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Maserati
One of the most evocative names in racing in the 1950s was Maserati. Not only did the company build some wonderful road-going sports cars, but it also produced one of the classic racing designs of all time the 250F - but it also won the World Championship with Juan Manuel Fangio in 1954 and in 1957.
Pre-war success
The Maserati brothers were involved in the early Italian motor sport scene before setting up their first business, making sparking plugs,
before the First World War. When hostilities ended Alfieri Maserati raced his own special and then the brothers embarked on building a straight-eight engine for the Diatto Grand Prix car. They bought it to modify for the 1926 regulations, Alfieri taking a class win in that year's Targa Florio.
Rivalry with Alfa Romeo
Maserati then did some twin-engined experimentation before building the 8C-2500 and 2800 chassis. The 8CM was built to take the fight to rival Alfa Romeo's mighty P3 and was the start of a rivalry between the two marques that would continue until after the Second World War.
Baconin Borzacchini was an early Maserati faithful, and was joined in an 8CM by Tazio Nuvolari in 1933. One of Alfa Romeo's greats was Giuseppe Campari, who had joined Alfa Romeo in his teens as a test driver. He was a great music and opera lover and was married to the singer Lina Cavalleri.
At Monza, Campari said that he would retire at the end of the meeting. Sadly, he was involved in a tussle with Borzacchini's Maserati, during which they both hit a patch of oil and crashed fatally. Bugatti driver Count Czaikowski hit the same patch of oil and was also killed.
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