Background
Brilli-Peri was born in Florence into a noble family.
bicycle racer motorcycle racer racecar driver
Brilli-Peri was born in Florence into a noble family.
Known simply as "Brilli", his face had been permanently scarred in an accident during a Tour of Italy motorcycle race. He used to race wearing a hat similar to a Basque beret, which is now known in Italy as a brilliperi. He debuted in a bicycle race in 1907, aged 14.
In 1912 he bought a motorcycle, and in 1914 he debuted in a race at the Lake Trasimeno, winning the 1st Motogiro of Italy in the same year.
He first raced as car driver just after World War I, where he had acted as motorcycle driver. Brilli-Peri was killed in 1930 during Saturday practice for the sixth Tripoli Grand Prix.
He first made one lap on his car, then moved to the vehicle of his teammate Clemente Biondetti, which had carburation problems. Brilli-Peri made one lap with Biondetti"s car and then jumped again in his Talbot for another stint.
However, during the second lap he crashed heavily near the village of Suq al Jum’ah (also known as Suk el Giuma or Sugh el Giumaa (سوق الجمعة)) and was killed on impact.
According to eyewitnesses, while negotiating a fast left-handed bend, the car bounced on the irregular surface of the track. Brilli-Peri could not control it anymore and went straight into the right embankment, being ejected from the vehicle. The accident happened around 12h50.
Brilli-Peri died at the age of 37 years.
Today the stadium of his native city, Montevarchi, is named in his honour. The Italian actress Nancy Brilli is a niece of Brilli-Peri.