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=== 1950: Scuderia Achille Varzi === |
=== 1950: Scuderia Achille Varzi === |
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| − | His decision to move from domestic Argentine racing to international racing was a heavy decision, Pián having to sell his car to fund the journey.<ref name=":6">https://www.facebook.com/pg/mecanicanacional.pian/posts/</ref> |
+ | At the beginning of 1950, Pián left Argentina to compete for the first time in motor racing's premier international category, Formula One. He was set to replace Juan Manuel Fangio at the [[Scuderia Achille Varzi]] team for the 1950 season. Scuderia Achille Varzi was the name of the team that was sponsored by the [[Automóvil Club Argentino]] (ACA), the governing body of Argentinian motorsport that was responsible for promoting Argentina's best drivers in the European competition. His decision to move from domestic Argentine racing to international racing was a heavy decision, Pián having to sell his car to fund the journey.<ref name=":6">https://www.facebook.com/pg/mecanicanacional.pian/posts/</ref> |
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| + | Pián would race in the team alongside fellow Argentinian, the young debutant José Froilán González. The team would use a [[Maserati 4CLT/48]] to compete throughout the season. Their first race came at the [[1950 San Remo Grand Prix|San Remo Grand Prix]] to which Pián qualified in seventh position. However he was notably two seconds slower than teammate González and four seconds off the pole time set by Alberto Ascari's {{Ferrari-CON}}. In the race, he drove consistently and was steadily promoted to fourth as the car's ahead of him retired. He followed González for much of the race until his younger teammate retired. He thereafter was positioned in third and went on to finish the race in this position. It was a strong opening result, however he finished two laps down on Fangio and Villoresi ahead of him. |
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The team's next race would come at the second round of the world championship at the [[1950 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco Grand Prix]].<ref name=":0">http://www.jmfangio.org/gp195002monaco.htm</ref> In the first day of practice, Pián appeared extremely competitive and set a time that put him sixth fastest.<ref name=":0" /> However on the second day, the track had notably become very slippery due to oil being spilled over the circuit after multiple engine failures.<ref name=":0" /> |
The team's next race would come at the second round of the world championship at the [[1950 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco Grand Prix]].<ref name=":0">http://www.jmfangio.org/gp195002monaco.htm</ref> In the first day of practice, Pián appeared extremely competitive and set a time that put him sixth fastest.<ref name=":0" /> However on the second day, the track had notably become very slippery due to oil being spilled over the circuit after multiple engine failures.<ref name=":0" /> |
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<nowiki> </nowiki>As Pián went up the hill approaching ''Massenet'', he suddenly lost control and crashed.<ref name=":0" /> Pián describing the accident as ''"I touched the brake gently, the car went into a spinning top and fired me."''<ref name=":0" />'' ''Pián was flung from his car, however appeared only lightly injured with only cuts and bruises to face and legs.<ref name=":0" /> Upon further examinations from a Dr. Orrechia it was noted that he had fractured his right fibula and would be unable to participate in the race.<ref name=":0" /> It was reported he was chasing after Alberto Ascari, a driver he fell afoul with in San Remo when he crashed.<ref name=":6" /> |
<nowiki> </nowiki>As Pián went up the hill approaching ''Massenet'', he suddenly lost control and crashed.<ref name=":0" /> Pián describing the accident as ''"I touched the brake gently, the car went into a spinning top and fired me."''<ref name=":0" />'' ''Pián was flung from his car, however appeared only lightly injured with only cuts and bruises to face and legs.<ref name=":0" /> Upon further examinations from a Dr. Orrechia it was noted that he had fractured his right fibula and would be unable to participate in the race.<ref name=":0" /> It was reported he was chasing after Alberto Ascari, a driver he fell afoul with in San Remo when he crashed.<ref name=":6" /> |
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| − | González had qualified third, whilst Pián unable to participate in the rest of qualifying dropped down to eighteenth fastest in the time sheets.<ref name=":0" /> |
+ | González had qualified third, whilst Pián unable to participate in the rest of qualifying dropped down to eighteenth fastest in the time sheets.<ref name=":0" /> Although he would be unable to participate in the race, his fastest time would have meant he would have started ahead of [[Johnny Claes]], [[Harry Schell]] and [[Peter Whitehead]] on the grid. |
