Editing Piero Drogo

{{short description|Italian racing driver (1926–1973)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox F1 driver|
  name = Piero Drogo |
  image = 1962 ASA 1000 GTC Drogo Bizzarini.jpg |
  caption = Drogo (left) with [[Giotto Bizzarrini]] in early 1960s. They together created the [[ASA (automobile)#Competition cars|ASA 1000 GTC]] (behind) |
  image_size = 250px |
  nationality = {{flagicon|ITA}} Italian |
  birth_date = {{birth date|1926|8|8|df=y}} |
  birth_place = [[Vignale Monferrato]], [[Alessandria]], Italy |
  death_date = {{death date and age|1973|4|28|1926|8|8|df=y}} |
  death_place = [[Bologna]], Italy |
  Years = {{F1|1960}} |
  Team(s) =  privateer [[Cooper Car Company|Cooper]] |
  Races = 1 |
  Championships = 0 |
  Wins = 0 |
  Podiums = 0 |
  Points = 0 |
  Poles = 0 |
  Fastest laps = 0 |
  First race = [[1960 Italian Grand Prix]] |
}}
'''Piero Drogo''' (born in [[Vignale Monferrato]], [[Alessandria]], 8 August 1926 – died in [[Bologna]], 28 April 1973) was a [[racing driver]] and [[coachbuilder]] from Italy.  He participated in one [[Formula One]] Grand Prix, debuting at the [[1960 Italian Grand Prix]]. He moved on to form a ''[[carrozzeria]]'' in [[Modena]] to service the thriving [[sports car]] industry there. His [[Carrozzeria Sports Cars]] gained some fame later in the decade. He died in a car accident aged 46.

== Early life ==
Piero Drogo was born in [[Vignale Monferrato]] on 8 August 1926 to father Luigi Drogo and mother Rosina Monzeglio. His parents were farmers. Before or immediately after [[World War II]] he moved to Venezuela,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Koobs de Hartog|first1=Jack|title=Drogo: Official Coachbuilder of the Scuderia Ferrari|last2=De Rijck|first2=Mark|publisher=Jack Koobs de Hartog|year=2015|isbn=|location=|pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|9}} along with members of his family.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Brown|first=Allen|date=15 November 2015|title=Piero Drogo|url=https://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Piero_Drogo|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=16 January 2021|website=OldRacingCars.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=COACHBUILD.COM – Drogo Carrozzeria Sports Cars|url=https://www.coachbuild.com/2/index.php/encyclopedia/coachbuilders-models/category/drogo-carrozzeria-sports-cars|access-date=16 January 2021|website=coachbuild.com|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122041653/https://www.coachbuild.com/2/index.php/encyclopedia/coachbuilders-models/category/drogo-carrozzeria-sports-cars|url-status=dead}}</ref> While in Venezuela, he began his career as a [[sports car racing]] driver. His first recorded result was at the 1956 Premio Nacional Ciudad de Maracay in Venezuela, where he placed first overall driving a [[Mercedes-Benz 300 SL]].

In 1958, Drogo returned to Italy and began living in Modena, where he would remain for the rest of his life. In the late 1950s, he worked as a racing mechanic for [[Automobili Stanguellini|Stanguellini]] to support his racing career.<ref name=":2" />

Drogo married Anna Pia Fornaciari, a nurse from Modena, on 5 December 1959.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|12}}

== Racing career ==
The first known record of Drogo's racing career is a first-place finish in the 1956 Premio Nacional Ciudad de Maracay, although this may not have been the first event in which he participated. Drogo's racing career included numerous regional sports car races in Latin America, as well as international races such as the [[1958 24 Hours of Le Mans]] and the [[1959 Targa Florio]]. He also drove in the [[1960 Formula One season]], including an 8th-place finish at the [[1960 Italian Grand Prix]] as well as several non-championship races.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|9–12}} He scored no Formula One championship points.

