A lot of smiling faces could be seen despite the mandatory face masks when old and new friends could be
met today, some of them even by surprise as travelling especially from oversees still means trouble and not
everybody made it over at the end. This making the meeting with those making it even more special.
Almost 400 cars are entered in this ears edition and unlike last October almost all of the numbers are actually
taken. As all of the years the Mille Miglia brings together a colorful selection of sports and GT cars from the
years 1927-1957 of the original MM road race that formed legends and myths. One of these legends is the
late Stirling Moss, the record holder over the 1000 miles in 1955. After he passed last year Mercedes took the
opportunity to bring back his winning 300 SLR to the Museo Mille Miglia where the car is on static display.
Less static will be the rest of the field that will be sent on the road tomorrow afternoon after another morning of
scrutineering and sealing in the paddock and the village before the traditional start on the Via Venezia.
Although the concept of the MM is very well known over the last years there are sometimes surprises and this
year’s route is certainly one of them as this is the first year the MM storico is driving anti clockwise. This will
leave even the more experienced drivers with some new impressions after experiencing the streets in autumn
last year due to the postponed date.
So over the next 4 days the cars will go towards Viareggio for the first nightly stop before driving towards
Rome the second day, this time on the Italian West-coast. So this time the dinner towards Rome will be
served in Viterbo, whereas this is usually a breakfast location on the way back. On the way back over Arezzo
the traditional passing of the Passo di Futa and Radicosa is rather normal although this time the eastern leg
rather than the western. And after the night in Bologna the cars will pass the Lago di Garda at Desenzano to
finish the MM rather than to start it.
So for most of the entrants, mechanics and the press can enjoy the famous Italian kitchen at beautiful early
summer weather, something a lot of people were looking forward for a very long time. What seemed to be
natural for all those years became a luxury and feels like a holiday even more now.
Talking about weather: there is the saying that the Mille Miglia without rain is not a real MM but it actually
looks like the 400 crews will face a sunburn rather than a shower on the way to Rome and back.
We are looking forward to the 1000 miles just as the entrants do when the “most beautiful race in the world”
finally rolls through Italy again. Stay tuned for a more detailed look back once the cars are back in Brescia.
Report & images: Peter Singhof
Related Material
... Entry Lists with chassis numbers ... downloadable >>>
|
