Jean Porporato, originally named Giovanni Giacomo Bernardo Porporato (3 November 1879 – ?), was an Italian-born French automobile racing driver and mechanic from

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

who later lived much of his life

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

. He is mentioned in automobile press articles from 28 January 1906, where he is listed as a mechanic of the racing driver Paul Bablot on the occasion of the endurance record in a

Berliet Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and military vehicles among other vehicles based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France. Founded in 1899, and apart from a five-year period from 1944 to 1949 when it was put into 'a ...

car on the route from

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...

. Paul Bablot (1873–1932), the Berliet agent at

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, was the named driver for the Berliet marque in competition from 1904 (Mont Ventoux race, France) until 1906 with the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

and the Tourist Trophy, and one more time in 1908 with a victory in the Boulevard Michelet Hillclimb of

. Porporato, as fine-tuner and driver, drove Berliet cars in competition from 1907 until 1911. In the 1907 season he raced in the Targa Florio race, from which he retired. In the 1908 season he reached fourth place in the Targa Florio and competed in the Targa Bologna, achieving his only victory in the Berliet. In 1911 he appeared in the Coup de Voiturettes. In this race he came fifth in the 1913 season and ninth in the 1914 season. Porporato also competed in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

of 1915 and 1920, on both occasions failing to finish. In 1923 and 1924, he drove La Buire cars, notably at the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

in Lyon in 1924.Fondation de l'Automobile Marius Berliet, Lyon In his last, and most important, race, the

1925 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1925 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 3rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 20 and 21 June 1925. It was the last of the three races spanning 1923 to 1925 to determine the winner of the Rudge-Whitworth Triennial Cup, as well the second rac ...

, he retired.

Indy 500 results

References

External links

Racing career at racing-database.com
(Retrieved 26 July 2010) French racing drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Year of death missing 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Year of birth missing {{France-autoracing-bio-stub