By Alessandro Gerelli and Pete Vack
Pictures copyright Alessandro Gerelli
Scroll down for photo gallery.
1954 Mille Miglia Encapsulated
*Alberto Ascari did not like the Mille Miglia. He did not particularly like sportscars, either. But in 1954 the World Champion, despite poor weather, won the event with a Lancia 3.3 liter sports racer. Before the race, Ascari had listened carefully to advise provided by three time winner Clemente Biondetti.
*For the 1954 event, the traditional route was changed to run through the town of Mantua, the hometown of Tazio Nuvolari, who had passed away in on August 11th, 1953. This brought the mileage of the "Thousand Miles" to exactly 1000 miles.
*Nino Farina broke his arm when his Ferrari 375 Plus went off the road in only a few miles from the start. He was driving serial number 0386AM. According to Road & Track, Farina crashed into a tree trying to avoid an errant spectator.
*The 375 Plus Ferraris were doing about 173 mph on the long stretches of the first leg, the Lancias only 158 mph.
*John Fitch and Emmanuel de Graffenried were both entered in Ferraris modified as the fictitious "Buranos" for the movie "The Racers".
*Louis Klemantaski rode with Aston Martin pilot Reg Parnell and recorded some of the finest action shots of the race.
*Small fry: 27 Renaults, 25 Panhards, Citroens, DBs, 10 Peugoeots and 18 Porsches entered the event. Seven Isettas entered, and the first to finish averaged 44.64 mph.
*Despite his best efforts of seasoned OSCA pilot Cabianca, the Hermann/Linge Porsche 550 won its class and placed 6th overall. A harbinger of things to come. (see When Osca Met Porsche.)
*After advising Ascari, Clemente Biondetti finished fourth in an aging Ferrari 166M, serial number 0276MM, with Morelli spider body.
He was aware that he had terminal cancer and would die in February 1955.
*Vittorio Marzotto, driving a 2 liter Ferrari 500 Mondial, serial number 0404 MD, took second place, followed by only 9 seconds by Luigi Musso in the new 2 liter A6GCS Maserati.
*Other familiar names found on the entry list: Fantuzzi, Bordini, Gastonides, Macklin, Abecassis, Collins, Taruffi, Frankenberg, Serafini,
Redele, de Priolo, Glocker, Perdisa, Cortese, Maglioli, Musitelli, Drago.
*There were many accidents during the event. A Citroen driven by Pouschol went off the road, killing the driver and injuring many spectators. A Maserati driven by Mancini/Dalcin went off the road, killing Dalcin and a spectator. But, the organizers were still able to claim that fewer lives were lost during the race than if the roads had been fully opened for normal traffic.
Mille Miglia, Fifty Years later
We were reminded, and saddened, that the Mille Miglia is still an often dangerous event, this year taking the life of the American collector Harlan Schwartz.
Yet the event does, and should, remain a joyous, magnificent classic car tour. Alessandro Gerelli was there, and made the following comments about both the 1954 event and the 2004 Mille Miglia:
Ascari won the 1954 event, driving for 11 hours and 26 minutes at an average speed of 87.3 mph in the wet: if one thinks about the status of the roads of 50 years ago and the ups and downs across the Italian Appennini, it is really an hard job to drive fast and arrive back to Brescia.
All of the Marzotto brothers participated in the race: three of them driving a Ferrari (Vittorio with an official 500 Mondial, Paolo a 375 MM, Giannino a 375 plus), while the fourth, Umberto, was racing a Lancia Gran Turismo. A family affair, no doubt.
The 24 Ferraris at the starting line of the 1954 race were as follows: 500 Mondial (5), 250 MM (6), 375 MM (2), 375 plus (3), 166 MM (3), 212 Export (2), 212 Inter (1), 340 America (1), 250 Monza (1). Despite the numbers, Ferrari failed to achieve their goal. They had won the event 6 times and aimed to break the Alfa Romeo record of 7 consecutive victories obtained from 1932 until 1938.
In 2004, 50 years after, the Mille Miglia is still alive, reborn years ago as a non competitive race, but with some sections to be driven at a controlled speed.
Today, few are interested in who won or will win the event. The historical interest and the exceptional quality of the cars in the entry list is the main point of the Mille Miglia.
Speaking of Ferraris, there were 40 cars at the start line in Brescia: all the cars have been built before 1957. The lucky owners and drivers arrive from all over the world, but most of them from United States and Italy. The cars represent the best production of Ferrari of the 1950s.
The final classification has limited importance: what is really significant is first to be accepted by the organizing committee, meaning that your car has a great historical value, and second, to succeed in arriving at the end of the race without mechanical troubles. That means that you have been able to enjoy the enthusiasm of the crowd who is waiting for the cars along the whole Mille Miglia distance.
Here are some of my photos of the Ferraris, and Lancias, at this year's event.
A Lancia D24 similar to that of the winning car in 1954. It was not entered in the 2004 MM as
previously reported.
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And another D24,,
with very agressive war paint. Also not entered in the 2004 MM.
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1954 Mondial entered
by Lotti/Baldi.
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1953 340 driven in the event by Crippa/Semprini of Italy.
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A nice example
of a 166 Touring Barchetta.
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250MM, 1953.
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1951 340AM, Croul/Raimondi, USA.
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An entry from
Japan, Kojima/Kojima, with a 1953 212 Inter.
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1953 166, Troesser/Troesser.
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Another 166, this time a 1948 Inter, Sunden/Sunden.
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1954 500 Mondial.
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The next year's model, still a 500 Mondial.
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With a more powerful
engine, the 750 Mondial of 1955.
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Caggiati/Boni brought this 1957 500TRC. Perhaps one of the most beautiful Ferraris ever.
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And a brace of
250 Tdfs.
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In a variety of guises, the Tour de France was successful from 1956-1960.
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An open headlight
Tdf.
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