Here is a very special new Ferrari having been prepared for its first race, the Mille Miglia on May 4, 1952. It is now the day before the start at the scrutineering in the Piazza Vittoria in Brescia. This one-of-a-kind Ferrari is a 250 Sport which has a new 3 liter V12 and will score an outstanding win in its first appearance after a long battle with a works Mercedes 300SL. The two Ferrari drivers will be the current Ferrari driving stalwart Giovanni Bracco who will be joined by Alfonso Rolfo whose limited racing experience appears to have been in small Fiats. Bracco had excellent open road and hillclimb experience. He had been retained by Scuderia Ferrari back in 1950 for some of the team’s testing and driving assignments. The unique 250 Sport can be identified from standard Vignale berlinettas from 1952 by its fuel quick filler system which rises into the car’s rear window.
After the win in the Mille Miglia, the next race for the 250 Sport would be the Le Mans 24 Hours, as seen here before the start. Given the hopes at Ferrari, the driving team was upgraded to Alberto Ascari and his friend and mentor Luigi Villoresi. They took an early lead but that was to be short-lived because the 250 Sport had clutch problems which led to its early retirement.
Bracco returned to take a drive in the 250 Sport in the Pescara 12 hours in August and scored another win, co-driving with Ferrari customer Paolo Marzotto. At the end of the year Bracco drove this same Ferrari again in the Carrera Panamericana, but suffered another clutch failure.
Photos by the Archivio Corrado Millanta ©The Klemantaski Collection – http://www.klemcoll.com
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