Looking for Brambilla

[choll]

I have a Lamborghini that I believe was originally bought by either Ernesto or Vittorio Brambilla. I'm trying to contact the brothers to learn more about the history of the car.

I'm documenting the restoration of the car at my web site, which you can see by clicking the home icon (www), below this post.

Does anyone know how to reach the Brambilla's? Or can anyone tell me about the brothers?

Chris

[Peter Mallett]

Welcome to 10/10s Chris. I'll ask the moderators to send this post to the Historic Forum. There's loads of peeps there who'll be picking your brains on this one and they may even have some info for you.

[DancingMachine]

nice car

[Ray Bell]

Different colour to the one they wrote off at the start of the movie The Italian Job.....

[TimD]

Ray, you're a very cruel man...

Chris, I wish I had an answer to your Brambilla question, but all I can say for now is that I had a happy time reading your website and following the restoration of your magnificent car.

Nice to know that after so many years, it is finally getting the treatment it deserves.

[Ray Bell]

My all time favourite Supercar, I think... it's hard to be sure with supercars...

Sure hurt to see that one cop the front-end loader bucket and fall down the cliff...

[Tommi]

I Managed to find this out about the brothers, they we're originally from Monza, Milan. Maybe someone at the Monza Website can help you http://www.comune.monza.mi.it/

-----------------------------------------------------------

Brambilla, Vittorio (I), The Monza Gorilla
b 11/11/1937 (Monza)

1969 - Italian F3
1970 - F2, 2nd at Salzburgring
1971 - F2/F3
1972 - F2. Italian F3 Champion
1973 - F2: 2 wins (Salzburgring, Albi)
1974 - 13 F1 GP (March), 1 point (6th Austria)
1975 - 14 F1 GP (March), 6.5 points. 1 win (Austria), but half points
due to rain-shortened race (crashed on slowing down lap during
celebration!. Also half points in Spain (5th))
1976 - 16 F1 GP (March), 1 point (6th Holland). 2nd International Trophy,
4th Race of Champions
1977 - 17 F1 GP (Surtees), 5 points (4th Belgium, 5th Germany). Won four
sportscar races for Alfa Romeo
1978 - 14 F1 attempts (Surtees), 1 point (6th Austria), DNQ=3. DSQ Holland
(push start after spin)
1979 - 3 F1 attempts (Alfa Romeo), 0 points. DNQ=1 (US GP East)
1980 - 2 F1 GP (Alfa Romeo), retired both (Holland, Italy). Raced a few
rounds of World Championship of makes for Osella.

Brambilla, Tino (Ernesto) (I)
b 31/3/1934 (Monza)

Hard racer, and elder brother of Vittorio.


1963 - DNQ Italian GP (Scuderia Centro Sud - Maserati)
1968 - European F2, 3rd (Ferrari). 2 wins, Vallelunga, Hockenheim
1969 - DNS Italian GP (Ferrari). Rodriguez raced car

[Kpy]

My favorite Vittorio story is of him having several offs in practice in a Surtees, I think at Monza, in '77. Eventually he returned on foot to the pits with the news "Theese time she feeneesh". Surtees is not reputed to have seen the funny side

[choll]

Thanks for all the responses to my query. I'll follow up and hope I can reach the brothers.

By the way, the Miura that went over the cliff in "The Italian Job" was a real Miura frame and shell, but it had no interior or engine. I've watched that scene frame by frame because I couldn't believe that anyone would actually push one of these works of art off a cliff, no matter how big their film budget may have been. There is a rumor that it was provided by the factory. It's not clear if it had a serial number.

I'm still hoping that one of the Brambilla's have an e-mail address and it turns up somewhere.

Chris

[Peter Mallett]

Well,

Keep us posted please.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Kpy
My favorite Vittorio story is of him having several offs in practice in a Surtees, I think at Monza, in '77. Eventually he returned on foot to the pits with the news "Theese time she feeneesh". Surtees is not reputed to have seen the funny side

You sure you're not getting confused with the Jenkinson story about the German GP that was never held?

Where they noticed he hadn't been seen since early in the first practice, so went looking for him... found the car at the bottom of a ravine (Nurburgring, after all) with a note on the steering wheel that he reckoned they'd never retrieve it from there and he'd gone home...

[djb]

Any truth to the story of him picking up a stranded driver on circuit during a practice session, and then forgetting that the poor bugger was hanging on at the rear and whomping it through some fast bend? I may be completely mixing this up with someone else, and it all may be ********, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Any idea's?

[djb]

Amusing to see that bol**cks gets starred out by the naughty word gremlin, it's not even a word that we use over here that much, just wanted you all to know that I wasn't being overy rude...

[Jeroen Brink]

According to Nigel Roebuck (May 2001) the Brambilla's work in a garage in Monza again. Together with the mechanic who assisted them in the seventies.

[Neil C]

Thanks Jeroen for reviving the topic, and welcome to 10/10s.

My enduring image of Vittorio was a picture of a starting grid, at which race I don't recall. The lights had not turned green, and the grid was at rest....except, waaaay in the back of the grid, there was a car with its frontend two meters in the air. Vittorio, having jumped the start, launched his car on the backend of the poor sod in front of him. We laughed and laughed.

During much of his career, my partner and I were involved with our own Formula Ford racing effort. We identified greatly with the plight of the F1 backmarkers, especially the plucky Brambilla. Because we were racing the same day as most GP's, we would rarely see the event on TV. After our day at the track, we would always try to find out, "Who won the GP race?", our second question was always "What happened to Brambilla?". We were always entertained by the answer.

Viva Vittorio! Molto Brambilla!

[Murph]

One of the funniest banners I ever saw at the Glen in the 70's was placed along the armco down the S/F straigt near turn one...it simply said....

"Vittorio...wreck here"..with a large bulls-eye painted on for effect

He was a treat to watch.......

Murph

[TimD]

Murph,

Awesome.

[Jeroen Brink]

Originally posted by djb
Any truth to the story of him picking up a stranded driver on circuit during a practice session, and then forgetting that the poor bugger was hanging on at the rear and whomping it through some fast bend?
Any idea's?

I believe the story went as follows: The Brambilla brothers were doing some testing for themselves on their homeground in Monza. At one point Vittorio heard that his brothers’ car must have stalled somewhere down the track. He suspected the car was short of fuel. So their mechanic started walking whilst dragging a can of fuel with him to find the car in one of the Lesmo-corners. After the refueling, everything was ok and the mechanic was offered a lift. So he sat on the air-intake to be taken back into the pits. Vittorio’s brother somehow could not comprehend the concept of driving slow on Monza – arguably the cathedral of Motorsport -. Shifting up into 5th gear and back he was in the pits. There he thanked Vittorio for having the fuel brought in, only then they realized their poor mechanic was Missing In Action..... They found him, unhurt, in a pile of gravel.

These 3 guys still work together in the Monza-garage as I wrote earlier. Undoubtedly they share many unique stories. Unfortunately the person who specialized in telling the awkward adventures of the Brambilla’s and revived them over and over again is no longer with us i.e. Michele Alboreto. The latter “a great man in all respects” as Niki Lauda described him in his autobiography.

[Faster]

Brambilla just passed away today. My thoghts on him and his family, may he rest in peace...

[fines]

What terrible news!!!! :cry:

This year is turning into a nightmare...

__________________
Michael Ferner