Umberto Maglioli

My brother took this photograph during practice day for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July 1956.

It's the Italian racing driver Umberto Maglioli who drove a Maserati 250F for the Scuderia Guastalla, qualifying in 24th place on the grid and retiring on the 21st lap of the race with a broken gearbox. Umberto Maglioli had a brief career in Grand Prix racing, competing in only ten races between 1953 and 1957, his best results being third place finishes in the 1954 Italian Grand Prix and the 1955 Argentinian Grand Prix. Both those occasions were shared drives in a Ferrari 625, with José Froilán Gonzales in 1954 and Giuseppe Farina and Maurice Trintignant in 1955 - this Argentinian race being the one where the midsummer heat was so intense that the only finishers to complete the race single-handed were Juan Fangio and Roberto Mieres. Umberto Maglioli had a longer career in the World Sportscar Championship, winning the Targa Florio three times, in 1953 in a solo drive in a Lancia D20, 1956 in a Porsche 550 with Huschke von Hanstein, and 1968 with Vic Elford in a Porsche 907. In 1954 he won the 1000km of Buenos Aires with Giuseppe Farina in a Ferrrari 375 MM and the Carrera Panamericana in a solo drive in a Ferrari 375 Plus. Ferrari won the 6-race World Sportscar Championship that year, also winning the Le Mans 24 Hour race and the RAC Tourist Trophy race at Dundrod.