From Atlas forum:
Baroness d'Avanzo (sometimes Antonietta
d'Avanzo, or Antonietta Avanzo or Maria Antonietta d'Avanzo, the last one being the more
plausible to an Italian ear) is the following, but no biographical data (see explanation
below).
1928 Mille Miglia DNF Chrysler (codriver M. de Teffé, son of the Brazilian ambassador
in Rome)
1929 Mille Miglia DNF Alfa Romeo 1500 or 1750 supercharged (codriver Bruno). A
piston broke after 30 kms. of race.
She was for sure the first woman racer in Italy. The most interesting fact is that she has a
part in motorcar history. Just before the US entered the war Packard built two special
racing cars both with V12 aero-engines. Both were driven by Ralph De Palma, the smaller
to 6th in Indianapolis in 1919 and to some successes in 1917 and 1918. The bigger was
used for speed record at Daytona in 1919. These racers, Enzo Ferrari wrote, helped inspire
him to build his own 12cyl engines. "I had always been intrigued by a 12 cyl engine,
recalling early photographs I had seen of a Packard that had raced at Indianapolis(....) Just
after the war [WW II, note] I had had occasion too to see the 12cyl engines of the
magnificent Packard automobiles of high ranking US officials and a 12 cyl I remembered
was the American car that Antonio Ascari sold to Maria Antonietta Avanzo.."
Antonio Ascari was also a dealer in cars and he was in relation with Ralph DePalma until
his death (just before it he had asked DePalma to find a Miller racer for him) and he
imported one of the Packard in late 1919 and sold it to Maria Antonietta. There is a picture
showing her in the huge car. From it and a description of the car (one seat very central and
a tapered tail) it must have been the record breaker. So d'Avanzo owned a car that gave
Ferrari the idea of building his string of 12cyl. engines!
She was born in Contarina Vento in 1890
Started racing in 1918, racing a Spa at the Tour de Lazio
She drove a Buick in 1920 Targa Florio, being forced out at around mid-race
In 1921, as part of the Ansaldo Team, with Corrado Lotti as team leader and Tazio Nuvolari as the junior driver, they drove Ansaldos 4CS in the I Circuito del Garda race. The Bugatti Voiturettes of Silvano and Constantini won from Lotti, Nuvolari and Maria finishing seventh. But as these were racing on the 2000cc class, actually they finished first, second and thier in their class.
She drove again the Ansaldo in the II Circuito di Mugello, losing a wheel and then, by September, she got her hands on an Alfa Romeo 20-30 ES to take part in a race called, of all possible names (please do not laugh) "I Gran Premio Gentlemen" at Brescia.
Of course, as history has some (dubious) sense of humour, she obtained there the best result of her career, finishing third.
Another third place was achieved 10 years later, at the Coppa Pierazzi and she also finished in sixth position on the 1940 Tobruck-Tripoli race.
As for the story recalled by Alessandro Silva, David Venables, on his recent "First among champions-The Alfa Romeo Grand Prix Cars" says (page 21) :
"...(Baronessa Antonietta d´Avanzo) has a small place in motor racing history, being the first woman to drive an Alfa Romeo in a speed event; she may also have been instrumental in showing Enzo Ferrari the possibilities of a 12-cylinder engine. In 1921, she competed at the Fano speed week in Denmark driving a 12-cylinder Packard, and when she took the car back to Milan she visited Ascari's showroom and part-exchanged it for a Fiat 501; while Ascari had the Packard, Ferrari spent long time looking at it"
The Baronessa raced in Australia in 1925 and I had begun to think that was the end of her career. Obviously she raced much later than that.
As yet, I have no idea why she was in Australia.
Un lien vers un article (en italien) de quattroruote
http://www.quattroruote.it/autocla [...] sezione=si