=== Sports car racing results ===
Unless otherwise cited, all results below are cited from Koobs de Hartog and De Rijck, 2015.<ref name=":0" />

([[Template:Motorsport driver results legend|key]])
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"
!Season
!Series
!Position
!Team
!Car
|-
|1956
|Premio Nacional Ciudad de Maracay, Venezuela
| style="background:#FFFFBF" |'''1st OA'''
|Club Automovil de Venezuela
|[[Mercedes-Benz 300 SL]]
|-
|
|Copa Rio Guayas, Ecuador
| style="background:#dfdfdf" |2nd OA, 1st IC
|
|[[Mercedes-Benz 300 SL]]
|-
|-
|
|Gran Premio de Venezuela for Sports Cars at Caracas
| style="background:#cfcfff" |8th OA, 4th IC
|Scuderia Madunina Venezuela
|[[Ferrari Monza#625 LM|Ferrari 625LM Touring]]
|-
|-
|1957
|[[1957 1000 km Buenos Aires|1000&nbsp;km Buenos Aires]]
| style="background:#cfcfff" |7th OA, 1st IC
|Scuderia Madunina Venezuela
|[[Ferrari Monza#500 TR|Ferrari 500 TR]]
|-
|
|[[Cuban Grand Prix]]
|style="background:#cfcfff" |7th OA
|Scuderia Madunina Venezuela
|[[Ferrari Monza#500 TR|Ferrari 500 TR]]
|-
|
|[[1957 Venezuelan Grand Prix|Grand Premio de Venezuela]]
| style="background:#cfcfff" |8th OA, 2nd IC
|Scuderia Madunina Venezuela
|[[Ferrari Monza#500 TR|Ferrari 500 TR]]
|-
|1958
|[[1958 1000 km Buenos Aires|1000&nbsp;km Buenos Aires]]
|style="background:#cfcfff" |4th OA
|Scuderia Madunina Venezuela
|[[Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa|Ferrari 250 TR]]
|-
|
|[[Cuban Grand Prix]]
|style="background:#cfcfff" |12th OA
|
|[[Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa|Ferrari 250 TR]]
|-
|
|Maiquetia – Pedro Garcia hill climb, Venezuela
|style="background:#cfcfff" |19th OA, 1st IC
|
|[[Volvo PV444/544|Volvo PV444]]
|-
|
|[[1958 24 Hours of Le Mans|24h of Le Mans]]
|style="background:#efcfff" |Ret
|[[Fernand Tavano]]
|[[Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa|Ferrari 250 TR]]
|-
|
|XII Circuito Internacional de Vila Real, Portugal
|style="background:#efcfff" |Ret
|Piero Drogo
|[[Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa|Ferrari 250 TR]]
|-
|1959
|[[1959 Targa Florio|Targa Florio]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 June 2017|title=1959 Targa Florio {{!}} Motor Sport Magazine Database|url=https://database.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1959-targa-florio|access-date=16 January 2021|website=Motor Sport|language=en}}</ref>
|style="background:#cfcfff" |5th OA
|[[Scuderia Centro Sud]]
|[[Maserati A6]]G
|-
|
|Grand Prix of Pergusa
| style="background:#FFDF9F" |3rd OA
|[[Scuderia Centro Sud]]
|[[Maserati A6]]G
|-
|
|Circuito di Caserta
| style="background:#cfcfff" |5th OA
|[[Scuderia Centro Sud]]
|[[Maserati A6]]G
|-
|
|Grand Prix of Messina
|style="background:#efcfff" |Ret
|[[Scuderia Centro Sud]]
|[[Maserati A6]]G
|}

=== Complete Formula One results ===
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 2|key]]) 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! WDC
! [[List of Formula One World Championship points scoring systems|Points]]
|-
| [[1960 Formula One season|1960]]
! [[Scuderia Colonia]]
! [[Cooper Car Company|Cooper]] [[Cooper T43|T43]]
! [[Coventry Climax|Climax]] [[Straight-4]]
| [[1960 Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]
| [[1960 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[1960 Indianapolis 500|500]]
| [[1960 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]
| [[1960 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[1960 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[1960 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[1960 Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]]
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1960 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br />{{small|8}}
| [[1960 United States Grand Prix|USA]]
! NC
! 0
|}

