Antonio Ascari

Antonio Ascari (15 September 1888 – 26 July 1925) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing champion. He won four Grands Prix before his premature death at the 1925 French Grand Prix. He was the father of two-time World Champion Alberto Ascari.

Early life Ascari was born at Bonferraro Di Sorgà, near Mantua but in the Veneto region of Italy, as the son of a wheat salesman. He left school early and worked for some time in a blacksmith's forge. he spent the First World War servicing aircraft. He drove the same car in the 1919 Targa Florio, and was performing well until he skidded off the racetrack into a deep ravine; despite this, his bosses took note of his talent and recruited him into the Alfa Romeo team. The company also granted him the concession for the whole of Lombardy. As well as sales, he had a role in development, and was involved in the production of the Alfa Romeo ES Sport. He was leading the 1923 race when his car broke down just short of the finish line. He got it going again, but his teammate, Ugo Sivocci, passed him to win the race, with Ascari finishing second. Twelve drivers from four teams entered the race, but only seven turned up, from two teams: Alfa Romeo and Delage. By half way, four of the seven had retired, and by two-thirds way, only Ascari and his team-mate Giuseppe Campari remained. Ascari won the race by 21 minutes 58 seconds, with Campari having to drive twice around the circuit on his own to complete his race. He was 36 years old. Alfa withdrew their other cars from the race, and race winners Robert Benoist and Albert Divo drove to the scene of the crash and laid their winners' garlands there.

Ascari's death led to an outpouring of grief, both in France and in Italy. His body was put on display in Montlhéry, where locals filed past it. During its journey to Milan by train, flowers were laid at each stop on the carriage containing his coffin. In Milan, the coffin was displayed in the Alfa Romeo building, where throngs of people filed past. Thousands lined the route of the funeral procession to the Cimitero Monumentale, where he was buried.