Ludovico Scarfiotti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ludovico Scarfiotti
Scarfiotti in 1966
Born	(1933-10-18)18 October 1933 Turin, Kingdom of Italy
Died	8 June 1968(1968-06-08) (aged 34) Berchtesgaden, West Germany
Cause of death	Racing accident
Spouse(s)	Ida Benignetti ​ (m. 1966)​
Children	2
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1963–1968
Teams	Ferrari, Eagle, Cooper
Entries	13 (10 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	1
Career points	17
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First entry	1963 Dutch Grand Prix
First win	1966 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry	1968 Monaco Grand Prix

Ludovico Scarfiotti (18 October 1933 – 8 June 1968) was an Italian racing driver. He competed in world championship Formula One racing and international sports car events during the 1960s. He is best remembered for winning the 1966 Italian Grand Prix driving for the famous Scuderia Ferrari team. He also won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in 1963.

Scarfiotti was known for his smooth driving style and technical skill. He drove many different types of race cars, including open-wheel single-seaters, closed sports prototypes, and lightweight hillclimb machines. Throughout the 1960s, he represented major racing teams like Ferrari, Porsche, and Cooper.

Early Life and Family Background

Scarfiotti was born in Turin, a major industrial city in northern Italy. Turin was the heart of the Italian automobile industry. Because of this, Scarfiotti grew up surrounded by cars and engineering.

His family had strong historical ties to Italian car manufacturing. His grandfather, also named Lodovico Scarfiotti, was one of the nine original founders of Fiat. His grandfather also served as the very first president of Fiat in 1899.

Growing up in a wealthy family connected to motorsport allowed young Ludovico to develop an early interest in cars. He studied mechanics and learned how engines worked. He soon decided to follow his passion for competitive driving.

Early Sports Car Racing Career

Scarfiotti began his motorsport career in local Italian sports car events and hillclimbing competitions during the late 1950s. Hillclimbing required drivers to race against the clock up steep mountain roads. These events demanded sharp reflexes and careful car control.

By 1960, his impressive driving caught the attention of Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari. Ferrari signed Scarfiotti to drive sports cars in major endurance championships across Europe and North America.

Major Endurance Races

Endurance racing is a motorsport format where teams of two or more drivers share a car over long distances or time limits. The goal is to test both the speed of the driver and the mechanical strength of the vehicle.

In October 1962, Scarfiotti raced in the 1,000 Kilometres de Paris at the Montlhéry circuit in France. Sharing a Ferrari with British driver Colin Davis, he finished in a strong third place.

Scarfiotti driving a Ferrari 275 P sports prototype at the Nürburgring in 1964.

Victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1963

Scarfiotti achieved the biggest win of his sports car career at the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. He teamed up with fellow Italian driver Lorenzo Bandini in a rear-engine Ferrari 250 P.

The race was held in June 1963. Scarfiotti and Bandini completed 339 laps around the famous 8.3-mile Circuit de la Sarthe. They covered a total distance of 2,832 miles (4,558 km) at an average speed of 117.99 mph (189.89 km/h).

Their victory earned Ferrari its fourth consecutive overall win at Le Mans. It was also celebrated across Italy because both drivers and the car were completely Italian. Earlier that same year, Scarfiotti also won the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida alongside British champion John Surtees.

European Hillclimb Championship Success

In addition to circuit racing, Scarfiotti was one of the best hillclimb drivers of his generation. Hillclimb courses featured narrow asphalt roads, sharp hairpin turns, and no safety barriers.

Scarfiotti won the European Hillclimb Championship sports car title twice, first in 1962 and again in 1965. His ability to memorize complex mountain layouts made him a favorite driver for manufacturers competing on difficult tracks.

Formula One Career

Scarfiotti's outstanding sports car victories earned him a promotion to Ferrari's Formula One team in 1963. Formula One was the highest level of single-seater Grand Prix racing in the world.

Debut and Part-Time Drives

Scarfiotti made his Formula One World Championship debut at the 1963 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Driving a Ferrari 156, he qualified well and finished the race in sixth position, scoring one championship point in his very first Grand Prix.

