Cesare Pastore
| Cesare Pastore | |
|---|---|
In his Bugatti at the Trento-Bondone hillclimb in 1928 | |
| Born | Cesare Battista Giuseppe Ignazio Sebastiano Domenico Alceo Pastore 1903 |
| Died | 8 November 1942 (aged 38–39) Bergamo, Italy |
Cesare Pastore (1903–1942) was an Italian Grand Prix driver, whose career lasted from 1926 to 1932.
Career
Pastore was the son of a wealthy industrialist and politician, Alceo Paolo Pastore (1858–1946); his great-uncle (also Cesare Pastore) had been a senator in Italy in the 19th century.[1]
He started racing in hillclimbs in 1926, in a family Lancia Lambda. The following year he started racing in more advanced machinery, sharing a Bugatti T37A with fellow Mantuan Tazio Nuvolari, who at the time was transitioning from motorcycle racing. In 1928, Pastore's family funded the Scuderia Nuvolari team for Nuvolari and Pastore,[2] and the team made its debut at the 1928 Gran Premio di Tripoli, with a third car for Achille Varzi. Pastore's Grand Epreuve debut ended in ignominy, crashing on the first lap of the race; Nuvolari went on to win.[3]
With Pastore's Bugatti hors de combat, Pastore bought a Maserati Tipo 26 as replacement, being credited with a 9th-place finish in the 1928 Premio Reale di Roma, albeit Baconin Borzacchini had to take over the car as Pastore fell ill during the race.[4]
After some successes in hillclimbs, Pastore was hired as reserve driver for Maserati at the 1928 Italian Grand Prix, and he relieved Aymo Maggi for 7 laps - with Borzacchini also taking a handful of laps - the trio being classified 5th.[5]
Pastore made his Mille Miglia debut in 1929, in the family Lambda, but did not finish. In the 1930 race he shared a Maserati Tipo 26 with Luigi Arcangeli, and the pair led at Bologna, but a broken piston soon afterwards caused a retirement.[6]
Post-racing life
Pastore married in 1930 and was persuaded by his wife to retire from driving in 1932. Pastore later became a reserve piliot with the Regia Aeronautica and served in the Second World War as a reconnaissance pilot. On 8 November 1942, Pastore took off from Alghero, Sardinia, at the helm of a three-engine CANT Z.1007 Alcione, with 5 crew members. After a few minutes the craft went down in the Mediterranean Sea. No remains of the plane or its crew were ever found.[7]
Further reading
References
- ^ Fruci, Gian Luca (1999). The Pastore Family in the Nineteenth Century: From Silk Workers to Notables of the Kingdom of Italy. Rossi. pp. 68–74.
- ^ Zagari, Franco (1992). Nuvolari. Italy: Automobilia.
- ^ Snellman, Leif; Etzrodt, Hans. "1928". Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ^ "1928 Premio Reale di Roma". flyinglap. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ^ "Gran Premio d'Europa – 1928". flyinglap. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ^ Pritchard, Anthony (2003). Maserati: A Racing History. Yeovil, Somerset: Haynes. p. 24.
- ^ "Cesare Pastore". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 6 April 2026.