Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953 ) was an Italian motorcycle and racecar driver, known as Il Mantovano Volante ( The Flying Mantuan ) or Nivola.

Nuvolari remained at Auto Union until Grand Prix racing was put on hiatus by World War II.

Nuvolari was born in Castel d ' Ario near Mantua on 16 November 1892 to Arturo Nuvolari and his wife Elisa Zorzi.

His motorcycling career was postponed, however, by the outbreak of World War I and Nuvolari served as a driver in the Italian army.

It was also in 1925 that Nuvolari was asked by Alfa Romeo to have a trial in their Grand Prix car.

The season was the only one in which Nuvolari regularly had one of the fastest cars, the Alfa Romeo P3.

His mechanic Mabelli said about this race: " Before the start, Nuvolari told me to go down on the floor of the car every time he shouts, which was a signal that he went to a curve too fast and that we need to decrease the car ´ s center of mass.

Sommer argued that he would be drive the majority of the race as he was more familiar with the circuit and Nuvolari would likely break the car.

Nuvolari countered that he was a leading Grand Prix driver and Le Mans was a simple layout that would not trouble him, to which Sommer backed down and they agreed to divide the driving equally.

The race itself saw Sommer and Nuvolari take a two lap lead before their fuel tank developed a hole, which was plugged by chewing gum whilst in the pits.

Nuvolari then approached Enzo Ferrari, but was turned down as he had previously walked out on the team.

Although Nuvolari started 1938 as an Alfa Romeo driver, a split fuel tank in the first race of the season at Pau was enough for him to walk out on the team, critical of the poor workmanship that was exhibited.

In 1946, Nuvolari raced in the Milan Grand Prix using only one hand to steer ; the other was holding a bloodstained handkerchief over his mouth.

Nuvolari was one of the early proponents ( if not the inventor, according to Enzo Ferrari ) of the four-wheel drift technique.

Rumours circulated that Villeneuve was one of several drivers in whom the Italian team was interested, and in August 1977 he flew to Italy to meet Ferrari, who was immediately reminded of the pre-war European champion Tazio Nuvolari: " When they presented me with this ' piccolo canadese ', this minuscule bundle of nerves, I immediately recognised in him the physique of Nuvolari and said to myself, let's give him a try.

The story, first publicized in Alfred Neubauer's 1958 book Speed Was My Life ( Männer, Frauen und Motoren: Die Erinnerungen des Mercedes-Rennleiters ), alleged that Tazio Nuvolari, Achille Varzi and Baconin Borzacchini, along with their respective ticket holders, conspired to decide the outcome of the race in order to split some seven and a half million lire together.

Following the Tripoli Grand Prix they contacted Nuvolari who, having been refreshed from his break, agreed to drive for them.

Nuvolari had a big accident in May during practice for the Tripoli Grand Prix and it is alleged that he broke some vertebrae.

Nuvolari never formally announced his retirement, but his health had deteriorated and he became increasingly solitary.

Nuvolari has had four cars named after him-the Cisitalia 202 spider " Nuvolari ", the Alfa Romeo Nuvola, the EAM Nuvolari S1, and the Audi Nuvolari Quattro.

Chiron said he had the flair of Nuvolari.

After a sensational debut season, Nuvolari and Campari combined to win their first Italian Grand Prix, a victory that made them national heroes for taking the championship from the French who had won it for the past three years.

But it was not until he moved to Alfa Romeo, as number two driver to Tazio Nuvolari, that his racing career really blossomed.

In the 1952 Le Mans race, when only 17 of the 58 starters finished, the entry driven by Leslie Johnson — a driver with the flair of Nuvolari, said Louis Chiron — and motoring journalist Tommy Wisdom took third overall behind two factory-entered Mercedes-Benz 300SLs ; also first in class, ahead of Chinetti's Ferrari, and second in the Rudge-Whitworth Cup for the best performance over two consecutive years.

On May 12, 1935, two were entered in the Tripoli Grand Prix driven by Nuvolari and Chiron who finished fourth and fifth.

Nuvolari ( fifth from left ), with other Alfa Romeo drivers and Enzo Ferrari.

Drivers Enzo Ferrari ( 1st from left ), Tazio Nuvolari ( 4th ) and Achille Varzi ( 6th ) of Alfa Romeo with Alfa Romeo Managing Director Prospero Gianferrari ( 3rd ) at Colle Maddalena

The winners are Giuseppe Campari and Tazio Nuvolari ( both Italy ), sharing an Alfa Romeo 8C2300.

The racecar drivers Giuseppe Campari ( 2nd from left ), Achille Varzi ( 3rd ) and Tazio Nuvolari ( 4th ) of Alfa Romeo with Prospero Gianferrari ( 6th ).

After Alfa Romeo officially left Grand Prix racing, Nuvolari stayed on with Scuderia Ferrari who ran the Alfa Romeo cars semi-officially.

At the end of 1934, Maserati pulled out of Grand Prix racing and Nuvolari returned to Ferrari, who were reluctant to take him back, but were persuaded by Mussolini, the Italian prime minister.

According to Sammy Davis who met him there, Nuvolari showed a great sense for dark humour and seemed to enjoy situations when everything went wrong.

The team were lacking top-line drivers, but relented to pressure from Achille Varzi who did not want to be in the same teams as Nuvolari.

This frustrated Nuvolari, who handed his car over to Giuseppe Farina mid-race.

Also, Budrio is the hometown of Franco Zagari, the automobile historian and photographer who authored many books on the history of Ferrari, Maserati, Osca, Stanguellini, Bugatti and Mercedes and the great Italian race car driver Tazio Nuvolari.

The relationship with Ferrari turned sour during 1937, and Nuvolari raced an Auto Union as a one-off in the Swiss Grand Prix that year before agreeing to race for them for the 1938 season.

In the 1937 Donington Grand Prix and 1938 Donington Grand Prix, the race winners were respectively Bernd Rosemeyer and Tazio Nuvolari, both in Auto Union ' Silver Arrows.

Between 1935 and 1937 Auto Union cars won 25 races, driven by Ernst von Delius, Tazio Nuvolari, Bernd Rosemeyer, Hans Stuck and Achille Varzi.

Nuvolari then teamed up with Giuseppe Campari and the pair took the race win, although Nuvolari could not receive the championship points from it.

Aside from the main European Championship Grands Prix, Nuvolari took victories in the Targa Florio and the Coppa Ciano.

Nuvolari drove from then until the end of the race, breaking the lap record nine times and winning the race by approximately 400 yards ( 366 m ).

As a young man, he was a successful motorcycle racer of Garelli, DOT, Moto Guzzi and Sunbeam, and rode seven times in the Isle of Man TT from 1924 before switching to auto racing in 1928 where, for the next ten years he would rival the great Tazio Nuvolari.

Tazio Nuvolari won the 1935 German GP at the Nürburgring at the wheel of a 3. 2 L Tipo B against the more powerful Silver Arrows from Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union.

On June 16, 1935 Nuvolari drove a specially prepared Bimotore from Florence to Livorno and set a new speed record with an average speed of over.