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Career ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap), (key) (note: results shown in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap), (key) (Bold Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Its difficult to celebrate a points-scoring position in those circumstances. The likes of Tony Brise, Brian Henton, Alan Jones, Larry Perkins and Danny Sullivan didnt even make Monacos final. Lombardi was born in Frugarolo, a small town in Piedmont in Italy. But history will remember that day differentlyit was the only time in the history of Formula One that a woman has ever scored points in a championship event. [9] Lombardi also successfully performed at other races, including the German Grand Prix at the Nrburgring, where she finished seventh. Such was her tenacity that she basically taught herselfand also worked for her parents to save the money to pay for her first car, which she bought at the age of 24. This, and other good results, attracted attention, with whichLombardi obtained backing to try and run in the 1974 British Grand Prix. Then, Lombardi briefly moved to RAM Racing, her best result being 12th at the Austrian Grand Prix. Lella Lombardi Where better to begin than with the most successful female F1 driver of all time: Lella Lombardi. [14] This need for financial support is combated by the rise of the W-series, which started in October 2018. She was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. Upload media. No entourage. Her next-best finish was a seventh place at the German Grand Prix. READ MORE: 10 F1 cars we wish were as quick as they looked, She crashed in Monaco and didnt qualify, finished seventh in Germany, 14th in Holland, 17th in Austria and 18th in France, and non-started a Williams FW04 in America. [14] Chadwick argues that for women entering Formula One in 2022, financial support is a greater obstacle than gender. But she wanted me to be just as fast and was always giving me tips and help. I liked Lella a lot, Marie-Claude says. I feel its simply a competitive sport. The following year, in 1976, Lombardi only contested four F1 weekends. You can update your preferences, withdraw your consent at any time, and see a detailed description of the types of cookies we and our partners use in our Cookie Policy. Lombardi kept her personal affairs particularly quiet to protect the identity of her lover, Fiorenza. Lombardi practiced her skills behind an F1 car in several non-championship events. He eventually qualified fifth, from where he triggered a first-corner pile-up. You are currently using an outdated browser. 2023 by Bump & Beyond. Well, I dont agree at all. In situations where options are slim, you have to take every opportunity that comes your way. Check here for latest versions. Her best results 4ths at Brands, Monza, Oulton Park and Mallory Park. Sign up to receive marketing communications. Those were not easy cars to drive basically a Formula 2 with a big, tall lump stuck in the back but she got quicker and quicker during the year. The next race, the German Grand Prix, was held at Nrburgring on the 14.189-mile Nordschleife not for the faint of heart. In 1989 she founded her own racing team, Lombardi Autosport.[11]. That includes both domestic and international flights. Only a last minute threat by the race organisers to have the entirety of the Formula One equipment impounded by the police induced the drivers to practise in the last session. This took place in 1951, but before then shed been a moderately successful motor racer and pilot in the RAF. PhotosCourtesy of and Copyright to Sutton Motorsport Images, Sign up for more restomod content to add horsepower to your inbox. We knew what shed done beforehand and clearly she was very capable.. She also raced a Lola and an Eagle for Francisco Mirs team in the US F5000 series, as team mate to rising star James Hunt. Something, however, did get lost in translation. More statistics by age for Lella Lombardi Career chart profile Seasons: nr of season from first GP until the last. [1] Her father was a butcher, who gave Lella her first job as a delivery driver for the family's shop. Search instead in Creative? Regardless of everything though, she still defined herself by her love of motorsports and is remembered by her words: I prefer to have an accident than to fall in love. Enjoying his most competitive spell of F1, and with time against him at 37, the oldest man in the field can perhaps be excused his lack of concern for a friend and future co-driver. ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap). The 1975 Spanish Grand Prix was cut short while Lombardi was running in sixth place. Elford: When asked in a press conference how she was coping with such a hefty car, she replied, I dont have to carry it, I just have to drive it.. [2] At first, Lombardis father found her passion for racing hard to accept but embraced it once she finished runner-up in a 1968 race. It won't be long until we find out For a better experience, keep your browser up to date. But Lombardi was tenacious. She was much more concerned by the settings than I was, great with the mechanics and very speedy. The success of becoming the first women to score points in F1 was sadly rather overshadowed due to the death of five spectators during the race. ), She is commemorated by a bust in her birthplace Frugarolo, near Alessandria, and her eponymous team in Lombardy exists to this day. She admitted privately, however, that it felt like riding a buffalo and, unsurprisingly, Guthrie, who had finished a fine 12th in that years Daytona 500, outqualified her by nine places. Painful. 1976 Austrian Grand Prix. That same year she attempted to make her Grand Prix debut in the British GP at Brands Hatch, in a Brabham BT42 rented from Bernie Ecclestone for 5,000, entered by Hexagon of Highgate and sponsored by Allie Polymer Group. Lombardi's place in motorsport history is firmly fixed. Lombardis most successful season was 1979. Formula 1 was at its most macho: James Hunt was having sex for breakfast; the Monza Gorilla was muscling a works March; and, on a hill overlooking Barcelona, officials, team bosses and drivers were at each others throats. In 1971, Lomardi added the Formula Ford Mexico championship title to her collection. Wins Motorsports have always been popular with all kinds of people. However, Lombardi had an eventful driving career, aside from Formula One. Janet Guthrie and Christine Beckers were competing alongside Lombardi, who finished in 31st. She wasnt interested in fashion and usually wore trousers if she was in civvies. She would just say to me, Marie, I have to do Formula 1., READ MORE: 5 reasons F1 fans are still in awe of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve. Retirements in Belgium and Sweden were followed by a 14th place in Holland, 18th in France and another retirement in Great Britain. This was Lombardis breakthrough year. The world in general, and motor racing in particular, was a less enlightened place in the mid-'70s than present day. This approach works for an endless parade of nobody male drivers, and it got Lella close enough to just grasp at history, at least for a moment, before it all started to slip away from her. She wasnt rich and, with no sponsors to begin with, she slept in her truck to save money. Unfortunately, her iconic achievement has been curtailed by the . Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi was, and still is, an inspiration to many women in motorsport. Desire could have cut the F1 mustard in the right car, but I also thought Lella was better than fortune allowed her to look. But its boss Charles James wanted to be involved lock, stock and barrel. Proudly created with. Lombardi was the first woman to qualify and compete in the Race of Champions in Brands Hatch and raced in sports cars. But at 25 laps into the race, Rolf Stommelen crashed his car and killed five spectators. The first race that season was in South Africa, and Lombardi made it in. Born near Turin, Italy, neither of Lombardis parents knew how to drive. Queer drivers are a case in point. The relationship between Lombardi and the team soured, ending her career with March. A successful placing in the 1965 Formula Monza, however, gave Lombardi away, when her parents read about her in the papers. She drove for the factory March team for the whole of the 1975 . She was tough and had great duration.. That was the first time we saw her, says John Webb, the UKs most go-ahead promoter of the period. Delightful. Three years later, she was the runner up in Italys Formula Three and in 1970 she raced in the Italian Formula 850 series and won the entire thing (racking up an impressive four wins in the competition). I love motor racing and thats all I want to do. Soon she broke through worldwide, winning the Formula Ford Mexico series and made her Formula One debut in 1974. While she had some poor seasons behind the wheel of poor cars, she also could consistently log top ten finishes. Her racing career would flourish from there onwards. She was a racing driver first and foremost. Here, Lombardi ran her best race of the year according to observers, finishing seventh, just missing out on acquiring a full point. She remembered how foreign people appreciated her but at the same time she wanted to be known in Italy despite the difficulties of being accepted in a very male world.. Into 1974 Epstein signed Lella Lombardi, she had come through Italian racing and European F3 and immediately impressed with her handling of HU18. Just racing and fishing.. She was taking home swaths of victories in the lower tiers of racing, ready to make a name for herself. She died of breast cancer in 1992 at the age of 50, survived by her partner Fiorenza, who had been by her side for much of her career. asks Mark Hughes. Unfortunately, she failed to qualify for the race. 0 