During the next few seasons, Ferrari used Scarfiotti as a part-time Formula One driver. He focused heavily on sports cars while stepping into the Grand Prix car when needed. In 1965, he finished fifth in the non-championship 1965 Syracuse Grand Prix in Sicily.

Historic Victory at the 1966 Italian Grand Prix

The highlight of Scarfiotti's Formula One career happened at the 1966 Italian Grand Prix, held at the historic Monza circuit on 4 September 1966.

Scarfiotti driving the Ferrari 312 F1-66 at Monza in 1966.

Scarfiotti drove the powerful 3.0-litre Ferrari 312/66 equipped with a V12 engine. Starting from second on the starting grid, he drove a brilliant race in front of thousands of passionate Italian fans, known as the tifosi.

Scarfiotti set the fastest lap of the race and won with an average speed of 136.7 mph (220.0 km/h). His teammate Mike Parkes finished in second place, giving Ferrari a famous 1–2 finish.

This victory made Scarfiotti the first Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in fifteen years, following Alberto Ascari in 1951. He remained the most recent Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix for sixty years, until Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Italian Grand Prix.

Later Formula One Seasons

In 1967, Scarfiotti continued driving for Ferrari. At the non-championship 1967 Syracuse Grand Prix, Scarfiotti and his teammate Mike Parkes crossed the finish line side by side in an unusual dead heat, sharing first place.

Later in 1967, Scarfiotti drove an Eagle Mk1 for Anglo American Racers at the Italian Grand Prix. For the 1968 Formula One season, he joined the British Cooper Car Company team.

Driving a Cooper-BRM, Scarfiotti finished fourth at the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama. He followed that up with another solid fourth-place finish at the prestigious 1968 Monaco Grand Prix.

Porsche Team and Final Races

In late 1967, international sports car rules changed, limiting engine sizes for prototype racing cars. Ferrari decided to step away from the championship for the 1968 season.

Scarfiotti signed a contract with the German factory team Porsche to race their lightweight sports cars and hillclimb machines. He drove the Porsche 907 and Porsche 910 models.

In May 1968, Scarfiotti entered the grueling Targa Florio road race through the mountains of Sicily. Although his main car suffered mechanical trouble in practice, his speed showed that he was quickly adapting to the German team's machinery.

Final Event in the German Alps

On 8 June 1968, Scarfiotti traveled to Berchtesgaden in the German Alps to compete in a European Hillclimb Championship event on the Roßfeld mountain road.

During practice trials, his Porsche 910 went off the track on a fast section of the mountain. Scarfiotti suffered severe injuries in the accident and passed away on the way to the hospital at the age of 34.

Scarfiotti was remembered by teammates, competitors, and fans as a skilled, polite, and dedicated racer. His victories at Monza and Le Mans remain important milestones in Italian motorsport history.

Racing Record and Career Statistics

Complete Formula One World Championship Results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans Results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1960	Scuderia Ferrari	Pedro Rodríguez	Ferrari 250 TRI/60	S 3.0	22	DNF (Out of fuel)
1961	Scuderia Serenissima	Nino Vaccarella	Maserati Tipo 63	S 3.0	53	DNF (Engine)
1962	S.E.F.A.C. Ferrari	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari 268 SP	E 2.0	230	DNF (Clutch)
1963	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari 250 P	P 3.0	339	1st	1st
1964	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Mike Parkes	Ferrari 275 P	P 4.0	71	DNF (Oil pump)
1965	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	John Surtees	Ferrari 330 P2 Spyder	P 4.0	225	DNF (Gearbox)
1966	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Mike Parkes	Ferrari 330 P3	P 5.0	123	DNF (Accident)
1967	SpA Ferrari SEFAC	Mike Parkes	Ferrari 330 P4	P 5.0	384	2nd	1st
Sources:

See also

• Formula One drivers from Italy
• Scuderia Ferrari
• 24 Hours of Le Mans