Scuderia Centro Sud was a privateer racing team founded in Modena by Guglielmo "Mimmo" Dei and active in Formula One and sports car racing between 1956 and 1965.
Dei had been an amateur driver in the 1930s. In the early 1950s he opened a Maserati dealership in Rome. Keen on maintaining a relationship with motorsport, in 1956 he founded his own team. The name "Centro Sud" refers to the parts of Italy where his adoptive and native cities are (Modena and Rome).
Over the course of nine seasons, Scuderia Centro Sud entered a total of 49 World Championship rounds, with cars such as the Maserati 250F, various Maserati-powered Coopers and, in the 1960s, a BRM P57. After a very promising start (they scored their first points at their debut with Luigi Villoresi), Centro Sud went on to earn a further total of 24 points, mostly with Masten Gregory and Tony Maggs. But they never won a race: Gregory's third place at the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix was the team's best result.
Centro Sud was the only Italian racing team that took part in the Tasman races in Australia and New Zealand during the winter of 1961-1962. [1]
One of their most notable feats was to be the first team in the history of Formula One to run a female driver, when Maria Teresa de Filippis (who had already raced as a privateer in the 1958 Belgian Grand Prix a few weeks earlier) competed in the 1958 Portuguese Grand Prix as a Centro Sud team driver. [2] Future 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans) and 1967 24 Hours of Daytona winner Lorenzo Bandini made his Formula One debut with the team at the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix.
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* After retiring his Scuderia Centro Sud-entered car, Shelby subsequently took over Masten Gregory's car, entered by Temple Buell, finishing fourth. [3]
The 1958 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 19 January 1958 at Autodromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires Circuit. It was race 1 of 11 in the 1958 World Championship of Drivers and race 1 of 10 in the 1958 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the sixth Argentine Grand Prix. It was held on the #2 variation of the circuit. The race was held over 80 laps of the four kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 313 kilometres.
The 1958 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 7 September 1958. It was race 10 of 11 in the 1958 World Championship of Drivers and race 9 of 10 in the 1958 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Vanwall won the Constructors' Championship with 1 race left to go. After retiring his original car, entered by Scuderia Centro Sud, Carroll Shelby took over Masten Gregory's car, entered by Temple Buell, and finished fourth. No points were awarded for the shared drive.
The 1959 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 13 September 1959. It was race 8 of 9 in the 1959 World Championship of Drivers and race 7 of 8 in the 1959 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 29th Italian Grand Prix and the 24th to be held at Monza. The race was held over 72 laps of the five-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 414 kilometres.
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Karl Jockum Jonas "Joakim" Bonnier was a Swedish sportscar racing and Formula One driver who raced for various teams. He was the first Swede to both enter and win a Formula One Grand Prix.
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Henry O'Reilly "Harry" Schell was an American Grand Prix motor racing driver. He was the first American driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix.
Lorenzo Bandini was an Italian motor racing driver who raced in Formula One for the Scuderia Centro Sud and Ferrari teams.
Masten Gregory was an American racing driver. He raced in Formula One between 1957 and 1965, participating in 43 World Championship races, and numerous non-Championship races. He was also a successful sports car racer, winning the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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Maria Teresa de Filippis was an Italian racing driver, and the first woman to race in Formula One. She participated in five World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1958, but scored no championship points. Though her Formula One racing career was brief, she won races in other series and is remembered as a pioneer in the sport.
Gilby Engineering was a British general engineering company owned by Syd Greene. Greene had lost an arm in a bicycle accident at 16 but went on to compete in many UK speed trials very successfully in the early 1950s. After he stopped competing, he fed his enthusiasm for motor racing by founding a motor racing team named after his company and later constructing the Gilby racing car. The team competed in 12 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, including 6 with cars of their own construction, but scored no World Championship points. The Gilby cars were constructed by Syd Greene for his son Keith to drive, having previously entered a Maserati 250F for Roy Salvadori and Ivor Bueb and also a Cooper for Greene Jr. Keith Greene later became better known as a team manager in Formula One and sports car racing. Gilby made its debut in the 1954 French Grand Prix with the Maserati, for Salvadori, who also drove for the team in 1955 and 1956, and the team's last event was the 1962 Italian Grand Prix. After the team ceased competing in Formula One, the final Gilby car was purchased and entered in three events in 1963, by privateer Ian Raby. Keith Greene achieved a third-place finish in the non-championship Naples Grand Prix of 1962, with the BRM-engined car, behind the works Ferrari's of Willy Mairesse and Lorenzo Bandini.
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Alejandro de Tomaso was a racing driver and businessman from Argentina. His name is sometimes seen in an Italianised form as Alessandro de Tomaso. He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 January 1957. He scored no championship points. He later founded the Italian sports car company De Tomaso Automobili in 1959.