1956 Mille Miglia

Eugenio Castellotti wins the race in a Ferrari 290 MM.

The 23. edizione Mille Miglia was an auto race held on a 992.332 mile (1597 km) course made up entirely of public roads around Italy, mostly on the outer parts of the country on 28–29 April 1956. The route was based on a round trip between Brescia and Rome, with start/finish, in Brescia. It was the 3rd round of the 1956 World Sportscar Championship.

As in previous years, the event 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 Peter Collins's car had the number 551, he left Brescia at 5:51am, while the first cars had started late in the evening on the previous day. Some drivers went with navigators, others didn't; a number of local Italian drivers had knowledge of the routes being used and felt confident enough that they wouldn't need one.

This race was won by Scuderia Ferrari driver Eugenio Castellotti without the aid of a navigator. He completed the 992-mile distance in 11 hours, 37 minutes and 10 seconds- an average speed of 85.403 mph (137.442 km/h). The Italian finished 12 minutes in front of their second-placed team-mates, the English pairing of Collins and Louis Klemantaski. Luigi Musso and Juan Manuel Fangio were next ensuring Ferrari finished 1-2-3-4.

Report

Entry

A total of 426 cars were entered for the event, across 13 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, 365 cars started the event.

Following Daimler Benz AG and Lancia both withdrawing from motor sport at the end of 1955, this left the World Sportscar Championship wide open for Ferrari to regain the title their held in 1953 and 1954. Although Maserati had other ideas. After one win apiece from the first two races, Ferrari had the upper hand, and led the championship by four points.

For this year's Mille Miglia, the only factory teams were Ferrari and Maserati. Scuderia Ferrari brought five cars: two 290 MMs for Castellotti and Fangio, two 860 Monzas for Collins and Musso, with a 250 GT SWB for Olivier Gendebien. The other works team was Maserati, who entered three cars driver by Stirling Moss (350S), Piero Taruffi and Cesare Perdisa, both in 300S. Meanwhile, there was a significant contingent of Mercedes-Benz cars – no less than 14 semi-works Mercedes-Benz 300SL. With the numbers of participants being reduced by the organisers, many international racing teams and their drivers stayed away from the race.

Race

Enzo Ferrari before or after the race with three of his participating Ferraris (0602M, 0606 and this years winner 0616)

Ferrari's race plan was, in the first half of the race, Castellotti and Fangio would push hard in their faster cars, with Collins and Musso, saving their strength for the return leg, arriving fresh in Rome, then able to attack over the rough and winding mountain passes of Radicofani, Futa and Raticosa. Despite this plan Maserati of Taruffi took the lead between Ravenna and Forlì, but problems with wet brakes forced him to stop at Savignano sul Rubicone. The Mercedes of Wolfgang von Trips took over the lead, ahead of Castellotti and the Mercedes of Fritz Reiss. The early race sensation were the two Osca drivers Giulio Cabianca and Umberto Maglioli that were laying in fifth and seventh in their little 1.2 litre 4-cylinder cars. But von Trips left the road in Pescara, while Moss did the same in Antrodoco. By Rome, Reiss would be the only threat to Ferrari, but he too was forced to slow down, eventually finishing tenth overall. Castellotti went on to win the event. In the fast mountain passes down to Pescara, the Osca drivers could keep up the pace and soon fell back the standings.

However, the event was marred by many severe accidents resulting in 6 deaths and 14 people injured, largely due to heavy rain throughout Italy in the early hours of the race. In spite of the attempt by the organisers to make the event safer, there were still a number of fatal accidents, including one that resulted in the death of the Englishman, John Heath. He came off the wet road before Ravenna and overturned into a ditch. He died the next day from his injuries in a local hospital. Another fatality occurred in the small town of Montemarciano on the Adriatic coast 260 miles (416 km) into the race, when the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, driven by the German pairing of Helmut Busch and Wolfgang Piwco. At the time of the accident, Piwco was driving when the car hit a wall, killing him instantly, while Busch suffered only minor injuries, also one spectator injured. A third accident also claimed the life of Swiss driver Max Berney who was killed just outside Ravenna after his Alfa rolled after having hit a house in pouring rain at four o' clock in the morning. His co-driver Ivo Badaracco was seriously injured but survived. In addition to the 3 competitors 3 spectators were also killed. An Alfa Romeo 1900 driven by Aldo Giacobi went off the road barely 20 miles into the race- and 2 spectators, Egidio Pincella and Igino Leoncelli were both killed on impact. The car then crossed the road, hit a parked vehicle and injured other five other spectators. Later on in Pescara 400 miles (640 km) into the race a Stanguellini 750 Sport driven by Giorgio Cecchini hit and killed spectator Guerrino Sciarra.

