Alberto Ascari was literally born into the Grand Prix. He entered this world on July 13, 1918 in Milan, Italy. His father was Antonio Ascari, the Italian racing star of the Grand Prix during the 1920’s. Antonio also owned a Fiat dealership in Milan. As a child Alberto met the celebrities of the racing world
The origins of this Italian road race go back to a duel between two cities, Milan and Brescia. In 1921 the first Italian Grand Prix had taken place on the Montichiara course near Brescia. However, Milan had constructed the new Monza circuit to host the 1922 Italian Grand Prix. The people of Brescia were highly
When World War II came to France, three of her race drivers were excelling on the tracks. Robert Benoist had won the French, Spanish, Italian and British Grand Prix and as the only driver to do this in one year, he received the Legion of Honor from the French Government.
Then in 1937 he won the
Ayrton Senna was born Ayrton Senna da Silva on March 21, 1960 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He began his racing career at an early age when he appropriated the go kart that had been given to his older sister Viviane. In 1973, at the age of thirteen, he started entering karting competitions and was just
One of France’s legendary racing drivers, and a war hero Benoist was born on March 20, 1895 in France. His father was employed by Baron Henri de Rothschild as a gamekeeper. As a young man, Robert craved excitement so he joined the French infantry in World War I. Then he transferred to the Armee de
Jean-Pierre Wimille was born in Paris on February 26,1908. His father was a motor sports enthusiast who wrote for the Petit Parisien newspaper. However, Jean-Pierre’s role model was Robert Benoist who was France’s star driver at that time. Jean-Pierre began his racing career when he was 22. He started out as a wild driver but
A rare Nazi-era vehicle concealed from the German mine shaft during World War II is now on display for two days at Audi’s showroom on Park Avenue. The silver D-Type from Auto Union, Audi’s forerunner, will eventually be auctioned on February 17 in Paris as part of Christie’s Retromobile auto sale. The race car is