Mille Miglia

The world's greatest road race

Image from the 1st Mille Miglia race 1927 Stirling Moss in his '55 Mercedes 300 SL 1957 Mille Miglia Poster Rudolf Caracciola 1931- 1st foreign driver to win Tommy Wisdom in his Austin Healey in the last Mille Miglia

The original Mille Miglia high speed race took place between 1927 and 1957, with legendary drivers such as Stirling Moss, Juan Miguel Fangio and Mike Hawthorn racing for 1,000 miles through spectacular Italian scenery from Brescia (between Milan and Verona) to Rome and back. Iconic marques like Ferrari, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo and Bugatti were raced through the winding roads and mountain passes as man and machine became one, fighting for glory.

Alberto Ascari
The first race was won by Italian, Ferdinando Minoia in a time of just over 21 hours and in almost all the 24 races (no races in 1938 or during the war years), victory was taken by an Italian, not least of which in 1954 when Alberto Ascari won the race in a Lancia D24. Today the name of Ascari is closely associated with the Costa del Sol with the Ascari Race Resort located in the hills close to the historic town of Ronda, where Mario Guarnieri can often be seen powering his race prepared 'Radical' car around the famous corners of the circuit. The only British driver to win the Mille Miglia was Stirling Moss the year after Ascari, driving a Mercedes and finishing in just over 10 hours, cutting the 1927 time in half.

Mille Miglia History
Very few races are so steeped in history and the Mille Miglia has been an icon for Italians for decades, commemorated by Federico Fellini in some of his films, like “Amarcord”, recalling his childhood memories of waiting all night for the cars to come down the road through his town. The Mille Miglia was often called the most beautiful race in the world, but after a tragic accident took the lives of Alfonso de Portago, his co-driver/navigator, and eleven spectators in 1957, the original race format was banned. Although the Mille Miglia continued from 1958, the event took the style of a more controlled rally-like round trip with a few stages driven at full speed but this too was stopped in 1961.

BMW 507
In 1977 the race was revived with the name 'Mille Miglia Storcia' and is now a celebration of the '27-'57 race. The starting and finishing in Brescia, pre-1957 cars drive to Rome and back on a nostalgic road trip covering 1,000 miles of beautiful Italian countryside. Mario will be driving his prized BMW 507 built in 1956. Inspired by Max Hoffmann and designed by Albrecht von Goertz the 507 is one of the most beautiful roadsters ever built. Von Goertz was also responsible for the Studebaker, BMW 503 and in the 1970s the Datsun 240Z. Following the 1956 Motor Show in Frankfurt Elvis Presley bought a BMW 507 of which only 253 were ever built due to its rather expensive price tag.

Parade of the Mille Miglia Storcia 2008
The Brescia-Rome itinerary will follow the original Mille Miglia route going through many different parts of the country, Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Marche, Umbria and Lazio and routing back through Florence, Bologna, Modena and Mantua on the return trip. Registration for this years event has closed now, but if you fancy taking your classic on a historic trip next year, make space in your diary around the middle of May 2009.

For more information see: www.1000miglia.eu - www.guarnieri.es