B Tarashi bitza special Ferrari

[WANHER]

Can anyone help me about a driver who's entered a Ferrari on different italian non championship grand prix early in the fifties
Many books reports a 166 formula II
Thanks

[Vitesse]

Berardo (not Bernardo!) Taraschi was one of many Italian amateurs who were around the fringes of F1 in the 50s.

His Ferrari 166 was chassis number GP2-49, run by the works team in 1950 and 1951 until the 500 came in. It was then sold to Scuderia Marzotto, who used it until the end of 1952. The car then dropped from view until it reappeared in Taraschi's hands at Pescara in 1954. Taraschi then used it once or twice a season until the end of 1957.

Taraschi was also involved with two of the odder cars of the fifties.
Firstly came his home-built Urania-Fiat, which was a 500cc supercharged Formula 2 car and probably the only s/c car to take the start in the 2.0 litre F2. This was essentially a supercharged F3 car. It started only once, in the 1950 Naples GP: 7th and last, one lap behind, in Heat 1 and 7th in the final, 6 laps down. No more was heard of it ...

Then he teamed up with engine conversion specialist Attilio Giannini to build the Giaur (GIAnnini+URania) sports cars. There was also a single-seater for Italian 750cc racing, which was fitted with a linered-down engine when Italy adopted the international 500cc F3. Taraschi used it to win Italy's first 500cc F3 race at Caracalla in 1951, but it was generally outclassed by the Coopers and others.

When Italian 750cc racing started to revive, Giaur returned to it and also produced a supercharged car for F1 which featured a Fiat engine prepared by Giannini. Taraschi ran it only once, at the 1954 Rome GP, where it retired on lap 5. It was one of only two supercharged cars to run in the 1954-60 F1.

As mentioned above, Taraschi ran his Ferrari occasionally into 1957 and later became a Formula Junior constructor under his own name: yet again using Fiat engines, this front-engined machine was fairly successful, with Colin Davis especially scoring several wins in Italy and France in 1959. Taraschi scored the one of the last wins for his cars at Caserta in 1960 but then turned to tuning Fiats for a living.

[Michael M]

Can confirm the Marzotto/Taraschi car, but there had been various Ferrari 166 F2, 6 or 7 of the F-series in 1949, and 2 or 3 of the GP-series 1950, some of them sold directly to privateers, other after being used as works car before. Most of these cars raced by private entrants over years. To try an identification, I would need a photo.

[WANHER]

Thanks a lot for such fast reply
in many books his car is reported to have
an 212 engine ?
I'm afraid i can't get a picture of this car

[Michael M]

The 212 has nothing to do with Taraschi. Early in 1951 Ferrari built 2 tipo 212 V12 cars with 2.5 litres, one had been sold to Rudi Fischer (Scuderia Espadon, Switzerland) and used by them until 1953 either with 2.5 ltr engine in F1 or with 2 ltr in F2. The car today is in the Schlumpf collection at Mulhouse. The other 212 was entered by the SF for Serafini at Siracusa and Pau in March 1951, then it disappeared. Last year a car was auctioned which was claimed to be the Serafini 212.

[WANHER]

Thanks a lot but I think it woulbe time that someone pick the story up
those early ferrari monoposto

[Michael M]

Together with forum member Austria I picked it up already 1 1/2 years ago, and we made some rather comprehensive research on this topic since then.

[Vitesse]

Just a footnote to the Taraschi Formula Junior: Peter Revson was among the drivers who ran one ...

[WANHER]

I have just found a book about Berardo Tarashi
written in Italian. Amazing story about Giaur
Urania and Tarashi FJ

[Michael M]

Robert, any pictures of the Ferrari 166 F2 in this book? If so, I would be very thankful if you could scan them and send them to me.

michael@axos.nl

[WANHER]

Dear Michael

I've just ordered this book from a friend in Italy
and will get next week . By the way I've to go for
work at bari I'll try to get more informations over
the race held after the war.
I also found an article from D Nye about gruppo inter
and their 3 cars :
2 166 sc
1 125/166 spyder bodied by ?

