The nation’s Gigi

He started his career with his brother Emilio, they were both confident and very passionate, bold and brave. In 1936, Luigi Villoresi, Franco Cortese and Giovanni Lurani founded the Scuderia Ambrosiana.

It’s impossible to summarise concisely the 24 years of sports activity: a driver who raced very intensely, and who was often a protagonist, even when he wasn’t the winner.
In 1937, with his brother Emilio, he won in his class at the Monte Carlo Rally. He became Maserati’s official driver in 1938. In ’38 and ’39, he won the titles of Italian championship in the 1500 cc racing cars. During the war, he luckily saved himself, after exciting adventures; one of which is this anecdote: the ship he boarded to move to Africa was fired on and he saved himself by swimming.

He was a kind-hearted and very sensitive man. He was very affected by his brother Emilio’s death, in 1939, during test drives in Monza, as well as his cousin Marazza. Villoresi resumed his sports activity in 1946, straight after the end of the war, with a Maserati, and he won the Nice GP. He was the first Italian partner in the famous Champion Club, which was only accessible to those who completed the very difficult Indianapolis race. Luigi participated with an 8-cylinder 32 valves 3000 cc Maserati GP. He repeatedly won the Argentinian “temporada”, with Ascari, and then Varzi and Farina. He was the Italian absolute champion in 1947 and 1948. In 1948, with Ascari, he moved on to Ferrari and he won the GP’s in Luxemburg, Rome and Holland.

From the book “Piloti che gente…”, we may read what Enzo Ferrari wrote about the nation’s Gigi: “Gigi Villoresi was a true champion for style and bravery, as well as the pride and joy of his Milan for many years. He was a man with malicious resources, a man who could cleverly exploit the mechanical mean, just like all of his colleagues’ weaknesses, to the extreme limit of shrewdness”.

The string of his victories is very long: in 1950 he won in Argentina, Marseille and Monza. Then, an accident stopped him for the rest of the season.
In 1951, in very extreme weather conditions, he celebrated a fantastic victory at the Mille Miglia. He was a very versatile man, partnered with his fraternal friend Alberto Ascari, he came second at the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico and he won the Sestriere Rally with a Lancia at the beginning of 1952.
1953 is another intense season showered with victories: the very hard Giro di Sicilia, the “12 hours” in Casablanca with Ascari and the Monza GP.

Afterwards, he moved on to Lancia. 1955 was a dramatic year, due to the loss of his dear friend, Alberto Ascari, in Monza.  This tragic event took the enthusiasm from him, but he won again with the OSCA and he ended his long and glorious career in 1958, winning the Acropolis Rally in Greece, with a Lancia Aurelia and his partner Ciro Basadonna. After the sports activity, he moved on to selling cars, he was the president of the International Lambretta Club and advisor for the Automobile Club in Milan.

Luigi Villoresi once stopped his Lancia Aprilia suddenly on a mountain pass and he told his friend, Giovanni Lurani “Listen to the noise of the wind amongst the trees, appreciate the silence…”.

A man whose name will always be ingrained into the car racing industry, due to his unconventional skills.