Achille Varzi started competing on motorcyles like his brother Angelo. He was pretty good and in 1923 he won the Italian 350cc Championship. The following year he took wins in both the 350 and 500 class and at the TT races he was awarded the Nisbet Shield for sportsmanship after another rider fell infront of him. In a split second he had to choose between running over the hapless rider or a conveniently placed wall. He chose the wall and was fortunate not to be seriously injured.
That would in itself qualify for 'Chap' status however there was more to come.
He switched to four wheel competition and found that his natural talent in cars was even greater than on two wheels, wining the Italian Championship in 1930, beating the great Nuvolari.
He entered the Targa Florio that year with his 2-litre Grand Prix Alfa Romeo. During the race, his spare wheel rubbed a small hole in the petrol tank. Varzi was in the lead but Louis Chiron, the favourite, was closing. On the last lap Varzi was still in the lead but his spare wheel had gone as the bracket had finally broken and his fuel tank was still leaking. Near the finish he had to stop to pick up a can of petrol which his mechanic, Bignami, endeavoured to pour into the tank while still racing! Suprisingly some of the fuel spilt onto the hot exhaust pipe and ignited.
In true chap tradition he pressed on leaning forward to give Bignami as much room as possible to put the fire out with a seat cushion! All this excitment had caused Varzi to loose time on Chiron but as he sped through Campfelice and entered the five-mile straight that ran along the sea-shore, he knew he had an advantage with the top speed of the Alfa. He went on to win by 1 min.48.4 secs.
Over the next few years he won a number of Grand Prix. However Varzi, a lover of the good life, began having serious personal problems, including an addiction to morphine and a difficult affair with Ilse Hubach, the wife of a fellow racecar driver. By 1938 he had dropped out of sight.
During the war, Varzi overcame his drug addiction and settled down with his new wife, Norma Colombo. At the end of hostilities he made a surprise return to form having been given a second chance by Alfa Romeo in 1946. He had two very successful seasons in the Alfa Romeo 158 and also raced in South America where he became very popular especially with the Argentineans. In Argentina he formed the Scuderia Achille Varzi and it was with this team that Juan Manuel Fangio started out and he planning to live their when he retired.
Before practice for the Swiss GP at Bremgarten, late in 1948, he announced that this would be his last event. He was right. Immaculate as always, driving his 158 Alfa Romeo on a damp track, he skidded on the Jordenrampe curve spun on his first lap of practice. The car spun and rolled over on Varzi who completely gave up any further interest in mortal issues. It was his first real mistake and it cost him his life.
His send off was fitting. Varzi’s coffin stood for three days and nights on the chassis of a racing car in the church at Galliate, and his friends stood vigil over it and some fifteen thousand people attended his funeral. |
