Enrico Anselmi was an Italian racing driver, who made a name for himself racing

Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...

s in the early 1950s.

Racing career

Enrico Anselmi, raced internationally, primarily in sportscars between 1947 and 1957, mainly in

Lancia Aprilia The Lancia Aprilia (1937–1949) is a family car manufactured by Lancia, one of the first designed using wind tunnel in collaboration with Battista Farina and Politecnico di Torino, achieving a record low drag coefficient of 0.47. The ''berlinetta ...

s and

Lancia Aurelia The Lancia Aurelia is a car produced by Italian manufacturer Lancia from 1950 to the summer of 1958. It is noted for using one of the first series-production V6 engines. Several body styles were offered: 4-door saloon, 2-door GT coupé (B20), ...

s. In 1952, his big break came when Scuderia Lancia offer him the chance to drive a works Aurelia in les 24 Heures de Mans, where partnered

Felice Bonetto Felice Bonetto (9 June 1903 in Manerbio, near Brescia, Italy – 21 November 1953 in Silao, Mexico) was a courageous racing driver who earned the nickname ''Il Pirata'' (The Pirate). He was a road racing legend, who started racing in the 1930 ...

to eighth place overall. During this period, he enjoyed some success, scoring his only race win, in the 1951 non-championship

Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti The Dolomites Gold Cup Race (translation: ''Coppa d' Oro delle Dolomiti'') was a car race on public roads open to traffic, which was run in the Dolomite Mountains of northern Italy for ten years from 1947 to 1956. It took place along an anti-cl ...

and finished second in the 6 Ore di Pescara. In addition, he also won his class on the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

that season. He repeated this feat the following season and claimed another class win. Away from Sportscars, Enrico raced in just one

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

race, the 1951 Gran Premio del V Centenario Colombiano, but retired his

Ferrari 166 Ferrari used its 2 L (1995 cc/121 in3) V12 engine in a number of models, all called 166 for the displacement of a single cylinder. Most early 166es were sports cars built for racing, though a later line of GT cars launched the compan ...

. In the 1952

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

, he finished third, in the year; the Aurelia occupied the whole podium of the famous Sicilian competition. After finishing 1st and 3rd at the 1957 Coppa Inter-Europa, held at the

Autodromo Nazionale Monza The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after ...

, in the GT1.1 and GT2.6 classes respectively, he would retire from International Motor Sport.

Racing record

Career highlights

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Mille Miglia results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anselmi, Enrico 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Mille Miglia drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Italian racing drivers