Felice Bonetto was a courageous racing driver who earned the nickname Il Pirata.
17 Facts About Felice Bonetto
2.
Felice Bonetto was a road racing legend, who started racing in the 1930s, and enjoyed a brief Formula One career, including a win in the non-Championship Grande Premio do Jubileu in 1953.
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Felice Bonetto was born in Manerbio, which in the province of Brescia, the home of the Mille Miglia.
4.
In 1933, Bonetto was third in the infamous Gran Premio di Monza with an Alfa Romeo 8C 2600.
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Felice Bonetto finished second in the Coppa Principessa di Piemonte.
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Felice Bonetto resumed his racing in 1946 with the small Cisitalia, before moving into Formula One.
7.
Felice Bonetto was five days short of his 47th birthday.
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Felice Bonetto entered his own Maserati 4CLT in several Grands Prix, under the Scuderia Milano banner, and drove a works Alfa Romeo SpA in 1951, as their number three driver.
9.
Felice Bonetto shared a third, with Giuseppe Farina in the Gran Premio d'Italia.
10.
Away from the World Championship, Felice Bonetto did have some success; he was second in the 1949 in the Gran Premio di Napoli in a Ferrari.
11.
Felice Bonetto won the 1947 Circuito de Firenze driving a Delage 3000.
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Felice Bonetto followed this with a sixth place in the Preis von Bremgarten and an eighth in the les 24 Heures du Mans, and finally a great win in the Targa Florio.
13.
Felice Bonetto continued with the Scuderia Lancia outfit for 1953; claiming third in the Mille Miglia, second in the Gran Premio di Monza, victory in the Grande Premio do Jubileu at the Circuito de Monsanto and he became part of the squadron deployed to the Carrera Panamericana: his teammates for the race were Juan Manuel Fangio, Piero Taruffi, Giovanni Bracco and Eugenio Castellotti.
14.
Taruffi would win the next two stages, although Felice Bonetto remained in control.
15.
Felice Bonetto hit his head on the balcony at speed and was killed instantly.
16.
Felice Bonetto is buried in the Cimitero Italiano section of the Panteon Civil de Dolores, Mexico City.
17.
The nephew, Rodolfo Felice Bonetto, was a leading figure in the field of Italian architecture and industrial design.