Monday, February 19, 2024
Menu

Formula 1 classic Lancia D50 and racing legend Alberto Ascari honored in Turin Parco del Valentino

Reading time 4 Min.

Formula 1 classic Lancia D50 and racing legend Alberto Ascari honored in Turin Parco del Valentino

As early as the 1950s, Lancia was one of the big names in international racing. The traditional brand from Turin competed in Formula 1954 in 1955 and 1. The factory drivers included the Italian Alberto Ascari (1918-1955), one of the best racing drivers of his time with two titles and 13 victories in the Formula 1 World Championship and victory for Lancia in the 1954 Mille Miglia. In March 1955, Ascari won a Grand Prix in Turin Parco del Valentino at the wheel of the Lancia D50, which was not part of the World Cup. Now a vehicle of this type was the star guest of a ceremony in honor of Ascaris in the palace gardens on the outskirts of the northern Italian metropolis.

Formula 1 classic Lancia D50 and racing legend Alberto Ascari honored in Turin Parco del Valentino

The Lancia D50 on display in Parco del Valentino comes from the collection of Heritage, the organization responsible for the historical legacy of the Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia brands. As part of this mission, Heritage works closely with international, national and local institutions and associations. These collaborations also include the presentation of one of the most valuable pieces of jewelery in the collection, the Lancia D50 from 1954, in Parco del Valentino. The task of the organizing association Artes aps is to save and restore the historical and artistic heritage of the city of Turin. As part of the ceremony, Artes aps inaugurated a floor slab dedicated to Alberto Ascari.

Having the historic Formula 1 racing car Lancia D50 on site for the ceremony was extremely symbolic. With the victory of Alberto Ascari in March 1955 at the seventh Valentino Grand Prix, an era ended - the racetrack, which opened in 1935 and has since been modified several times, was shut down afterwards.

Formula 1 classic Lancia D50 and racing legend Alberto Ascari honored in Turin Parco del Valentino

The Lancia D50, of which only eight were built, was full of innovations. The brilliant designer Vittorio Jano designed an eight-cylinder V-engine that was installed at an angle of twelve degrees to the side. In this way, the cardan shaft could run next to and no longer under the driver's seat to the rear axle, as was previously the case. As a result, the entire vehicle was built lower, which lowered the center of gravity and improved aerodynamics. The oil tank and transmission were positioned at the rear for better weight distribution. The characteristic, elongated petrol tanks to the side of the cockpit also optimized aerodynamics and weight distribution - as the fuel supply dwindled, the driving behavior did not change as much in the course of a race as with competing models with the tank in the rear.

The "Gran Premio del Valentino" on March 27, 1955 started right in front of the Castello del Valentino, a former ducal castle on the outskirts of Turin. Alberto Ascari won after 90 laps, for which he needed 2 hours and 40 minutes, which corresponded to an average speed of about 140 km / h. To commemorate this victory, a floor slab has now been set into the asphalt bearing the driver's name and start number 6. The roll of honor is exactly where the Ascaris Lancia D50 was on the grid at the 1955 Grand Prix.

“It is a great honor for us to attend events of this type,” said Roberto Giolito, Head of Heritage. “Our goal is to spread knowledge about the historical legacy of our major car brands as widely as possible. The support of the work of other associations in accordance with our own goals and the provision of historical vehicles from our collection for symbolic cultural events add to the awareness of this project. In this particular case, we are dealing with an extraordinary car, the Lancia D50, and an extraordinary driver. With his success, Alberto Ascari has given the most famous Italian brands, from Ferrari and Maserati to Alfa Romeo to Lancia, enormous prestige.

Formula 1 classic Lancia D50 and racing legend Alberto Ascari honored in Turin Parco del Valentino

Of course, that wasn't the end of it!

tuningblog has countless other articles on the subject of car and auto tuning in stock. Do you want to see them all? Just click HERE and look around. In part, we would like to provide you with news but also off the tuning. In our category Tips, products, information & Co We have reviews of car or accessories manufacturers, new ones Tuning Wiki Terms or one or the other Leak veröffentlicht. Following an excerpt of the last articles:

Is the turbocharger whistling from the last hole? The info!

Formula 1 classic Lancia D50 and racing legend Alberto Ascari honored in Turin Parco del Valentino

Hydrogen as the key technology of the future

Formula 1 classic Lancia D50 and racing legend Alberto Ascari honored in Turin Parco del Valentino

Toyota fuel cell technology puts the Eiffel Tower in the limelight!

Formula 1 classic Lancia D50 and racing legend Alberto Ascari honored in Turin Parco del Valentino

"Tuningblog.eu" - we keep you up to date on the subject of car tuning and car styling with our tuning magazine and we present you the latest tuned vehicles from all over the world every day. It's best to subscribe to ours Feed and will automatically be informed as soon as there is something new about this post, and of course also to all other contributions.

About Thomas Wachsmuth

Thomas Wachsmuth - He has been an integral part of tuningblog.eu since 2013. His passion for cars is so intense that he invests every available penny in them. While he dreams of a BMW E31 850CSI and a Hennessey 6x6 Ford F-150, he currently drives a rather inconspicuous BMW 540i (G31/LCI). His collection of books, magazines and brochures on the subject of car tuning has now reached such proportions that he himself has become a walking reference work for the tuning scene.  More about Thomas

Leave a Comment

Your e-mail address will not be published. Required fields are marked with * marked