Today in Racing: 25 April

Didier Pironi set the fastest lap steered his Ferrari 126C2 from sixth on the grid to win a controversial 1982 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, boycotted by half the grid at the height of the FISA-FOCA War to govern Formula 1. Michele Alboreto brought  his Tyrrell home third ahead of Gilles Villeneuve in the other Ferrari.

All was well when Alain Prost dominated the 1993 San Marino Grand Prix off pole position in his Williams FW15C Renault. Michael Schumacher was second for Benetton ahead of Martin Brundle’s Ligier. Michael Schumacher was similarly dominant for Ferrari as he took a 10-second win over Jenson Button’s BAR-Honda with Juan Pablo Montoya in a Williams-BMW at  San Marino in 2004.

Going back in time, Bartolomeo Costantini  won the 1926 Targa Florio Bugatti 35T in Sicily, where Alfieri Maserati also raced his  first car, the Tipo 26 to a class win. Nino Farina won the 1937 Coppa Principessa di Piemonte Alfa Romeo 12C-36 and Jean Behra the 1955 The Grand Prix de Bordeaux in a Maserati 250F.

Giancarlo Baghetti made history as the only driver to ever win a Formula 1 race on debut at the 1961 Siracuse Grand Prix driving a Ferrari Dino 156 V6. He would go on to repeat the feat at world championship level next time out. In other F1 action, Jo Siffert’s Lotus 24 BRM V8 won at Siracuse in ’63, Denny Hulme’s McLaren M7A Cosworth the ‘68 Silverstone International Trophy and Kenny Smith’s Lotus Cosworth the ‘71 Penang GP  

In the US meanwhile, Ted Horn won the 1948 Champcar Wheler Cup, Jim McElreath’s AJ Watson Eagle the 1965 Trenton 100 an d Mike Mosley the 1971 Trenton 200.

25 April is Italy’s liberation Day, celebrated for many years by a the Monza 1000 on that public holiday.  Ferrari won three years in a row from 1965 with Mike Parkes and Jean Guichet in a 275P2,  Mike Parkes and John Surtees in a 330P3 in ’66 an Chris Amon and Lorenzo Bandini in a 330P4 in ’68.

Paul Hawkins and David Hobbs  won in a Ford GT40 in 1968, Brian Redman and Jo Siffert’s Porsche 908L won in ’69 and then Pedro Rodriguez took two dominant Porsche 917 wins alongside Leo Kinnunen 1970 and with Jackie Oliver in ’71. Ferrari was back on top with Jacky Ickx twice in a 312PB, alongside Clay Regazzoni in ’72 and Brian Redman in ’73.  

Mario Andretti and Arturo Merzario led an Alfa Romeo T33TT 12 1-2-3 in 1974 and Jacky Ickx was back on the top step of the podium alongside Jochen Mass in a Porsche 936 in ’76.

Talking Andretti, Mario made his race debut driving his own Hudson to victory at Nazareth on this day in 1956, which is also the birthday of Arthur Chevrolet, Felipe Massa, Giedo van der Garde and Jean-Eric Vergne. Warren Johnson also made NHRA Pro Stock drag racing’s first 200 mph pass in Virginia on 25 April 1997  

On a sad note, Racer Giulio Masetti died aged 30 when his Delage crashed in during 1926 Targa Florio, 1932 Indianapolis 500 winner Fred Frame passed aged 66 in 1962 and former F1 star Michele Alboreto died aged 44 in a sportscar testing crash in 2001.