STORY OF THE DAY: A Leading Crew Lost to Accident

Pietro Ghersi and Giulio Ramponi started the 1932 Mille Miglia in the number 82 Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 MM. Their race ended in an accident, leaving the crew unclassified while Baconin Borzacchini and Amedeo Bignami won in another 8C 2300. The non-championship road classic again demanded a complete circuit from Brescia to Rome and back.

The retirement removed a pairing with both speed and substantial mechanical experience. On the Mille Miglia, crews had to negotiate traffic, changing weather, darkness and surfaces that varied dramatically across the route. The number 82’s accident demonstrated how little margin existed when the new generation of 2.3-litre sports cars was driven at sustained racing speeds on ordinary roads.

Vittorio Jano’s 8C 2300 employed a supercharged straight-eight of approximately 2.3 litres, with twin overhead camshafts and a central gear train. The MM version combined this engine with a road-racing chassis and light spider coachwork, the number 82 being recorded with a Zagato body. Its broad performance range made it a formidable Mille Miglia machine, although speed could not eliminate the course’s hazards.

Pietro Ghersi was an Italian racer who moved successfully between motorcycles and automobiles and became a regular Scuderia Ferrari competitor. Giulio Ramponi was an Italian mechanic, test driver and racing driver with deep Alfa Romeo experience; he had also played a central technical role in important British and Italian racing efforts. Their partnership united aggression and engineering knowledge, but the 1932 race ended before either quality could produce a result.