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The Mille Miglia (Thousand Miles - pronounced ['mille 'miʎʎa]) was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before the war, eleven from 1947). A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States Types of racing Unassisted human racing Using only the Human body 's own Muscles Running: Cross country Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar)

Like the older Targa Florio and later the Carrera Panamericana, the MM made Gran Turismo (Grand Touring) sports cars like Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati and Porsche famous. The Targa Florio was an open road Endurance automobile race held near Palermo Sicily. The Carrera Panamericana was a Sports car racing event on open roads in Mexico, similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy Alfa Romeo Automobiles SpA is an Italian Automaker founded in 1910 Ferrari SpA is an Italian Sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy Maserati is an Italian manufacturer of racing cars and Sports cars established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. Porsche SE or Porsche ( German, ˈpɔɹʃə is a German manufacturer of automobiles which is majority-owned by the Porsche and Piëch

Mille Miglia road sign
Mille Miglia road sign

Contents

Car numbering

Unlike modern day rallying where cars are released at one minute intervals with the larger professional class cars going before the slower cars, in the Mille Miglia the smaller displacement slower cars started first. Rallying is a form of motor competition that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars This made organisation simpler as marshalls did not have to be on duty for as long a period and it minimised the period that roads had to be closed. Cars were assigned numbers according to their start time. For example, the 1955 Moss/Jenkinson car left Brescia at 7:22 AM (see below), while the first cars had started at 9 PM the previous day. In the early days of the race even winners needed 16 hours or more, so most competitors had to start before midnight and arrived after dusk - if at all.

Before the war

Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Mille Miglia Spyder, 1938
Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Mille Miglia Spyder, 1938

The race was established by the young Contes Aymo Maggi and Franco Mazzotti, apparently in response to their home town of Brescia 'losing' the Italian Grand Prix to Monza. The Alfa Romeo 6C name was used on road race and sports cars made between 1925–1954 by Alfa Romeo Brescia ( Lombard: Brèsa) is a city in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. The Italian Grand Prix ( Gran Premio d'Italia) is one of the longest running events on the Motor racing calendar Together with a group of wealthy associates, they chose a race from Brescia to Rome and back, a figure-eight shaped course of roughly 1500 km - or a thousand Roman miles. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States Later races followed twelve other routes with varying total lengths.

The first race started on 26 March 1927 with around seventy-five starters - all Italian. Events 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The winner completed the course in just under 21 hours 5 minutes; local marque OM swept the top three places. Officine Meccaniche (OM was an Italian car and truck manufacturing company founded in 1899 in Milan as Societa Anonima Officine Meccaniche

Tazio Nuvolari won the 1930 Mille Miglia in an Alfa Romeo. Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari ( November 16, 1892 &ndash August 11, 1953) was an Italian Motorcycle and Racecar During its history Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Formula One, Sportscar racing, Touring Having started after his team-mate and rival Achille Varzi, Nuvolari was comfortably leading the race but was still behind Varzi (holder of provisional second position) on the road. This article is on Achille Varzi Italian racecar driver See also Achille Varzi (disambiguation. In the dim half light of early dawn Nuvolari tailed Varzi with his headlights off, thereby not being visible in the latter's rear-view mirrors. He then overtook Varzi on the straight roads approaching the finish at Brescia, by pulling alongside and flicking his headlights on.


The event was usually dominated by local Italian drivers and marques, but 3 races were won by foreign cars, all of them German. In 1931, Rudolf Caracciola (famous in Grand Prix racing) and onboard mechanic Wilhelm Sebastian won with their big supercharged Mercedes-Benz SSK. Rudolf Caracciola ( January 30, 1901 &ndash September 28, 1959) was a Racecar driver, nicknamed "Karratsch" Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894 Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury Automobiles Buses coaches and Trucks It is currently a division of the It was also the first of 3 wins for a foreign driver as Caracciola was German, despite his name. The win was a surprise as Caracciola had received very little support from the factory due to the economic crisis at that time. He did not have enough mechanics to man all necessary service points. After performing a pit stop, they had to hurry across Italy, cutting the triangle-shaped course short in order to arrive in time before the race car.

