Renato Balestrero
was an Italian racecar driver from Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, winning 54 out of 217 races between 1922 to 1947.

Born in Lucca

Lucca

Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...

, he lived in Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 and was active in the first world war

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.
He started out in an Officine Meccaniche

Officine Meccaniche

Officine Meccaniche or OM was an Italian car and truck manufacturing company, founded in 1899 in Milan as Societa Anonima Officine Meccaniche...

 665 winning the Coppa Ciano

Coppa Ciano

The Coppa Ciano was an automobile race held in Italy. Originally referred to as Coppa Montenero or Circuito Montenero, the Coppa Ciano name being used between 1927 and 1939....

 1924
and several events in the 1925 Grand Prix season

1925 Grand Prix season

The 1925 Grand Prix season was the first AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season. The championship was won by Alfa Romeo, utilising the P2 model.-World Championship Grands Prix:-Other Grands Prix:-Championship Final Standings:...

 and
1926 Grand Prix season

1926 Grand Prix season

The 1926 Grand Prix season was the second AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season. The championship was won by Bugatti.-World Championship Grands Prix:-Other Grands Prix:-Championship Final Standings:...

, including the I Tripoli Grand Prix

Tripoli Grand Prix

The Tripoli Grand Prix was a motor racing event first held in 1925 on a racing circuit outside Tripoli, the capital of what was then Italian Tripolitania...

 1925.

He then bought a Bugatti T35C for 75 000 francs which he raced 1927 and 1929.
As an agent to General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 he raced the newly launched La Salle (automobile) in 1928.
Other cars:
a Talbot

Talbot

Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot...

 1700 (1931), as well as Alfa Romeo 8C

Alfa Romeo 8C

-1935 Monoposto 8C 35 Type C:Eight 3.8 litre versions, sharing no castings with the earlier blocks, were individually built for racing in five months, most being used in the Alfa Romeo Monoposto 8C 35 Type C, as raced by Scuderia Ferrari. The 3.8 produced at 5500 rpm, and had from...

 2300, Alfa Romeo P3

Alfa Romeo P3

The Alfa Romeo P3, P3 monoposto or Tipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed by Vittorio Jano, one of the Alfa Romeo 8C models. The P3 was first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car and Alfa Romeo's second monoposto after Tipo A monoposto . It was based on the earlier successful Alfa Romeo P2...

 and
Fiat 1100

Fiat 1100

The Fiat 1100 is a compact automobile produced from 1937 to 1969, by the Italian car maker Fiat.- Fiat 508C Nuova Balilla 1100 :The Fiat 1100 was first introduced in 1937 as an updated version of the 508 "Balilla" with a look similar to the 1936 Fiat 500 "Topolino" and the larger 1500, with the...

 cars.
Since before second world war,
he ran the Scuderia Balestrero, which including himself,
Giovanni Balestrero and Clemente Balestrero. Since 1953 the Lucca-based
Scuderia Balestrero has been active.

Balestrero died in the Niguarda Hospital of Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, after being
hit in a roadside accident by a Gazzetta dello Sport car. He was hauling an engine
to the Nardi Danese

Enrico Nardi

Enrico Nardi was an Italian racing car driver, engineer and designer.He worked at Lancia between 1929 and 1937 as a truck engineer, racing car driver, and later, advisor to Vincenzo Lancia...

workshop.