Editing Emilio Materassi

{{short description|Italian racing driver (1894–1928)}}
{{distinguish|Maserati brothers}}
[[Image:Emilio Materassi.jpg|thumb|right]]
'''Emilio Materassi''' (October 30, 1894 – September 9, 1928<ref name="ref1"/>) was an Italian [[Grand Prix motor racing]] driver.

==Early life==
Born in [[Borgo San Lorenzo]], near [[Florence, Italy]], Emilio began working in a bicycle shop, learning the basics of applied mechanics. Later, he went to work in a car garage, where he developed a strong love for engines and cars.

When he was in his twenties, Materassi took over the administration of his family business, selling [[wine]], [[rope]]s and [[twine]].

Poor economic condition forced him to work as a bus driver for local services.<ref name="ref2">[http://www.museoauto.it/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=126&Itemid=59 Emilio Materassi, Museo Auto]  [https://web.archive.org/web/20070915232404/http://graphics8.nytimes.com/marketing/2005module/images/mm_3b.gif Archived copy] at [[WebCite]] (September 18, 2007).</ref>

==Racing career==
[[File:1926-04-25 Targa Florio no 19 Itala Materassi.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Materassi with [[Itala Special]] - [[Hispano-Suiza]] in [[Targa Florio]] 1926]]
[[File:Materassi-1927-bugatti_T_35c.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Materassi with [[Bugatti Type 35]] in [[1927 Targa Florio]]]]
Materassi's racing debut came at the Gentlemen Grand Prix at [[Brescia]], September 11, 1921, driving an aged car from the Turin automaker [[Itala (company)|Itala]]. Unfortunately the car broke down after three laps.<ref>{{cite web |author=Darren Galpin |url=http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1921.html |title=1921 Grands Prix, The GEL Motorsport Information Page |publisher=Teamdan.com |accessdate=2011-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028135058/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1921.html |archive-date=2009-10-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Materassi had better fortune the following June when he finished 8th overall at the [[Mugello Circuit]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Darren Galpin |url=http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1922.html |title=1922 Grands Prix, The GEL Motorsport Information Page |publisher=Teamdan.com |accessdate=2011-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028135231/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1922.html |archive-date=2009-10-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1923 Materassi, with the help of some wealthy friends, opened his own workshop in Via dei Poggi 12, in Florence. He called it "L’Autogarage Nazionale", and signed a dealership contract with Itala.
During [[World War I]] Itala had built [[Hispano-Suiza]] aircraft engines under license. After the war the company had a surplus of spare engines, and Materassi succeeded in buying one of those at a very low price.
Materassi heavily modified the engine converting it from V8 configuration to inline 4 cylinder by removing one of the cylinder blocks, and built a car based on an Itala chassis around it, calling his construction "Italona".
The car was quite heavy, weighing over 2 tons. Nevertheless, the ~5.8 liters aviation engine was powerful enough to allow good performances even in [[hill climbing]] races.

With the Italona, Materassi won a lot of important, but local, races from 1924 to 1926,  including two [[Mugello Grand Prix]] and three hillclimbs at the [[Pistoia]]n Hills (''Coppa della Collina Pistoiese''). In 1926 he managed to get a fourth place in the prestigious [[Targa Florio]].
He won the [[Coppa Montenero]] at the difficult [[Montenero Circuit]] in 1925 and 1926, earning the nickname "King of Montenero”.<ref name="ref2"/>

Materassi had become close friends with [[Alfieri Maserati]] and was given the opportunity to race with the [[Maserati]] team on a number of occasions, among them the 1925 and 1926 [[Italian Grand Prix]].<ref>{{cite web|author=J.F. Vignola |url=http://www.diatto.us/EN/pagine/maserati.html |title=Diatto and the Maserati brothers |publisher=Diatto.us |date=1921-07-24 |accessdate=2011-10-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Darren Galpin |url=http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1925.html |title=1925 Grands Prix, The GEL Motorsport Information Page |publisher=Teamdan.com |accessdate=2011-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030055351/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1925.html |archive-date=2008-10-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Darren Galpin |url=http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1926.html |title=1926 Grands Prix, The GEL Motorsport Information Page |publisher=Teamdan.com |accessdate=2011-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903233143/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1926.html |archive-date=2009-09-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Sadly, he had to retire from all of those races, most of the time due to mechanical failures.

