Giulio Ramponi (8 January 1902 – December 1986) was an Italian automobile technician and racing driver. As a racing driver, he specialized in endurance racings. He was born in

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 ...

where he worked for the Florentia car maker and the Pelizzola maker of fuel pumps. In 1918, he became the mechanic of his stepfathers friend, opera singer

Giuseppe Campari Giuseppe Campari (8 June 1892 – 10 September 1933) was an Italian opera singer and Grand Prix motor racing driver. Racing career Born near the city of Lodi southwest of Milan, as a teenager he went to work for the Alfa Romeo automobile com ...

(1892–1933) who won at Mugello in 1920 with

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 ...

. In 1924, Ramponi became chief

riding mechanic A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, ...

and co-driver for

Antonio Ascari Antonio Ascari (15 September 1888 – 26 July 1925) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing champion. He won four Grands Prix before his premature death at the 1925 French Grand Prix. He was the father of two-time World Champion Alberto Ascari. E ...

(1888–1925) and his

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 ...

, in which Ascari was killed in 1925. Ramponi was not in the car, since a GP rule change in 1925 eliminated the use of riding mechanics. Ascari died in his arms. Working under

Vittorio Jano Vittorio Jano (; 22 April 1891 – 13 March 1965) was an Italian automobile designer of Hungarian descent from the 1920s through 1960s. Jano was born ''Viktor János'' in San Giorgio Canavese, in Piedmont, to Hungarian immigrants, who ar ...

(1891–1965), he was test driver for

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 ...

in 1927, and again, chief mechanic and co-driver for Campari. They won

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 ...

in 1928 and 1929. He also raced in England, winning the 1928

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

6-hour race. Since losing his job in 1929, he worked for

Tim Birkin Sir Henry Ralph Stanley Birkin, 3rd Baronet (26 July 1896 – 22 June 1933), known as Tim Birkin, was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. Background and family Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in ...

(1896–1933) and the

Dorothy Paget Dorothy Wyndham Paget (21 February 1905 – 9 February 1960) was a British racehorse owner and sponsor of motor racing. Early life Paget was the daughter of Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough, Lord Queenborough and Pauline Payne Whitney of ...

team. In 1932, he was again at Alfa for the

Alfa Romeo P3 The Alfa Romeo P3, P3 monoposto or Tipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed by Vittorio Jano, one of the Alfa Romeo 8C models. The P3 is considered to be the world's first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car and was Alfa Romeo's second ...

project. On 10 September 1933

was killed, at the same time causing Baconin Borzacchini to fatally crash. In 1934, he became team leader with

Whitney Straight Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight, (6 November 1912 – 5 April 1979) was a British racing driver, aviator, businessman, and a member of the prominent Whitney family. Early life Born in New York City, Whitney Straight was the son of Maj ...

(1912–79) and they won the First

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, South Africa, East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Ri ...

. Since 1935 he worked for

Dick Seaman Richard John Beattie Seaman (4 February 1913 – 25 June 1939) was a British racing driver. He drove for the Mercedes-Benz team from 1937 to 1939 in the Mercedes-Benz W125 and W154 cars, winning the 1938 German Grand Prix. He died of his inj ...

(1913–39). Ramponi also became a British citizen in the 1930s. During

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 ...

he was interred on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

and his first wife died from

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

. In 1947, he married Irene Cooper.
Seaman was like a son to me
' in Motorsport Archives, March 2009. He worked for 20 years as a consultant to various automobile and aircraft companies. Ramponi had first visited South-Africa in 1934. Since 1968 he and his wife Irene lived in South Africa.Patrick O'Brien,

', describing a meeting he had with Ramponi in 1981. From a private blog, 16 February 2012. Ascari-Ramponi-BelgianGP-1925.jpg,

(1888–1925) and Ramponi won

1925 Belgian Grand Prix The 1925 Belgian Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on the 28th of June 1925. This was the first ever grand prix held at Spa, and the first ever Belgian Grand Prix. Entries Classification Race Starting Gri ...

in an

. Ascari died less than a month later in the

1925 French Grand Prix The 1925 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry on 26 July 1925. It was the third race of the inaugural AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship. The race, which was 80 laps, was won by Robert Benois ...

. 1925 Monza Alfa P2 Pete de Paolo and Ramponi.jpg , With

Pete DePaolo Peter DePaolo (April 6, 1898 – November 26, 1980) was an American racing driver who is remembered as one of the greatest racers of his generation. He won the 1925 Indianapolis 500, and was a two-time National Champion, winning in 1925 and 1927 ...

and an Alfa P2 at Monza in

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

Weber-ramponi-trossi-ferrari.jpg, From left: Eduardo Weber, Ramponi,

Carlo Felice Trossi Count Carlo Felice Trossi di Pian Villar (27 April 1908 – 9 May 1949) was an Italian racing driver and auto constructor. Racing career During Trossi's career, he raced for three different teams: Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo and, briefly, Mase ...

and

Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; ; 18 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari in Grand Prix motor racing, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque. Under h ...

of the

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 ...

team in June 1933. The car is an

Alfa Romeo 8C The Alfa Romeo 8C was a range of Alfa Romeo road, Auto racing, race and sports cars of the 1930s. The 8C designates 8 cylinders, and originally a straight-8, straight 8-cylinder engine. The Vittorio Jano designed 8C was Alfa Romeo's primary raci ...

2300 "Monza".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramponi, Giulio 1902 births 1986 deaths Italian automotive engineers Italian racing drivers Racing drivers from Milan Alfa Romeo people Engineers from Milan Riding mechanics Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom