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Brambilla was
known affectionately as the "Monza Gorilla" due to his burly
physique and rigid driving style. He will forever be remembered for
winning the rain-soaked Austrian GP in 1975, where he punched the
air with both hands when he crossed the line in celebration of his win and
then promptly lost control of the car, smashing into the barriers. His
time in F1 yielded some
impressive results, including the aforementioned win, as well as a pole
position and fastest lap. Prior to competing in F1 he raced
motorcycles, but in at the age of 37 he entered F1 in 1974 with the Max Mosley
run March team.
An unforgettable memory of Vittorio occurred at Monza, his home town, when he had
run off and was standing trackside. His brother Tino, who was also testing
that day, saw what happened and pulled over to give Vittorio a lift back to the
pits. After Vittorio jumped on the car, precariously hanging-on to the
roll-bar, Tino pulled away and then forgot his brother was riding along,
prompting him to push the car up to racing speed. When he finally got to
the pits the team asked him why he was there, and he told them that Vittorio ran
off and he needed a ride back to the pits. The team looked bewildered, and
as Tino turned around he realized that Vittorio had fallen off the car while he
raced back to the pits. After a search they found Vittorio standing in a
sand trap at the Parabolica looking confused as to what happened.
He quit F1 in 1980 to concentrate on sportscars, and a year later
he quit all racing activities. He died in May of 2001 of a heart attack
while cutting the grass at his home.
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