Attilio Bettega

Attilio Bettega
Personal information
Nationality Italy Italian
Born (1953-02-19)19 February 1953
Trento, Italy
Died 2 May 1985(1985-05-02) (aged 32)
Zérubia, Corsica
World Rally Championship record
Active years 1978–1985
Co-driver Italy Maurizio Perissinot
United States Sergio Cresto
Italy Arnaldo Bernacchini
Teams Fiat, Lancia
Rallies 26
Championships 0
Rally wins 0
Podiums 6
Stage wins 47
Total points 130
First rally 1978 San Remo Rally
Last rally 1985 Tour de Corse
Bettega's Lancia 037.

Attilio Bettega (19 February 1953 – 2 May 1985) was an Italian rally driver.[1]

Biography

Bettega was born in Molveno, Trentino. In 1982, he joined the Lancia team driving the Lancia 037 after some years with Fiat. In his Lancia years he gained four podium finishes in rallies counting towards the World Rally Championship. His last podium was also his best one, driving his Lancia to second place at the 1984 Rallye Sanremo. In the 1985 season, he entered the Safari Rally and the Tour de Corse. In Corsica, on the fourth stage of the rally – Zerubia, Bettega lost control of his Lancia and crashed into a tree which simply ruptured into the driver's seat and killed him instantly. His co-driver Maurizio Perissinot survived the crash uninjured.

Bettega's accident pressured the safety aspects of Group B cars. Exactly one year later his former teammate Henri Toivonen and his co-pilot Sergio Cresto with the Lancia Delta S4 #4 (same number of the Bettega's car) died in a fireball accident at the same event, causing a ban for Group B.

Bettega's son, Alessandro Bettega has followed his father's footsteps and is also a rally driver.

Sources

  1. ↑ Autosport 50th Anniversary Issue Celebrating 50 years of the Best in Motorsport page 173 13 July 2000 Haymarket Specialist Magazines ISSN 1259-946X Parameter error in {{issn}}: Invalid ISSN.


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