Sofia Regazzoni: a name, a destiny, a discovery

Sofia did not know her grandfather, who died in a road accident in 2006, the year before her birth. However, over the years, leafed through albums, devoured books, frequented museums, she ended up forming a special relationship with this absent person who was so present.

This is also why she wanted to try her hand at piloting; not with the aim of following in his footsteps but more simply to approach a little closer, by touching with his finger this passion that he had devouring, of the one whose story of his exploits nourished his childhood.

For the oldest who may have forgotten and the youngest who may not have heard of him, Clay Regazzoni, icon of F1 of the 70s, that's 132 Grands Prix contested, 5 victories and a title of vice-world champion in 1974, behind Niki Lauda.

It is a trajectory which will have seen him go from Ferrari à Williams through BRM, Ensign and Shadow, and it was also an accident in Long Beach in 1980 which deprived him of the use of his legs, but not of this rage for life which he had anchored in his body.

Paris-Dakar, rally des Pharaons, Spanish Baja, London-Sydney, 12 Hours of Sebring, historic events such as the Targa Florio, the Monte-Carlo Rally, the Mille Miglia, etc. : the second career of the Swiss hero was no less rich than the first.

It is this life on the limit that young Sofia also wanted to touch upon by slipping into the cockpit of an F4 from the Winfield school last week for a discovery course in the world of car under the gaze of his mother, Alessia, Clay's daughter.

Delighted with the experience, Sofia left the Paul Ricard circuit, keeping this secret “tete-a-tete” with this fantasized grandfather but so alive and present in her life to herself.

If the story does not say whether this “discovery” will have a sequel, it provides information about the young teenager’s desire to keep the family legacy alive.

DNA question.