Now Auto Union’s number one driver after replacing the dead Bernd Rosemeyer, Tazio Nuvolari and his Auto Union Type D on full song at the Nürburgring on 23 July 1938. The great Italian came 4th after crashing his own car and taking over H.P. Muller’s Type D. Photo: Fiat
Few would argue with the notion that Tazio Nuvolari was one of the five greatest racing drivers of all time; some would even say the greatest. As the years pass, however, the number of people who saw him race diminishes, so how can we really know? It is easy to parrot the biographies, of course, but most of them usually recite blow-by-blow race reports—some flawed at the time of writing up to 70 years ago, some blurred by being re-told time and time again—and his results.
And what results! Nuvolari competed in 229 car races, won 57 of them including 16 Grands Prix, two Mille Miglias, two Targa Florios, two Tourist Trophies, the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup and put up 50 fastest laps. It was the same with motorcycles. Tazio ran in 124 bike races, won 39, scored 39 class wins and set 40 fastest laps. Before the Second World War, he was known as the fastest man on earth.
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