The Scuderia Mito Logo a Tribute to Tazio Nuvolari

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The Scuderia MiTo Logo A tribute to Tazio Nuvolari

Having displayed the Scuder- ia MiTo car at both Spring and National Alfa Days this year, and of course having been at racing events as part of the Alfa Romeo Championship, several people has asked about the Scuderia MiTo logo on the side of the car, and a few people asked why we chose the number eight. So this is a short summary for those who want a little motor racing history. Or for those who care. Long before the formation of Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947 (yes, the Ferrari that today builds, well, Ferraris), its founder Enzo Fer- rari began his motor racing career in the early 1920s as a driver for Alfa Romeo, racing alongside greats such as Anto- which, incidentally, originated seaters and raced in the late using the brakes, opting instead nio Ascari. Enzo was not, it has from the coat of arms of the fam- 1920s for Alfa Romeo and then to power slide through bends to be said, the best driver and ily of Francesco Baracca, an Ital- Scuderia Ferrari. A resident of come what may. Nuvolari is he didn’t improve after Ascari ian fighter pilot. The famous Mantua (roughly fifty miles north often credited with inventing was killed in the 1925 French prancing horse did not appear on of Modena), Nuvolari became the four-wheel drift to steer the Grand Prix, almost as if Ferrari’s an actual Ferrari car until 1947. known as ‘Il Mantovano Volante’ car. Races such as the Mille nerve was affected. In 1929, Under the leadership of Enzo or ‘The Flying Mantuan’, evi- Miglia (a thousand mile, two- Enzo negotiated with Alfa Ro- Ferrari, Alfa Romeo’s racing team denced with triumphs throughout man endurance race across Ita- meo to manage and run Alfa’s was successful thanks in part to the 1930s in the Mille Miglia, the ly) were gruelling on both the factory racing team under the the cars such as the P3, 8C and Targa Florio, the Coppa Ciano and drivers and the cars, but Tazio name Scuderia Ferrari, which 6C, but also because of the driv- Grand Prix races. Nuvolari won in both 1930 and became Alfa Romeo’s motor- ers who included Giuseppe Cam- Nuvolari was hugely deter- 1933 alongside Battista Guidotti sport division. pari and, my personal favourite, mined and would race the Alfa and Decimo Compagnoni re- Early racing Alfa Romeos Tazio Nuvolari. Romeos until they would literally spectively. The Targa Florio is from 1929, therefore, are typi- Tazio Nuvolari began his rac- fall to pieces. He used cunning another endurance around 50 cally seen with the Scuderia ing career on motorcycles, pro- and courage to guide Alfas typi- miles of mountainous roads in Ferrari prancing horse emblem gressing to cars and single- cally flat-out at all times – rarely Sicily, again won by Nuvolari in

1931 and 1932, both times in in 1936. Both were triumphs for an Alfa Romeo 8C-2300. Nuvolari who had race number The grand-prix style Coppa eight in both, a number I was Ciano race covered 200 to determined to use on the 250km of punishing driving, Scuderia MiTo car in honour of won by Nuvolari in 1931, 1932, those race wins. And by happy 1933, 1935 and 1936. Grand coincidence, Davie Peddie (who Prix wins included the 1932 built our MiTo) also used the Monaco Grand Prix, wins at number eight as his first race Monza in the Italian Grand Prix number in his early days of rac- in 1931, 1932 in an Alfa Romeo ing. and again in 1938 in an Auto You will likely have realised by Union car, the French Grand now that our Scuderia MiTo logo Prix in 1932, the Tunisian Grand contains the initials TN in the Prix in 1933, the Hungarian centre of a tortoise. The TN Grand Prix in 1936 and famous- monogram and the tortoise be- ly the American Vanderbilt Cup came Nuvolari’s lucky symbol in 1936, a grand prix at the after the poet Gabriele D’Annun- Roosevelt Raceway in Long zio presented Nuvolari with a Island, New York. There were small tortoise jewel with his ini- many other notable successes tials on. D’Annunzio said on pre- for Nuvolari and the Scuderia senting the gift to Nuvolari in Ferrari team in this period in- 1932 “To the fastest man in the cluding the 1933 24-Hour Le world, the slowest animal”. Mans and dozens of other wins, For our MiTo, we very slightly and Nuvolari rightly earned his re-worked the tortoise image Flying Mantuan nickname and integrated it with the Many race numbers were Scuderia MiTo wording to create drivers the World has ever seen. tomb under the inscription used by Scuderia Ferrari and our overall team logo. The de- And certainly one of the greats in “Correrai Ancor Più Veloce Per Le Nuvolari, but two races stand sign, the reference to Tazio Nu- the long and illustrious history of Vie Del Cielo”. This translates as out for me which were the volari and our racing number Alfa Romeo (and Scuderia Ferrari) “You will race even faster along Monaco Grand Prix in 1932 and eight are all intended to pay trib- motor racing. the roads of heaven”. the Vanderbilt Cup in the USA ute to one of the greatest racing Nuvolari is buried in the family And I feel sure he is.