STORY OF THE DAY: Sixteenth Overall, First in Class

Ippolito Berrone and Guglielmo Carraroli finished sixteenth overall in the 1933 Mille Miglia with the number 52 Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 SS Spider Zagato. Their time was 17 hours 38 minutes 35 seconds. More importantly for the smaller Alfa, they won the sport category for cars up to 1.5 litres while Tazio Nuvolari and Decimo Compagnoni gave the Scuderia overall victory.

The class success gave the day its particular character. Berrone and Carraroli could not match the pace of the leading 2.3-litre cars, but they completed the immense course ahead of every direct rival in their category. Their result demonstrated that the Scuderia’s strength extended beyond the overall contenders to the careful preparation of smaller-capacity machinery.

The 6C 1500 Super Sport was built around Vittorio Jano’s compact inline-six, with twin overhead camshafts and supercharging in its competition specification. The number 52 carried light Zagato spider bodywork, reducing mass and frontal area while retaining the separate chassis of the production-based design. Efficiency, braking and agility made it an effective class weapon over the Mille Miglia’s varied terrain.

Ippolito Berrone was an Italian sports-car competitor whose recorded career included Mille Miglia and Targa Abruzzo appearances. Guglielmo Carraroli was an experienced Italian co-driver and mechanic who had already represented the young Scuderia Ferrari in major road races. Their complementary roles—Berrone setting the pace and Carraroli supporting navigation and mechanical management—produced a class victory of lasting statistical importance.