Giovanni Lurani Cernuschi (December 19, 1905 - January 1995) was an Italian automobile engineer, racing car driver and journalist. Also, he was conte

Conte

Conte is a title of Italian nobility used in Italy and other Catholic European countries. The female form is contessa...

 di Calvenzano

Calvenzano

Calvenzano is a comune in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 35 km east of Milan and about 25 km south of Bergamo...

.

He studied engineering at the Politecnico di Milano and raced cars such as
Salmson

Salmson

Salmson was a French engineering company, initially in the automobile and aeroplane manufacturing area,turning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s.-History:...

, Derby, Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...

 and Maserati

Maserati

Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...

, participating eleven times in the Mille Miglia

Mille Miglia

The Mille Miglia was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 ....

. Lurani took class wins in the event three times : 1933 in an MG K3, 1948 in a Healey

Donald Healey Motor Company

-History:It was formed in 1945 by Donald Healey, a renowned auto engineer and successful racing driver. It was formed after Healey discussed sports car design with Achille Sampietro, a chassis specialist for high performance cars and Ben Bowden, a body engineer, when all three worked at Humber...

 and 1952 in a Porsche

Porsche

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....

.

After partaking in the second Italo-Abyssinian War

Second Italo-Abyssinian War

The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...

 from 1935 to 1936, Lurani founded the racing team Scuderia Ambrosiana

Scuderia Ambrosiana

Scuderia Ambrosiana was an Italian motor racing team that competed in the Formula One World Championship in and with Maserati cars and in with Ferraris, and previously in Grand Prix motor racing, where it won Targa Florio in 1951, finished second in 1937 and 1939 and was third in 1938...

 in 1937along with Luigi Villoresi

Luigi Villoresi

Luigi Villoresi was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver who continued racing on the Formula One circuit at the time of its inception.-Biography:...

 and Franco Cortese

Franco Cortese

Franco Cortese was an Italian racing driver, who started the Mille Miglia a record 14 times .He started with Itala , then Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, and Scuderia Ferrari...

 (1937). Sustaining a bad hip injury in Maserati 4CM at Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace (circuit)

Crystal Palace circuit was a motor racing circuit in Crystal Palace, London, England. The circuit was located within Crystal Palace park. The route of the track can still be seen on maps providing access to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre that is also located in the park.- History :The...

, Lurani ended his single-seater career in 1938.

After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Lurani became more involved in administration and politics, working with the FIA

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...

, where he initiated GT in 1949 and Formula Junior

Formula Junior

Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI . The class was intended to provide an entry level class where you could use inexpensive mechanical components from ordinary automobiles...

 in 1959.

He also designed record breaking motorcycles based on Moto Guzzi

Moto Guzzi

Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. It is one of seven brands owned by Piaggio.Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its central historic role in Italy's motorcycling manufacture, its prominence worldwide in motorcycle racing, and a series of...

  and was president of the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) Sporting Commission for several years.

Publications

• Auto Italiana, which he founded and edited
• Nuvolari
  Tazio Nuvolari
  Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari was an Italian motorcycle and racecar driver, known as Il Mantovano Volante or Nivola. He was the 1932 European Champion in Grand Prix motor racing...
  
  (Cassell & Company Ltd., 1959). With Luigi Marinatto.
• La storia delle macchine da corsa (1970). Translation History of the racing car: Man and machine (1972)
• La storia della Mille Miglia
  Mille Miglia
  The Mille Miglia was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 ....
  
   1927-57 (1979).
• Alfa Romeo
  Alfa Romeo
  Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
  
  : Catalogo ragionato (1982). With Paolo Altieri.
• Racing around the world 1920-35.