At the turn of the 80s and early 90s, the Formula 1 world championships of that magical period saw a very rich presence of Italian pilots on the starting grid: some of them had the opportunity to write their name in the list of winners of a GP in the Circus, even touching the conquest of a world title. Others, on the other hand, failed to achieve these goals, even though they showed all their talent elsewhere. In the latter case, a pilot of the caliber of Mauro Baldithat just today, January 31, 2022, turns 68. Born in Reggio Emilia in 1954, he was not in fact the protagonist of a memorable career in the top car category, also thanks to a certain misfortune linked to certain extra-sporting circumstances that materialized in the teams for which he raced. On the contrary, his skills were widely rewarded in the endurance categories, where his signature is still today one of the most valuable and recognized in the history of these competitions.
Contrary to his other ‘colleagues’, who entered the world of kart motorsport, Baldi made his rally debut in the first half of the 1970s. In the middle of that decade, the driver from Reggio moved to single-seaters in the Italian Cup Renault 5, winning the national championship in 1977. A success that guaranteed him the leap in quality in Formula 3, where expectations did not disappoint, indeed. Became European champion in 1981the gradual growth of Baldi attracted the attention of various Formula 1 teams, among which the courtship of the Arrows. Not surprisingly, it was the British house that allowed him to make his debut in the Circus ahead of the season 1982, where he came to replace Riccardo Patrese, who in turn passed to Brabham. In his debut year, Baldi had to surrender on many occasions due to technical problems, which did not prevent him from taking the first championship points: these were first conquered in Zandvoort, and then in Austria, where he arrived. 6th in both cases.
Results that did not go unnoticed at theAlfa Romeodetermined to bet on him in the 1983 after the departure of another Italian like Bruno Giacomelli. Also in this case, even with other retreats, there were two other points positions: in one of these, caught again in HollandBaldi arrived 5th at the finish line, establishing his best personal placement in F1. However, in 1984, despite the confirmation, Alfa Romeo signed a new sponsorship agreement with Benetton, which meant the end of the experience of the Reggiano in the Milanese team. Passed therefore to the Spiritthe performance of the British car did not allow him to replicate what he did with Arrows and Alfa, both in 1984 and in 1985. In these seasons, moreover, he did not take part in all the scheduled races, further worsening the situation in the 1986: in agreement with the Swedish team Ekström, the serious economic crisis of the latter did not allow the Italian to participate in any event on the calendar, with Baldi who thus decided to retire from F1.
While participating in tests for Lamborghini in 1990, the real turning point came in the sports-prototype championship of that season, when he won the title at the wheel of the Mercedes. A victory that started a memorable decade not only for Baldi, but also for Italian motorsport in the endurance universe. In fact, from 1994 to 2002 he first established himself in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – along with Yannick Dalmas and Hurley Hailwood – to then win in the United States. In 1998, in fact, he took home a splendid double in 12 Hours of Sebring and in 24 Hours of Daytonathe latter also conquered in 2002. In this way, Mauro Baldi is still today the only Italian to have won the Triple Crown in the endurance categories, as well as one of nine pilots to have completed this feat.
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