Two of his fellows, his brother Wilson and Arturo Merzario, retired after completingone token lap. 2023 by Bump & Beyond. People were staring and peeping. Thereafter she turned her attention to the European Touring Car Championship and played an important role in Alfas quartet of titles from 1982 by notching numerous class wins in its Group A GTV6 alongside a gamut of co-drivers: Anna Cambiaghi, Antonio Palma, Giancarlo Naddeo, Francia and Rinaldo Drovandi. This was the race stopped prematurely at only 29 laps after Rolf Stommelens leading Hill had lost its rear wing and crashed heavily, killing onlookers. As one might expect, Lombardi turned her hand to endurance racing in both sports and touring cars racing at Le Mans on four occasions, including her final appearance when she partnered with Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister. She wasnt there to make up the numbers. . 3 March 1992(1992-03-03) (aged50)Milan, Italy She performed exceptionally well. She always worked hard, was easy on the car and understood how to get what she wanted from it. Because it was a short race, Lombardi was only awarded a half of a point. She had an image to keep: Im tough so dont mess with me. She was a loner, really. Lombardis first F1 attempt was at the British Grand Prix in 1974 driving a Brabham supported by the Italian Automobile Club. She wasnt rich her father was a butcher and, with no sponsors to begin with, she slept in her truck to save money. Poor Lella, shed had bad traction all along. And in 1976 she shared a Lancia Stratos Turbo with Christine Dacremont at Le Mans and finished 20th one lap and one place ahead of the Cosworth DFV-powered Inaltera of Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, Jean Rondeau and Belgiums Christine Beckers. While trying to avoid Stommelen as he crossed the track, Carlos Pace crashed, and five spectators were killed by Stommelen's flying car. We were too busy building production racing cars. Brambilla, perhaps never really pushing that car whenever he was asked to try it, never mentioned the handling problem, but Ronnie Peterson quickly noted it in 1976. It was a deep irony that when Maria Grazia Lella Lombardi became the only woman to score a World Championship point in only her second GP, in Spain in a works March 751 in 1975 it was actually only half a point. Montjuich 1975: Lella Lombardi hustles her March to sixth place and the only GP point for a woman albeit halved by the shortened race. Last Race Women began competing as grand-prix racing drivers as early as 1958, when Anna-Maria de Fillipis competed in three Formula One events. Tatiana Calderon follows in their wheeltracks this season. Lombardi later raced in sports cars. On reflection, however, he was probably looking after himself.. And Lombardi did. She moved up through the ranks of local racing and built her reputation as the Tigress of Turinwhen she finished second in the 1968 Italian Formula Three championship. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Lomardi had a successful junior career in the lead up to her time in F1. [4] Lombardi died of breast cancer in Milan on March 3, 1992. Recognised by his signature yellow Brabham, Beuttler remained forever, a dash of colour in a grey field. The race suffered a major tragedy when the rear wing on Rolf Stommelen's Embassy Hill broke, sending him into the barrier. Lella was my recommendation. Motorcycle clubs were once a sanctuary for gay men and the first road trip ever conducted was pioneered by a woman. She was up against the cream of Australias macho heroes, notably eventual winner Max Stewart and Big Rev Kevin Bartlett in their Lolas. This was back in 1936 and by 1939 shed competed in the Antwerp Grand Prix. In the 1975 event, she was once again able to qualify and compete with a March-Ford. At the Spanish Grand Prix in 1975, former butcher's delivery driver and ex Formula 3 Championship runner up, Lella Lombardi, became the first, and still only, female driver to win F1 World Championship points. Frugarolo. Beuttler was known for his canary-yellow racing look. It was in one of their BMW-powered 2-litre prototypes that she became the first woman to win a round of an FIA-sanctioned World Championship, the 1979 Enna-Pergusa Six Hours, with hill-climb specialist Enrico Grimaldi as her co-driver. Explore our range of classic cars and spark your own racing career. She was charming but stubborn and independent, and a tremendously careful road driver. This perhaps shows us how much attention was paid to the lives of female racers at the time. Im not terribly conscious of there being a difference between male and female in this sort of thing. Lombardi returned to F1 in 1976 for the British Grand Prix but failed to qualify the aging RAM Racing Brabham BT44 she was piloting. Nine tenths shy of the grid, she had, in a better car admittedly, lapped as quickly as Tom Bels and faster than Vern Schuppan, John Nicholson, Howden