Vincenzo Lancia, the founder of Lancia, had cut his teeth on motorsport in 1907 and 1908, but once he had set up his own company he turned his back on the sport. However, in 1951 Gianni Lancia backed a private team of Lancia Aurelia B21 cars on the Tour of Sicily, and having convincingly won their class against the formidable Alfa Romeo 1900s, he was persuaded to create the Lancia Racing Team in 1952. However, Lancia's entry into Formula One racing, even with its innovative V8 engine and side fuel tanks was disastrous. When Alberto Ascari was killed in 1955 Ferrari took over the Lancia operation. Privateers continued to put Lancia on the podiums and from 1963 Lancia established 'Lancia HF' (High Fidelity), notably with the Lancia Fulvia. The Fulvia was followed by the Stratos which claimed the WRC for 1974, 75 and 1976. After that Lancia developed the Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo for racing tracks and won the Endurance category World Championship in 1980 and 1981. A development of this car, the Lancia 037, took back the 1983 World Rally Championship. From 1987 to 1993 Lancia's Delta 4WD car claimed Rally Championships.