== Carrozzeria Sports Cars ==
{{Main|Carrozzeria Sports Cars}}
[[Image:1964 Bizzarrini Drogo.jpg|thumb|Drogo at right with [[Giotto Bizzarrini]] in the middle on 1 December 1964 with the Iso AC/3.]]
In 1960, Piero Drogo entered into a partnership in the [[Coachbuilder|carrozzeria]] "Marchesini & Cavalieri S.d.f" alongside Lino Marchesini and Celso Cavalieri. This business would become commonly known as Carrozzeria Sports Cars, although it operated under several legal names during its existence. C.S.C. operated from 1960 to late 1971, during which time the company produced low-volume or one-off bodywork for many Italian automakers as well as racing teams and individuals. C.S.C. customers included [[Scuderia Ferrari]], [[Giotto Bizzarrini]], [[Iso (automobile)|Iso]], [[Scuderia Serenissima|Scuderia Serenissma]], [[ASA (automobile)|ASA]], [[North American Racing Team|NART]], [[Ecurie Francorchamps]] and others.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|12–14, 22}}

From the beginning of Carrozzeria Sports Cars, Piero Drogo's role was primarily in managing business operations. His duties included sales, public relations and administration.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|12, 18}} Although the name "Drogo" is often used as a synonym for the designs of C.S.C.,<ref>{{Cite web|title=1960 Ferrari 250 – GT Drogo|url=https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/ferrari/250/1960/806847|access-date=16 January 2021|website=classicdriver.com|language=en-US}}</ref> Drogo did not practice the craft of coachbuilding nor was he an automobile designer.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|18}}  It is a common misconception that Drogo designed automobile bodies- in fact, the design work was carried out by C.S.C. workers during the fabrication process, often in collaboration with the customer. No single person was responsible for the automobile designs produced by C.S.C.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|31}} In his role as the manager of C.S.C., Drogo became well known in Modena and used his contacts in the racing world to attract business. While multiple other partners joined and left C.S.C, Drogo's presence was a constant from 1960 until the company's bankruptcy in 1971.

By 1971, Carrozzeria Sports Cars was facing financial difficulties. In June 1971, Drogo published an editorial in the magazine ''Autosprint'' titled "Modena S.O.S.",<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Drogo|first=Piero|date=7-14 June 1971|title=Modena S.O.S.|journal=Autosprint|language=Italian|volume=23}}</ref> which appealed to private and/or public investment to assist C.S.C. and other small Modenese manufacturers facing similar economic troubles. Drogo's efforts to save the business were ultimately unsuccessful and C.S.C. declared bankruptcy on 31 December 1971.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|15}}

== Later life ==
In 1972, Piero Drogo opened a dealership under the name "Sports Cars S.a.s. di Drogo & Vassallo", selling Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Porsche and De Tomaso automobiles. This was located on the former premises of Carrozzeria Sports Cars and shared premises with "Carrozzeria ABS", which was founded by former C.S.C. employees.  In this way, Drogo maintained some continuity of business operations despite the bankruptcy of C.S.C.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|15}}

Piero Drogo died on 28 April 1973, at the age of 46, in an automobile accident. He collided with a truck while driving through a dark tunnel near Bologna.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|15}}<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=12 June 2017|title=Piero Drogo {{!}} Motor Sport Magazine Database|url=https://database.motorsportmagazine.com/database/drivers/piero-drogo|access-date=16 January 2021|website=Motor Sport|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> A lengthy obituary by journalist Mario Morselli was published in ''Autosprint''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Morselli|first=Mario|date=May 1973|title=Sapeva riplasmare le automobili di ieri|journal=Autosprint|language=Italian|volume=18 or 19?}}</ref>

Drogo's widow, Anna Pia Fornaciari, would later marry Lamborghini test driver and development engineer [[Bob Wallace (test driver)|Bob Wallace]].<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|12}}

==See also==
*[[Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drogo, Piero}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]
[[Category:Italian racing drivers]]
[[Category:Italian Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers]]
[[Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in Italy]]
[[Category:People from Vignale Monferrato]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from the Province of Alessandria]]