STORY OF THE DAY: A Sports Alfa Reaches the Genoa Podium

Emilio Villoresi finished third in the 1937 Circuito della Superba with Scuderia Ferrari’s number 50 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A. He completed 48 of the winner’s 50 laps, behind the more powerful 12C-36 Grand Prix cars of Carlo Felice Trossi and Mario Tadini. His result secured an all-Alfa, all-Scuderia Ferrari podium in the first running of the Genoa street race.

Villoresi initially held fourth while Clemente Biondetti’s 8C-35 followed the two leading 12Cs. The decisive change came when Biondetti damaged the differential while braking to avoid a spinning car and retired. Villoresi inherited third and brought the sports-racing 2900A home, its two-lap deficit illustrating both the speed of the leading monopostos and the reliability needed to claim the final podium position.

The 8C 2900A combined a 2.9-litre twin-supercharged straight-eight with a chassis derived from Alfa Romeo’s 8C-35 Grand Prix design. It used independent suspension and a rear transaxle, while lightweight competition bodywork made it one of the era’s most advanced sports cars. Those qualities gave it stability and braking confidence on Genoa’s coastal street circuit, even though it could not match the dedicated V12 single-seaters.

Emilio Villoresi was an Italian racing driver and the younger brother of Luigi Villoresi. His career was brief, but he competed in important sports-car events for Scuderia Ferrari and was part of Alfa Romeo’s formidable pre-war competition effort. At Genoa, he mattered as the driver who carried a different type of Alfa—an adaptable sports-racing machine—into a podium otherwise occupied by Grand Prix cars.