Clemar Bucci

4/9/1920 - 12/1/2011

Record updated 31-Jan-11

Clemar Bucci
This dour, pipe-smoking driver from Argentina forged his reputation in his native Argentina with a 4.5-litre Alfa Romeo, finishing third in the major Eva Peron Cup race in 1950.

He continued to run this car in the early fifties, but was also involved in trying to race the ill-fated Porsche-designed Cisitalia-based Autoar. Bucci took this futuristic rear-engined machine, developed with help from the Peronist government, to some fairly meaningless speed records, including the South American Land Speed Record, in July 1953, but it proved completely unraceworthy when it was briefly practiced at the 1954 Buenos Aires City GP.Bucci raced his trusty Alfa instead, but was apparently disqualified for not wearing a crash helmet!

He came to Europe in mid-1954 to race for Gordini, but had little luck in his four championship races and fared no better in the three non-title events he contested, posting retirements at Pescara, Rouen and Caen. His only major achievement was to qualify on the front row of the grid at Pescara, albeit 23secs a lap slower than Stirling Moss. Bucci ran second in the race but crashed.

Clemar joined the works Maserati team for the 1955 Argentine GP, run in broiling heat, where he shared his car with Harry Schell and Carlos Menditeguy, and then finished ninth in a 2.5-litre Ferrari sports car in the Formula Libre GP of Buenos Aires. This event held more interest for the locals than the championship race and drew a crowd estimated at 400,000. He was also invited to share a works Ferrari with Maglioli in that year's Buenos Aires 1000 Km, but the pair were disqualified after receiving outside assistance.



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