1953 Mille Miglia

The 1953 Mille Miglia, was the second round of the 1953 F.I.A. World Sportscar Championship and was held on the open-road of Italy, on 26 April 1953. The route was based on a round trip between Brescia and Rome, with start/finish, in Brescia.^[1]

A total of 577 cars were entered 1953 running of the Mille Miglia, across eight classes based on engine sizes, ranging from up to 750cc to over 2.0 litre, for both Touring Cars and Sport Cars. Of these, 490 cars started the event. Although this not strictly a race against each other, this is race against the clock, as the cars are released at one-minute intervals with the larger professional class cars going before the slower cars, in the Mille Miglia, however the smaller displacement, slower cars started first. Each car number related to their allocated start time. For example Juan-Manuel Fangio’s car had the number 602, he left Brescia at 6:02am, while the first cars had started late in the evening on the previous day.^[1]

Report

Entry

The works S. P. A. Alfa Romeo entered in force with three new cars, the Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 Competizione Maggiorata to be driven by Fangio, Karl Kling, and Consalvo Sanesi. Scuderia Lancia had assembled a veteran team, consisting of Piero Taruffi, four-time winner Clemente Biondetti, Umberto Maglioli, Felice Bonetto and Franco Bornigia with the first four driving their D20 2900. Ferrari for their part arrived with four 300 bhp 4.1 litre, Ferrari 340 MM spider Vignale for Luigi Villoresi, Giuseppe Farina, Giannino Marzotto and the American racer Tom Cole. For 1953, the Mille Miglia was a round of the new World Sports Car Championship, the home teams faced strong challengers. From Great Britain, came Aston Martin and Jaguar, and France sent Gordini.^[2][3]

Race

The race started at 22:01 on 25 April, when P.J. Darquier departed Berscia in his Renault 4CV/1063. The faster car would leave the following morning, when conditions were warm and dry. After nine and half hours, all the cars were on their way to Rome.^[1][2]

The Alfas took the early lead, with Sanesi controlling the pace, averaging 113 mph, on the leg to Verona, but his drive ended with an accident on the road to Rome. The Ferrari of Farina had crashed out, and Kling assumed the lead, only to retire from an accident himself.^[2]

Ferrari 340 MM spider Vignale which won in the hands of Giannino Marzotto, pictured in the Enzo Ferrari Museum

Just past Siena, Marzotto remembered that the Ferrari mechanics did not change his engine oil at the last control point, as they were unable to open the bonnet. After making a U-turn, he raced back to Siena, where his mechanics cut a hole in the bonnet, directly over the engines oil filler cap, and topped the oil up accordingly. Meanwhile, Fangio’s Alfa was now leading, but surrender to the chasing Marzotto when his steering started to play up along with fading brakes. Although Marzotto suffered two minor crashes, he took it all the way to Brescia, to win his second Mille Miglia, repeating his success of 1950. In second place with a remarkable drive was Fangio. For most of the return leg, his Alfa had effective steering on one front wheel.^[2][3]

Marzotto, partner by his navigator, Marco Crosara, won in a time of 10hr 37:19mins., averaging a speed of 88.96 mph. 11:44mins adrift in second place was Alfa-Romeo 6C 3000CM of Fangio. The third different car on the podium was the Lancia of Bonetto. Another Ferrari came home in fourth, driven by Cole. The top Aston Martin was fifth in the hands of Reg Parnell. Apart from Aston Martin’s fifth place, the other foreign challenges faded away. Belgian journalist, Paul Frère won the unlimited touring class in an unlikely 5.3-litre Chrysler Saratoga saloon.^{[2][4][5][6][3]}

The race had dramatic farce. Film director, Roberto Rossellini drove a Ferrari. Having recently married film star Ingrid Bergman, he raced against her wishes. At Rome, she flung herself across the car and refused to move until he agreed to withdraw.^[3]

The event was marred by the fatal accident, which cost the French navigator, Pierre-Gilbert Ugnon his life when Luc Descollanges crashed his Jaguar C-Type.^[5][6]

Classification

Mille Miglia

Of the 490 starters, 283 were classified as finishers. Therefore, only a selection of notably racers has been listed below.

Class Winners are in Bold text.

