1957 Mille Miglia

Italian endurance automobile race thumb|right|250px|Official poster, with the cities on the course marked by their two letter province codes, save for Roma The 24. edizione Mille Miglia (Italian for "One Thousand Miles") was an auto race held on a course totalling 992.332 mi km, made up entirely of public roads around Italy, mostly on the outer parts of the country on 11–12 May 1957. The route was based on a round trip in northern Italy, starting in Brescia, following the Adriatic Sea coast, crossing mountains to Rome, and returning via mountains passes to Brescia. It was the 3rd round of the 1957 World Sportscar Championship season. http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Mille_Miglia-1957-05-12.html Mille Miglia 1957 - Racing Sports Cars It was the last edition of the Mille Miglia as a flat out race as the Ferrari of Alfonso de Portago and Edmund G Nelson killed nine spectators near the road, among them five children. Including the unrelated fatal crash of Josef H. Göttgens, twelve persons died during the race, leading the Italian government to immediately end the Mille Miglia and banning all motor racing on the public roads of Italy, which also affected the Targa Florio of that year. As in previous years, the event was a race against the clock, as the cars were released at one-minute intervals, at night or in the morning hours. The smaller displacement, slower cars started first, with each car number related to their allocated start time. For example, Wolfgang von Trips's car had the number 532, he left Brescia at 5:32am, while the first cars had started late in the evening on the previous day. Some drivers went with navigators, others did not; a number of local Italian drivers had knowledge of the routes being used and felt confident enough that they would not need one. This race was won by Scuderia Ferrari driver Piero Taruffi without the aid of a navigator, the 3rd time in the past 4 years that a driver won the race without a navigator. He completed the 992-mile distance in 10 hours, 27 minutes and 47 seconds- an average speed of 94.841 mph (152.632 km/h). The Italian finished three minutes in front of his second-placed team-mate, German Wolfgang von Trips. Belgians Olivier Gendebien and Jacques Washer were next, ensuring Scuderia Ferrari finished 1-2-3. http://www.teamdan.com/archive/wsc/1957/57mille.html Reference at www.teamdan.com 2015-08-25 2015-09-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924121205/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/wsc/1957/57mille.html dead Report thumb|right|250px|Enzo Ferrari with Peter Collins shortly before departure Entry A total of 391 cars were entered for the event, across 25 classes based on engine sizes, ranging from up to 750cc to over 2.0-litre, for Grand Touring Cars, Touring Cars and Sport Cars. Of these, 310 cars started the event. The limit on the number of starts was reduced from previous years. The Auto Club of Brescia took steps to try to combat the unsportsmanlike tactics by which some competitors sought to negate the procedure of drawing lots for departure times.http://www.grandprixhistory.org/mille_miglia_1957.htm 1957 Mille Miglia 10 September 2010 Even though the event continued to count towards the World Sportscar Championship, only Ferrari and Maserati entered works teams. Officine Alfieri Maserati was in receivership but still managed to have two 450Ss for Stirling Moss and Jean Behra, a brand new 350S for Hans Herrmann and older 300S for the Italian Giorgio Scarlatti. Meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari entered four Sports cars, to be driven by Taruffi, von Trips, Peter Collins and Alfonso de Portago. They also entered Olivier Gendebien in a Grand Touring car. Britain was represented by a single semi-works Jaguar D-Type, entered by the Scottish team Ecurie Ecosse for Ron Flockhart.http://www.premiumclassiccars.com/mille-miglia/history-end-of-an-era-1957/ Mille Miglia History – End of an era: 1957 | Mille Miglia 2015-08-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924081222/http://www.premiumclassiccars.com/mille-miglia/history-end-of-an-era-1957/ 2015-09-24 dead One of the more unusual entrants was a Kurtis Kraft roadster for Akton Miller, a car constructed in the US, with a powerful 6.4 litre Chrysler engine, mounted on a space-frame single seat chassis, designed for use on American oval circuits. https://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/Mille_Miglia-1957-05-12.html Mille Miglia 1957 - Photo Gallery - Racing Sports Cars Course Brescia – Verona – Venice – Padua – Rovigo – Ferrara – Ravenna – Forlì – Rimini – Pesaro – Ancona – Pescara – L’Aquila – Rieti – Rom – Viterbo – Radicofani – Siena – Florence – Futa pass – Raticosa pass – Bologna – Modena – Reggio nell’Emilia – Parma – Piacenza – Cremona – Mantua – Montichiari – Brescia Race Soon after the race started, Maserati's hopes vanished. Before the event even started, Behra was out, having crashed his 450S during pre-test. Moss was forced to retire soon after the start, having rather dangerously snapped a brake pedal. Herrmann did not get as far as the Ravenna checkpoint. When Taruffi arrived back in Brescia, he was dueling with von Trips but had a three-minute advantage over him due to a later start time. Gendebien finished third, completing a top three sweep for Ferrari. Maserati experienced a debacle with only Scarlatti arriving in Brescia in fourth place overall, followed 15 minutes later by the small 1500cc Porsche 550 RS of Umberto Maglioli. Taruffi reached Brescia after racing for 10 hours and 27 minutes after he left Brescia at 05:35. Fatal crashes thumb|right|250px|Linda Christian kissing Alfonso de Portago before the latter departed for his last part of the Mille Miglia race. The photo is popularly known as "The Kiss of Death" (Il Bacio della Morte).https://books.google.com/books?id=BvZcDwAAQBAJ&dq=the+kiss+of+death+portago&pg=PA137 Speed Read Ferrari: The History, Technology and Design Behind Italy's Legendary Automaker 9780760360415 Lerner Preston May 2018 Quarto Publishing Group USA https://www.thetimes.com/article/no-seatbelts-170mph-days-of-death-and-dynamism-6k6q785jttx No seatbelts, 170mph: Days of death and dynamism Eason Kevin https://books.google.com/books?id=WBomDQAAQBAJ&dq=the+kiss+of+death+portago&pg=PT155 Dolce Vita Confidential: Fellini, Loren, Pucci, Paparazzi and the Swinging High Life of 1950s Rome 9781474606172 Levy Shawn 27 October 2016 Orion https://books.google.com/books?id=WEjRKZ1nxSgC&dq=portago+the+last+kiss&pg=PA21 The Fortune Hunters: Dazzling Women and the Men They Married 9781429917438 Hays Charlotte 7 August 2007 St. Martin's Publishing In the 1938 edition of the Mille Miglia, 10 spectators were killed in Bologna (Sciagura di Bologna), and the event was banned in 1939 and resumed on a shorter course in 1940. Worse was to come in 1957. Coming from Mantua and approaching Guidizzolo, less than 40 miles from the finish in Brescia, de Portago's front tyre exploded. He lost control of the car; it hit a telephone pole, jumped over a brook, then hit several spectators. The Ferrari then bounced back on the road, hitting more spectators, slid over the road, spinning, and ended up, wheels down, in a brook at the other side of the road. In addition to de Portago, his American navigator Edmund Gunner Nelson and nine spectators – among them five children Alfonso de Portago, 28 Edmund Gurner Nelson, 32 Anita Boscaini, 10 Giovanni Consato, 8 Angelo Dobelli, 48 Silvestro Franzini, 27 Pietro Grandelli, 52 Virginia Rigon, 9 Valentino Rigon, 8 Romeo Stancari, 52 Carmen Tarchini, 10 – were killed, and a further 20 were injured. De Portago's body was found near the car, severed in half. Unrelated, Dutchman Josef Göttgenshttp://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ct&n=1514 crashed his Triumph TR3 near Florence and later died of his