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The world of grand prix racing is this
weekend remembering one of its historic star
names, Argentinean former Maserati factory
driver Roberto Mieres, who has passed away
in Uruguay on Thursday at the age of 87. |
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The world of grand
prix racing is this weekend remembering one of its star
names, Argentinean and former factory Maserati driver
Roberto Mieres, who passed away on Thursday in Uruguay
at the age of 87. Mieres' bond with the Italian racing
world was further cemented by sporadic appearances
during his career at the wheel of private Alfa Romeo and
Ferrari racing machinery, as well as an F1 test with
Lancia.
Mieres, from Mar del Plata, a costal city 400 km south
of Buenos Aires, first started racing with friends in an
MG at the age of 23. With his obvious speed and talent
he quickly stepped up through several machines to an ex-Achille
Varzi Bugatti, which he proceeded to pilot to the
national sports car title. He also raced an old
2.3-litre supercharged Alfa Romeo in the support race at
Rosario and that performance reputedly brought him to
the attention of Alberto Ascari, who suggested he point
his budding career aspirations towards Europe.
With the Argentinean government supporting the ambitions
of domestic drivers in Europe at that time, he did so,
and in the 1950 Circuit des Nations in Geneva Mieres ran
very quickly, finishing fourth in a Ferrari 125 F1 car,
the first 1.5-litre V12 supercharged F1 car to be built
by Enzo Ferrari. However, government funding ceased soon
afterwards and Mieres returned home.
In 1953 he landed a reserve driver role with the factory
Gordini team and was soon in the cockpit to replace the
injured Jean Behra. His grand prix career had begun. He
had little success at first with the Gordini Type 16,
recording two initial retirements, but these were
followed by a fighting sixth place at Monza. He also
tested for Lancia, reputedly lapping faster than the
regular drivers, but contract talks with the Italian
team stalled over salary negotiations.
The next year he raced a private Maserati A6GCM and
claimed a sixth place in the British Grand Prix before
moving up the ladder mid-season to the official Maserati
factory team, driving the legendary 250F. Two fourth
places (Switzerland and Spain) out of the three
season-ending races he contested for Officine Alfieri
Maserati in 1954 saw him finish 11th in the F1 drivers'
championship with 6 points and earned him a full season
seat with the team in 1955. That brought him a fourth
(Holland), two fifths (Belgium and Argentina) and a
seventh (Italy) and saw him wrap up the season on 7
points and 8th place in the F1 World Championship.
That high, however, also marked the end of his F1
career. Mieres went on to race in top sports car events
in both his native Argentina and abroad, including
Porsches at the Daytona 24 Hours and 12 Hours of
Sebring, and contested the Carrera Panamericana. After
his racing career came to a close in the late 1950s he
turned his skills to sailing, representing his homeland
in the 1960s Olympic Games.
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