Anna Maria Peduzzi (12 July 1912 – 23 August 1979) was an Italian

racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. She raced from the 1930s to the 1950s, mostly in her native Italy. She is the first driver on record to have raced for

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...

. During her career, she also raced for

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

Stanguellini Automobili Stanguellini was an Italian sport cars manufacturer based in Modena. The company was founded by Vittorio Stanguellini and was mostly active between 1946 and 1960. They produced racing cars until 1981, when Vittorio Stanguellini died. S ...

and

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

Biography

Peduzzi was born in

Olgiate Olona Olgiate Olona is a town and ''comune'' located in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. The town is bathed by the river Olona. The nearest city to Olgiate Olona is Busto Arsizio, about away. The town of Olgiate Olona ...

, a small town close to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. In 1934 she married race car test driver

Franco Comotti Gianfranco Comotti (24 July 1906 – 10 May 1963) was an Italian racing driver. He participated in two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 3 September 1950. He scored no championship points. He also participated in numerous no ...

from

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

. In 1933 she bought an

Alfa Romeo 6C The Alfa Romeo 6C name was used on road, race, and sports cars produced between 1927 and 1954 by Alfa Romeo; the "6C" name refers to the six cylinders of the car's straight-six engine. Bodies for these cars were made by coachbuilders such as Jam ...

1500 Gran Sport Testa fissa which she raced alone and occasionally with her husband, such as when they drove for Ferrari in the 1934

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts :it:Franco Mazzotti, Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times f ...

, winning the 1.5 litre class and finishing 13rd overall. As ardent anti-fascists, Peduzzi and Comotti ended up having troubles with

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

. The couple relocated to Paris in 1936 where they made their home until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1945. During this period she suffered from

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

.Anna Maria Peduzzi
in speedqueens.blogspot.com, last accessed on December 19, 2018. Following the end of the War, Peduzzi reprised her racing career. From 1952 to 1956 she raced Stanguellini 750 cc race cars. From 1956 to 1959, she mainly raced a 2-litre

Ferrari 500 TR The Ferrari Monza is one of a series of cars built by Ferrari. In the early 1950s, Ferrari shifted from using the compact Gioacchino Colombo-designed V12 engine in its smallest class of sports racers to a line of four-cylinder engines designed ...

, initially teaming-up with Belgian driver Gilberte Thiroin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peduzzi, Anna Maria Italian racing drivers Italian female racing drivers 1912 births 1979 deaths Sportspeople from Como 20th-century Italian sportswomen