Impressed by the skills of the young pilot, the team manager of the [[Bugatti]] racing team asked Materassi to join them in 1927.
In his first race with the brand new [[Bugatti Type 35|Bugatti T35C]], he won the [[Tripoli Grand Prix]], with an average speed of 132&nbsp;km/h, and in April the same year he finally won the Targa Florio. He also won another [[Coppa Montenero]].
Those victories, along with others, gained him the title "Absolute Champion of Italy".

In 1928 Materassi founded his own racing team, buying cars and material from the bankrupt [[Talbot (automobile)|Talbot]] team.<ref name="Bissett">{{cite web|last1=Bissett|first1=Mark|title=Australia's Talbot-Darracq 700: 1926/7 GP car|url=https://primotipo.com/2016/04/22/australias-talbot-darracq-700-19267-gp-car/|website=primotipo.com|date=22 April 2016|accessdate=11 May 2016}}</ref> Materassi worked on the engines and the chassis himself, modifying the old cars to make them 30 kilograms lighter. Apart from himself, [[Luigi Arcangeli]], [[Antonio Brivio]], [[Gastone Brilli-Peri]] and [[Gianfranco Comotti]] became drivers for Scuderia Materassi.

In June 1928 he won the [[Grand Prix of Mugello]] driving a [[Talbot (automobile)|Talbot]] and finished second in the [[Coppa Acerbo]] in August then that same month he won his fourth [[Coppa Montenero]], beating both [[Tazio Nuvolari]] and [[Giuseppe Campari]].

==Death==
[[File:Incidente di materassi-monza.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The fatal accident of Materassi during the 1928 Italian Grand Prix held at the [[Autodromo Nazionale Monza]]]]
On the 17th lap of the [[1928 Italian Grand Prix]] held at the [[Autodromo Nazionale Monza]], Materassi lost control of his [[Talbot 700]] when he tried to overtake [[Giulio Foresti|Giulio Foresti’s]] [[Bugatti Type 35|Bugatti T35C]] on the main straight at over 200&nbsp;km/h.
The Talbot swerved to the left, jumped over a three-meter deep and four-meter wide protection ditch and a fence, and crashed into the grandstand.

Materassi was killed instantly along with twenty spectators, and a large number of people were injured. The other drivers of the [[Scuderia Materassi]] withdrew from the race immediately after the accident, but the event continued and it was won by [[Louis Chiron]]. Three days later one of the injured spectators died in hospital, making the total death toll 22.<ref name="ref1">{{cite web|author=The Motorsport Memorial Team|url=http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ct&n=1823 |title=Emilio Materassi, Motorsport Memorial |publisher=Motorsportmemorial.org |date= |accessdate=2011-10-30}}</ref> Other sources state that 27 spectators were killed all in all.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historicracing.com/drivers.cfm?driverID=3307 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126014644/http://www.historicracing.com/drivers.cfm?driverID=3307 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-01-26 |title=Emilio Materassi, Historic Racing |publisher=Historicracing.com |accessdate=2011-12-18 }}</ref>

By either estimation this is the worst accident, with respect to the number of lives lost, to occur at a Grand Prix and it is only surpassed by the [[1955 Le Mans disaster]] in the history of motor racing. As a result, the Italian Grand Prix was cancelled in 1929 and 1930.

==Notable race victories==

*Coppa della Consuma : 1924
*Coppa della Collina Pistoiese : 1924, 1925, 1926
*Coppa Perugina : 1924, 1926, 1927
*Circuito del Savio : 1925
*[[Grand Prix of Mugello]] : 1925, 1926, 1928
*[[Coppa Montenero]] : 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928
*[[Tripoli Grand Prix]] : 1927
*[[Targa Florio]] : 1927
*Bologna Grand Prix : 1927
*[[San Sebastian Grand Prix]] : 1927

==References==
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Materassi, Emilio}}
[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1928 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Borgo San Lorenzo]]
[[Category:Italian racing drivers]]
[[Category:Grand Prix drivers]]
[[Category:Bugatti people]]
[[Category:Racing drivers who died while racing]]
[[Category:Sport deaths in Italy]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from the Metropolitan City of Florence]]