Antonio Ascari (15 September 1888 – 26 July 1925) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing champion. He won four Grands Prix before his premature death at the 1925 French Grand Prix. He was the father of two-time World Champion Alberto Ascari. Early life Ascari was born at Bonferraro Di Sorgà, near Mantua but in the Veneto region of Italy, as the son of a wheat salesman. He left school early and worked for some time in a blacksmith's forge. After moving to Milan with his family, he worked as a mechanic with car manufacturers ; while there he was given his first drive at a touring car event in Modena in 1911. he spent the First World War servicing aircraft. When the war ended he set up an Alfa Romeo dealership in Milan. Career He began racing cars at the top level in 1919. When Fiat withdrew from the that year, he bought one of their cars, a Fiat Grand Prix 4500, entered the competition (which was also the debut race for Enzo Ferrari), and won. He followed it up with a win in the Consuma hillclimb. He drove the same car in the 1919 Targa Florio, and was performing well until he skidded off the racetrack into a deep ravine; despite this, his bosses took note of his talent and recruited him into the Alfa Romeo team. The company also granted him the concession for the whole of Lombardy. As well as sales, he had a role in development, and was involved in the production of the Alfa Romeo ES Sport. He raced for Alfa Romeo in the 1920 and 1921 Targa Florio, without great success, but in 1922 he finished fourth. He was leading the 1923 race when his car broke down just short of the finish line. He got it going again, but his teammate, Ugo Sivocci, passed him to win the race, with Ascari finishing second. A month later, at the Cremona Circuit, he drove to his first major Grand Prix victory, driving an Alfa Romeo RL TF. He entered the 1923 Italian Grand Prix, where he was to drive the new P1 car, but the team withdrew from the race after Sivocci was killed during practice. In 1924, Ascari was again the winner at Cremona, in the first race of the new P2, designed by Vittorio Jano. He suffered frustration again in the 1924