Ettore Muro Chimeri (4 June 1921 – 27 February 1960) was a
racing 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 ...
from
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
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 ...
, Italy, but his family later settled in Venezuela. He was the first Venezuelan ever to compete in a Formula One Grand Prix.
Biography
He became a popular gentleman racing driver and competed with success in many local races in Venezuela. He raced in the Venezuelan Grand Prix held in Los Proceres,
Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
. His success and skill in car racing, gave him the enthusiasm for keep going forward, and he started an international professional promotion, racing sport cars and one-seater cars.
He participated in one
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
World Championship Grand Prix, the
1960 Argentine Grand Prix
The 1960 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on 7 February 1960. It was race 1 of 10 in the 1960 World Championship of Drivers and race 1 of 9 in the 1960 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. This ...
on 7 February 1960, in his
Maserati 250F
The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made.
Mechanical details
The 250F principally used the SSG, 220 bhp (at 7400r ...
(a car he owned, previously raced by
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio (, ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995) was an Argentine racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "el Chueco" and "el Maestro", Fangio won five Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the ti ...
and Francisco Godia, prepared in Venezuela and sold to an Italian buyer sometime after his death). Chimeri qualified 14th, but failed to finish the race having experienced electrical problems, and retired after 37 of 95 laps.https://f1blast.com/the-story-of-3-venezuelan-f1-drivers/ He scored no championship points, but he wished to keep going in the Formula One calendar that year.
Two weeks later, while practicing for the Gran Premio Libertad
sports car
A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...
race at the Camp Freedom military airfield on the edge of
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Ferrari 250TR crashed through barriers and plunged into a ravine. Chimeri was flown to hospital, where he died later that day.