ASCARI, ALBERTO

born July 13, 1918, Milan, Italy died May 26, 1955, Monza Italian automobile racing driver who was world champion driver in 1952 and 1953. Ascari started racing on motorcycles, turning to cars in 1940, when he entered the Mille Miglia. He raced in Maseratis after World War II and in Ferraris from 1949 to 1954, when he joined the Lancia team. He won the Mille Miglia in 1954 and many Grand Prix. Like his father, Antonio Ascari, who also died at 36, Ascari was killed while testing a car.