Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Gastone Brilli-Peri (24 March 1893 – 22 March 1930) was an Italian racing driver, who won the 1925

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix () is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, motor racing Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been held since 1921 ...

in an

Alfa Romeo P2 The Alfa Romeo P2 won the inaugural Automobile World Championship in 1925, taking victory in two of the four championship rounds when Antonio Ascari drove it in the European Grand Prix at Spa and Gastone Brilli-Peri won the Italian Grand Pri ...

, securing the inaugural

World Manufacturers' Championship The World Manufacturers' Championship, also known as Automobile World Championship, was a competition organised by the AIACR between 1925 and 1930. It was the first World Championship in a motorsport. Scoring system Unlike the modern Formula On ...

title for Alfa Romeo. Known simply as "Brilli", his face had been permanently scarred in an accident during a Tour of Italy motorcycle race. He used to race wearing a hat similar to a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

beret A beret ( , ; ; ; ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap made of hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in the 19th century in Southern France and the north of History of Spain (1808 ...

, which is now known in Italy as a ''brilliperi''.

Biography

Brilli-Peri was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

into a noble family. He debuted in a bicycle race in 1907, aged 14. In 1911 he won the Tuscan cycling championship. In 1912 he bought a motorcycle, and in 1914 he debuted in a race at the

Lake Trasimeno Lake Trasimeno ( , also ; ; ; ), also referred to as Trasimene ( ), Trasimeno Lake, or Thrasimene in English, is a lake in the province of Perugia, in the Umbria region of Italy on the border with Tuscany. The lake has a surface area of , m ...

, winning the 1st Motogiro of Italy in the same year. He first raced as a car driver just after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he had acted asa motorcycle driver. In 1925, in an Alfa Romeo P2, he won his first Grand Prix at the Italian Grand Prize at

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. In 1929, still in the Alfa Romeo P2, he won the Circuit of Cremona and the

Tripoli Grand Prix The Tripoli Grand Prix (Italian: ''Gran Premio di Tripoli'') was a motor racing event first held in 1925 on a racing circuit outside Tripoli, the capital of what was then Italian Tripolitania, now Libya. It lasted until 1940. Background Moto ...

Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...

. Brilli-Peri was killed in 1930 during Saturday practice for the sixth

. Free practice had been scheduled from 11am to 1:50pm and Brilli-Peri, who knew the track well having won the race one year earlier, came to test the cars of his team, the Scuderia Materassi. He first made one lap on his car, then moved to the vehicle of his teammate

Clemente Biondetti Clemente Biondetti (18 October 1898 – 24 February 1955) was an Italian auto racing driver. Born into a working-class family, Biondetti raced motorcycles before turning to automobiles where he had greater success. Biography Born in Buddusò, S ...

, which had carburation problems. Brilli-Peri made one lap with Biondetti's car and then jumped again in his Talbot for another stint. However, during the second lap he crashed heavily near the village of Suq al Jum’ah (also known as Suk el Giuma or Sugh el Giumaa (سوق الجمعة)) and was killed on impact. According to eyewitnesses, while negotiating a fast left-handed bend, the car bounced on the irregular surface of the track. Brilli-Peri could not control it anymore and went straight into the right embankment, being ejected from the vehicle. The accident happened around 12:50pm. The race (composed of two heats - the first of them for voiturettes only - and a final), was won by Baconin Borzacchini in a

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

. Clemente Biondetti won the voiturette heat and was classified third in the final. Brilli-Peri died at the age of 37 years; the stadium of his native city,

Montevarchi Montevarchi is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. History The town of Montevarchi sprang up around 1100, near to a fortified Benedictine monastery, founded by bishop Elempert (986–1010) of Arezzo. At first the cas ...

, is named in his honour. The Italian actress

Nancy Brilli Nancy Brilli (; born 10 April 1964 as Nicoletta Brilli) is an Italian film, television and stage actress. Career Born in Rome, of partial Ukrainian origin, Nancy Brilli was introduced in cinema by Pasquale Squitieri, making her debut in a ro ...

is a niece of Brilli-Peri.'' Sette'', 4 agosto 2017

References

External links

Historicracing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brilli Peri, Gastone 1893 births 1930 deaths Counts in Italy 20th-century Italian nobility Sportspeople from Florence Italian racing drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sport deaths in Libya Italian male cyclists Grand Prix drivers 20th-century Italian sportsmen

Biography

See also

References

External links