Franco Cortese was an Italian racing driver

Auto racing

Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...

, who started the Mille Miglia

Mille Miglia

The Mille Miglia was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 ....

 a record 14 times (1927–1956).

He started with Itala (1926), then Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo in motorsport

During its history, Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. They have competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries and private...

, Bugatti

Bugatti

Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....

, and Scuderia Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

 (1930). With Maserati

Maserati

Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...

 he did voiturette

Voiturette

Voiturette is a word mostly used to describe a miniature automobile; however, it has several nuanced meanings, depending largely on the usage date.-History:...

 racing (1937–1939).

Cortese became most famous for his affiliation with Ferrari

Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...

 (1947–1951), driving the first race car built by Ferrari in 1947., the Ferrari 125 S

Ferrari 125 S

The Ferrari 125 S was the first vehicle produced and built by automaker Ferrari of Modena, Italy. Although preceded by Enzo Ferrari's Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 of 1940, the 125 S was the first vehicle to bear the Ferrari name when it debuted on May 11, 1947 at the Piacenza racing circuit...

, which brought victories at
1947 Grand Prix of Rome, 1947 Circuito di Vercelli, 1947 Circuito di Vigevano, 1947 Circuito di Varese, and 1950 Grand Prix of Naples

Grand Prix of Naples

The Grand Prix of Naples was an auto racing event, held in Posillipo, outside Napoli.In its original incarnation, it began in 1934. Known as the Coppa Principessa di Piemonte in honor of Marie-José of Belgium, it continued from the same event held in 1933 in the Circuito Province Meridionale...

.

With Frazer-Nash he won the 1951 Targa Florio

Targa Florio

The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973...

, and again, with Ferrari

Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...

 he won the 1956 Italian 2-litre championshop in a Ferrari 500

Ferrari Tipo 500

The Ferrari 500 was a Formula 2 car designed by Aurelio Lampredi.For 1952, the FIA announced that Grand Prix races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers would be run to Formula 2 specification rather than to Formula 1, after the withdrawal of Alfa Romeo from the sport. Ferrari were the...

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