The race was briefly stopped by Mussolini after an accident in 1938 killed a number of spectators. When it resumed in 1940 during war time, it was dubbed the Grand Prix of Brescia, and held on a 100 km (62 mi) short course in the plains of Northern Italy that was lapped 9 times. This event saw the debut of the first Enzo Ferrari owned marque AAC (Auto Avio Costruzioni)(with the Tipo 815). The Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 was the first Ferrari car that was fully designed and built by Enzo Ferrari Despite being populated (due to the circumstances even more than usual) mainly by Italian makers, it was the aerodynamically improved BMW 328 driven by Germans Huschke von Hanstein/Walter Baumer that won the high-speed race at an all-time high average of 166 km/h (103 mph). Note This article describes the BMW 328 of 1937 - 1939 There have also been cars called BMW 328i and 328Ci made since the 1990s as models of the BMW 3 Series

Post-war

The Italians continued to dominate their race after the war, now again on a single big lap through Italy. Mercedes made another good effort in 1952 with the underpowered original Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, scoring second with the German crew Karl Kling/Hans Klenk that later in the year would win the Carrera Panamericana. The Mercedes-Benz 300SL was introduced in 1954 as a two-seat closed Sports car with characteristic Gull-wing doors Later it was offered as an open Karl Kling (b 16 September 1910, Gießen &ndash d 18 March 2003, Gaienhofen on Lake Constance, Germany) was Hans Klenk (born October 29, 1919 at Künzelsau) is a former Racing driver driver from Germany. The Carrera Panamericana was a Sports car racing event on open roads in Mexico, similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy Caracciola, in a comeback attempt, crashed.

Few other non-Italians managed podium finishes in the 1950s, among them Juan Manuel Fangio, Peter Collins and Wolfgang von Trips. Juan Manuel Fangio ( Balcarce, June 24, 1911 - Buenos Aires, July 17, 1995) nicknamed "El Chueco" ("knock-kneed" Peter John Collins ( 6 November 1931 &ndash 3 August 1958) was a Formula One driver from England. From 1953 until 1957 the Mille Miglia was also a round of the World Sports Car championship. In 1955, Mercedes made another attempt at winning the MM, this time with careful preparation and a more powerful car, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR which was based on the Formula One car (Mercedes-Benz W196), not the other sports cars named Mercedes-Benz 300SL. The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR was a sports racing car in 1955. Technical Highlights Despite a misleading name the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR was based neither on the The Mercedes-Benz W196 was the Formula 1 entry of Mercedes-Benz in the 1954 Formula One season and 1955 Formula One season, winning 9 of 12 races The Mercedes-Benz 300SL was introduced in 1954 as a two-seat closed Sports car with characteristic Gull-wing doors Later it was offered as an open Both young German Hans Herrmann (who had a remarkable previous efforts with Porsche) as well as British Stirling Moss relied on the support of navigators while Juan Manuel Fangio (car #658) preferred to drive alone as usual as he considered road races dangerous since his co-pilot was killed in South America. Hans Herrmann (born February 23, 1928) is a former Formula One and Sports car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany. Porsche SE or Porsche ( German, ˈpɔɹʃə is a German manufacturer of automobiles which is majority-owned by the Porsche and Piëch Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss OBE (born September 17, 1929 in London) is a retired racing driver from England. Juan Manuel Fangio ( Balcarce, June 24, 1911 - Buenos Aires, July 17, 1995) nicknamed "El Chueco" ("knock-kneed" Karl Kling also drove alone, in the fourth Mercedes, #701.

Similar to his teammates, Moss and his navigator, motor race journalist Denis Jenkinson, ran a total of six reconnaissance laps beforehand, enabling "Jenks" to make course notes (pace notes) on a scroll of paper 15 feet (460 cm) long that he read from and gave directions to Moss during the race by a coded system of hand signals. Denis Sargent Jenkinson, Jenks or DSJ as he was known in the pages of Motor Sport, (1921-1997 was a journalist deeply involved in Motorsports Although this undoubtedly helped them, Moss's innate ability was clearly the predominant factor. Indeed, it should be noted that Moss was competing against drivers with a large amount of local knowledge of the route, so the reconnaissance laps were considered an equaliser, rather than an advantage.

Car #704 with Hans Herrmann and Hermann Eger was said to be fastest in the early stages, though. Hans Herrmann (born February 23, 1928) is a former Formula One and Sports car racing driver from Stuttgart, Germany. Herrmann already had a remarkable race in 1954, when the gate on a railroad crossing were lowered in the last moment before the fast train to Rome passed. Driving a very low Porsche 550 Spyder, Herrmann decided it was too late for a brake attempt anyway, knocked on the back of the helmet of his navigator Herbert Linge to make him duck, and they barely passed below the gates and before the train, to the surprise of the spectators. The Porsche 550 was a Sports car produced by Porsche from 1953-1956 Herbert Linge (* June 11 1928 in Weissach is a former German racing and rally driver Herrmann was less lucky in 1955 as he had to abandon the race after a brake failure. Kling crashed also.