[Michael M]

Grupo (or Scuderia) Inter - Prince Igor Troubetskoy and Count Bruno Sterzi - in fact had 3 Ferraris in 1948. The 2 Spyder Corsas # 006I and # 010I, and the first ever road car built by Ferrari numbered # 001S, a roadster bodied by Allemano. 001S was road registered on Sterzi's Milan company "MI 111176", and used for private transport and as training car for the 1948 TF. Inter's team manager, pre-war GP driver Goffredo Zehender, crashed Sterzi's # 006I during tests on Sicily, and Sterzi asked his mate Troubetskoy to use his # 010I. Troubetskoy and Biondetti therefore used the muletto # 001S, and when most of the pure racing cars experienced problems with the rather bad fuel available locally, the lower spec road car ran without troubles and was able to take victory.

[WANHER]

Still about this article it coul be that 010I
Is the car that T Nuvolari drove in the 1948 MM
The chassis 's got a welding reparation on the
rear suspension support ?

[Michael M]

Originally posted by WANHER
The chassis 's got a welding reparation on the
rear suspension support ?

Know what you are intending to say, but Zehender damaged # 006I and not # 010I. And what about the engine cover, the left front wing, the driver's seat, and the brakes??

[WANHER]

Hi Michael
just writing what I'm reading this car also gets
reparation on the left .
Otherwise I can scan the article for you
Robert

[Michael M]

Yes, of course # 010I was Nuvolari's 1948 Mille Miglia car, and of course after the MM the rear suspension support needed to be welded. I thought the story was known, it not, let me tell it again.

A drive in a new Cisitalia had been arranged for Tazio, however the car was damaged before the race and it looked as if Nuvolari would be sidelined before the race even began. Capitalizing on the moment, Enzo Ferrari had on hand a "spare" Tipo 166 Spyder Corsa and quickly arranged for Nuvolari to drive it. In a strange twist of fate, the actual owner Prince Igor Troubetskoy could not make the race as he had to travel on short notice to Paris to attend to his ill wife, Barbara Hutton.

Driving the Prince’s Ferrari he soon found himself where he belonged, in the lead. Though Nuvolari was very sick, coughing and spitting blood he was still able to open an incredible 29-minute lead over the next closest competitor! Driving in the only manner that he knew, flat out on the edge, he left parts of his car all along the Italian countryside. The Prince’s Ferrari slowly came apart loosing first the hood and then a front fender. Soon the driver's seat came loose and was shortly replaced with a sack of oranges and still he drove on. Knowing that he was dying and that this might be his last chance for a victory he would not, could not quit. When he reached Maranello his appearance shocked Enzo Ferrari, who begged him to quit even at the cost of denying Ferrari his first Mille Miglia victory. Some thought that he was on a suicide mission to die at the wheel of a race car rather than in a hospital. Finally with the brakes on his car failing while still leading the race the rear suspension upright cracked. He had driven the little Ferrari as fast as he could, as long as he could and had it not failed nothing on this earth could have taken this last great victory from his grasp. His race over he stopped his car by the side of the road, exhausted he was lifted from his car by a local priest and put to bed.

It was several days later that Prince Troubetskoy learned that it was his own Ferrari the Nuvolari had been given for his ride in the Mille Miglia. The Prince was even more shocked when he was informed that he was being publicly thanked for kindly giving Nuvolari what was expected to be his last ride in the Mille Miglia. The Prince never forgave Ferrari for his indiscretion and even after the Ferrari Factory refurbished his car he remained bitter.


