Today is National Spaghetti Day! Today’s blog post will be a light and cheerful one full of delicious facts and exciting eateries. So dig in to today’s post and mangia these fun historical anecdotes to impress your friends at your upcoming pasta dinner.
First, we’ll be highlighting some of the great racing drivers and pioneers from Italy throughout motorsports history. And secondly, we’re going to shout out some of our favourite local eateries to grab a nice plate of Nona’s “s’getti and meat-a-balls!”
Image from hotcars.com
Maria Teresa de Filippis was the first woman to race in Formula One, which up until that point had been a male-dominated sector of motorsports. She broke down many barriers and paved the way for future women in motorsports to race going forward. De Felippis began racing at age 22 in order to prove to her brothers that she could indeed drive fast! Although she did not score any championship points, and her career was brief, she left an indelible mark on the industry.
Image of Giuseppe Farina from Formula1.com
Guiuseppe “Nino” Farina was the first official Formula One World Champion and won the first driver’s title, crowned in 1950! He was also the Italian Champion in 1937, 1938, and 1939 consecutively. He was sadly killed in a car accident in 1966.
Image of Mario Andretti via indycar.com
Mario Andretti was born to an Italian family and achieved fame as one of the most successful American F1 racing drives in all of motorsports history. His name is synonymous with several championship wins, and notoriety as one of only 2 race drivers to win races in F1, IndyCar, World Sportscar, and NASCAR! He was also the only person to be dubbed United States Drive of the year in 3 different decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s.) He is currently 81 years old.
Image from DriveTribe.com
Lella Lombardi was an iconic Italian racecar driver who became the first woman to score points in a Grand Prix at the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix; she finished the race in 6th place. She dedicated herself to the world of Formula 1 racing after she won the 1973 Ford Mexico series championship. She was also the first woman in 17 years to participate in a Grand Prix race when she qualified for the 1975 race in South Africa.
Image from F1.Fandom.com
Michele Alboreto was an Italian race driver. He was runner up to Alain Prost in the ‘85 F1 World Championship, and later won the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2001 12 Hours of Sebring races. He passed away in April 2001 in an accident in Germany at the Lausitzring during a test drive with Audi.
Image from italyonthisday.com
Luigi Musso was an Italian race participant who competed in 24 Formula 1 races, and 15 of them were under the ferrari flag starting when he was just 30 years old. He won the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix, but unfortunately perished after just 5 years in the circuit in a fatal accident at the 1958 Grand Prix.
Image from wseries.com
Giovanna Amati is one of the very few women who were able to break barriers in the Forumula 1 World Championship race. She trained in motor racing school in the early 1980s, graduating to Formula Abarth where she spent 4 years. She later qualified to race in Formula 3 for two seasons,and then Formula 3000. In 1992, she finally was granted an opportunity to compete in F1!
Snag Some Spaghetti and Meatballs at These Local NY Area and Long Island Italian Eateries
