Giuseppe Campari

Cavaliere Giuseppe Campari (June 8, 1892 – September 10, 1933) was an Italian opera singer and Grand Prix motor racing driver.

Racing career

Born near the city of Lodi southwest of Milan, as a teenager he went to work for the Alfa Romeo automobile company. Campari's job eventually involved test driving factory cars and his skills and interest led to his participation in competitive hillclimbing events. In 1914 the 21-year-old rookie showed his abilities with a fourth-place finish at the Targa Florio. His career was just getting going when World War I broke out and European racing came to a halt.

Following the Armistice that ended the war, racing resumed and in 1920 Campari earned his first major race win and the first for the Alfa Romeo company when he drove to victory at Mugello in Tuscany. He repeated as champion at Mugello the next year and took third place at the Targa Florio but did not earn another major championship until he captured the French Grand Prix in 1924 when he was part of a powerful three-man Alfa Romeo team with Count Gastone Brilli-Peri and Antonio Ascari in the P2 cars designed by Vittorio Jano.