Born in
Milan,
Lombardy, and nicknamed "Gigi", Villoresi was the older brother of race car driver
Emilio Villoresi, and co-piloted with him in several races at the beginning of their careers. From a prosperous family, Villoresi could afford to buy a car and began competing in local rallies at the age of twenty-two with a
Lancia Lambda and a few years later acquired a
Fiat Balilla with which he and his brother Emilio competed in the
Mille Miglia. In 1935, he raced in the
Coppa Ciano, finishing third and went on to capture the Italian driving championship in the 1100cc sports car class. The following year he and his brother purchased a
Maserati which they drove individually in different races. Emilio was so successful that he was signed to drive an
Alfa Romeo for
Scuderia Ferrari in the 1937 season. In 1938, Villoresi became part of the Maserati team, driving the 8CTF model that Maserati had designed to compete with the dominant
German Silver Arrows. In 1939, Maserati introduced the
Maserati 4CL which Villoresi drove to victory at the
1939 South African Grand Prix. Unfortunately, his brother Emilio died later that year while testing an
Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta factory racer at the
Autodromo Nazionale Monza. A little over two weeks after his brother's death, he drove his Maserati to victory at the 1939 Adriatic Grand Prix. His racing career was interrupted by the onset of
World War II. At war's end, he went to America to compete in the
1946 Indianapolis 500, and afterwards he then returned to race for Maserati until 1949 when he signed again with
Ferrari debuting in
Formula One on 21 May 1950. == 1949 ==