Motorsport Memorial -

Franco Bordoni

Complete name: Franco Bordoni Bisleri

Birth date: 10.Jan.1913

Birth Place: Milano, Italy

Death date: 15.Sep.1975

Death Place: Monte Anchetta, near Chiavari (GE), Italy

Nationality: Italy

Gender: male

Notes:

Franco Bordoni
1913 - 1975

Picture courtesy by Archivio Luigi Amati. Reproduced under kind permission, all rights reserved.

The son of Adalgiso Oreste Bordoni and Olga Bisleri, Franco Bordoni Bisleri was born in Milan, Italy, in 1913, in a family of liquor industrialists, producing a famous Italian digestive amaro, named "Ferro-China Bisleri". His maternal grandfather Felice Bisleri was the founder of the company, whose logo was a rampant lion and the writing "Robur" ("Strength" in Latin). An airplane ace during World War II, at the cessation of hostilities, Franco Bordoni started his career as a talented race car driver. He participated in sportscar events, sometime competing under the pseudonym of "Robur", just his nickname related to the family brand, that was painted on most of his aircrafts and racing cars.

Franco Bordoni obtained the licence for civil pilot in 1936 and the following year his military licence, being assigned to the Bombardment School, then to the mixed "Aegean" Stormo, and at last to the 3° Stormo C.T. of the Italian Regia Aeronautica Militare (Air Force). When Italy entered the World War II, Franco Bordoni was assigned to the Albenga Air Base. With the unit he fought on the Western front and in Northern Africa, he became the top scoring Italian fighter pilot throughout the Desert campaign, with a total of 19 victories, reaching the rank of Lieutenenat. He was awarded with the Silver Medal of Militar Valor and the Croce al Merito di Guerra (War Merit Cross).

After the war, Franco Bordoni became president of his family liquor company. He moved to motorsport in 1949, competing in Italian and international events. He became one of the Europe's leading amateur drivers in the 1950s, earning several wins and awards for his achievements. He made his debut at the wheel of a Fiat 1100B in the 1949 Mille Miglia race, then he competed in the Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti. That same year he purchased a Dagrada-Fiat Sport 750 in which he finished third, setting the fastest lap in the Circuito di Senigallia. In 1950 he achieved his maiden victory, in the Coppa Inter-Europa at Monza, driving a Maserati A6. Later he raced again with the Dagrada-Fiat, winning at Modena in 1950 and in the Circuito del Castello at Teramo and in the Coppa Ascoli - Circuito delle Caldaie in 1951.

Bordoni finished second in class, tenth place overall, in the 1951 Mille Miglia, with co-driver Gaetano Cetti Serbelloni in a Osca MT4 1100. The following year he progressed to a Ferrari 166MM Berlinetta Vignale, scoring an impressive sixth place overall in the gruelling Giro di Sicilia, paired with Alberto Della Beffa, and another tenth place in the Mille Miglia, with co-driver "Geronimo". In 1953 he was crowned the Italian Sportscar Champion, driving a Gordini T15S in which he won the Coupe de Vitesse at Linas-Montlhéry, the Trullo d'Oro race at Castellana circuit, the Gran Premio di Pergusa, and the Coppa d'Oro di Sicilia at Siracusa, finishing second in the Circuit of Senigallia, behind Paolo Marzotto's Ferrari 375MM.

In 1954 Franco Bordoni drove with Jean Behra a works Gordini T24S in the 1000 Km of Buenos Aires, then a round of the World Sportscar Championship. Back home, he drove that same car, finishing second in the Coppa della Toscana and winning outright the Gran Premio di Pergusa and his second consecutive Trullo d'Oro race at Castellana circuit. In early 1955 he was runner-up in the Agadir Grand Prix in Morocco, behind the winning Ferrari 750 Monza of "Mike Sparken" (Michael Poberejsky), and fourth in the Dakar Grand Prix in Senegal. Midway through 1955, Bordoni left the Automobiles Gordini, being hired by the Officine Maserati to drive a powerful Maserati 300S works car. He scored a fourth place with Roberto Miéres in the 10 Hours of Messina and a fifth place with Luigi Musso in the Tourist Trophy, at Dundrod, a round of the 1955 World Sportscar Championship. He also won the Gran Premio di Pergusa and the Trieste-Opicina hillclimb, in a Maserati 2000.

In 1956 he shared his Maserati 300S with his friend Piero Carini and the duo finished fifth in the Targa Florio, then Bordoni finished second in the 5 Hours of Messina, behind Phil Hill's Ferrari 500TR. Again with Carini as team mate, he was 14th in the 1000 Km of the Nürburgring at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV. In 1957 Bordoni made his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving with Britain's Bruce Halford a Talbot Lago Sport 2500. They were forced into a withdraw in the early stages of the race, due to gearbox trouble. Bordoni won the prestigious Grand Prix des Frontières on the extremely fast and dangerous 10.870-kilometer circuit of Chimay, Belgium, in a Maserati 200S and finished tenth in the 12 Hours of Reims, partnered with Carlo Leto di Priolo in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV. Then he was fifth in the 1958 Targa Florio, sharing with Giulio Cabianca his Osca S1500.

Later in the same season, he scored two fine second places driving a Maserati 200S, in the Gran Premio di Caserta just behind Cabianca's Osca and in the Circuito di Sassari behind Adolfo Tedeschi's Maserati. On 03 May 1959 Bordoni took another second place at the wheel of his Maserati 200S, in the Coppa Sant Ambroeus at Monza, once again behind Cabianca who drove a Ferrari Dino 196S. This was his career's final result, he decided to quit racing for good, at the age of 46, to concentrate himself in his family business.

Franco Bordoni lost his life in a flight accident which happened on Monday, 15 September 1975, while coming back to Milan from Rome aboard of his SIAI-Marchetti SF260 I-LALA tourism plane. He was caught by a thunderstorm and crashed into Mount Anchetta, near Chiavari, province of Genoa, Italy. Bordoni died together with his ten-year-old son Francesco, and a friend, Giovanni Allegri, 47. The bodies of the victims were found by rescuers only the following morning.

Franco Bordoni was 61 years old. He is buried in his family's "edicola" in the Cimitero Monumentale in Milan, Italy. He served as the President of the Milano-Bresso Aeroclub.

The Bordoni family's "edicola" in the Cimitero Monumentale, in Milan, Italy, where Franco Bordoni was laid to rest.
Photos taken by Carlo Fertitta. Reproduced under kind permission, all rights reserved.

Career Summary:

Sources:

Book "Settant'anni di gare automobilistiche in Italia" by Emanuele Alberto Carli, Automobile Club d'Italia-L'Editrice dell'Automobile, Italy, 1967.
Book "Il Mitico Giro di Sicilia" by Pino Fondi, Giorgio Nada Editore Vimodrone Milano, Italy 1996, ISBN 88-7911-165-5.
Book "50 anni di Automobilismo Sportivo in Puglia", by Luigi Amati and Gianni Resta, Grafischena 1977, Fasano (BA).
Magazine Autosprint, issue of 23 September 1975.
Newspaper La Stampa (Turin, Italy) issue of Tuesday, 16 September 1975, page 9, article "Il presidente della «Bisleri», suo figlio e un amico morti in un incidente aereo", retrieved by website http://www.archiviolastampa.it/ .
Website Racing Sports Cars, page https://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/results/Franco-Bordoni-I.html .
Website Biplane fighter aces, page http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/italy_bisleri.htm .
Website World Sports Racing Prototypes, by Martin Krejčí, page http://wsrp.wz.cz/ .
E-mail by Carlo Fertitta, dated 02 December 2023.