his earlier years. At the age of just 19, Ascari was signed to ride for the Bianchi team. It was after he entered the prestigious Mille Miglia in an Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, supplied by his father's close friend, Enzo Ferrari, in 1940 that he eventually started racing on four wheels regularly. He also married a local girl the same year. When Italy entered World War II, the family garage, now run by Alberto, was conscripted to service and maintain vehicles of the Italian military. it was during this period, he established a lucrative transport business, supplying fuel to army depots in North Africa. His partner in the enterprise was a fellow racing driver, Luigi Villoresi. The pair did survive being capsized in Tripoli harbour along with a shipment of lorries. As their business supported the Italian war effort, it made them exempt from being called up during the war. Career Following the end of World War II Alberto Ascari began racing in Grands Prix with Maserati 4CLT. His teammate was Villoresi, who would become a mentor, teammate and friend to Ascari. The pair were successful on the circuits in the North of Italy. Soon he was bestowed with the nickname Ciccio, meaning "Tubby". Formula One regulations were introduced by the FIA in 1946, with the aim of eventually replacing the pre-war Grand Prix structure. During the next four transitional years, Ascari was at the top of his game, winning numerous events around Europe. He won his first Grand Prix, the Gran Premio di San Remo in 1948 and took second place in the RAC International Grand Prix the same year, at Silverstone. Ascari won another race with the team the following year, Gran Premio del General Juan Perón de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. His biggest success came when he and Villoresi signed for Scuderia Ferrari. The team boss, Enzo Ferrari, had been a great friend and teammate to Antonio Ascari, and had taken a keen interest in Alberto's successes. That year, 1949 with Ferrari team and won three more races that year. The first Formula One World Championship season took place in 1950, and the Ferrari team made its World Championship debut at Monte Carlo with Ascari, Villoresi and the famous French driver Raymond Sommer on the team. The team had a mixed year – their supercharged Tipo 125 was too slow to challenge the dominant Alfa Romeo