The most Italian of the Swiss

In 1970, the Swiss hopeful Clay Regazzoni (picture-above), from Lugano in the Ticino province, was about to win the Formula 2 European Championship with Tecno and make his debut in F1 during the season for Ferrari, before winning his fourth Grand Prix for the Scuderia, in Italy at Monza!

During his first European Formula 2 campaign in 1969, he took a hard-fought fourth place on the fast circuit around the lake of Pergusa in Sicily, in a race marked by the slipstream phenomenon.

On the picture here-below, “Rega” is in fourth position behind Jo Siffert (BMW), Jean-Pierre Beltoise (Matra) and Piers Courage (Brabham), but in front of Patrick Dal Bo (Pygmée), François Cevert (Tecno), Henri Pescarolo and Johnny Servoz-Gavin in Matras, as well as Jacky Ickx, bringing up the rear, at the wheel of the De Tomaso 103, entered by Frank Williams.