1978 Italian Grand Prix

The **1978 Italian Grand Prix** was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 10th September 1978. It was the tenth race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for F1 Constructors.

## Background

Between the races, Frenchman Gervais Trémaux crashed his motorcycle in the Austrian alps, causing him to be severely injured. Unsure of when he would return, Ferrari replaced him with Fabiano Margheriti. Ferrari's second driver, Richard Jockey, was also unable to race, for reasons unknown.

## Qualifying

Chuck Dingley, Stefan Van Damme and Vivaldo Margheriti were the main contenders for pole position but due to a small collision in traffic, Vivaldo had to jump into his spare car. As a result, he wasn't able to challenge for the front row. Fabiano Margheriti, on his debut for Ferrari, also crashed in qualifying, and was forced to start down in 14th position. Stefan Van Damme took pole position, with championship rival Chuck Dingley starting in 2nd.

## Race Summary

Polesitter Van Damme had a slow start, allowing the championship contender Dingley and the older of the Margheriti brothers to pass before the first corner. The second Lotus of Spocinklass went wide after the first chicane after a shunt from William W-S, causing severe damage to the rear wing and diffuser of the Lotus. With a total lack of rear grip, Spocinklass out-braked himself at Variante della Roggia and again had to cut the chicane, causing him to fall even further back. His race was brought to an end with a moment of snap oversteer sending him into the barrier out of Ascari, breaking his suspension. At the end of the first lap, Dingley was leading the pack with Vivaldo Margheriti in 2nd, and Championship leader Van Damme in 3rd.

At the start of the 3rd lap, Van Damme passed the Williams to take 2nd, and started his hunt for the lead. Fabiano Margheriti had worked his way up to 5th position by lap 6, after starting 14th. However he damaged his front wing in a small incident with William W-S at Ascari, and he was forced to pit for repairs.

As Dingley and Van Damme started the penultimate lap of the race, the Lotus driver made a critical mistake, going over the inside kerbs at the exit of the second chicane. This unsettled the car and sent the four-time World Champion into the wall, destroying the suspension. Together with Spocinklass' early retirement, the Italian Grand Prix became the first non-points scoring race for Lotus in over a year.

Dingley won the race and overtook Van Damme for the championship lead, as Vivaldo Margheriti finished 2nd after a calm race. His brother Fabiano recovered to the 3rd and final podium position, after charging through the field following his incident with William W-S. Fellow Italian Tempestini also finished in the points with a fifth place.

## Post-Race

The first driver to make a comment after the race was the Lotus Driver Spocinklass, making a quick statement asking,

> *"What are we doing here? Racing or ping pong?"* - Jeremy Spocinklass
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The Italian brothers were ecstatic about their double podium,

> *"YES! What a race! So many emotions. I cannot believe. Thank you to the crowd for showing their support all weekend. I miracoli accadono! When I was down in 14th after William hit me off and I pit, I thought there was no way I was going to get points. But the car was still driving very nice and new tyres really help." - Fabiano Margheriti*
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> *"Mama mia! I am so happy, so happy. I did not have the pace for the win, and for sure I got lucky when Stefan crashed. But for me and my brother to be on the podium in Italia, at Monza. Mama mia. I cannot believe. The podium was almost an out of body experience. I have never been a part of something so special in all my life. And they tell me that Fabi drove an amazing race, to come from the back and finish 3rd in a Ferrari. It is a dream right now, for sure. No words, I go now to see Fabi. Ciao."* - Vivaldo Margheriti
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The Championship leader had a short statement,

> *"5 wins in mah rookie season is crazy! Can't believe waffle man finished outside of the points again and gave me the points lead as well. Can't wait to go to Watkins and show these foreigners why 'Murica is tha best in tha world!"* - Chuck Dingley
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## Classification

Fastest lap: Chuck Dingley (Tyrrell) on lap 4 - 1:37.210