Francesco Fausti
Francesco Giovanni Luigi Fausti (Rome, 2nd of June 1935 - Sicily, 8th of May 1966) was a Italian racing driver, who competed in mainly Maserati machinery during the late 1950s-1960s. He died in the 50th Targa Florio, where his car went off the rails and crashed.
Early life and career
Born in the city of Rome to a rich family, Fausti had a very good education. In 1956, he received an invitation from a very close friend of his to watch the Italian Grand Prix. Fausti then decided to use some of his family money to enter races like the Mille Miglia and the Targa Florio, to lackluster results. In 1959 he started entering the World Sportscars Championship regularly, with Maserati equipment for the most part. His results started to appear, but not before narrowly cheating death at the 24 Hours of Le Mans; his brakes failed and he crashed at a high speed. In 1960 and 1961, he was a frequent in the top 15, and he even scored a podium in the 1961 Targa Florio.
WSRC (1962-1966)
Sidecareer (1962-1966)
During his time at WSRC, he continued doing other races, albeit more infrequently. He raced at the Targa Florio anually, with a best result of 2nd in 1965. He also raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1964; his engine failed and he did not finish. Aside from sportscars, he started tackling open-wheelers; he attempted to enter at the 1965 Indy 500, but outdated machinery and the oval being completely different to what he was used to meant a DNQ. He also tried to enter the 1963 Italian Grand Prix; but he was unable to get any package in time. He attempted again in 1964 and 1965, but still no luck.
Death
Fausti had announced that the 50th Targa Florio would be his last one, considering the circuit too dangerous. It was held in thunderstorms; he considered withdrawing, specially since he was feeling a bit ill but eventually pushed on. In the middle of the race and while running in the lead, his car slipped off and went off the rails; Fausti didn't survive the accident.
According to some notes founded in BRM's headquarters, Fausti had signed a deal to drive in the 1966 Italian Grand Prix and then the 1967 season.
