REMEMBERING THE FLYING MANTUAN; Tazio Nuvolari is one driver all the great ones wanted to meet.(News)

Byline: MATT DAVIS

Jimmy Clark, Ayrton Senna, Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill. There are so many great drivers, but on the short list of the greatest road racers in history, the name Tazio Nuvolari has to be No. 1 or 2. Nuvolari was a consummate gentleman of the sport, and his legend hinges as much on that as on the fact he could beat your pants off driving anything, any day.

On two wheels between June 1920 and November 1930, Nuvolari rode Della Ferrera, Sarolea, Harley-Davidson, Fongri, Norton, Garelli, Indian, BSA, Borgo and Bianchi bikes to multiple successes in 124 races, with Norton and Bianchi bringing him national championships. On four wheels between March 1921 and April 1950, he piloted Ansaldo, Diatto, Chiribiri, Bianchi, Bugatti, OM, Alfa Romeo, Talbot, Maserati, MG, Auto-Union, Fiat, Cisitalia, Ferrari and Abarth-Cisitalia autos in 229 races. Altogether, he posted 105 victories in 353 outings, despite winning no world championships.

Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari was born in Castel d'Ario on the dusty plains of the Basso Veronese, east of Mantua, Italy on Nov. 16, 1892. His father Arturo and his Uncle Giuseppe had been Italian national cycling champions, so competition was in the family's blood.

After his discharge from the army in 1919 for reasons associated with tuberculosis, Nuvolari-popularly known as "Il mantovano volante'' (The Flying Mantuan)-got a motorcycling license from the Sporting Society of Cremona. Though already in his late 20s at his first sanctioned competition in Cremona riding a 600-cc Della Ferrera, Nuvolari was immediately noticed by journalists, fellow racers and the public for his moxie and his ability to make insufficient machinery do extraordinary things. Said legend and one-time Ferrari teammate Rene Dreyfus, "He talked to his cars and they answered! It was incredible. He would jump from side to side, put his whole body into the effort. It seemed to ...