The 10 Hours of Messina (Sicily)

(July 23rd/24th)

Starting at 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 23rd, the Sicilian sports-car race for cars up to 3 litres continued through to the Sunday morning for a total of 10 hours. A total of 23 cars took part, there being classes for 2 litres and 3 litres, and from the start Castellotti, with a factory 3-litre Ferrari, took the lead, followed by Maglioli in a similar car. After only half an hour the second man retired with mechanical trouble and this left the works Ferrari out on its own, well ahead of the 3-litre Maseratis driven by Musso and Mieres.

When Trintignant took over the wheel of the leading Ferrari it was quite unassailable and the two drivers dominated the race for the whole distance, setting up a new record for the race. Behind them, competitors dropped by the wayside throughout the 10 hours and only six cars completed the course.