FEATURE BY MAURIZIO QUARTA
It has taken more than ninety years – the Autodromo Nazionale dates back to 1922 – to make the ninety kilometers from Brescia to Monza.
A historical motor sport event recently took place when the legendary Mille Miglia visited the equally legendary Monza circuit.
Between 1927 and 1957, the Mille Miglia, also known as Freccia Rossa (Red Arrow) was one of the most famous
Italian races. The event was, and still is, owned by the Automobile Club in Brescia.
It was more than a simple race, it was a national event which represented the original spirit of motorsport, contested by drivers considered heroes by the huge numbers of people lining 1,600 kilometer route between Brescia-Roma-Brescia. Each year, the crowds ran into several millions.
Among the drivers were many of the great names of Formula One and Grand Prix racing: Tazio Nuvolari, Giuseppe Campari, Achille Varzi, Nino Farina, Alberto Ascari, Stirling Moss, Manuel Fangio
(never a winner here), while among the cars we have Ferrari, Mercedes (with Moss in 1955), Alfa
Romeo, BMW and Lancia.
Though the race was on ‘normal’ roads the average speeds were impressive, the record, still unbeaten, at over 157 km/h (98 mph), belongs to Stirling Moss. Other than his supreme skills,Moss’ legendary 1955 victory owed much to the pace notes invented for the occasion by his partner Denis ‘Jenks’ Jenkinson, the forerunner to a system used to this day by rally drivers.
In 1957 the event, which by now was a round of the World Sports Car Championship, was banned in the wake of an accident in which two drivers and nine spectators (five of which were children)
perished. In the furor that followed, Enzo Ferrari was charged with manslaughter but the charges were eventually dismissed. Indeed, over the years the Mille Miglia claimed the lives of 56 drivers and spectators.
In 1997 the Mille Miglia was revived as a commemorative event and over the years that followed attracted an increasing number of famous drivers and historical cars.
Why you might ask… for a very simple reason, related to Italian Grand Prix.
Until 1922, the Italian Grand Prix was held on the Montichiari circuit, near Brescia, and so under the umbrella of the Brescia Automobile Club. After that, the Grand Prix was moved to the new circuit in Monza,
managed by the Milan Automobile Club, a fact that left a deep scar, never healed until today.
Thanks to the work of the ACI Milano, under its new President, Ivan Capelli, the ‘feud’ has ended and there has been a reconciliation. The ‘wedding’ took place at the Villa Reale di Monza (built by Piermarini, who also realized the Scala Theatre in Milan), where the Mille Miglia paid tribute by making it a pass control zone.
No better place could have been found for such a celebration, for after the Villa Reale, the cars entered the Monza circuit where they ‘raced’ (at their own speed!) not only the F1 track we know so well, but also the historical high speed section, also known as the Soprelevata (banking) which has recently been restored and open to racing for just such occasions.
The numbers from the ‘wedding’ were impressive:44 countries were represented, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Kuwait, Malaysia, New
Zealand and South Africa.
617 cars were invited to participate.
430 historical cars (all manufactured no later than 1957) took to the track, including 8 cars recorded by the Armed Forces, and examples from the Museums of manufacturers such as Mercedes – Benz, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Jaguar and Porsche.
Top manufacturers represented included Mercedes – Benz and Alfa Romeo with 38 cars, Jaguar with 36 , FIAT with 32, Lancia with 30 and Porsche with 22. By the way: the number of the drivers who
asked to take part was 617.
On top of that, there were also 120 super cars participating in the “Mille Miglia Tribute”.The race in Monza determined the final classification of the 2015 edition, and the winner – an
Argentinean team in a Bugatti – was awarded the Alberto Ascari trophy created to celebrate the famous Italian F1 driver, who died at Monza exactly 60 years ago, in May 1955.
The trophy was awarded in Brescia, in a joint event between ACI Brescia and ACI Milano, by two relatives of Alberto Ascari, his daughter-in-law Corinna and her daughter Veronica.
Last but not least, also present, in the hall facing the main pit grand stand, was an exhibition of a number of cars from the Lopresto collection, one of the most famous collections in the world.
Maurizio Quarta
“Testo originale pubblicato su www.pitpass.com”