Clay Regazzoni

Did You Know?

• Regazzoni grew up in Porza, in the Italian-speaking Swiss canton of Ticino.
• He was married to Maria Pia and had two children: Alessia and Gian Maria.
• After his Formula One career ended, he competed in the Paris–Dakar rally and Sebring 12 Hours using a hand-controlled car.

Racing career

Regazzoni began competing in car races in 1963 at age 24, many of his early experiences occurring in Italy because Switzerland had banned motor racing after the 1955 Le Mans disaster. His first outings were in his own Austin-Healey Sprite, with which he achieved two podium finishes from his first three races. He moved to a Mini Cooper for the 1964 club racing season. In 1965 he drove an open-wheeled car for the first time, entering the European Formula Three championship with a Brabham.

Improving form in 1966 with a De Tomaso attracted the attention of Italian constructor Tecno, which provided him a Formula Three chassis for 1967. His reliable, fast performances earned a works Tecno drive in Formula Two for 1968. The small Formula Three machine passed under the Armco rail, which sliced across the top of the open cockpit; Regazzoni ducked low enough for the rail to miss his head by a tiny margin, and the car stopped when the roll hoop wedged under the barrier.

Death

On 15 December 2006, Regazzoni died when his Chrysler Voyager struck the rear of a lorry on the Italian A1 motorway near Parma. Crash investigators estimated his speed at about 100 km/h, and an autopsy excluded a heart attack as the cause of loss of control. His funeral on 23 December in Lugano was attended by Niki Lauda, Arturo Merzario, Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Peter Sauber.