Ascari was born at Bonferraro Di Sorgà, near Mantua, in the Veneto region of Italy. He was the son of a wheat salesman. He left school early and worked in a blacksmith's forge. After moving to Milan with his family, he worked as a mechanic with car manufacturers Di Vecchi. It was there that he was given his first drive at a touring car event in Modena in 1911. He spent the First World War servicing aircraft. When the war ended, he established an Alfa Romeo dealership in Milan.
Ascari began racing cars at the top level in 1919. He purchased a Fiat Grand Prix 4500 and entered the Parma–Poggio di Berceto hillclimb, which was also the debut race for Enzo Ferrari. Ascari won this event, and followed it up with a victory in the Consuma hillclimb. He drove the same Fiat in the 1919 Targa Florio, and was performing well until he skidded off the racetrack into a deep ravine. Despite this incident, his talent was noted, and he was recruited into the Alfa Romeo team. The company also granted him the concession for Lombardy. Ascari was involved in the development and production of the Alfa Romeo ES Sport.
He raced for Alfa Romeo in the 1920 and 1921 Targa Florio without significant success. In 1922, he finished fourth. He was leading the 1923 Targa Florio when his car broke down near the finish line. After restarting his car, he was passed by his teammate Ugo Sivocci, finishing second. A month later, at the Cremona Circuit, Ascari achieved his first major Grand Prix victory in an Alfa Romeo RL TF. He was scheduled to drive the new P1 car in the 1923 Italian Grand Prix, but the team withdrew from the race following Sivocci's death during practice.
In 1924, Ascari won at Cremona in the first race featuring the new P2, designed by Vittorio Jano. He experienced frustration in the 1924 Targa Florio when his car failed within a few hundred yards of victory. Ascari, his mechanic Giulio Ramponi, and some spectators pushed the car over the line but he was disqualified for receiving outside assistance. He suffered a similar setback in the French Grand Prix before winning the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, leading from start to finish.
In 1925, the AIACR introduced the World Manufacturers' Championship. Alfa Romeo did not compete in the first race, the Indianapolis 500, but instead participated in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Twelve drivers from four teams were expected, but only seven drivers from two teams, Alfa Romeo and Delage, appeared. By the halfway point, four of the seven had retired. By two-thirds distance, only Ascari and his teammate Giuseppe Campari remained. Ascari won the race by 21 minutes and 58 seconds, with Campari completing the race alone.
On 26 July 1925, Ascari was competing in the French Grand Prix at the Autodrome de Montlhéry, south of Paris. While leading the race on lap 23, he swerved at a left-handed corner and became entangled in wooden fencing, causing his car to overturn. He sustained severe injuries, including a leg that was almost severed and significant bleeding from multiple wounds, including a head wound. Medical help was slow in coming, and Ascari died in the ambulance en route to the hospital. He was 36 years old. Alfa Romeo withdrew its remaining cars from the race. Race winners Robert Benoist and Albert Divo visited the crash site and placed their winners' garlands there.
Ascari's death prompted widespread grief in both France and Italy. His body was displayed at Montlhéry, with locals paying their respects. During the train journey to Milan, flowers were placed at each stop on the carriage carrying his coffin. In Milan, his coffin was displayed at the Alfa Romeo building, where large crowds filed past. Thousands lined the funeral procession route to the Cimitero Monumentale, where he was buried.
Ascari's son, Alberto, who was seven years old at the time of his father's death, also became a racing driver. Alberto Ascari became a two-time Formula One champion in 1952–53. He also died behind the wheel at the age of 36, and on the 26th of the month.
This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Antonio Ascari". Information regarding Alberto Ascari's racing career and wins was also sourced from Wikipedia and GP Racing Stats. The corpus does not provide details regarding the specific reasons for the delay in medical assistance following Ascari's crash.
Gallery · 4 related images