injuries in a Florence hospital.https://jalopnik.com/5591575/the-ten-most-infamous-crashes-in-racing/ The Ten Most Infamous Crashes in Racing 20 July 2010 http://www.carelgodindebeaufort.nl/570511millemiglia.html DB - Races - 1957 Mille Miglia 2015-08-25 2015-09-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923200448/http://www.carelgodindebeaufort.nl/570511millemiglia.html dead Enzo Ferrari was prosecuted on 11 counts of manslaughter. He was acquitted in 1961 after a panel of automobile engineers told the court that the blowout was probably caused by the car striking a "cat's eye" road marker.Roos Dave The Horrific 1957 Ferrari Crash that Ended the Mille Miglia Race https://www.history.com/news/the-horrific-1957-ferrari-crash-that-ended-the-mille-miglia-race https://web.archive.org/web/20250211083030/https://www.history.com/news/the-horrific-1957-ferrari-crash-that-ended-the-mille-miglia-race 11 February 2025 History December 18, 2023 Three days after the race, the Italian government decreed the end of the Mille Miglia and banned all motor racing on the public roads of Italy which also affected the Targa Florio. Taruffi thus became the last winner of this famous event. Classification Official results Of the 310 starters, 172 were classified as finishers. Therefore, only a selection of notable racers has been listed below. Class Winners are in Bold text. Pos. No. Class Driver Entrant Car - Engine Time Reason Out 1st 535 S+2.0 Italy Piero Taruffi Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 315 S 10hr 27:47 100px 2nd 532 S+2.0 West Germany Wolfgang von Trips Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 315 S 10hr 30:48 3rd 417 GT+2.0 Belgium Olivier Gendebien Belgium Jacques Washer Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti 10hr 35:53 100px 4th 530 S+2.0 Italy Giorgio Scarlatti Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 300S 11hr 00:58 100px 5th 349 S1.5 Italy Umberto Maglioli Porsche 550 RS 11hr 14:07 6th 441 GT+2.0 Italy Camillo Luglio Italy Umberto Carli Ferrari 250 GT LWB Zagato 11hr 26.58 100px 7th 431 GT+2.0 Italy Paolo Ferraro Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti 11hr 30:55 8th 451 S2.0 Italy Gino Munaron Ferrari 500 TRC 11hr 32:04 9th 430 GT+2.0 Italy Albino Buticchi Ferrari 250 GT LWB Zagato 11hr 44:27 100px 10th 458 S2.0 Austria Gotfrid Köchert Gotfrid Köchert Ferrari 500 TRC 11hr 49:02 11th 354 S1.5 Switzerland Heinz Schiller Ecurie La Meute Porsche 550 RS 11hr 54:24 12th 453 S2.0 Italy Siro Sbraci Ferrari 500 TRC 12hr 02:08 13th 507 S2.0 France Jean Guichet Ferrari 500 Mondial 12hr 08:22 14th 225 GT1.6 West Germany Paul-Ernst Strähle West Germany Herbert Linge Porsche 356A Carrera 12hr 10:08 15th 442 GT+2.0 Italy ”Kammamuri” Italy Vincenzo Bellini Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti 12hr 21:21 16th 435 GT+2.0 Italy Erasmo Crivellari Italy Oscar Papais Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti 12hr 22:08 17th 224 GT1.6 West Germany Dieter Lissmann Porsche 356A Carrera 12hr 29:45 18th 217GT1.6 West Germany Hans-Joachim Walter West Germany R. Reinhold Porsche 356A Carrera 12hr 33:18 19th 422 GT+2.0 Italy Guido Mario Terzi Lancia Aurelia B20 12hr 35:45 20th 105 GT1.3 Switzerland Henry Convert Switzerland Raul Martin Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV 12hr 39:44 21st 122 GT1.3Italy Pietro Laureati Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV 12hr 44:50 22nd 450 S2.0 Italy Odoardo Govoni Maserati A6GCS 12hr 46:07 100px 23rd 504 S2.0 Italy Nando Pagliarini Maserati 200SI 12hr 47:47 24th 102 GT1.3 Greece Kostas Spiliotakis Greece S. Zannos Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV 12hr 48:54 25th 439 GT+2.0 Italy Ovidio Capelli Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti 12hr 49:28 26th 325 S1.1 Italy Giulio Cabianca Osca S950 12hr 51:46 27th 403 S1.5 West Germany Harald von Saucken West Germany Georg Bialas Porsche 550 RS 12hr 54:05 28th 410 TS+2.0 