Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Remembering Vittorio Brambilla, who was born 11 November 1937. Nicknamed “the Monza Gorilla,” Brambilla began racing on motorcycles, then karts, before joining his brother Tino Brambilla in Formula Three in 1968, eventually moving up to Formula Two. In 1974, he took Beta Tools to Formula One with March, securing his first point that same year. His second season showed potential, highlighted by a pole position in Sweden, but was marred by frequent retirements until his memorable victory at the rain-soaked 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. Celebrating mid-race, he famously crashed off the circuit moments after crossing the finish line. He died at Lesmo, near Milan, of a heart attack at the age of 63 while gardening at his home.
Definitely crash prone but sensational to watch especially in the rain. At Watkins Glen I saw him return to the garage after a practice session--he took off his crash helmet and immediately started wrenching on his own car. Very impressive. He suffered a head injury(possibly in coma?) in the Monza accident in 1978, don't know if you ever completely recover from that.
Saturday morning at the Glen, Giles and Vittorio were the only ones out in the pouring rain. I like to think they went out there just for the pure fun of it.
I was standing at the pit entrance when Gilles finally packed it in for the day. As he passed the throng of drenched fans he booted the throttle(in neutral) to give us a thrill. The crowd roared, my friend turned to me and said "Thank you, Gilles."
