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Umberto Maglioli (1928-99)
Born on 5th June 1928 in Biella, Umberto Maglioli was one of the foremost Ferrari long-distance drivers of the early 1950s.
He left Ferrari in 1956 to join Porsche for a long and successful relationship but in 1963 he returned to the fold to come third at Le Mans in a 250P shared with Mike Parkes. In 1964, again sharing with Parkes, he won the Sebring 12-hours in a 275P.
He also drove for Ferrari in Formula One but this took place during the lean years of 1954 and 1955. By taking third place at the '54 Monza GP in a Tipo 625 shared with Froilan Gonzales and a sixth place the following year in a Super Squalo he joined the elite few who have driven for Ferrari in F1 and scored points at Monza.
On 7th February, following a long illness, he died in Monza. Another from Ferrari's glorious past is no more.
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The long-distance races of those days were true endurance events and the longer and more difficult they became the more Maglioli excelled at them. A three times winner of the Targa Florio, first in 1953 with a Lancia and lastly in 1968 in a Porsche, his greatest triumph came in the 1954 Carrera Panamericana which he won at the average speed of 110 mph in a 375 Plus. At the same race in the previous year he showed true grit when he survived a massive 125 mph crash in his Ferrari and completely demolished it, then took over team-mate Ricci's car and proceeded to drive at astonishing speed in a vain chase of Fangio's winning Lancia. He averaged 138 mph on one particular leg during his chase.