After 10 h 07' 48", Moss/Jenkinson arrived in Brescia in their Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR with the now famous #722, setting the event record at an average of 159. The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR was a sports racing car in 1955. Technical Highlights Despite a misleading name the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR was based neither on the 65 km/h (99. 20 mph) which was fastest ever on this 1,597 km (992 mi) variant of the course, not to be beaten in the remaining two years. Fangio arrived a few minutes later in the #658 car, but having started 24 min earlier, it actually took him about 30 minutes longer.

The end

Memorial to victims of Mille Miglia where the fatal crash happened
Memorial to victims of Mille Miglia where the fatal crash happened

The race was banned after a fatal crash in 1957 that took the lives of driver Alfonso de Portago, his co-driver/navigator, and eleven spectators, at the village of Guidizzolo. Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton marquis of Portago best known Alfonso de Portago (born in London, The crash was probably caused by a blown tire. The manufacturer was blamed and sued for this, as was the Ferrari team, which, in order to save time, had not changed tires.

From 1958 to 1961, the event resumed as a Rallying-like round trip at legal speeds with a few special stages driven at full speed, but this was discontinued also. Rallying is a form of motor competition that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars

Since 1977, the name was revived as the Mille Miglia Storica, a parade for pre-1957 cars that takes several days, which also spawned the 2007 documentary film Mille Miglia - The Spirit of a Legend.

Mille Miglia winners

See also: List of major automobile races in Italy

Name usage

Mille Miglia is also the name of Alitalia's frequent flyer program. Pierino 'Piero' Taruffi (born in Rome, October 12, 1906 - died January 12, 1988) was a Racing driver from Italy Ferrari SpA is an Italian Sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy Eugenio Castellotti ( October 10, 1930 - March 14, 1957) was a Formula One driver from Italy. Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss OBE (born September 17, 1929 in London) is a retired racing driver from England. Denis Sargent Jenkinson, Jenks or DSJ as he was known in the pages of Motor Sport, (1921-1997 was a journalist deeply involved in Motorsports The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR was a sports racing car in 1955. Technical Highlights Despite a misleading name the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR was based neither on the Alberto Ascari ( July 13, 1918 &ndash May 26, 1955) was an Italian Racing driver and twice Formula One Lancia Automobiles SpA is an Italian Automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in See also the 340 F1, a Formula 1 racer and 340 America, a GT car The Ferrari 340 MM was a Ferrari Giovanni Bracco ( June 6 1908 at Biella - August 6 1968 same place was an Italian racing car driver remembered for losing control The Ferrari 250 is a series of Sports cars built by Ferrari from the 1950s and early 1960s Luigi Villoresi ( May 16, 1909 - August 24, 1997) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver who continued racing on the Formula See also the 340 F1 and 375 F1 Formula 1 racers A Ferrari America is one of a series of top-end Ferrari See also the 195 S sports racer The 195 Inter was a GT car produced by Ferrari in 1950 Clemente Biondetti ( August 18, 1898 - February 24, 1955) was an Italian Auto racing driver See also the 166 Inter GT car The Ferrari 166 S was an evolution of Ferrari 's 125 Clemente Biondetti ( August 18, 1898 - February 24, 1955) was an Italian Auto racing driver See also the 166 Inter GT car The Ferrari 166 S was an evolution of Ferrari 's 125 Clemente Biondetti ( August 18, 1898 - February 24, 1955) was an Italian Auto racing driver The Alfa Romeo 8C name was used on road race and Sports cars of the 1930s Note This article describes the BMW 328 of 1937 - 1939 There have also been cars called BMW 328i and 328Ci made since the 1990s as models of the BMW 3 Series Clemente Biondetti ( August 18, 1898 - February 24, 1955) was an Italian Auto racing driver The Alfa Romeo 8C name was used on road race and Sports cars of the 1930s Carlo Maria Pintacuda ( September 18, 1900 – March 8, 1971) was a motor-racing driver from Italy. The Alfa Romeo 8C name was used on road race and Sports cars of the 1930s Antonio Brivio (Sometimes shown as Marchese Storza Brivio, Biella, Vercelli, Italy, 30 Jan 1905 - Feb 1995 was an Italian The Alfa Romeo 8C name was used on road race and Sports cars of the 1930s Carlo Maria Pintacuda ( September 18, 1900 – March 8, 1971) was a motor-racing driver from Italy. The Alfa Romeo 8C name was used on road race and Sports cars of the 1930s This article is on Achille Varzi Italian racecar driver See also Achille Varzi (disambiguation. The Alfa Romeo 8C name was used on road race and Sports cars of the 1930s Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari ( November 16, 1892 &ndash August 11, 1953) was an Italian Motorcycle and Racecar The Alfa Romeo 8C name was used on road race and Sports cars of the 1930s Baconin Borzacchini ( September 28, 1898 - September 10, 1933) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver often referred to as The Alfa Romeo 8C name was used on road race and Sports cars of the 1930s Rudolf Caracciola ( January 30, 1901 &ndash September 28, 1959) was a Racecar driver, nicknamed "Karratsch" The Mercedes-Benz SSK is a Roadster built by German Automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz between 1928 and 1932 Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari ( November 16, 1892 &ndash August 11, 1953) was an Italian Motorcycle and Racecar The Alfa Romeo 6C name was used on road race and sports cars made between 1925–1954 by Alfa Romeo Giuseppe Campari ( June 8, 1892 - September 10, 1933) was an Italian opera singer and Grand Prix motor racing driver The Alfa Romeo 6C name was used on road race and sports cars made between 1925–1954 by Alfa Romeo Giuseppe Campari ( June 8, 1892 - September 10, 1933) was an Italian opera singer and Grand Prix motor racing driver The Alfa Romeo 6C name was used on road race and sports cars made between 1925–1954 by Alfa Romeo Ferdinando "Nando" Minoia (June 2 1884 &ndash 28 June 1940 was an Italian racing driver with an exceptionally long distinguished and varied career Officine Meccaniche (OM was an Italian car and truck manufacturing company founded in 1899 in Milan as Societa Anonima Officine Meccaniche Grand Prix and other major automobile races in Italy. Adriatic Grand Prix Alessandria Grand Prix Bari Grand Prix AlitaliaLinee Aeree Italiane SpA ( Italian for Alitalia - Italian Air Lines) ( is the Flag carrier Airline of Italy.

