1971-07-17 312 B2 (5) Clay Regazzoni GBR - Silverstone R
On July 17th, 1971, Gianclaudio “Clay” Regazzoni raced this Ferrari 312 B2 in Silverstone for the British GP. He made the pole position on but had to retired for fuel pressure problems during the race. But the remarkable thing about this race/model is the special delta wings on the extremes of the Front spoiler.
Gianclaudio Regazzoni was born Switzerland on 5 September 1939. Regazzoni first started competing in car races in 1963, at the comparatively late age of 24. Many of his early motorsport experiences were across the border in Italy, Switzerland having banned motor racing following the horrific accident at the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
He raced in F3 and F2, as well as single seater racing, Regazzoni participated in sports car racing, including the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans where he and Arturo Merzario raced a Ferrari 512S.
He started racing for Ferrari 1970, with Four podium finishes Regazzoni during the final six rounds of the 1970 season, including a win at Monza, Ferrari's home race. However, the race was overshadowed by the death of Championship leader Rindt, during qualifying for the race. Regazzoni finished third in the Drivers' Championship with 33 points, 12 points behind posthumous World Champion Rindt. 1971 & 1872 were not good years for him nor for Ferrari and he moved to BRM for the 1973 season. Here he joined young driver Niki Lauda, and the two became firm friends. After a huge crash during the South African Grand Prix, he was pulled from the blazing wreckage by Mike Hailwood.
He re-joined Ferrari in 1974 with Niki Lauda. Seven podium finishes, including a win in Germany, allowed Regazzoni to outscore the up-and-coming Lauda. Entering the last race of the season, in the USA Regazzoni was well in contention for the title, and only needed to finish ahead of rival, Emerson Fittipaldi, to take the crown. Regazzoni suffered handling problems during the race due to a defective shock absorber and could finish only 11th after two pit stops. He finished second in the Drivers' Championship, his career best, just three points behind Fittipaldi.
1976 would prove to be the start of Regazzoni's downward slide in Formula One. When he left Ferrari, Regazzoni was the longest serving Ferrari driver. Following his release from Ferrari, Regazzoni opted for a move to the Ensign team in 1977 and then moved to Shadow in 1978. Frank Williams gave Regazzoni his final drive in a competitive car alongside Alan Jones. The Williams FW07 proved to be very competitive, especially in the final part of the season, with FW07s winning all but two of the final seven races of the 1979 calendar. The first win was for Regazzoni, at Silverstone, the first of over 100 victories for the Williams Grand Prix team.
Lacking an offer for a competitive drive in 1980, Regazzoni re-joined Ensign. His season came to an abrupt end only four races into the year. He crashed during the 1980 United States Grand Prix West, held at Long Beach, when the brake pedal of his Ensign failed at the end of a long, high-speed straight travelling at approximately 280 km/h
After this accident, Regazzoni became known for his activities in helping disabled people get equal opportunities in life and society.
Regazzoni won back his racing licence and became one of the first disabled drivers to participate in high-level motor sports. Regazzoni raced with some success in rally raids (e.g. the Dakar Rally) and sportscars (e.g. the 12 Hours of Sebring). These achievements paved the way for the wider acceptance of disabled persons in motoring and motorsports
On 15 December 2006, Regazzoni was killed in a car accident, near Parma.
