Baconin Francesco Domenico Borzacchini, born in Terni, Italy on September 29, 1898 was named by his parents after a Russian anarchist, Mikhail Bakunin. At the age of 14, be began work in a garage as a mechanic. After serving in the Army during WW1, he began racing motorcycles before moving to cars in 1926. During the next two years he won six Italian hill climb events driving a Salmson.
He began to gain successes in other races as well as class wins in the 1926 and 1927 Targa Florio, and this led to him joining the Alfa Romeo team in 1927. In 1929 he set a new Flying 10km land speed record at 153mph in a Maserati V4. In 1930, Italy was then run by a strict fascist government and Borzacchini was pressured into changing his name from that of a Russian anarchist to Mario Umberto Borzacchini. He was entered in a Maserati in the 1930 Indianapolis 500 but retired with mechanical problems, but won the Tripoli GP again that year.
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Baconin Francesco Domenico Borzacchini, born in Terni, Italy on September 29, 1898 was named by his parents after a Russian anarchist, Mikhail Bakunin. At the age of 14, be began work in a garage as a mechanic. After serving in the Army during WW1, he began racing motorcycles before moving to cars in 1926. During the next two years he won six Italian hill climb events driving a Salmson. 
