STORY OF THE DAY: Eleven Minutes Short of Caracciola

Giuseppe Campari and Attilio Marinoni finished second in the 1931 Mille Miglia, completing the approximately 1,635-kilometre course in 16 hours 21 minutes 17 seconds. Their number 86 Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS crossed the line a little more than eleven minutes behind Rudolf Caracciola and Wilhelm Sebastian’s Mercedes-Benz SSKL. Caracciola became the race’s first foreign winner, while the Alfa crew led the Italian challenge.

The defining contest set the lighter, agile Alfa against the Mercedes and its much larger supercharged engine. Campari and Marinoni maintained sufficient speed and reliability to finish ahead of every other Italian entry, but they could not erase the advantage established by Caracciola. Their second place was nevertheless remarkable in a race that demanded sustained pace over mountain passes, poor surfaces and long hours on open roads.

The 6C 1750 Gran Sport was one of Vittorio Jano’s most accomplished pre-war designs. Its 1.75-litre inline-six had twin overhead camshafts and, in Gran Sport form, a supercharger; the number 86 car is recorded with fixed-head specification and Zagato spider bodywork. Light construction, strong brakes and balanced handling made the model especially effective on the Mille Miglia.

Giuseppe Campari was an Italian works ace, celebrated both as a racing driver and an opera singer, who had already won the Mille Miglia in 1928 and 1929. Attilio Marinoni was an Italian mechanic, test driver and racer whose technical understanding made him an invaluable long-distance partner. Their shared experience gave Scuderia Ferrari a crew capable of challenging the formidable Mercedes almost to the finish.