Mille Miglia is also the name of a jacket, named after the race, inspired by the 1920's racewear and designed by Massimo Osti for his CP Company clothing label. The garment features goggles built into the hood and originally had a small circular window in the sleeve enabling the wearer to see their watch. The jackets have been produced for a long period and are still popular with British football casuals. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Casuals are a Subculture of football support that developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United Kingdom, and is typified by Football hooliganism

As a sponsor and timekeeper of the Storica event, the event has lent its name and its trademark logo to Chopard for a series of sport watches. Chopard is a luxury watch jewelry and accessories company founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard at the age of 24 For promotions Chopard uses photographs from the event by photographer Giacomo Bretzel.

Mille Miglia Red is the name for a color used by Chevrolet on its Corvette models. The color was offered between 1972 and 1975. [1]

The Mille Miglia today

In 1982 the Mille Miglia endurance race was revived as a road rally event. Nowadays,timing rather than speed is of the essence for the enthusiasts from around the world who race their vintage cars, dating from 1927 to 1957. This magnificent parade of classic machines has earned the Mille Miglia the reputation of being the "the most beautiful road race in the world". Every May, Brescia becomes the meeting place for the rich, famous and passionate as they prepare to do battle over 1,600 miles of Italian roads. The event is closely followed by the press and immortalized every year by one of world's most respected photographers, Giacomo Bretzel, whose images so perfectly communicate the intensity, the emotion and the spirit of the moment. The history of the Mille Miglia is traced in all its glory, from yesteryear to the present day, at the Mille Miglia Museum, Brescia. This collection is a must for all amateurs of the automobile and its history and includes a fine collection of books and photographic works.

Mille Miglia Storica results

External links

The Alfa Romeo RL was produced between 1922-1927 It was Alfa's first sport model after World War I. Osca redirects here for other uses of Osca see Osca (disambiguation Officine Specializzate Costruzioni Automobili Stanguellini was a maker of small sports cars in Italy Maserati 200S were twenty-eight racing cars made by Maserati of Italy, to take over for the aging Maserati A6 GCS racing variants The Mercedes-Benz 300SL was introduced in 1954 as a two-seat closed Sports car with characteristic Gull-wing doors Later it was offered as an open Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car constructor The name "Cisitalia" derives from "Consorzio The BMW 507 TS is a Roadster produced by BMW from 1956 to 1959 The Lancia Aurelia is considered by many to be the first true Gran Turismo Automobile. History Abarth is an Italian racing car maker founded by Italian-Austrian Karl (Carlo Abarth in Turin in 1949 Note This article describes the BMW 328 of 1937 - 1939 There have also been cars called BMW 328i and 328Ci made since the 1990s as models of the BMW 3 Series The Donald Healey Motor Company Ltd was a British car company Bugatti was founded in Molsheim, France, as a manufacturer of high performance automobiles by Ettore Bugatti, an Italian The Alfa Romeo 6C name was used on road race and sports cars made between 1925–1954 by Alfa Romeo
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