The history of the NART – the “blue Ferrari” – starts from the idea of the former Italian-American driver Luigi Chinetti. Luigi was born in Jerago con Orago (Va) on 17 July 1901. Having grown up with a passion for motors, he began competing in the first races held in the local area.
Having earned an excellent reputation within the motorsports of the time he decided to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the 1932 edition – with the team of the French driver Raymond Sommer aboard an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM. It was an immediate triumph. After his first participation in the historic endurance race, he took part in the legendary race in all editions until 1953, scoring two more victories and a second place.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, Chinetti decided to emigrate to the United States where he took citizenship. As an American driver he dominated the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1950 with the Ferrari 195 S, and the legendary Carrera Panamericano, in 1951, at the wheel of a Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale.
![Blue Ferrari](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Luigi-Chinetti-750x375.webp)
The North American Racing Team
As soon as he retired from the world of racing, Luigi Chinetti, having collaborated and won with the Maranello company, decided to open a Ferrari car dealership. The first in the United States. At the time the Ferrari brand was little known overseas.
The driver turned manager made an agreement with the Italian company and was appointed sales agent in the USA. Thus, in 1958, the first outpost of the Prancing Horse was born in the "land of opportunities".
The emblem chosen was the classic Prancing Horse on a yellow background. In the upper edge, the American flag, the iconic "Stars and Stripes", and in the lower edge, with a blue background, the acronym "NART".
Chinetti's cars were high caliber and took part in many Gran Turismo and Sport races, but never took part in an entire championship. The main objective was essentially to make Ferrari more and more known in the USA.
The most important victories for the team were the 3 Hours of Daytona, in 1963, and the 2000 km of Daytona, in 1964. Both saw the Mexican Pedro Rodríguez on the top step of the podium in a Ferrari 250 GTO. Also remember the 24 Hours of Le Mans won by the Austrian Jochen Rindt in the Ferrari 250LM.
![Blue Ferrari](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Ferrari_LeMans1965_rindt_gregory-jpg.webp)
The incredible arrival in Formula One
In 1964 the FIA decided not to homologate the Ferrari 250 LM for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In protest towards the Federation, Enzo Ferrari withdrew his license to compete in Formula 1, vowing that the "Ferrari Red" would no longer compete in the top series.
Thus, at the penultimate round of the 1964 World Championship, Ferrari showed up at the United States Grand Prix, at Watkins Glen, with the 158 of the Englishman John Surtees and the 1512 of the Italian Lorenzo Bandini dressed in the colors of the NART, that is, blue with a central white stripe that identified the single-seaters coming from the USA.
The race was won by Englishman Graham Hill in BRM, with Ferrari driver Surtees second and Lorenzo Bandini retiring on lap 58 due to engine problems.
At the following Mexican Grand Prix, the one which today, after various modifications, is named after the Rodríguez brothers, Ferrari, in what was the last test of the season, showed up with the same colors as the previous Grand Prix, adding a third car: the Ferrari 156 F1 driven by home hero Pedro Rodríguez.
The race was won by American Dan Gurney in the Brabham. Completing the podium were the two Ferrari drivers: John Surtees (the first and now only champion both in F1 and in the world championship, the so-calledHero of two worlds”), who became world champion thanks to the “discard rule” (decisive for the first time), and the Italian Lorenzo Bandini. Pedro Rodríguez finished sixth, the last place needed to score points.
From the following championship, following the end of the controversy between the FIA and Enzo Ferrari, the Maranello single-seaters returned to racing in the classic red.
NART returned to the top series at the end of the 1965 F1 World Championship, competing in Watkins Glen and Mexico City with the aforementioned Rodríguez in a Ferrari 1512 and with the American driver Bob Bondurant, in a 158. A 5th and a 9th place in the USA and a seventh place for the Mexican driver in his home Grand Prix.
After a long break from Formula One, the American team returned in the last 3 Grands Prix of the 1969 season with the always trusty Pedro Rodríguez who competed in Canada, the USA and Mexico, scoring, respectively, a retirement, a fifth and a seventh place .
![Ferrari](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Ferrari-2-interno-750x375.webp)
NART – the epilogue
In the 1970s the NART took part in numerous local races. More than 200 competitions and more than 100 pilots participated in them. The best known were the F1 world champions, the Italian American Mario Andretti and his compatriot Phil Hill.
The story ended in 1982. Chinetti retired from the world of racing and remained in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he had opened his dealership. He died in that city on August 17, 1994, at the age of 93.
NART was born from a dream of an Italian who emigrated to the United States to introduce Americans to the most representative brand in the history of motorsports, that of the “Prancing Horse”. Never was an undertaking more successful.
Crediti foto: Ferrari