I was very fortunate to be able to see the start of the Mille Miglia
in Brescia, Italy, yesterday.
For those who have not heard of this event, it is a historic car run
over the route of the original 1000 mile ("Mille Miglia") race. It
starts from Brescia in Northern Italy, works its way down to the
Adriatic coast, across to Rome and back to Brescia. The cars are
started at timed intervals, which takes all morning. I don't know how
old the cas have to be in order to compete, but probably more than 50%
were pre-war with the rest dating from the '50s.
The cars are a mixture of grand tourers and pure race cars -- its is a
wonderful scene of swooping bodywork, wire wheels and obvious
enthusiasm.
I did not see much old British Iron -- it is possible that many
British cars started before I arrived. Mostly there were Mercedes (SLK
and many 300 SL "Gullwings") or course lots of Ferraris, Alfa Romeos
and FIATs. The Alfas and Ferraris included several carrying the label
"Superleggera" (super-light ?). The drivers of one of the gullwings
had identified themselves with stickers on the car, each one including
(hopefully humourously) their blood group!
For enthusiasts of British cars, I saw a couple of TR3s, some Jag
SS100s and a couple of Bentleys, with their spectacular superchargers
mounted between the front wheels and SU carbs hanging off the side of
the superchargers, exposed to the elements.
I saw two MGAs -- one about to start and one on a trailer on the way
to the start.
All these cars were wonderful examples, gleaming paintwork, but
clearly their drivers enjoyed driving them hard! Entrants had come
from all across Europe, but also there were many from the USA and one
from Japan. Some of the American cars were sporting historic vehicle
plates, but most had normal plates.
An unforgettable day!
Regards,
Simon
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