Racing
The Ferrari 250 MM was used extensively in racing. Scoring many victories in Europe. The 250 MM was also successful in the United States with Phil Hill and in South America as well.[13]
The 250 MM had its first outing at the 1953 Giro di Sicilia. Three cars were entered, but none of them finished the race. Paolo Marzotto had led the race until Enna, but then broke down.[14][3] The first victory came from the North American race track. At the Pebble Beach round of the SCCA National Sports Car Championship. In the category for Sports over 1500 cc, Phil Hill drove his spyder to the first place.[15][16] At the Mille Miglia race, the same year, the race the car was destined for, a total of eight cars were entered. Only one managed to finish at all. Giulio Cabianca and Gianfranco Roghi drove their spyder s/n 0282MM, to the ninth place overall and eighth in-class.[17][18] Paolo Marzotto and Marino Marini held a third place before their Berlinetta burst into flames a few kilometers before the finish.[3]
At the 1953 edition of the Targa Florio, three 250 MMs were entered. Only one finished at the sixth place. Giulio Cabianca took it, driving for Scuderia Ferrari and using the same spyder as in the Mille Miglia.[19][18] The Portuguese Grand Prix of 1953 brought 1–2 victory by José A. Nogueira Pinto and Casimiro de Oliveira. Both were driving Vignale-bodied cars. Out of four total cars that entered, others scored a fourth place and a DNF.[20] At the GP Monza, the same year, Luigi Villoresi won in a Pinin Farina Berlinetta.[21] Giuseppe Farina in a Vignale Spyder was third. He drove the same car as Cabianca before. A total of seven cars were entered on Monza. Others scored a fifth, sixth and ninth places and two DNFs.[22][18]
Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti in 1953 also, saw Paolo Marzotto winning at the wheel of the Cabianca's spyder. Out of five entered cars, all have finished the race.[23][18] At an endurance race called 10 Hours of Messina, five 250 MMs have been entered. The Eugenio Castellotti / Giulio Musitelli duo won the race. Franco Cornacchia with Giovanni Bracco came second. Others arrived at fifth, sixth and eighth places.[24] Cornacchia later won the Trieste-Opicina hillclimb.
Following the early success in the States, Phil Hill won the Santa Barbara Trophy in 1953. He was still driving his spyder from the Pebble Beach.[25][16] And at the 3rd Annual Madera Road Race, Hill chose a brand new Pinin Farina Berlinetta, that he shared with Bill Devin. Their car was painted white with a large blue stripe through the middle of the car. In a Modified +1.5 class he came first.[26]
Coppa d'Oro di Sicilia in 1953 was won by Casimiro de Oliveira. Two other cars arrived at the fifth place or did not qualify at all.[27] The last major race of that year was the 1953 Carrera Panamericana where Ruiz Echeverría and Villegas Becerril finished eleventh overall and seventh in-class. They drove a Pinin Farina Berlinetta that was renumbered for import purposes.[28][7]
An involvement of the 250 MM on the racing scene continued throughout 1954. The 1000 km Buenos Aires was organised on an Autódromo Municipal-Avenida Paz in Argentina. The 250 MM Vignale Spyder, driven by Harry Schell and Alfonso de Portago, arrived at the finish line in second place, also scoring a class win. The overall winner was the much more powerful Ferrari 375 MM.[29][30] At the Giro di Sicilia, the same year, Vittorio Colocci and Gaetano Spata finished seventh overall and fifth in-class, ironically just behind the 250 S, the predecessor of their model.[31]
The last two major races of 1954 were the Mille Miglia and the Targa Florio. Five cars were entered for the Mille Miglia. Three arrived at the finish line and two did not. The best result was by a veteran Clemente Biondetti. He scored a fourth place overall and second place in-class. He drove a 250 MM barchetta that was rebodied in 1953 by Carrozzeria Morelli of Ferrara.[32][33] The same year at the Targa Florio, the same 250 MM Morelli finished fifth overall and third in Sport +2.0 class also driven by Biondetti.[34][33]
The 250 MM continued to be competitive all over the world. Scoring victories in the United States,[35] South America and Sweden.[36] Its racing career lasted unusually long, till 1962.[13]
