Luigi
Villoresi

Luigi Villoresi was born in Milan on 16 May 1909. His brother Emilio was also a racing driver, and the two shared the wheel in several races early in their careers. At 22 he began competing in local rallies in a Lancia Lambda, and he later entered the Mille Miglia in a Fiat Balilla. In 1935 he finished third in the Coppa Ciano and went on to win the Italian 1100cc sports car championship. In 1938 he became part of the Maserati team. In 1939 he won the South African Grand Prix and the Targa Florio, and he took the Targa Florio again in 1940.

After the Second World War interrupted his career, he drove the 1946 Indianapolis 500 and then went back to Maserati. In 1949 he won races including those in Brussels and Zandvoort, and he moved to Ferrari that same year. He made his Formula One debut for Ferrari on 21 May 1950, starting three races that year. In 1951 he started seven, finished fifth in the World Championship and won the Mille Miglia for Ferrari. In 1952 he made two starts and finished eighth in the standings, and he also won the Modena Grand Prix. In 1953 he started eight races and was fifth in the championship again. He took third place in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and that year he also won the Giro di Sicilia.

In 1954 he moved to the new Lancia team together with Alberto Ascari and also drove for Maserati that season, making four starts from five entries. In 1955, the year of Ascari's death, he started twice more for Lancia. In 1956 he contested five races for Maserati. In total he made 31 starts and reached the podium eight times, but he never won a championship race or took pole position.

Villoresi stayed active in rallying and won the Acropolis Rally in Greece in 1958. He died on 24 August 1997, aged 88.

Source: Wikipedia, “Luigi Villoresi”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.