Family and Education
Juan Zanelli was born on 2^nd November 1906, the son of Nicolás Zanelli and Adela de Vescovi, from San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, Chile, spending his childhood in Iquique, Santiago, and Valparaíso.

Juan’s father was an Italian immigrant who made his fortune in the nitrate fields of Antofagasta. At the time, male sons of the wealthiest families, particularly those of foreign origin, often studied abroad and this led to him attending Wrekin College [Tudor] from January 1921 to July 1923, completing his education in Switzerland. After finishing his studies, he settled in Nice, where he served as a consul.

No information survives as to how Nicolás Zanelli settled upon Wrekin College for his son’s education. Juan was a very competent swimmer, track athlete & boxer representing both Tudor and the school in competition.

Racing Career and Achievements
His attention soon turned to the field of Motorsport and was recognised in the 1920’s and 1930’s as a prominent racing driver, widely regarded as the first Chilean, and the first South American, to win a Grand Prix in Europe. In the early 1930s, he won three Grand Prix: two at Le Mans and one in Barcelona.

Juan competed for Bugatti, Nacional Pescara, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Torino, and Villa Padierna in the Grand Prix events of the 1920s and 1930s, predecessors of Formula 1. In 1931, he was crowned European Hill Climb champion, in a competition later associated with the development of the World Rally Championship.

European Connections and Motorsport
While in Europe, Juan began building connections with members of the European aristocracy, an unusual achievement at the time, particularly for a South American. Their common interest was motorsport, then largely accessible only to the wealthy hence the name  “gentleman driver”: an enthusiast with both the passion and the financial means to compete at the highest levels of motor racing.

Return to Racing and the Penya Rhin Victory
Juan spent much of 1932 in Chile, creating a temporary break in his racing career. The following year proved to be the most significant of his career. In 1933, he won the Penya Rhin Grand Prix in the first race held at Barcelona’s celebrated Montjuïc Circuit.

Final Season: 1936
Juan’s final year as a driver was 1936. Competing independently at the Nürburgring in a Maserati 6C, he endured thick fog and rain to finish in tenth place. A month later, he returned for the 1936 German Grand Prix in a Maserati 8CM. His race ended on the first lap when he ran out of fuel and was forced to retire.

Family, Resistance, and Death
In the early 1940s, whilst living in France Juan married Raymonde Picard and this marriage produced two children.

During the Second World War, he joined the French Resistance alongside other drivers he had met during his career. The Gestapo identified many of those involved, and he was later caught in a confused exchange of gunfire between German forces and Resistance fighters. Fatally wounded, he died in Toulouse on 19^th August 1944.

Rediscovery and Legacy
For decades, Juan Zanelli remained largely unknown in Chile. His story was “rediscovered” in 2007 through research by a lawyer named Rodrigo Velasco. His book “Coche a la Vista” brought Zanelli’s little-known life to wider attention.