On this week #46: Franco Cortese
Franco Cortese, whose name will always be linked to that of Enzo Ferrari, died in Milan, Italy on 13 November 1986. Cortese was the first driver to take a car bearing the Ferrari name to victory when, on 25 May 1947 at the wheel of a Ferrari 125 S, he was first past the flag in the Rome Grand Prix, held on a circuit based around Terme di Caracalla. The win came a fortnight on from the car making its debut at the Piacenza circuit.
Cortese's 30 year racing career began long before the birth of Scuderia Ferrari, making his debut in 1926 at the wheel of an Itala and then other marques such as Maserati, Bugatti and Alfa Romeo. He took part in the Mille Miglia a record fourteen times. In 1937, along with three other gentlemen drivers, Giovanni Lurani, Luigi Villoresi and Eugenio Minetti, he founded Scuderia Ambrosiana a sort of cooperative, whose members joined forces to have greater negotiating clout with race organisers, committed to racing cars they owned themselves and funding their transportation and maintenance costs. They adopted the black and blue colours of Ambrosiana-Inter (the club known today as Inter Milan) in honour of their first President, Ferdinando Pozzani, at the time the boss of the football team. They became a force in Italian motor sport and remained so up until the Sixties. In 1951, with the team he founded, Cortese took the most important win of his career in the Targa Florio at the wheel of a Frazer Nash, finishing ahead of the 212 E Ferrari entered by Scuderia Marzotto and driven by Franco Cornacchia and Giovanni Bracco.
For four years, Cortese was taken on by Ferrari as test and development driver for his very first car, the 125. He had already been part of the Scuderia in 1930, but more importantly, he had also been given the license to sell the machine tools that he had produced since 1939 in conjunction with Auto Avio Costruzioni, a profitable business that Cortese then had to give up at Ferrari's request. The role of tester fell to him, not so much for his skills as a driver but rather because of his reliability and experience. “He would not have become an ace, but he had the basics in terms of style and technical ability and was the best man to present a new car,” wrote Enzo Ferrari in his book, “Piloti, che gente.” Cortese was offered a contract worth 600,000 lire (around 14,000 Euro) along with 50% of the prize money, in exchange for “road testing, presentation to customers, prototype demonstrations,” as well as “taking part in motorsport competitions in the 125 C and then the 125 GP.”
That 11 May debut at Piacenza was promising but unlucky. As well as Cortesti, Giuseppe Farina was also on track in the 125 C, but he did not feel comfortable in a car that was maybe still a touch too underdeveloped and, after a few accidents in practice, he decided not to race, after Ferrari had denied his request to switch to Cortese's car. On top of that, Cortese was forced to retire with a faulty fuel pump on his 125 S, but that first victory was not far away.
At the Rome event, interest generated by the possible appearance of the first Ferrari was such that the organisers, the Automobile Club d'Italia changed the entry requirements, allowing 1500cc cars to take part, when the previous limit had been set at 1100. After a cautious start, Cortese took the win, despite some technical difficulties, crossing the line over 20 seconds ahead of Guido Barbieri's Maserati. That same year there were further wins at Vigevano and Varese, but Cortese was also involved in a very serious accident at the Modena circuit, when, in an attempt to avoid him, Giovanni Bracco's Delage flew into the crowd, killing five people and injuring a further seventeen.
In later years, Cortese continued to race with Ferrari as well as other marques. Apart from the aforementioned 1951Targa Florio, he also won the 1956 Italian Sports Car Championship in a Ferrari 500. However, it was the Rome Grand Prix win that earned him his place in the history of the Prancing Horse, as well as that of motorsport on the world stage. You never forget your first time!
