Aldo Gordini

20/5/1921 - 28/1/1995

Record updated 20-May-07

Aldo Gordini was the son of Amédée Gordini, founder of the French sports car manufacturer Gordini. Aldo worked as a mechanic and occasionally drove in Formula 2. He participated in one F1 World Championship Grand Prix.

Aldo Gordini
Though Aldo was French his name and looks betrayed his Latin hertitage. He was born in Bologna, the son of 'Le Sorcier', Amédée Gordini who had settled in France after the Great War.

Amédée founded the French sports car manufacturer Gordini and Aldo grew up surrounded by his fathers racing activities, so it was no suprise that he became involved with motor sport. The Gordini Factory had been destroyed during the Second World War and so, in 1946, as Amédée Gordini rebuilt his team, Aldo joined him as a mechanic.

Aldo want to race and drove in Formula 2, mostly in a Gordini T11, and participated in two F1 races, one of which had non-championsip status.

In 1948 he took a class win in the Coupe du Salon at Montlhéry just outside Paris

In April 1949 he won the Coupe d'Argent at Montlhéry, he also took his second class win there in the Coupe du Salon. In late May, he drove a Simca-Gordini 1GCS 1220cc in the first Grand Prix de Bruxelles at the Circuit Léopold III going out with mechanical problems. Later in the year, in September he took part in the Velka cena Ceskoslovenska a non championship F1 race at Brno in the Czech Republic, retiring on the first lap.

In 1950 he shared a Simca-Gordini T11 with Maurice Trintignant in the Grand Prix de Cinquantenaire organised by the l'Automobile Club du Nord at the Circuit de Parc Barbieux, Roubaix, France. They finished 5th. A week later Aldo finished 5th again in the Grand Prix de Mons at the Circuit de Coteaux, Mons in Belgium, just behind Trintignant in a  T15. Fifth place was becoming a habit when on the 28th of May he crossed the line in the Circuit du Lac at
Aix-les-Bains, behind Raymond Sommer in a Ferrari 166F2 and the three Simca-Gordini T15s of André Simon, Trintignant and Toni Brnaca. In July he came seventh in the Coupe des Petites Cylindrées at Reims-Gueux. He retired in the Grand Prix de Geneve, also known at the Grand Prix des Nations, and the Grosser Preis von Deutschland in the Nord-Schleife, Nürburgring.

In June he drove a Simca Gordini T15S with André Simon at Le Mans retiring with gearbox failure after 14 laps.

On September 10th, Gordini had entered two T15s for Jean Thépenier and Aldo in the Grand Prix de l'Haute Garonne, an F2 race at Cadours.  Raymond Sommer was on pole with Aldo third. After just two laps of the first heat Sommer retired with ignition trouble. In the second heat, Bayol took the lead ahead of Gordini, but retired two laps from the finish, handing Aldo the win.

There was a final heat for those who had not qualified for the final. Sommer won from Bayol, so they were both back in the final.

At the start, Sommer took the lead folowed by Gordini. Bayol once again retired. Sommer was quickest setting a fastest lap of 2’09”. Then on lap 8 Sommer went missing. Steering failure caused his Cooper to leave the track on one of the fastest sections. It somersaulted a number of times and hit a tree. A doctor and “Nono”, Sommer’s mechanic, went to his aid but he died on the way to hospital.

Thus René Simone took his only single-seater victory 22 seconds ahead of Aldo, Balsa, Antonelli and Aunaud.

In 1951 he finished fifth again in the Circuit du Lac at Aix-les-Bains in France
Aldo's one World Championsip appearance came in 1951 in the Grand Prix de l'A.C.F. (French Grand Prix) at the Circuit de Reims-Gueux. He qualified 17th but in the race he was running inlast place when he retired his Simca-Gordini T11 (0004-GC) on lap 27 with valve trouble.

That was the end of his racing and he retired from competition.

Aldo Gordini died in Paris in 1995.



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