Ganley, Wilds and Leo Kinnunen. At Catawiki, youll be surprised every week with the impressive selection of special objects we have on offer. She raced with the talented racer/journalist Marie-Claude Beaumont in 1975 in an Alpine A441 under the far-sighted Francois Guiters Ecurie Elf Ladies Team, and later won the 1979 Enna Six Hours with Enrico Grimaldi (becoming the first woman to win an FIA Championship event). Half points awarded, Race stopped after 29/54 Laps. She finished, but she wasnt driving a particularly great car. Towards the end of the test she pitted because she correctly thought that the car was developing a puncture; not severe but enough to make a difference.. With the race being stopped before three-fourths of the scheduled race distance was reached, only half points were awarded. You can set your cookie preferences using the toggles below. She had the strength of a man but a womans sensibility: she was kind and transmitted serenity. Her F1 debut came in the tragic Spanish Grand Prix of 1975, where a car lost control and killed four spectators. In 1974, Lombardi was the first female racing driver to qualify and compete at the Race of Champions in Brands Hatch. In 1975, Lombardi joined the March team for a full seasonat that time alongside the macho Vittorio Brambilla (nicknamed the Monza Gorilla) and Hans-Joachim Stuck. Lombardi had had experience of sports-prototypes in the 1975 World Championship for Makes, finishing sixth at Mugello and a class-winning fourth at Monza in Equipe Elf Switzerlands 2-litre Alpine A441, co-driven by Marie-Claude Beaumont. She also competed four times at the 24 hours of Le Mans, where she finished 20th in 1976 in a Lancia Stratos Turbo. Lella was the perfect co-driver, says Beckers. Feeling this to be an overt bid by NASCAR to discredit her operation, her offer of help to these sisters-in-arms, though genuine, was made through gritted teeth. Join Facebook to connect with Lella Lombardi and others you may know. Lombardi and Beckers qualified fourth at Daytona, but crashed out after 78 laps when a slower Porsche suffered a blow-out as Beckers drew alongside. Apart from the Spanish Grand Prix, Lombardi would fail to score any more points despite an impressive result of 7th in Germany. While she remains one of the elite few women who've raced in Formula One, and the only of them to gain a score, motorsport continues to evolve, and in many ways, reflects the social progress seen elsewhere. But the Italian would outlast the American in the race. Or become a seller if you've got a car to sell. Leena Gade is one of a growing number of female engineers in the sport, with multiple Le Mans victories to her credit while working for AudiSport. She was in an unreliable car whose problems were only intensified by the fact that the mechanics didnt take Lombardi seriously when she reported complaints to do with the handling. Michele Mouton came within a whisker of becoming the World Rally Champion, Lilian Bryner has won the Spa 24 Hours, and Sabine Schmitz has twice triumphed at the Nrburgring 24. As a trans woman, Cowell won the 1957 Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb, one of the worlds oldest motorsports events. After driving the delivery van for her familys butchers shop, she raced karts briefly, before saving everything she could to buy her first car, which she drove in Formula Monza in 1965. During the 1980s Lombardi raced touring cars but her form struggled due to ill health - initially chest pains, although the reality would turn out to be much worse. Discover moreclassic cars| classic motorcycles and scooters, The story of the woman who invented the road trip, Attic stories: engines and ingenuity with Paola Lagnena, The customisable Mini Coopers that everyone wanted. Lombardi's story has impacted generations of racers. In 1979 she won both the 6 hours of Pergusa and 6 hours of Vallelunga races. Many male drivers at the time couldnt bear to lose to Lombardi, a woman, and would do everything in their power, including tampering with her car, to keep her from succeeding. Lella Lombardi. Wed been a disaster in terms of sponsorship since bursting into F1 in 1970, says Herd. Speaking in this month's. 1975 would prove to be an eventful season for the March Team, as Lombardi scored a Championship point in the Spanish Grand Prix. But the Nrburgring was her best drive, says March co-founder/designer Robin Herd. Over her career, Lombardi started an impressive twelve F1 races, spanning the 1974-1976 seasons. She was a very good racer, it was very easy with her. She was a loner, really. This piece offers a snapshot into some of Lombardis most impressive racing achievements. READ MORE: 'Finding a new challenge is my motivation' Jamie Chadwick on whats next after clinching her second W Series title. However, she was prevented from starting due to an ignition problem. Lombardi died of breast cancer three weeks before her 51st birthday. The race continued