Considered by many the greatest driver of all time - and certainly of the pre-war era - Tazio Nuvolari was born at Castel d'Ario, Italy. He did not seriously take to racing cards until he was well into his 30s but by 1932 he was European champion and leading up to the war only his brilliance enabled him to rival the all-conquering German Silver Arrows. In 1935 he enjoyed his greatest season winning the grand prix of Pau and Nive. Perhaps his most stunning performance came in the German GP when he beat the fancied home teams despite his car being totally outclassed and a botched pit stop. The 300,000 crowd rose to acclaim him but the Nazi elite looking on were furious. Although he resumed after the war, he was in his mid fifties and his health failing. Nevertheless, there were still triumphs. His final race was in 1950 - by then he admitted he was no longer able to withstand the effects of exhaust fumes, and even before he quit he often coughed up blood while driving. The fuel mixtures at the time produced toxic output. He retired to the property he had bought with his winnings. He suffered a stroke in 1952 and died from a second one a year later. Dr Ferdinand Porsche called Nuvolari "the greatest driver of the past, the present, and the future".
1991
FIAT chairman Gianni Agnelli appointed Luca di Montezemolo as the new president of Ferrari. Di Montezemolo set about a process of rebuilding with the target of winning the world championship yet again. Alongside executive director Jean Todt and with the considerable help of a certain Michael Schumacher , Ferrari achieved that target, winning the drivers' championship in 2000, the first time since 1979. For the next four years, it was unstoppable.
1900
Elizabeth Junek, one of the great female racing drivers, was born at Olomouc in Moravia. She acted as mechanic to her husband but when he struggled with injury, she took over as driver. Her solo debut came in 1924 and she enjoyed some some impressive results; after she won at Zbraslav-Jiloviste in 1925 the pair bought a second Bugatti to celebrate. By 1926, Junková was racing men on equal terms and attracting a high level of publicity. In 1926 she won a two-litre sports-car class at Nürburgring, becoming the only woman in history to win a grand prix. She survived the race but a hug from the overall winner, the German Otto Merz, left her with two broken ribs. At the 1928 German Grand Prix tragedy struck - she was sharing the drive with her husband and he had just taken over when he crashed and was killed. She retired immediately, sold all her cars, and went travelling. In post-war Yugoslavia she was forgotten and prevented from travelling, but in 1989, aged 91, she shunned medical advice and travelled to the USA as guest of honour for a Bugatti reunion.
1997
The iconic Ligier name disappeared from Formula One when Alain Prost bought the team from Flavio Briatore and re-branded it under his own name. But after four seasons of more downs than ups, the money ran out at the start of the 2002 season and Prost was out of business, leaving debts of around $30 million.
2006
Michael Schumacher gave the new Ferrari F2006 its first official shakedown at the team's Fiorano circuit, completing just four laps of systems checks.
2001
Anthony Davidson had a big accident in qualifying for the Macau GP and spent the night in the hospital under observation after complaining of neck pains. The Carlin Motorsport driver spun and hit the barriers and his car was then hit by Portugal's Tiago Monteiro, although this impact was not at very high speed.