Switzerland Albert Heuberger BMW 502 12hr 54:33 29th 109 GT1.3 Italy Bruno Grazioli Vicenza Italy Paolo Grazioli Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV 12hr 54:47 30th 117 GT1.3 Italy Rocco Lanzini Italy Gianfranco Stanga Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV 12hr 55:16 31st 357 GT1.3 GBR Robin Carnegie Fitzwilliam Racing Team MG A 12hr 55:21 33rd 121 GT1.3 Italy Carlo Mario Abate Alfa Romeo Giulietta SVZ 13hr 00:04 34th 308 GT2.0 Italy Luigi Nobile Italy Pietro Cagnana Fiat 8V Zagato 13hr 00:49 37th 414 GT+2.0 GBR Tommy Wisdom GBR Cecil Winby Austin-Healey 100/Six 13hr 04:10 41st 230 GT1.6 Netherlands Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche 356A Carrera 13hr 06:58 46th 409 TS+2.0 West Germany Walter Löffler Norway Carsten Johansson BMW 502 13hr 18:27 50th 012 GT1.1 Italy Luciano Mantovani Lancia Appia GT Zagato 13hr 20:22 54th 024 GT1.1 Italy Enrico Anselmi Lancia Appia GT Zagato 13hr 23:39 58th 138 S750 Italy Giancarlo Rigamonti Osca S750 13hr 29:41 59th 505 S2.0 Italy Roberto Montali Ferrari 500 Mondial berlinetta 13hr 29:44 100px 63rd 52 GT750 Italy Alfonso Thiele Fiat-Abarth 750 GT Zagato 13hr 32:33 66th 040 TS1.3 France Roger Delagenste Peugeot 403 13hr 34:17 68th 40 GT750 Italy Marino Guarnieri Fiat-Abarth 750 GT Zagato 13hr 38:40 73rd 015 GT1.1 Italy Giorgio Lurani Lancia Appia GT Zagato 13hr 40:52 77th 46 GT750 Italy Vittorio Gianni Italy Luciano Gianni Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato 13hr 45:57 100px 78th 208 TS1.6 West Germany Joachim Springer Ford Taunus 15 M 13hr 46:54 79th 348 S1.5 Belgium Georges Berger Belgium René Foiret Maserati 150S 13hr 47:28 81st 73 GT1.0 France Jean-Claude Vidilles D.B-Panhard HBR 13hr 47:42 83rd 64 TS1.0 Belgium Paul Frère Renault Dauphine 13hr 47:55 86th 256 TS2.0 France Jean Aumas West Germany Willy Brandt Alfa Romeo 1900TI 13hr 56:24 87th 244 T2.0 Italy Achille Fona Italy Amletto Della Fona Alfa Romeo 1900TI 13hr 56:30 91st 006 TS1.1 Italy Ersilio Mandrini Italy Luigi Bertassi Alfa Romeo Giulietta 14hr 16:55 93rd 212 TS1.6 GBR Peter Harper GBR Jackie Reece Sunbeam Rapier 14hr 06:16 95th 206 T1.6 France Paul Guiraud France G. Chevron Peugeot 403 14hr 12:28 98th 257 TS2.0 France Claude Bourillot France Pierre About Citroën DS19 14hr 15:16 99th 032 T1.3 Italy Alberto Massari Italy Pier Luigi Gatti Peugeot 403 14hr 12:28 103rd 253 TS2.0 Monaco Louis Chiron Monaco André Testut Citroën DS19 14hr 22:01 108th 2348 T1.1 Italy Dino Faggi Fiat 1100/103TV 14hr 31:23 110th 71 TS1.0 France Maurice Michy Renault Dauphine 14hr 32:53 141st 63 T1.0 France Robert Chancel France Bergonoukoux Panhard Dyna 54 15hr 22:40 154th 14 TS750 France Louis Chardin Renault 4CV 15hr 59:47 161st 3 T750 Sweden Carl Lohmander Sweden Harald Kronegård Saab 93 16hr 40:22 172nd 77 GT1.0 France Gerard Parmentier D.B.-Panhard HBR 18hr 34:03 DNF 534 S+2.0 GBR Peter Collins GBR Louis Klemantaski Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 335 S 5hr 03:11 Drive shaft DNF 531 S+2.0 Spain 1947 Alfonso de Portago USA Edmund G Nelson Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 335 S 5hr 17:43 Fatal accident(de Portago & Nelson & 9 spectators) 100px DNF 448 S2.0 Italy Franco Bordoni Maserati 200SI 6hr 32:24 DNF DNF 337 S1.1 GBR Gregor Grant Lotus-Climax Eleven 6hr 58:42 Split fuel tank DNF 437 GT+2.0 Italy Piero Scotti Italy Adalberto Parenti Mercedes-Benz 300 SL DNF DNF 69 TS1.0 France Jean Lucas Renault Dauphine 7hr 18:43 DNF DNF 39 GT750 France Jean Rédélé Alpine A106 MM 7hr 26:49 DNF DNF 309 GT2.0 Netherlands Joseph H. Göttgens Triumph TR3 7hr 56:12 Fatal accident DNF 141 S750 France René Philippe Faure Stanguellini Efac Sport 750 DNF DNF 213 TS1.6 GBR Sheila van Damm GBR David Humphrey Sunbeam Rapier Accident DNF 227 GT1.6 Sweden Gunnar Blomqvist Porsche 356A Carrera 1500 GS DNF 100px DNF 301 GT2.0 Italy Ludovico Scarfiotti Fiat 8V Zagato DNF DNF 339 S1.1 GBR Bruno Ferrari Lotus-Climax Eleven DNF DNF 428 GT+2.0 Sweden