for another four laps, resulting in Lombardis sixth-place finish. Lombardis friends remember her fondly as someone humble who enjoyed her life but understood its difficulties. However, this race only lasted 23 laps until Lombardi was forced to retire with a fuel system problem. Some team mates will use up the car letting their ego get in the way trying to beat you, but she had no ego there. I went with her from Snetterton to Norwich once: 30mph all the way. Newcomer Lella Lombardi, at just 5ft 2in, had wisely kept her head down unlike her hairy-chested March team-mate. Lombardi raced a Lola-Chevrolet finishing unclassified in 14th. Where better to begin than with the most successful female F1 driver of all time: Lella Lombardi. Born Maria Grazia 'Lella' Lombardi in Frugarolo, Italy, and so far the only woman to have registered a top six finish in a World Championshop Grand Prix, she took half a point for finishing in 6th place in the prematurely terminated 1975 Spanish GP at Barcelona's Montjuich Park. And she left as her legacy her own racing team, Lella Lombardi Autosport, the question of what might have been, and a shining example of how to live life on your own terms, with your whole being focused on your target and not what others think of you. Maria Grazia " Lella " Lombardi (26 March 1941 - 3 March 1992) was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. (Shed knocked off a year or two to avoid another prejudice. She and Fiorenza were a beautiful couple, reserved; the spotlight was never on them. In 1974, Lombardi became the first woman to race at the Race of Champions at Brand Hatch. Robin Herd freely admitted in an interview we did in 2009 that he and Max Mosley had had her over in 1975, and said that he was most impressed with her performance finishing seventh at the Nurburgring in a race of attrition as she was battling with a puncture. Highlights include: being crowned the Italian Formula Three runner up in 1968 and winning the Italian Formula 850 Series in 1970. Races Born in Frugarolo, Italy, on March 21 1941, she reached adolescence understanding that two aspects of her nature were at odds with public opinion of the day: she loved cars and she was gay. She didnt care. The Nov. 15 event runs from 6:30-10 p.m. Lombardi made history at the 1975 . Record keeping was scarce in the 60s and 70s, and the quiet, nondescript Lombardi wasnt one to steal the public eye, especially due to her sexuality. The F1 cars of that time were no easy feat to manage worlds away from the control of today. She endeared herself to the media when she was asked how it felt to handle such big cars and replied: I dont have to carry it, I just have to drive it., WATCH: 10 iconic Williams moments as the team reach 750 GPs at Monaco. In fact we got zero PR from it. As Angela Webb, one of the race promoters who knew Lella, says in a retrospective in Motorsport Magazine: She stayed in Italy and flew to each race, yet never asked for expenses. The irony of Beuttlers racing record is that even though he achieved five top-10 finishes in the 28 races he took part in, he never managed to secure any points though todays regulations would have awarded him some. Poles Lella Lombardi is a name firmly etched into the motorsport history books. Half points awarded, Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance), Non-classified finish (<90% race distance). Marie-Claude believes that she and Lella could have won Le Mans in 1975. Back then it was an endurance race rather than a sprint and we were quite competitive. In 1976, Lombardi was confirmed at March Engineering alongside Brambilla and Stuck. That includes both domestic and international flights. But he skipped 1952 season. But finally everyone bowed to the pressure of. In 1979, she won the 6 hours of Pergusa and the 6 hours of Vallelunga. The relationship between Lombardi and the team soured, ending her career with March. She told me shed been hit on her breast during a sailing trip and it hurt very much. I am the president of a LLC who is looking to invest cash/assets in the self storage . Thankfully, things began to change, helped by these motoring queer pioneers. But even today we associate motorsports with something overly fraternal. Lombardi grew up in Italy and developed an interest in racing by driving a delivery van for her family. Her success gave visibility to trans people and a narrative the public hadnt come into contact with that transitions werent smokescreens for the perceived undercurrent of male homosexuality. Mar 2020 - Present2 years 11 months. Wed just started the ShellSPORT Celebrity Series [for Escort Mexicos] and my wife Angela invited her to compete at Brands Hatch in July. We miss her passion, determination and modesty., Lombardi checked into Milans San Camillo Clinic in February 1992 and died on March 3, days short of her 51st birthday. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. The following year ended in a retirement. With the exception of Monaco, she qualified to start all of the remaining races. She qualified 7 seconds off pole in P24 and got half a point because there were 18 DNFs, 5 people died and the race was abandoned. Status She has also driven the highest number on a Formula One car - #208, which was used on her debut at the 1974 British Grand Prix, but did not qualify. In Formula One, more than any other branch of the sport, if you are not in the right car at the right time, then you stand little chance of success. We discovered her story while investigating iconic women from history. Lombardi enjoyed a successful association with Osella. I first met her that year when she and Fiorenza asked my husband Bruno to help create a team, says Remondi. As her former Formula 5000 teammate Ian Ashley noted to Motorsport Magazine: She was the first woman racing driver to seriously impress me. [14] Majendie argues this by citing Lombardis example as a racer, who despite her gender, successfully entered Formula One. Lombardi bought her first car in 1965, competing in Formula Monza. 115 Lella Lombardi Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE EDITORIAL All Sports Entertainment News Archival Browse 115 lella lombardi stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. The World Champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, had the courage of his convictions and did the bare legal minimum of practice, and refused to start the race at all. Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi (26 March 1941 3 March 1992) was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. We gave Ronnie a new chassis for Monaco after his misunderstanding with Carlos Reutemann in Belgium, says Herd. She was regularly overshadowed by emergent team mate Vittorio Brambilla, never getting within two seconds of him in qualifying. The rest of the season played out and finished with Lombardi not being able to start the U.S.Grand Prix due to ignition failure on her way to the grid. Lombardi, Lella (1942) Internationally famous Italian racing-car driver, known as "the Tigress of Turin," who was the first woman to compete in the U.S. Grand Prix. Lella Lombardi died in March 1992 She was one of the few women that have raced the 24 hours of LeMans, witha best result of 4th. Lombardi is commemorated by a sculpture in her birthplace, Frugarolo. She had an image to keep: Im tough so dont mess with me. With assistance from her partner Fiorenza, sister and brother-in-law, the Lella cover was soon blown by newsworthy results and, by 1967, she was contesting Italian Formula 3 in a Branca-Ford. We invite you to get behind the wheel with us, it's certain to be an interesting drive. After a brief experience with karting as a child, Lombardi bought her first car in 1965, racing in Formula Monza. 0.5 Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi (26 March 1941 - 3 March 1992) was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. The male gaze has shaped motorsports, which is why those drivers that operate outside of its sight and yet succeed within it, are so remarkable. She was very good and very quick, but though we were very different characters, we spent an evening early on discussing all that sort of thing. In the pre-war days there were speedy heroines such as Elizabeth Junek, Kay Petre and Gwenda Hawkes, the latter duo starring on the daunting Brooklands concrete saucer. [12] Lombardi is also used as one of the reference points for females in racing. Siddiq Saunderson Moved to L.A. and Immediately Bought a Prius, Millennials and Zillennials Can't Get Enough of Manual Transmissions, Dollar Flight Club Premium Plus (Lifetime Subscription), Tesla Investor Day 2023 Was Pretty Great if You Ignored Elon. There was some consolation that year when Lombardi found herself qualified to enter the Race of Champions, becoming the first ever woman to do so. There were only two drivers per car back then, and we managed the two-and-a-bit-hour stints easily. Unfortunately, a major miscalculation in the Jean Sage-run team led to their retirement, when they ran out of fuel. [15] The W-series is a womens racing championship, which eliminates financial barriers, and gives equal opportunity to female racers. That didnt mean it was a wholly unsuccessful year. On her deathbed she asked us to continue the team to preserve what she had achieved. Her best result was ninth at Riverside, but notably when James qualified 11th at Ontario, Lella was only two places behind the man who would be world champion in 1976. Lombardi, in contrast, had nothing to lose and charmed the media by peeking over the language barrier. She won the 6 Hours of Pergusa and the 6 Hours of Vallelunga. She remained an active racer until 1970 and her legacy lives on today. Sometimes Lella told us that she could have been rich and famous if she had stayed in America, but her feeling for Italy triumphed, says Giusy Remondi of Lella Lombardi Autosport.