Pos.	No.	Class	Driver	Navigator	Entrant	Car - Engine	Time	Reason Out
1st	547	S+2.0	Giannino Marzotto	Marco Crosara		Ferrari 340 MM Vignale	10hr 37:19
2nd	602	S+2.0	Juan Manuel Fangio	Giulio Sala	S. P. A. Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM	10hr 49:03
3rd	606	S+2.0	Felice Bonetto	U Peruzzi	Scuderia Lancia	Lancia D20 Pininfarina	11hr 07:40
4th	608	S+2.0	Tom Cole	Mario Vandelli		Ferrari 340 MM Vignale	11hr 20:39
5th	611	S+2.0	Reg Parnell	Louis Klemantaski	Aston Martin Lagonda	Aston Martin DB3	11hr 32:43
6th	525	S2.0	Emilio Giletti	Guerino Bertocchi		Maserati A6GCS/53 Fantuzzi	11hr 38:42
7th	546	S+2.0	Enrico Anselmi	Luigi Maggio	Scuderia Lancia	Lancia Aurelia B20	11hr 41:07
8th	616	S+2.0	Clemente Biondetti	E. Barovero	Scuderia Lancia	Lancia D20 Pininfarina	11hr 49:49
9th	633	S+2.0	Giulio Cabianca	Gianfranco Roghi		Ferrari 250 MM Vignale	11hr 51:39
10th	512	S2.0	Sergio Mantovani	R Palazzi		Maserati A6GCS/53 Fantuzzi	11hr 51:56
11th	541	S+2.0	Roberto Piodi	B. Militello		Lancia Aurelia B20	12hr 01:39
12th	340	S1.1	Bruno Venezian	Achille Albarelli		O.S.C.A. MT4 1100	12hr 04:50
13th	518	S2.0	Salvatore Casella	Vinicio Puccini	Franco Bordoni	Gordini T15S	12hr 05:39
14th	504	S2.0	Franco Cortese	P. Feroldi		Fiat 8V	12hr 09:19
15th	446	S2.0	Enrico Sterzi	O. Rossi		Ferrari 166MM Vignale	12hr 15:49
16th	551	S+2.0	Peter Collins	Mike Keen	Aston Martin Lagonda	Aston Martin DB3	12hr 22:20
17th	337	S1.1	Gaetano Sani	Adone Bianchi		O.S.C.A. MT4 1100	12hr 26:35
18th	506	S2.0	Franco Mosters	G. Vitali		Fiat 8V	12hr 29:18
19th	526	S2.0	Salvatore Leto di Prioli	Massimo Leto di Prioli		Fiat 8V Zagato	12hr 30:36
20th	444	S2.0	Ovidio Capelli	Orlando Gerli		Fiat 8V	12hr 30:49
21st	550	S+2.0	Umberto Marzotto	Gino Bronzoni	Scuderia Lancia	Lancia Aurelia B20	12hr 32:16
22nd	255	T2.0	Luciano Pagliai	Vasco Parducci		Alfa Romeo 1900TI	12hr 34:05
23rd	457	S2.0	Sante Montanari	A. Bombardini		Fiat 8V	12hr 34:20
24th	447	S2.0	Luigi Piotti	Bruno Franzoni		Ferrari 166MM Vignale	12hr 36:21
25th	230	T2.0	Antonio Stagnoli	Mario de Giuseppe		Alfa Romeo 1900TI	12hr 37:33
26th	358	S1.1	Giuseppe Coriasco	L. Gamerro		O.S.C.A. MT4 1100	12hr 37:53
27th	249	T2.0	Ugo Bormioli	O. Marchiori		Alfa Romeo 1900TI	12hr 40:46
28th	252	T2.0	Mario Pareschi	Paolo Milanese		Alfa Romeo 1900TI	12hr 46:49
29th	237	T2.0	Elio Zagato	Franco Martinego		Alfa Romeo 1900	12hr 47:16
30th	438	S2.0	Hans Herrmann	Erwin Bauer	Porsche KG	Porsche 356 1500 Super	12hr 47:37
31st	222	T2.0	Alberto Della Beffa	Olga Della Beffa		Alfa Romeo 1900TI	12hr 50:49
41st	428	S2.0	Heinz Schulthess	Peter Kaiser		Porsche 356 1500 Super	13hr 09:25
58th	407	T+2.0	Paul Frère	André Milhoux		Chrysler Saratoga	13hr 38:03
78th	2349	T1.3	Guido Mancini	Carlo Mancini		Fiat 1100/103	14hr 05:16
84th	2221	S750	R. Touzot	A. Persillon		DB HBR Panhard	14hr 15:36
100th	425	S2.0	J. Brons	Melvin H. Stickney		Porsche 356	14hr 35:54
141st	005	T1.3	Roberto Lippi	P. Ungarelli		Fiat 1100	15hr 04:35
151st	2229	S750	Jean Rédélé	Louis Pons		Renault 4CV/1063	15hr 14:51
170th	82	T750	Adriano Angelelli	Mario Recchi		Renault 4CV	15hr 46:12
250th	2201	S750	P. J. Darquier	“Bargary”		Renault 4CV/1063	18hr 04:29
DNF	603	S+2.0	Karl Kling	Hans Klenk	S. P. A. Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM	5hr 38:38	Accident
DNF	609	S+2.0	Giovanni Bracco	Alfonso Rolfo	Ferrari Spa	Ferrari 250 MM Pinin Farina	5hr 50:20	Differential
DNF	619	S+2.0	Umberto Maglioli	“Carnio”	Scuderia Lancia	Lancia D20 Pininfarina	5hr 58:30	DNF