(Not my words, but I forgot to make a note in my archive about the author)

[Buonfornello]

Taraschi's Urania cars did use some Fiat running-gear, but not Fiat engines.The Uranias used 2-cylinder horizontally-opposed, air-cooled BMW motorcycle engines.The Urania 750 Sport used a 750cc version tuned to an output of 45bhp.The supercharged Urania F2 car also used the 750 BMW, with its capacity reduced by Taraschi to 500cc.My source says that the supercharged F1 car of 1954 was abandoned early in its development and never turned a wheel in the GP of Rome or in any other race.Taraschi drove the old Ferrari 166 in that event.

[Vitesse]

Buonfornello: can I ask what your source is re the s/c F1 car? If correct, this would be a rewrite of history ... it might also explain why AFAIK there's no photo of the Giaur.

[Buonfornello]

Here is some further information about Taraschi's F1 campaign from the same source(article by Luigi Orsini in the Winter 1983-84 edition of "Le Grandi Automobili")

"Sfruttando il potenziale intrensico del modello Red Blitz, nel 1954 Taraschi torna riproppore il tema del motore sovralimentato che gli permette un fugace approccio alla nuova Formula 1, che ammette motori sovralimentati di 750 cc a fianco degli aspirati di 2,5 litri.Questa equiparazione risulta ancora troppo sfavorevole per cui l'esperimento viene subito abbandonato.Desiderando proseguire questa partecipazione attiva alla massima espressione dell'autombilismo, rileva della Scuderia Marzotto, una Ferrari 166 F2 con la quale prende parte, dopo averla profondamente modificata non proprio in sintonia con Maranello, ai Gran Premi chesi tengono in Italia fra il 1954 e il 1957"

"Exploiting the intrinsic potential of the Red Blitz model, in 1954 Taraschi returned to the theme of the supercharged engine which would allow him a frugal approach to the new Formula 1, which allowed supercharged motors of 750cc besides normally aspirated ones of 2.5 liters.This arrangement again proved disappointing and consequently the experiment was quickly abandoned.Wanting to pursue his active participation at the highest level of motorsport, he borrowed from the Marzotto stable a Ferrari 166 F2 with which he took part in the Grand Prix races held in Italy between 1954 and 1957, after having profoundly modified it in ways which Maranello had not foreseen."

The Red Blitz referred to was a monoposto Giaur, which used a 750cc Giannini G2 motor, a 4-cylinder Fiat block with a Giannini twin cam head.

[Buonfornello]

Probably you can tell from the several small mistakes in my translation that Italian is not my first language, but the only mistake that affects the meaning is that it should read that Taraschi "obtained" the Ferrari from the Marzotto's rather than "borrowed".That still leaves the question open as to whether the legal ownership of the car changed or not...It would also be interesting to know what those modifications were that Maranello wouldn't have liked.

It sounds to me that the supercharged Giannini engine never got off the test bench and into an actual car.If it had, though, the car would have been a Giaur Red Blitz.I can't post a picture of it, but the Red Blitzes were single-seat, fenderless torpedo-bodied cars.If you can visualize a smaller, trimmer version of a Ferrari 500F or a smaller version of a Lancia D-50 with its pontoon gas tanks removed, sort of like that.

[Vitesse]

I have a number of sources available, all of which state that the Giaur did run in Rome. Perhaps the most persuasive is LJK Setright in Grand Prix Car 1954-66:

"This little vehicle, entered by local man Taraschi, had an engine developed from a production Fiat driving from the front of the crankshaft a Roots supercharger that inspired from a large Weber carburettor. The car's tubular chassis had a Fiat front suspension and a one-piece rear axle suspended by helical springs, ahead of which the driver sat to the left of the transmission. The little car appears to have been impressive rather than competitive."

[Roger Clark]

I don't think there can be any dobt that the Giaur did run at rome. Motor Sport, Autosport and Autocourse all reported on it. Setright's description of the car seems to have been taken largely from Denis Jenkinson's. this is a picture of Taraschi driving a Giaur in a 750cc race in Turin on April 10th 1954; it probably gives some idea what the F1 car looked like.