Romolo Tavoni

Romolo Tavoni (30 January 1926 – 20 December 2020) was an Italian sports executive best known for his work at Ferrari.[1][2]

Romolo Tavoni
Tavoni (2nd from right) in 1961
Born	30 January 1926 Formigine, Kingdom of Italy
Died	20 December 2020(2020-12-20) (aged 94)
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Sports Executive

Tavoni was born on 30 January 1926 in Modena. He began his early career as a banker, working at Credit Italiano in Modena. In January 1950, the bank manager introduced Tavoni to Enzo Ferrari, who was a client of the bank. Shortly after this meeting Tavoni became Enzo Ferrari's private secretary.[3][2]

From 1957 to 1961, he directed the Scuderia Ferrari racing team, overseeing the team's activities in Formula One, sports car racing and the European Hill Climb Championship. Notable events during Tavoni's tenure at the team included the 1957 Mille Miglia, marked by the fatal accident involving Scuderia Ferrari drivers Alfonso de Portago and Edmund Nelson which resulted in the cancellation of that race.[2] Tavoni was also involved in Scuderia Ferrari's acrimonious split with racing driver Jean Behra.[4] Tavoni was fired by Enzo Ferrari during the "great walkout" of 1961, and Eugenio Dragoni succeeded him as team manager.[2]

Following his departure from Ferrari, Tavoni worked at ATS and the CSAI (Italian Motor Sports Commission) in Milan.[5][3] In 1965, Tavoni and Luigi Bertett (president of the Automobile Club of Milan) created "Formula Monza," a championship series designed for young and emerging racing drivers.[6] He subsequently became the director of racing at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.[2] Tavoni worked full-time at Monza until 1992, and continued to work on a part-time basis until approximately age 80.[7]

After retiring, Tavoni lived at Casinalbo, near Modena. He died on 20 December, 2020 at the age of 94.[2][6][7]