Today in Racing: 20 April

There were two modern day Grands Prix over the years on 20 April, both of which were won in dominant style by drivers who would go on to take those years’ titles.  

Michael Schumacher drove his Ferrari F2002 to win the 2003 Grand Prix of San Marino at Imola from Kimi Räikkönen’s McLaren, Rubens Barrichello tin the other Ferrari and Ralf Schumacher’s Williams. Micheal and Ralf flew in to race just hours after being at  their mom Elisabeth’s side as she passed away

Lewis Hamilton led the 2014 Chinese Grand Prix all way to win from pole position from Mercedes Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari.

Going significantly further back, Felice Nazzaro[‘s 7.3-litre Fiat won the 1907 Targa Florio, while Albert Guyot’s Bignan-Sport won the only ever Corsican Grand Prix in 1921, a race said to have started sports car racing. Peter DePaolo averaged a sensational 135mph to win the 1924 AAA race on the Culver City California boards for the Duesenberg family and Achille Varzi’s Alfa Romeo P2 won the 1930 Gran Premio Bordino in Alexandria  

Danica Patrick made history to become the first woman to win an international single seater race on at IndyCar’s 2008 Motegi away race, while Will Power also won the last ever Champcar race at Long Beach on this day.

In sportscar racing, Jacques Laffite and Arturo Merzario’s Alfa Romeo T33TT 12 took home honours at the 1975 Monza 1000, which Derek Bell and Hans-Joachim Stuck’s Porsche 962C won in 1986 Monza, while Sebastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Nicolas Lapierre s Toyota TS040 won the 2014 Silverstone 6-hour.

Off the beaten track, Shekhar Mehta won the 1981 World Championship Safari Rally in a Datsun Violet, six years before Hannu Mikkola’s Audi quattro won that 1987 rally in Kenya.

On the day that 1961 F1 world champion Phil Hill and F1 drivers Paolo Barilla and Mauricio Gugelmin were born, Clessie Cummins steered a Packard to a new 80.3 mph diesel-powered land speed record at Daytona Beach in 1930. (Photo: Mercedes)