Nino Vaccarella

Nino Vaccarella

Born	4 March 1933
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1961-1962, 1965
Teams	Ferrari, non-works De Tomaso, Lotus, Porsche
Entries	5 (4 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1961 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry	1965 Italian Grand Prix

Vaccarella at 1970 1000km Nürburgring with Ferrari 512S.

Nino Vaccarella (born 4 March 1933) is an Italian former sports car racing and Formula One driver, born in Palermo, Sicily.

After winning the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, the former headmaster of a nearby school became the local hero of the Targa Florio race after winning in 1965, then repeating in 1971 and again in 1975, when it was no more a World Sportscar Championship event. He also drove the big V12-powered Ferrari 512S in a heroic yet ultimately losing effort in 1970, damaging the car in the final stages.

Vaccarella participated in five World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 10 September 1961. He scored no championship points. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races.

Sports car career

Vaccarella's sportscar career was more successful, he was most well known for being a Targa Florio specialist; he was born in Sicily and according to Vic Elford "he knew the roads on Sicily like the back of his hand". He was teamed with Umberto Maglioli for the 1960 Targa Florio in a birdcage Maserati, which was owned by the Camoradi team. Maglioli had won the race twice previously and Vaccarella resided on the course and was a schoolteacher in Palermo. They took the lead in the early afternoon of 8 May, maintained it for three laps, and then broke down. The event was won by Joakim Bonnier and Hans Herrmann in a small silver Porsche.^[1] Vaccarella was paired with Lorenzo Bandini in the 1965 Targa Florio. The drove their Ferrari around the 10 twisting laps to claim victory in the 447.4 mile Sicilian event. They averaged 63.7 miles per hour and finished in 7 hours, 1 minute, 12.4 seconds.^[2] In a Ferrari 330, Vaccarella and Bandini led most of the way in 1966. Their car missed a turn on the seventh lap, ran off the road and was too damaged to continue.^[3] Vaccarella had been in the Ferrari when he waved his hand to acknowledge the cheers of enthusiastic fans. He made contact with a retaining wall that was inscribed Viva Nino.^[4] Maglioli and Vaccarella piloted a Ford GT-40 to fifth place in the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring.^[5] The 8 May 1968 Giornalia Di Sicilia proclaimed in its headline, Only Vaccarella Can Bring Off The Miracle. The meaning had to do with the Sicilian driver's great task of gaining victory in the Targa Florio in his 2.5-litre Alfa Romeo, called the Tipo 33. He was up against four German competitors who were driving Porsche 910 models. The Porsches had recently swept the endurance races at Daytona and Sebring. Few experts gave the four Alfa Romeos much of a chance against the flawless Porsches, but Sicilians were trusting the skill of Vaccarella's driving.^[4] Vaccarella qualified eighth for the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona in a Ferrari 512S. This was one of a series of 11 endurance events held in Europe and North America for the 1970 world manufacturers championship.^[6] Vaccarella and Toine Hezemans won the 1971 Targa Florio in an Alfa Romeo. They crossed the finish line over a minute ahead of Andrea de Adamich and Gijs van Lennep, who also drove an Alfa Romeo. This race ended the dominance of Porsche, which had finished first in the previous five Targa Florio races.^[7] Vaccarella competed in the 1972 12 Hours of Sebring in one of four Alfa Romeo 33/3TT's to be entered in the event. His driving partner was Nanni Galli.^[8] They qualified fifth after another Alfa Romeo of Rolf Stommelen and Peter Revson, who started third.^[9]

Formula One

Vacarella was selected for the 1962 Ferrari Formula One race team by Enzo Ferrari. He was joined by John Surtees, Mike Parkes, Willy Mairesse, Bandini, and Ludovico Scarfiotti.^[10]

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	WDC	Points
1961	Scuderia Serenissima	De Tomaso F1	Alfa Romeo Straight-4	MON	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA Ret	USA			NC	0
1962	Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia	Lotus 18/21	Climax Straight-4	NED	MON DNQ	BEL	FRA	GBR						NC	0
		Porsche 718	Porsche Flat-4						GER 15
		Lotus 24	Climax V8							ITA 9	USA	RSA
1965	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 158	Ferrari V8	RSA	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	NED	GER	ITA 12	USA	MEX	NC	0

Non-Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
1961	Scuderia Serenissima	De Tomaso F1	Alfa Romeo L4	LOM	GLV	PAU	BRX	VIE	AIN	SYR	NAP	LON	SIL	SOL	KAN	DAN	MOD DNQ	FLG	OUL	LEW
		Cooper T51	Maserati L4																		VAL 3	RAN	NAT	RSA
1962	Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia	Lotus 18/21	Climax L4	CAP	BRX DNQ	LOM	LAV	GLV	PAU 6	AIN	INT Ret	NAP	MAL	CLP	RMS			MED Ret	DAN	OUL	MEX	RAN	NAT
		Porsche 718	Porsche F4													SOL WD	KAN

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1961	Scuderia Serenissima	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Maserati Tipo 63	S 3.0	53	DNF	DNF
1962	Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia	Giorgio Scarlatti	Ferrari 250 GTO	GT 3.0	172	DNF	DNF
1964	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Jean Guichet	Ferrari 275P	P 5.0	349	1st	1st
1965	North American Racing Team	Pedro Rodríguez	Ferrari 365 P1/P2 Spyder	P 5.0	320	7th	4th
1966	Scuderia San Marco North American Racing Team	Mario Casoni	Ferrari Dino 206S	P 2.0	7	DNF	DNF
1967	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Chris Amon	Ferrari 330 P3 Spyder	P 5.0	105	DNF	DNF
1968	Autodelta SpA	Giancarlo Baghetti	Alfa Romeo T33/2	P 2.0	150	DNF	DNF
1969	Equipe Matra - Elf	Jean Guichet	Matra-Simca MS630	P 3.0	359	5th	3rd
1970	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Ignazio Giunti	Ferrari 512S	S 5.0	7	DNF	DNF
1971	Escuderia Montjuich	José Juncadella	Ferrari 512M	S 5.0		DNF	DNF
1972	Autodelta SpA	Andrea de Adamich	Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3	S 3.0	307	4th	4th

References

1. Bonnier and Herrman Capture 450-Mile Targa Florio in 7:33:8, New York Times, May 9, 1960, Page 37.
2. 100,000 In Sicily See Famed Event, New York Times, May 10, 1965, Page 46
3. Mairesse First In Targa Florio, New York Times, May 9, 1966, Page 74
4. Vaccarella Will Carry Hopes Of Sicilian Auto Fans Today, New York Times, May 5, 1968, Page S27.
5. Ford's No. 2 Car Is Given 2nd Place, New York Times, April 3, 1967, Page 44
6. Porsches Capture Next Three Spots, New York Times, January 31, 1970, Page 40
7. Italian Driver Is Killed in Race Won by Vaccarella-Hezemans, New York Times, May 17, 1971, Page 49
8. Three Ferrari Teams to Seek Endurance Honors at Sebring, New York Times, March 19, 1972, Page S15.
9. Andretti Captures Pole at Sebring With Lap Record, New York Times, March 25, 1972, Page 24.
10. Ferrari Team Named, New York Times, December 2, 1962, Page 253.