Born on 16 November 1936 in Parma, Gian Paolo Dallara made a name for himself as an engineer, working notably for Lamborghini in the mid-sixties on the Miura and Espada sports coupés, before establishing Dallara Automobili in 1972. Over the last decade or so, Dallara has been the official supplier to a number of one-make, single-seater formula racing championships all over the world: Formula Renault 3.5, GP2, IndyCar, FIA Formula E (FIA world championship for single-seater electrically powered racing cars, the inaugural season of which reached its conclusion on 27 June 2015) and also Super Formula in Japan whose list of champions include Le Mans-winning drivers André Lotterer and Loïc Duval.

During the 1980s, Dallara also backed Lancia in their attempt to break Porsche’s stranglehold on endurance racing, especially with the LC2 closed-cockpit prototype (powered by a turbocharged Ferrari V8 engine) from 1983 to 1985. In 1984, Bob Wollek and Alessandro Nannini set the pole-winning time before teaming up the following year with Lucio Cesario to achieve the LC2’s best finish (sixth) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In 1993, the Italian gentleman driver Gianpiero Moretti’s dream of seeing a Ferrari prototype return to the track after a twenty-year absence became reality with the creation of the 333 SP. Dallara was commissioned to build the chassis that was to accommodate the naturally aspirated V12 engine of the Ferrari 640 Formula One racing car (1990). Moretti, designer of the MoMo range of vehicle accessories, was rewarded in 1997 when he partnered Didier Theys and Max Papis to a sixth-place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the best overall result achieved by the 333 SP. The following year, Wayne Taylor, Fermin Velez and Eric van de Poele finished in eighth place overall, taking the LM P1 title in the process.

In spite of cornering the main single-seater markets, Dallara is still to notch up its maiden win under its own name in endurance. This is the challenge that awaits the Italian manufacturer as it prepares to do battle against Oreca, Onroak Automotive and Riley Technologies from 2017.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO
Translated from French by David Goward

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, 14–15 JUNE 1997, RACE. Dallara built the chassis for the 333 SP, the last Ferrari prototype to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Pictured is the one that Gianpiero Moretti, Didier Theys and Max Papis drove to a sixth-place finish in 1997.