When Castellotti arrived back in Brescia, he had more than a ten-minute advantage over Collins. With Musso in third, Fangio in fourth and Gendebien fifth completing a top five clean sweep for Ferrari. Maserati experienced a debacle with only Jean Behra making back to Brescia after making several repairs on his way to 20th overall. Behind the Ferrari, were three Mercedes of Paul von Metternich, Wolfgang Seidel and Jacques Pollet, in sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. Cabianca would eventually finish in ninth after a spirited drive. Reiss was plagued by engine problems late in the race, arrived in tenth. Castellotti reached Brescia at 17:25; 11 hours and 37 minutes after he left Brescia at 05:48, arriving with an average speed of 85.403 mph.

Classification

Official Results

Of the 365 starters, 182 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		Entrant	Car - Engine	Time	Reason Out
1st	548	S+2.0	Eugenio Castellotti		Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 290 MM Scaglietti	11hr 37:10
2nd	551	S+2.0	Peter Collins	Louis Klemantaski	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 860 Monza Scaglietti	11hr 49:28
3rd	556	S+2.0	Luigi Musso		Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 860 Monza Scaglietti	12hr 11:49
4th	600	S+2.0	Juan Manuel Fangio		Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 290 MM	12hr 26:50
5th	505	T/GT+2.0	Olivier Gendebien	Jacques Washer		Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti	12hr 29:58
6th	504	T/GT+2.0	Paul von Metternich	Wittigo von Einsiedel		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	12hr 36.38
7th	454	T/GT+2.0	Wolfgang Seidel	Helmut Glöckler		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	12hr 38:24
8th	450	T/GT+2.0	Jacques Pollet	P. Flandrak		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	12hr 49:58
9th	428	S1.5	Giulio Cabianca			Osca MT4	12hr 57:11
10th	443	T/GT+2.0	Fritz Riess	Hermann Eger		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	13hr 06:31
11th	106	T/GT1.3	Roberto Sgorbati	Luigi Zanelli		Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	13hr 06:42
12th	120	T/GT1.3	Giorgio Becucci	Pasquale Cazzato		Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	13hr 12:41
13th	529	S2.0	Giorgio Scarlatti			Maserati A6GCS	13hr 19:02
14th	326	T/GT2.0	Casimiro Toselli	Renato Canaparo		Fiat 8V	13hr 19:02
15th	050	T/GT1.3	Jo Bonnier	Bo Beesen		Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	13hr 20:58
16th	455	T/GT+2.0	Arnaldo Bongiasca	Mario Bongiasca		Mercedes-Benz 300SL	13hr 26:05
17th	507	T/GT+2.0	Luciano Mantovani	Nereo Cantuseno		Lancia Aurelia	12hr 26:23
18th	255	T/GT1.6	Olof Persson	Gunnar Blomqvist		Porsche 356 Carrera	13hr 32:64
19th	323	T/GT2.0	Maggiorello Maggiorelli	Adalberto Parenti		Fiat 8V	12hr 56:11
20th	433	S1.5	Jean Behra		Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 150S	13hr 34:09
21st	314	T/GT2.0	Nello Sassoli	Aurelio Schoen		Fiat 8V Zagato	13hr 38:12
22nd	248	T/GT1.6	Max Nathan	Gert Kaiser		Porsche 356 1500 Carrera	13hr 40:07
23rd	037	T/GT1.3	Paul-Ernst Straehle	Sepp Greger		Porsche 356A 1300 Super	13hr 40:29
24th	448	T/GT+2.0	Giuliano Giovanardi	Giorgio Meier		Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti	13hr 40:35
25th	509	T/GT+2.0	Erwin Bauer	Eugen Grupp		Mercedes-Benz 220A	13hr 42:20
26th	310	T/GT2.0	Marino Guarnieri	Danilo Brancalion		Fiat 8V Zagato	13hr 44:57
27th	338	T/GT2.0	Daniele Pistoia			Alfa Romeo 1900	13hr 45:49
28th	547	S+2.0	Cesare Perdisa			Maserati 300S	13hr 47:17
29th	118	T/GT1.3	Marcel Stern	Robert Barbey		Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	13hr 47:19
30th	346	T/GT2.0	Bruno Mazzi	Emanuele de Amicis		Alfa Romeo 1900	13hr 48:22
40th	245	SP	Georges Guyot			Jaguar XK140	14hr 07:15
49th	451	T/GT+2.0	Arthur Heuberger	W. Heuberger		BMW 507	14hr 21:50
50th	107	T/GT1.3	Carlo Guidetti	Montano Lampugnani		Siata 1250GT	14hr 22:04
54th	7	T/GT750	Maurice Michy			Alpine-Renault A106MM	14hr 34:55
55th	76	T/GT1.0	Robert Manzon	L. Borsa		D.B.-Panhard HBR	14hr 36:54
56th	518	S2.0	Francesco Giardini			Maserati A6GCS	14hr 38:42
57th	2348	T/GT1.1	Ludovico Scarfiotti			Fiat 1100/103 TV	14hr 39:15
62nd	404	S1.1	Attilio Brandi			Osca MT4 1100	14hr 48:42
70th	229	SP	Peter Scott-Russell	Tom Haig		MG A	15hr 02:15
72nd	254	T/GT1.6	Sheila van Damm	Peter Harper		Sunbeam Rapier	15hr 04:37
77th	247	SP	Tommy Wisdom	Walter E. Monaco		Austin-Healey 100M	15hr 09:08
82nd	75	T/GT1.0	Gilberte Thirion			Renault Dauphine	15hr 14:10
105th	61	T/GT1.0	Maurice Trintignant	A. Drouot		Renault Dauphine	15hr 39:53
106th	210	S750	Ovidio Capelli			Osca S750	15hr 41:15
107th	73	T/GT1.0	Louis Rosier			Renault Dauphine	15hr 41:24
110th	62	T/GT1.0	Paul Frère			Renault Dauphine	15hr 41:24
130th	155	S750	René Philippe Faure		Roger Faure	Stanguellini 750 Sport	16hr 17:04
137th	219	S750	Roberto Lippi		Alberta Ralli	Stanguellini 750 Sport	16hr 31:32
151st	301	T/GT1.6	Gregor Grant			MG Magnette	16hr 57:56
182nd	2341	T/GT1.1	Pasquale Cardinali	Vittorio Baldini		Fiat 1100	21hr 38:18
DNF	424	S1.5	Umberto Maglioli			Osca MT4 1500	6hr 15:18	DNF
DNF	436	S1.5	Luigi Villoresi			Osca MT4 1500	6hr 34:42	DNF
DNF	419	S1.5	Hans Herrmann	Werner Enz		Porsche 550 RS	9hr 55:20	DNF
DNF	68	T/GT1.0	Jean Rédélé	Louis Pons		Renault Dauphine		DNF
DNF	112	T/GT1.3	Ivo Badaracco	Max Berney		Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV		Fatal accident (Berney)
DNF	200	S750	Élie Bayol			D.B.-Panhard HBR		DNF
DNF	215	S750	Louis Chiron			Osca S750		Clutch
DNF	234	SP	Bruno Ferrari	Franco Dari	Bruno Ferrari	AC Ace		Accident
DNF	242	SP	Leslie Brooke	Stan Asbury		Austin-Healey 100M		Accident
DNF	358	S1.1	”Nando”			Osca MT4 1100		DNF
DNF	425	S1.5	Consalvo Sanesi			Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spyder		DNF
DNF	434	S1.5	Alejandro de Tomaso			Maserati 150S		DNF
DNF	446	T/GT+2.0	Wolfgang von Trips	Horst Straub		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL		Accident
DNF	502	T/GT+2.0	Helmut Busch	Wolfgang Piwco		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL		Fatal accident (Piwco)
DNF	545	S+2.0	John Heath		H. W. Motors	HWM-Jaguar		Fatal accident
DNF	553	S+2.0	Piero Taruffi		Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 300S Fantuzzi		Accident
DNF	554	S+2.0	Stirling Moss	Denis Jenkinson	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 350S Fantuzzi		Accident
DNF	557	S+2.0	Gerino Gerini			Maserati 300S Scaglietti		DNF
DNF	453	T/GT+2.0	Camillo Luglio	Elfo Frignani		Ferrari 250 GT Boano Competizione		DNF

