Piero Taruffi, an underrated racing driver.

Besides being a gifted motorcycle and car racer, Piero Taruffi was also a highly competent engineer. His technical knowledge was of great value to the manufacturers he raced for.

Piero Taruffi (1906-1988) became involved in motorsport at an early stage of his life. From a young age he developed into a very good rider who achieved many local successes on a Norton motorcycle. His conviction that this British brand was better than the numerous Italian brands proved to be correct. In his early years he faced competitors such as Nuvolari and Varzi, both of whom later became renowned Grand Prix drivers on four wheels.

Before long, Taruffi also made the switch from motorcycles to cars. In 1930 he took part for the first time in the already legendary Mille Miglia with a 2-liter Bugatti, finishing in 40th place. Twenty-seven years later things were very different, but more on that later.

Initially he combined taking part in car and motorcycle races, but car racing ultimately had the greatest appeal. In car racing Taruffi mainly drove Maseratis, including the 8CM model, a three liter eight cylinder Grand Prix car. The car Taruffi drove was for a short time owned by Tazio Nuvolari, who later bought a similar car from the Maserati factory with which he won the 1934 Belgian Grand Prix. This latter car can be seen in the Louwman Museum.

Taruffi developed into a solid midfield rider. In addition to grand prix events, he also raced in England and South Africa in the period before the Second World War.

One of Taruffis "hobby projects" was breaking speed records. In 1937, with the Rondine-Gilera, a highly streamlined 500 cc motorcycle, he broke, among other things, the world speed record with a speed of 274.181 km/h. In the best tradition of the time, this record was set on the "autostrada". Later, this record was further improved by the German BMW.

His successes did not go unnoticed. In 1938 he competed in Grands Prix for Alfa Romeo with the outdated type 308. The following year he was active exclusively in the so-called voiturettes with a familiar Maserati, achieving decent results.

The outbreak of the Second World War interrupted Taruffis career. When the war was over he was already 39, an age at which a racing driver has had his best years. Normally (and this is certainly true nowadays) this would mean the end of a career.

Taruffis qualities still proved to be present after the war and he continued to be in demand as a driver. His training as an engineer had the advantage that he could also be of great value in a technical sense to the manufacturer for whom he drove. This also became clear when, in the late 1940s, he set a number of records with the Tarf 1 he had designed. This remarkable vehicle, in fact consisting of two tubes placed next to each other, was successfully used as a record car in the class up to 500 cc, powered this time by a Moto Guzzi motorcycle engine. The driver sits in one of the tubes, the engine is mounted in the other. A number of records were set, including the flying kilometer at 207.373 km/h.

This success led to the development of the Tarf 2, very similar to its predecessor but larger, equipped with a 1720 cc Maserati engine with supercharger. In 1951 Taruffi set a record of almost 300 km/h with it. This car was recently added to the collection of the Louwman Museum!

Later, records over longer distances were set on the banked tracks of Montlhery and Monza. These activities did not come at the expense of regular racing. In those years he drove Cisitalias, a small and light production racing car that was used in national races by many other drivers, including Nuvolari.

As the years went by, Taruffis reputation grew steadily. He twice won the Italian championship in the class just below Formula 1. He became a sought after guest driver, a racer who could be deployed almost anywhere and in almost any discipline, both in Italy and abroad. And not only in Italian cars. For example, he also raced at Englands Brands Hatch in a 500 cc Cooper-Norton.

In addition to factory commitments with, among others, Ferrari and Lancia, he also drove for Mercedes-Benz in the 1950s "Silver Arrows" and even for the British team Vanwall.

Because he now had a handsome head of gray hair, he was also called "The Silver Fox" by his many fans.

However, he saved the best for last. In 1957, after numerous earlier entries, he won the final Mille Miglia in a Ferrari 315 S with starting number 535. The race was marred by the terrible accident involving "Fon" de Portago, in which 12 people were killed.

After this victory Taruffi called it a day, but he later continued working as team manager of the Gilera motorcycle racing team and as a consultant for the automotive industry.

Peter Helbach