La Mille Miglia, Part 1 UK to Brescia
A longtime contributor to VeloceToday, Graham Earl entered this year’s Mille Miglia with one of our favorite cars, an Alfa Giulietta Sprint. Earl is a veteran of three Mille Miglias, and in no respect a novice. This three part article is an absolute must-read and like the Alfa and the Mille Miglia, itself a classic. Remember Henry Manney’s account for Road & Track? This one is better! Ever wanted to run the Mille Miglia? Read it! Owned an Alfa? Delight in it! Earl writes the truth while composing one of the most maddeningly humorous and interesting series of articles to appear in VeloceToday. Ever. We’ll also make it available as a pdf so you can read it at your leisure. Ed.
Story by Graham Earl
Photos by author and Hugues Vanhoolandt
Before its demise in 1957, the Mille Miglia had been one of the most important rounds of the world championship for sports cars, and became the happy hunting ground for Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, with 11 and eight wins respectively, out of the 24 events run. Other manufacturers also took it very seriously, with works entries from Porsche, Maserati, Lancia (winner in 1954), Jaguar, Bentley and BMW (who won the event in 1940) to name just a few. The first race, in 1927 was won, appropriately enough, by local brand O.M. (Officine Meccaniche) and the fastest race was held in 1955, when Stirling Moss took the Mercedes round the 1,000 mile course in a fraction over ten hours to average nearly 100 mph and give the German manufacturer their second win. Think about that speed.