Bengt Martenson West Germany Wittigo von Einseidel Mercedes-Benz 300 SL DNF DNF 440 GT+2.0 West Germany Wolfgang Seidel West Germany Helmut Glöckler Mercedes-Benz 300 SL DNF DNF 506 S2.0 Italy Luigi Bellucci Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 200SI Oil leak DNF 518 S+2.0 GBR Ron Flockhart Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type Loose fuel tank DNF 524 S+2.0 USA Ak Miller USA Douglas Harrison Akton Miller Caballo de Hiero-Chrysler Mk II Broken exhaust DNF 115 GT1.3 USA Henry N. Manney III Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV DNF DNF 533 S+2.0 West Germany Hans Herrmann Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 350S Holed sump DNF 537 S+2.0 GBR Stirling Moss GBR Denis Jenkinson Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 450S Broken brake pedal http://www.teamdan.com/wsc/1957/57mille.html Reference at www.teamdan.com February 2019 InternetArchiveBot yes http://wsrp.ic.cz/wsc1957.html World Sports Racing Prototypes - World Championship 1957 2015-08-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20150222005158/http://wsrp.ic.cz/wsc1957.html 2015-02-22 dead Class winners thumb|right|250px|Taruffi and von Trips cross the finish line in Brescia on 12 May 1957. Taruffi had started 3 minutes later and caught up with v. Trips Class Winners Sport +2000 535 Ferrari 315 S Taruffi Sports 2000 451 Ferrari 500 TRC Munaron Sports 1500 349 Porsche 550 RS Maglioli Sports 1100 325 Osca S950 Cabianca Sports 750 138 Osca S750 Rigamonti Grand Touring +2000 417 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti Gendebien / Washer Grand Touring 2000 308 Fiat 8V Zagato Nobile / Cagnana Grand Touring 1600 225 Porsche 356A Carrera Strähle / Linge Grand Touring 1300 105 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV Convert / Martin Grand Touring 1100 012 Lancia Appia GT Zagato Mantovani Grand Touring 1000 73 D.B.-Panhard HBR Vidilles Grand Touring 750 52 Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato Thiele Touring Special +2000 410 BMW 502 Heuberger Touring Special 2000 256 Alfa Romeo 1900 TI Aumas / Brandt Touring Special 1600 208 Ford Taunus 15 M Springer Touring Special 1300 040 Peugeot 403 Delageneste Touring Special 1100 006 Fiat 1100/103 Mandrini / Bertassi Touring Special 1000 64 Renault Dauphine Frère Touring Special 750 14 Renault 4CV Chardin Touring Prep 2000 244 Alfa Romeo 1900 TI Fona / Della Tore Touring Prep 1600 206 Peugeot 403 Guiraud / Chevron Touring Prep 1300 032 Alf Romeo Giulietta Massari / Gatti Touring Prep 1100 2348 Fiat 1100/103 TV Faggi Touring Prep 1000 63 Panhard Dyna 54 Chancel / Bergonoukoux Touring Prep 750 3 Saab 93 Lohmander / Kronegård Standings after the race Pos Championship Points 1 Italy Ferrari 19 2 Italy Maserati 17 3 GBR Jaguar 7 4 West Germany Porsche 2 5 Italy O.S.C.A. 1 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 6 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table. In popular culture The race is dramatized in the 2023 film Ferrari, including a gory depiction of de Portago’s fatal crash. References 30em Rospigliosi William Horror in Italy Sports Illustrated May 20, 1957 12–15 6 20 Chicago https://vault.si.com/vault/1957/05/20/horror-in-italy https://web.archive.org/web/20200804174127/https://vault.si.com/vault/1957/05/20/horror-in-italy dead August 4, 2020 February 3, 2024 Marquis Alfonso de Portago dies in a holocaust which probably spells the end of the Mille Miglia, greatest of all the open-road auto races. Further reading Anthony Pritchard. The Mille Miglia: The World's Greatest Road Race. J H Haynes & Co Ltd. 978-1844251391 Leonardo Acerbi. Mille Miglia Story 1927-1957. Giorgio Nada Editore. 978-8879115490 Mille Miglia 1957: L'Ultimo Atto Di Una Corsa Leggendaria. Giorgio Nada Editore. 978-8879115322 1957 World Sportscar Championship 12 Hours of Sebring 1000km of Nürburgring Category:Mille Miglia Mille Miglia Mille Miglia Category:Disasters in sports venues