It was completely normal in the early days of racing.
If you look at historic photos of Ferrari race cars from the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s, you may notice something surprising. Many of these cars carried normal road license plates even while competing in major races. By modern standards, this looks unusual because today’s race cars are built purely for the track.
Public roads
In the early days of international motorsport, permanent race circuits were rare. Instead, races were organised on closed public roads that passed through towns, countryside and mountain routes. Some of the most famous events in Ferrari history were road races. These included the Mille Miglia, the Targa Florio and the Carrera Panamericana.
Photo: Talacrest
The Mille Miglia ran roughly 1,000 miles across Italy, passing through cities, villages and mountain passes. Even though the route was closed for the event, the cars were expected to meet certain road regulations. Being registered vehicles helped organisers maintain legal and logistical order.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) even required this in its regulations. At the time, many racing categories demanded that cars remained fully usable on public roads and carried proper road equipment. This meant the cars needed functioning headlights, indicators and other basic features required for normal driving.
Race on Sunday, sell on Monday
Another important factor was logistics. Modern racing teams use large transport trucks to move cars between races. In the early years of Ferrari, many race cars were simply driven to the event. For smaller teams and private entrants, this was also the most practical and affordable way to attend races.
Drivers might leave the factory in Maranello, travel hundreds of kilometres across Europe, compete in the race and then return home the same way. Because these journeys took place on public roads, the cars needed registration and license plates.
Change to specialised race cars
The difference between race cars and road cars was also much smaller during the 1950s. Many Ferraris designed for competition were based on road car platforms. Cars such as the Ferrari 166 MM, the Ferrari 250 GT and the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa were built with racing in mind, but they still retained features required for road use.
Photo: Patrick Ernzen
These cars often had working headlights, basic road equipment, and registration plates. Owners could drive them on public roads and race them on the same weekend. This dual purpose design was typical for grand touring racing at the time.
By the late 1960s, motorsport began to change. Dedicated race circuits became more common and racing technology advanced rapidly. Teams started transporting cars in specialised trucks and race cars became far more specialised. Because of this change, license plates disappeared from racing machines.
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