It would turn out to be a difficult race for Scuderia Achille Varzi, after the first lap, González was involved in a pile-up which had seen him burned by an exploding fuel tank.<ref name=":0" /> By the end of the race, both Pián and González were left badly injured to which their compatriot, Juan Manuel Fangio, having won the race immediately grew concerned for the wellbeing of his fellow countrymen.<ref name=":0" /> Rather than celebrate his win, Fangio drove Pián to an orthopedic centre in Belogna before driving González to a specialist burns unit. <ref name=":0" /> |
It would turn out to be a difficult race for Scuderia Achille Varzi, after the first lap, González was involved in a pile-up which had seen him burned by an exploding fuel tank.<ref name=":0" /> By the end of the race, both Pián and González were left badly injured to which their compatriot, Juan Manuel Fangio, having won the race immediately grew concerned for the wellbeing of his fellow countrymen.<ref name=":0" /> Rather than celebrate his win, Fangio drove Pián to an orthopedic centre in Belogna before driving González to a specialist burns unit. <ref name=":0" /> |
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Revision as of 14:45, 29 January 2019
Formula One Career
1950: Scuderia Achille Varzi
At the beginning of 1950, Pián left Argentina to compete for the first time in motor racing's premier international category, Formula One. He was set to replace Juan Manuel Fangio at the Scuderia Achille Varzi team for the 1950 season. Scuderia Achille Varzi was the name of the team that was sponsored by the Automóvil Club Argentino (ACA), the governing body of Argentinian motorsport that was responsible for promoting Argentina's best drivers in the European competition. His decision to move from domestic Argentine racing to international racing was a heavy decision, Pián having to sell his car to fund the journey.[1]
Pián would race in the team alongside fellow Argentinian, the young debutant José Froilán González. The team would use a Maserati 4CLT/48 to compete throughout the season. Their first race came at the San Remo Grand Prix to which Pián qualified in seventh position. However he was notably two seconds slower than teammate González and four seconds off the pole time set by Alberto Ascari's Ferrari. In the race, he drove consistently and was steadily promoted to fourth as the car's ahead of him retired. He followed González for much of the race until his younger teammate retired. He thereafter was positioned in third and went on to finish the race in this position. It was a strong opening result, however he finished two laps down on Fangio and Villoresi ahead of him.
The team's next race would come at the second round of the world championship at the Monaco Grand Prix.[2] In the first day of practice, Pián appeared extremely competitive and set a time that put him sixth fastest.[2] However on the second day, the track had notably become very slippery due to oil being spilled over the circuit after multiple engine failures.[2]
As Pián went up the hill approaching Massenet, he suddenly lost control and crashed.[2] Pián describing the accident as "I touched the brake gently, the car went into a spinning top and fired me."[2] Pián was flung from his car, however appeared only lightly injured with only cuts and bruises to face and legs.[2] Upon further examinations from a Dr. Orrechia it was noted that he had fractured his right fibula and would be unable to participate in the race.[2] It was reported he was chasing after Alberto Ascari, a driver he fell afoul with in San Remo when he crashed.[1]
González had qualified third, whilst Pián unable to participate in the rest of qualifying dropped down to eighteenth fastest in the time sheets.[2] Although he would be unable to participate in the race, his fastest time would have meant he would have started ahead of Johnny Claes, Harry Schell and Peter Whitehead on the grid.
It would turn out to be a difficult race for Scuderia Achille Varzi, after the first lap, González was involved in a pile-up which had seen him burned by an exploding fuel tank.[2] By the end of the race, both Pián and González were left badly injured to which their compatriot, Juan Manuel Fangio, having won the race immediately grew concerned for the wellbeing of his fellow countrymen.[2] Rather than celebrate his win, Fangio drove Pián to an orthopedic centre in Belogna before driving González to a specialist burns unit. [2]
Pián thereafter returned to Argentina and never raced in Formula One again.[2] Pián thereafter never complained or was bitter about the fact that he had such a short time competing at the top level of motorsport.[2] Although his Formula One career was over, he did continue to use a Formula One Maserati 4CL in the Argentinian Fuerza Libre category throughout the end of 1950 until early 1952.[3]
Formula One Statistical Overview
Formula One Record
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Career Statistics
Template:Statbox
Career Results
| Complete Formula One Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pts | Pos |
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
Non-Formula One Career
Early Years
Alfredo Pián was born in the city of Las Rosas in the Argentine province of Sante Fe.[4] His father, Octavio was an Italian mechanic whom had migrated to Argentina in 1910, two years before Alfredo's birth.[4] Once his father had settled in Argentina, he became a motor car mechanic to which he specialised in the maintenance of Ford vehicles.[4] He was also an accomplished mechanic in equipment for navigation and aviation.
