Alejandro De Tomaso is no
longer with us
A passionate man that climbed all the way up to F1 [22/05/03 - 16:22]
lejandro De Tomaso, 74 years
old, passed away yesterday in Modena. The passionate man of Argentine origin was
nonetheless a true Italian in his heart. De Tomaso made history in different
motor sport categories but also as a car manufacturer with the De Tomaso brand.
Famous models such as the Pantera quickly became legendary.
De Tomaso arrived in Italy in 1955 and took part in many automobile races, including the 1957 Argentina Grand Prix. Then in 1959 he decided to start his own team, doing projects in Formula One and Indy Cars. In 1962, De Tomaso unveiled its first road car and other models followed, such as the Mangusta and the famous Pantera.
But foremost, Alejandro De Tomaso was passionate about motor sport. After preparing Coopers in Formula Junior and Oscas in F2, De Tomaso started F1 in 1961 but after only two years in this category without having any positive results, he decided to quit F1... to come back a few years later in 1970 with a specialist in the field: Frank Williams.
It is Gian Paolo Dallara (the designer of the Lamborghini Miura) that introduced De Tomaso to Frank Williams at the end of 1969. To Williams' request, De Tomaso built an F1 car designed by Dallara and entered it in F1 as a Williams-De Tomaso. To drive this car in 1970, Williams chose his friend Piers Courage. Unfortunately, the chassis was not a good design because it was too heavy. Just when things seemed to be improving, Piers Courage killed himself at Zandvoort. Alejandro De Tomaso ended the season but decided to turn his back on F1 for good.
A passionate man that climbed all the way up to F1 [22/05/03 - 16:22]
lejandro De Tomaso, 74 years
old, passed away yesterday in Modena. The passionate man of Argentine origin was
nonetheless a true Italian in his heart. De Tomaso made history in different
motor sport categories but also as a car manufacturer with the De Tomaso brand.
Famous models such as the Pantera quickly became legendary.De Tomaso arrived in Italy in 1955 and took part in many automobile races, including the 1957 Argentina Grand Prix. Then in 1959 he decided to start his own team, doing projects in Formula One and Indy Cars. In 1962, De Tomaso unveiled its first road car and other models followed, such as the Mangusta and the famous Pantera.
But foremost, Alejandro De Tomaso was passionate about motor sport. After preparing Coopers in Formula Junior and Oscas in F2, De Tomaso started F1 in 1961 but after only two years in this category without having any positive results, he decided to quit F1... to come back a few years later in 1970 with a specialist in the field: Frank Williams.
It is Gian Paolo Dallara (the designer of the Lamborghini Miura) that introduced De Tomaso to Frank Williams at the end of 1969. To Williams' request, De Tomaso built an F1 car designed by Dallara and entered it in F1 as a Williams-De Tomaso. To drive this car in 1970, Williams chose his friend Piers Courage. Unfortunately, the chassis was not a good design because it was too heavy. Just when things seemed to be improving, Piers Courage killed himself at Zandvoort. Alejandro De Tomaso ended the season but decided to turn his back on F1 for good.