Lulla Gancia

Lulla Gancia (sometimes spelled Lula) was a popular driver who raced in Brazil in the 1960s. 

She drove in the 1966 Brasilia 1000km race, sharing a little Fiat-Abarth with Felice Albertini. They were fifth overall. The same year, the same pair entered the Rodovia do Café road race, but rolled their Alfa Romeo GTA. 

Although a Brazilian national, Lulla was born in Turin in 1924 and only moved to Brazil in 1953 with her husband Piero Gancia, another Brazilian of Italian origin. They left Italy in 1947 and lived for some time in Uruguay. Her maternal grandfather was a nobleman from the Austrian Tyrol. Her official given name was Amalia, but she never used this as an adult, preferring Lulla. 

Her first race was in 1963. It was an all-female contest at Interlagos. The drivers were all wives or sisters of male racers. Lulla was third, behind Marize Clemente and Leonie Caires, sisters who were married to drivers. Her car was an Alfa Romeo Giulietta. This race was the second edition of an annual event popularly known as the “Lipstick Derby”, although it was the first to be held at Interlagos. 

Pictures show Lulla and Leonie Caires preparing for the 1964 “Lipstick Derby”, although the results have been lost. Graziela Fernandes took part in the 1965 race alongside Lulla, the former in a Renault and the latter in a Fiat-Abarth.

Piero also raced extensively and had his own team. Jolly-Gancia. He and Lulla may have raced together at some point, judging by photos, and Graziela Fernandes was another sometime Jolly-Gancia driver.

The Gancia family had made its fortune in wine and vermouth and Piero later joined forces with Martini to import Italian performance cars such as Alfa Romeos and Lancias into Brazil. The Gancias hosted visiting Italian luminaries such as Gianni Agnelli, straddling the motor racing, business and even showbiz worlds; Elizabeth Taylor was said to stay with the Gancias when she was in town.

Later, she was involved in motorsport administration, with her husband, Piero, another racer. She worked for improvements to the Interlagos circuit in the late 1960s, having been commissioned to undertake an official review by the local mayor. Her revisions to the track brought it up to Grand Prix standard and helped bring Formula 1 to Interlagos. She also oversaw the updating of the Sao Paulo kart track, which became a favourite of Ayrton Senna.

She remained a popular and ubiquitous figure on the Brazilian motorsport scene, even after she stopped competing herself. She attended every Grand Prix and was photographed with all of the major drivers of the day. In 1974, she was one of the first people to drive on the Brasilia Autodrome track, alongside Wilson Fittipaldi.