Octavio soon began to develop an interest in motor racing and was a regular racer of Ford cars.[4] His son, whom was following his father's footsteps as a mechanic would also develop his father's passion for cars and in particular, motor racing.[4]
Fuerza Limitada
In the 1930's and 1940's, the great Argentine road races were divided into two categories, the Fuerza Limitada, for cars of limited power and the Fuerza Libre, for cars of any power. For three consecutive years, Pián took the victory laurels of the Fuerza Limitada in 1939, 1940 and 1941 at the wheel of a Ford.
Following the Second World War, the series recommenced in 1947. Having been a three time champion of the series before its closure, Pián was forced to settle for the runner-up position in both 1947 and 1948. However in 1949, Pián reclaimed the title in an upgraded Ford B to take his fourth title in the series.
Turismo Carretera
In 1942, Pián entered his Ford into the Argentine touring car championship, the Turismo Carretera. It was here that he would for the first time be placed into competition with Juan Manuel Fangio. Pián competed in both the opening rounds of the championship, however the series was cancelled after the third round due to the import restrictions caused by the Second World War.
The series recommenced in 1947 to which Pián reentered the championship. Interestingly, whilst Pián raced a Ford in most other series, for 1947, Pián raced a Chevrolet, Ford's direct racing rivals in Argentina. Pián did not distinguish himself in the season, he finished 13th in the standings and well down on series leaders, Oscar Alfredo Gálvez and Juan Manuel Fangio.
He briefly returned to the series in 1949, in which he competed in two rounds of the championship with Ford. He then competed in a single event of the series in 1950 with a Ford.
Fuerza Libre
Pián's first international race came when he participated in a road race through the Uruguay capital of Montevideo. In his Ford, he took victory in the Fuerza Limitada category where thereafter he also entered the leading Fuerza Libre category. He continued his strong form to which he took pole position in his Ford, however his form faded in the race to which was won by Fangio in his Chevrolet. Pián's strong performance in Uruguay saw him dubbed, "The Rabbit of the Roses".
In 1948, having won the support race for the Gran Premio Otoño, Pián was set to enter the main Fuerza Libre event. Like in Montevideo, Pián would be placed in position to once again do battle with Argentina's lead driver, Juan Manuel Fangio. Pián took the lead from Fangio at the start to which he held the lead for the first eleven laps. Fangio had tailed him the whole way until he finally overtook Pián for the lead and thereafter was unchallenged. Pián in his Ford went on to finish second to Fangio's Chevrolet.
In 1949, Pián sampled Formula One machinery for the first time by entering a Maserati into the Gran Premio Maria Eva Duarte de Peron.[3] He would race against such international competition as Giuseppe Farina, Alberto Ascari, Luigi Villoresi, Prince Bira, Reg Parnell and Eitel Cantoni.[3] He would also compete against other leading Argentine aces such as Fangio, Gálvez and Clemar Bucci. Pián would finish the race in sixth position.[3]
Throughout early 1950 he competed in Formula One in Europe, however following breaking his leg at the Monaco Grand Prix, Pián returned to Argentina.[2] He made a racing return at the end of the season. Pián would continue to compete against Formula One machinery in the South American Fuerza Libre series.[3]
At the Gran Premio del presidente Arturo Alessandri Palma in Chile, Pián competed with the same Maserati 4CLT/48 that he had used in Formula One.[3] He ultimately failed to finish in a race that was dominated by the Ferrari's of Fangio and González.[3] At the Gran Premio de Paraná, Pián finished third in the Maserati albeit a lap down on Fangio and González's Ferrari's.[3] His final race of 1950 saw him enter the Gran Premio del Presidente Alessandri to which he failed to finish whilst Fangio and González dominated once again.[3]
In 1951, Pián and his Maserati entered the Buenos Aires Grand Prix.[3] The race notably marked the first competitive return of the dominant Mercedes team since before the war.[3] Pián was the most competitive driver to not be driving either a Ferrari or a Mercedes to which he finished the race in fifth, notably ahead of Karl Kling's Mercedes.[3] At the Gran Premio Extraordinario de Eva Duarte Perón, Pián challenged the Ferrari and Mercedes cars once again, however he failed to finish the event.[3]
In 1952, Pián failed to finish either the Buenos Aires Grand Prix or the Gran Premio Extraordinario de Eva Duarte Perón.[3] Thereafter the Maserati 4CLT/48 had become quite dated and was therefore dispensed for the 1953 season.[3]
