Giovanni Lurani

Giovanni “Johnny” Lurani Cernuschi, VIII Count of Calvenzano (December 19, 1905 – January 17, 1995) was an Italian automobile engineer, racing car driver and journalist.

Lurani studied engineering at the Politecnico di Milano and raced cars such as Salmson, Derby, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, participating eleven times in the Mille Miglia.

[1] After partaking in the second Italo-Abyssinian War from 1935 to 1936,[2] Lurani founded the racing team Scuderia Ambrosiana in 1937[3] along with Luigi Villoresi and Franco Cortese (1937).

Sustaining a bad hip injury in a Maserati 4CM at Crystal Palace, Lurani ended his single-seater career in 1938 but continued racing sportscars until 1953.

[4] After World War II Lurani became more involved in administration and politics, working with the FIA, where he initiated GT in 1949 and Formula Junior in 1959 and was one of the principal organizers of FIA-sanctioned events at Monza, including the Italian Grand Prix there.