Class Winners

Class	Winners
Sport oltre 2000	548	Ferrari 290 MM Scaglietti	Castellotti
Sports 2000	529	Maserati A6GCS	Scarlatti
Sports 1500	428	Osca MT4 1500	Cabianca
Sports 1100	404	Osca MT4 1100	Brandi
Sports 750	210	Osca S750	Capelli
Speciale vetture sport aperte com limite di prezzo	245	Jaguar XK140	Guyot
Vetture serie special da turismo e grad turismo di serie oltre 2000	505	Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti	Genedebien / Washer
Vetture serie special da turismo e grad turismo di serie 2000	326	Fiat 8V	Toselli / Canaparo
Vetture serie special da turismo e grad turismo di serie 1600	255	Porsche 356 Carrera	Persson / Blomqvist
Vetture serie special da turismo e grad turismo di serie 1300	106	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	Sgorbati / Zanelli
Vetture serie special da turismo e grad turismo di serie 1100	2348	Fiat 1100/103 TV	Scarfiotti
Vetture serie special da turismo e grad turismo di serie 1000	76	D.B.-Panhard HBR	Manzon / Borsa
Vetture serie special da turismo e grad turismo di serie 750	7	Alpine-Renault A106 MM	Michy

Standings after the race

Pos	Make	Points
1	Ferrari	22
2	Maserati	10
3	Jaguar	4
4	Aston Martin	3
5	Porsche	1

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

Points towards the 1956 World Sportscar Championship 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 3 results out of the 5 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.

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