For 1953, Pián returned to competition with a Ford as he had done for most of his career.[5] However he put his skills as a mechanic to good use and in fact constructed his own engine, the Pián for competition in the Ford chassis.[5] The Ford-Pián was instantly competitive to which he took a clear victory in the 1953 Fuerza Libre championship. Pián's success meant that it was the first time that a driver had won a motor race or championship at the wheel of an Argentine made engine.[5]
The Ford-Pián was competitive once again throughout 1954 to which for the second time, he took victory in the Fuerza Libre championship.[5] Most notably, he was able to put his Ford-Pián to the test against Formula One machinery at the 1954 Buenos Aires Grand Prix.[6] The Ford-Pián was notably the only car entered into the race that was not considered a Grand Prix car.[6] Nonetheless, Pián finished ninth of the ten finishers, ahead of Élie Bayol's Gordini.[6]
In 1955, for the third successive time, Pián took victory in the Fuerza Libre championship at the wheel of a Ford.[5] For the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix he entered an older model, Maserati A6GCM, however during the race he was the slowest of the A6GCM runners and finished the race in last place.[7]
In 1956, after three successive wins in the Fuerza Libre championship, Pián narrowly missed out on taking a fourth successive title when his main title rival over the previous seasons, Jesús Iglesias took the title.[8] Pián whom finished runner-up in the championship thereafter concluded his motor racing career.[5]
Death
On the 25th July 1990, at the age of 77, Pián passed away in Las Rosas, Sante Fe.[9] The cause of death was renal cell carcinoma.[9]
Legacy
Pián was one of the great national heroes of Argentina throughout the 1940's and 1950's.[10] In this time, the two main followings for sport in the country were football and motorsport. In the realm of Argentine motorsport, Pián was excelled by only the great Juan Manuel Fangio and the two Gálvez brothers, Oscar and Juan in fame.[10] He was described to have never talked about his achievements and instead had a very critical understanding of reality.[1]
Among his greatest achievements in motorsport was that of the 179 motor races he had started, Pián won 70 of them.[10] Pián is also remembered for skills as a mechanic to which preoccupied his time outside of motorsport.[10] Pián became the first driver to win a race in the Fuerza Libre with an engine of his own design and the first driver to win in the series with an Argentine engine.[10]
Pián lived in the city of Las Rosas throughout his life to which the city saw his birth and death.[11] In 2012, 100 years after his birth, the city of Las Rosas payed tribute to his memory.[11] On the 21st October 2012, the city unveiled a corridor in the Centennial Museum which payed tribute to Pián.[11] In the afternoon, a karting race named the Centenario Alfredo Pián was hosted through the streets of Las Rosas for the city's youth.[11] Pián's children and grandchildren were awarded a plaque of honour on behalf of Las Rosas.[11] Alfredo Pián Street in Las Rosas was opened to the public in his honour.[11]
In 2016, a documentary film on Pián's life titled Mecánica Nacional en tiempos de Pian was released to the Argentine public.[1] Film director, Ariel Perez praised Pián on being one of the few notable Argentine representatives in the "Golden Age of Motorsport".[12] The film also included interviews with his former teammate, José Froilán González whom died during the production of the film in 2013.[1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://www.facebook.com/pg/mecanicanacional.pian/posts/
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 http://www.jmfangio.org/gp195002monaco.htm
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/temporad.html#7
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 http://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Alfredo_Pian
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/alfredo-pian/
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/gran-premio-ciudad-de-buenos-aires/1954/
- ↑ https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/gran-premio-ciudad-de-buenos-aires/1955/
- ↑ https://www.driverdb.com/championships/standings/fuerza-libre-3050/1956/
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 https://www.facebook.com/mecanicanacional.pian/
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 http://lasrosasdigital.com.ar/noticia/2092/centenario-del-natalicio-de-alfredo-pian
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 http://renacerfm.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/la-municipalidad-de-las-rosas-recordo.html
- ↑ https://www.lasrosashoy.com/locales/501-a-27-anos-del-fallecimiento-de-alfredo-pian
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