Emilio Villoresi

17/12/1914 - 20/7/1939

Record updated 20-Jul-21

Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver, Emilio Villoresi was born in Milan, Italy, the younger brother of the star Maserati driver, Luigi Villoresi.

Emilio Villoresi
Nicknamed Mimì, Emilio Villoresi was born in Milan, Italy, the younger brother of the star Maserati driver, Luigi Villoresi.

They often drove together at the start of their careers and drove together competed in the 1935 and 1936 Mille Miglia driving a Fiat 508CS Balilla Sport. However after disappointing results they purchased a Maserati 6CM which they took turns to drive in different races. With it Emilio finished 2nd in the Circuit of Milan at Parco Sempione circuit, behind Carlo Felice Trossi in another Maserati and at the end of the season was signed to drive an Alfa Romeo for Scuderia Ferrari in the 1937 season.

He started 1937 with a DNF driving an Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B MM Berlinetta Ghia with Eugenio Siena in the Mille Miglia. At Coppa Principessa di Piemonte on the street circuit at Posillipo, Naples, he finished a creditable third driving an Alfa Romeo 2900A behind team mates Giuseppe Farina and Clemente Biondetti both driving the more powerful Alfa Romeo 12C-36. And, a month later, Emilio finished 3rd again in the first running of the Circuito della Superba at Genoa behind team mates Carlo Felice Trossi and Mario Tadini.

In 1938, when the German Silver Arrows were dominating everything in Grand Prix events, Villoresi won the voiturette class at both the Coppa Ciano and the Italian Grand Prix. In May of 1939, he finished a strong third to the still dominant Mercedes-Benz cars of Hermann Lang and Rudolf Caracciola but his career was cut short the following month by his untimely death while testing an Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta for Enzo Ferrari at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

His car swerved to the left between the Curva Grande and the first Lesmo bend, crashing hard into a tree. He was thrown out and died at a Monza hospital from internal injuries.

After his death, his brother raced on almost for two decades, always racing with Emilio's wristwatch.

In 1989 Luigi claimed in an interview that his brother's accident had been caused by broken steering, apparently this was confirmed by an unknown Scuderia Ferrari mechanic twenty years after Emilio's death.

historicracing.com

<