Franco Cornacchia

Ferrari 250 Monza from Scuderia Guastalla

Franco Cornacchia (born January 25, 1907 in Maclodio ; † after 1955 ) was an Italian entrepreneur, racing team owner and racing car driver .

Entrepreneurship and the Scuderia Guastalla

Franco Cornacchia was one of the first Ferrari dealers in Italy in the early 1950s . The company was located in Via Freguglia in Milan , near the Palace of Justice that housed the Corte d'appello di Milano . In 1951 he founded the Scuderia Guastalla , a racing team that competed in sports car races with Ferraris and monopostor races with Maserati racing cars . Cornacchia had close relationships with Enzo Ferrari , which arose after Cornacchia's first successes as a driver. The Scuderia first raced at the Gran Premio di Siracusa in 1951 , where Ferdinando Righetti and Giovanni Bracco each retired in their Ferrari 166 Spyder Corsa . In 1956 , Scuderia announced a Maserati 250F for Umberto Maglioli for the Great Britain Grand Prix . The car broke down after a gearbox failure. Gerino Gerini finished tenth with the car at the Italian Grand Prix .

The greatest success in international sports car racing was third place overall in the 1954 Monza 1000 km race .

In addition to his role as team boss, Cornacchia was also active as a driver and not only drove for his own racing team. He celebrated his first successes in hill climbs and in 1949 with overall victories in the Ferrari 166 MM at the one-hour race in Senigallia and the one-hour race in Trieste .

In 1951 he finished second overall with Bracco at the Targa Florio and won the 10-hour race of Messina in 1952 with Clemente Biondetti . Franco Cornacchia started in the Mille Miglia , the 24-hour race of Le Mans , the Carrera Panamericana and in 1954 in the first 1000 km race in Monza , which he finished third overall with Gerini in the Ferrari 250 Monza . He celebrated his last race win at the Coppa Felice Bonetto in 1955 .

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1951	United States 48 Charles Moran	Ferrari 212 export	United States 48 Charles Moran	Rank 16
1952	United States 48 Charles Moran	Ferrari 212 MM	United States 48 Charles Moran	failure	Electrics

personal data
SURNAME	Cornacchia, Franco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian entrepreneur, racing team owner and racing car driver
DATE OF BIRTH	January 25, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH	Maclodio
DATE OF DEATH	after 1955