Juan Ernesto Zanelli de Vescovi | |
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Born | 1906 |
Died | 1944 |
Occupation(s) | Racing driver, Chilean Consul |
Juan Ernesto Zanelli de Vescovi was a prominent Chilean racing driver, considered the first Chilean and the first South American to win a Grand Prix in Europe. He triumphed in three Grand Prix races in the early 1930s: two in Le Mans and one in Barcelona. He raced for Bugatti, Nacional Pescara, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Torino, and Villa Padierna in the Grand Prix of the 1920s and 1930s, the predecessors of Formula 1. In 1931, he was crowned champion of the European Hill Climb Championship, which later gave rise to the World Rally Championship.