Baconin Borzacchini

Born Baconino Francesco Domenico Borzacchini in Terni, Umbria, he began working in a garage at the age of 14 and trained as a mechanic. He served in the army artillery during World War I before taking up motorcycle racing, then switching to automobile competition in 1926. His birth name, Baconin, derived from the Russian revolutionary anarchist Mikhail Bakunin, whom his parents admired — a name that became politically unacceptable under Mussolini's government. In 1930 Borzacchini was pressured to race under the Italian-sounding alias Mario Umberto.

Borzacchini's first years in cars were spent hillclimbing, where he won six Italian events in 1926 and 1927 driving a Salmson. He also claimed victories in the 1100cc class at both the 1926 and 1927 Targa Florio, beating the young Luigi Fagioli among others. These results brought him to Maserati, for whom he won the 1927 Terni-Passo della Somma and Coppa della Collina Pistoiese, and the 1928 Coppa Gallenga hillclimb. On 28 September 1929 he set a new flying 10-kilometre land speed record of 246.069 km/h (152.900 mph) in a Maserati V4, and that same year finished second at both the Circuito di Alessandria and the Tripoli Grand Prix.

In 1930, Maserati entered him in the Indianapolis 500 with a car featuring an aerodynamically swept-back front end — an innovation ahead of its time — but magneto failure ended his race after seven laps. Later that year he won the Tripoli Grand Prix outright and the Pontedecimo-Giovi hillclimb at Genoa.

For 1931 Borzacchini moved to Scuderia Ferrari to drive Alfa Romeos, where he became a close friend of teammate Tazio Nuvolari. He won the Circuito di Avellino but struggled to match Nuvolari's pace and luck, finishing second at the Targa Florio, the Grand Prix of Monza, and the Italian, Belgian, and French Grands Prix. In 1932, driving the new Alfa Romeo P3, he was again runner-up to Nuvolari at the French Grand Prix and the Coppa Ciano, and third in Germany. His standout result that season came in partnership with co-driver Amadeo Bignami, winning the gruelling Mille Miglia. He ended 1932 second overall to Nuvolari in the European Drivers Championship.

When Alfa Romeo withdrew from works competition and transferred its cars to Enzo Ferrari, Borzacchini returned to Maserati for 1933, joining Fagioli and Giuseppe Campari. He was runner-up to Nuvolari in Tunisia and to Achille Varzi at the Monaco Grand Prix, and third at the Avusrennen. At the 1933 Targa Florio he set the fastest lap before an accident removed him from the race.

On 10 September 1933, Monza hosted what became one of the most tragic afternoons in racing history. After the Italian Grand Prix concluded in the morning without major incident, a separate event called the Monza Grand Prix was staged in the afternoon on the banked oval circuit alone. On a surface dampened by light drizzle, Borzacchini was contesting the lead with teammate Campari when Campari's car slid on oil, went over the banking, and crashed into trees, killing him instantly. Borzacchini could not avoid the same patch of oil; his car spun into the infield and rolled. He was taken to hospital but died later that day. After officials restarted the race, Polish driver Count Stanislas Czaykowski was also killed when his car caught fire at the same location.

Borzacchini competed in more than one hundred events across his career. Though his victory tally was modest compared to some contemporaries, he was widely respected in Italy. The circuit in Magione, in the Province of Perugia not far from his native Terni, was named the Autodromo Mario Umberto Borzacchini in his honour. He is buried in the local cemetery in Terni.