DNF	511	S2.0	Luigi Musso	O. Donatelli	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati A6GCS/53 Fantuzzi	6hr 08:45	Accident
DNF	617	S+2.0	Gerino Gerini	Luciano Donazzolo		Ferrari 212 Export	6hr 15:23	DNF
DNF	612	S+2.0	George Abecassis	Pat Griffith	Aston Martin Lagonda	Aston Martin DB3	6hr 18:28	Steering, Accident
DNF	322	T2.0	Piero Palmieri	Giorgio Pianta		Alfa Romeo 1900 TI	6hr 27:50	DNF
DNF	544	S+2.0	Roberto Rossellini	Aldo Tonti	Roberto Rossellini	Ferrari 250 MM Vignale	7hr 28:26	Differential
DNF	532	S2.0	Goffredo Zehender	A. de Giuseppe		Alfa Romeo 1900 C52	7hr 53:25	DNF
DNF	552	S+2.0	John Lockett	Mike Read		Austin-Healey 100	8hr 19:54	DNF
DNF	2241	S750	Rinaldo Pravettoni	Dioscoride Lanza		Moretti 750	9hr 21:54	DNF
DNF	2249	S750	Ilario Bandini	Giovanni Sintoni		Bandini-Crosley		DNF
DNF	2334	T1.3	Alfonso Thiele	Aldo Storzini		Fiat 1100/103		DNF
DNF	101	T1.3	Nello Pagani	“Albis”		Fiat 1100		DNF
DNF	141	T2.0	Lamberto Dalla Costa	“Velardi”		Fiat 1400		DNF
DNF	220	T2.0	Piero Carini	A. Artesiani		Alfa Romeo 1900TI		DNF
DNF	318	T2.0	Bruno Ruffo	E. Mantegazza		Alfa Romeo 1900TI		DNF
DNF	320	T2.0	Onofre Marimón	Gianfranco Maroni		Alfa Romeo 1900TI		DNF
DNF	527	S2.0	Michelangelo Leonardi	Roberto Vallone		Ferrari 166MM/53		DNF
DNF	540	S+2.0	John Fitch	Raymond Willday	Nash Motors	Nash-Healey		Brakes
DNF	542	S+2.0	Stirling Moss	Mortimer Morris-Goodall	Jaguars Cars Ltd.	Jaguar C-Type		Rear Axle
DNF	555	S+2.0	Leslie Johnson	W. A. McKenzie	L. H. Johnson	Jaguar C-Type		Split fuel tank
DNF	556	S+2.0	Jacques Swaters	Charles de Tornaco	Ecurie Francorchamps	Ferrari 255S Vignale		DNF
DNF	559	S+2.0	Gino Valenzano	“Margutti”		Lancia Aurelia B20		Ignition
DNF	601	S+2.0	Luc Descollanges	Pierre-Gilbert Ugnon		Jaguar C-Type		Fatal accident
DNF	607	S+2.0	Franco Bordoni	Cetti Serbelloni	Franco Bordoni	Gordini T15S		Engine
DNF	613	S+2.0	Luigi Villoresi	Piero Cassani	Ferrari Spa	Ferrari 340 MM Touring		Differential
DNF	615	S+2.0	Giuseppe Farina	Luigi Parenti	Ferrari Spa	Ferrari 340 MM Touring		Accident
DNF	618	S+2.0	Tommy Wisdom	Dave Halliwell	Aston Martin Lagonda	Aston Martin DB2		Rear Axle
DNF	624	S+2.0	Olivier Gendebien	Charles Fraikin		Jaguar XK120		DNF
DNF	625	S+2.0	Mike Hawthorn	Azelio Cappi	Ferrari Spa	Ferrari 250 MM Vignale		Brakes
DNF	631	S+2.0	Consalvo Sanesi	Giuseppe Cagna	S. P. A. Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 Competizione Maggiorata		Accident
DNF	635	S+2.0	Piero Taruffi	“Gobbetti”	Scuderia Lancia	Lancia D20 Pininfarina		Engine
DNF	636	S+2.0	Piero Scotti	Giulio Contini	Piero Scotti	Ferrari 250 MM Vignale		DNF
DNF	637	S+2.0	Eugenio Castellotti	Ivo Regosa		Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale		Clutch
DNF	638	S+2.0	Tony Rolt	Len Hayden	Bill Cannell / Jaguar Cars Ltd.	Jaguar C-Type		Engine

^[1][6][7]

Class Winners

^[1]

Standings after the race

Pos	Championship	Points
1	Ferrari	9
2=	Aston Martin	8
	Cunningham	8
4	Alfa Romeo	6
5=	Jaguar	4
	Lancia	4

• Note: Only the top five positions are included in this set of standings.

Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 4 results out of the 7 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.

References

Further reading

• Anthony Pritchard. The Mille Miglia: The World’s Greatest Road Race. J H Haynes & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-1844251391
• Leonardo Acerbi. Mille Miglia Story 1927-1957. Giorgio Nada Editore. ISBN 978-8879115490