-charging style perfectly matched the forward thinking Tecno ambitions, and Regazzoni quickly developed a reputation as a tough competitor.

Clay Regazzoni was implicated in the death of young British driver Chris Lambert at the 1968 Formula Two Dutch Grand Prix.

Some observers accused Clay Regazzoni, who was running well up the field, of deliberately running Lambert's Brabham off the track while lapping him.

Clay Regazzoni was fully exonerated at the subsequent inquest, although rumours persisted for many years afterward.

Lambert's father pursued a private action against Clay Regazzoni, which dragged on for five years before finally being abandoned.

Italian Ignazio Giunti was given the second seat in Belgium, where he finished fourth, while Clay Regazzoni took his place at the following round in the Netherlands, finishing fourth.

Clay Regazzoni was back in the Ferrari for the British Grand Prix, where he finished fourth again, but this time Clay Regazzoni kept the race seat.

Clay Regazzoni only managed three podium finishes during the season, as well a pole position at the British Grand Prix.

Clay Regazzoni opted to leave Ferrari in 1973, in favour of Marlboro-sponsored BRM for what was reported as "an astronomical fee".

Clay Regazzoni was reported to have become disillusioned with "uncompetitive machinery" as he scored just two points during the entire season, his worst points haul from a full season in Formula One.

Clay Regazzoni achieved a lowly 17th place in the championship.

Clay Regazzoni finished second in the Drivers' Championship, his career best, just three points behind Fittipaldi.

Clay Regazzoni won his home Grand Prix, the non-championship Swiss Grand Prix, the only Swiss driver to have done so.

When he left Ferrari, Clay Regazzoni was the longest serving Ferrari driver with 73 races with the team.

Clay Regazzoni's move to such a small team surprised some, but Regazzoni opted for the small outfit in preference to an offer from Bernie Ecclestone to drive for Brabham, as he preferred "to race with nice people".

Clay Regazzoni finished in the points only a further two times, and ended the season with a total of five points.

Clay Regazzoni crashed heavily in practice, but managed to qualify.

Clay Regazzoni finished in 30th place after a fuel cell gave out during his first pit stop.

Clay Regazzoni moved to Shadow in 1978, as a replacement for Alan Jones who had left to join Williams.

Clay Regazzoni's season came to an abrupt end only four races into the year.

On recovery, Clay Regazzoni sued the race organisers, claiming their safety procedures were sub-standard.

Clay Regazzoni won back his racing licence and became one of the first disabled drivers to participate in high-level motor sports.

Clay Regazzoni once commented to Niki Lauda, his ten years younger teammate: "if you drive as tensed up as you behave yourself towards women, you will never become great".

On 15 December 2006, Clay Regazzoni was killed when the Chrysler Voyager he was driving hit the rear of a lorry on the Italian A1 motorway, near Parma.