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Kling’s 300SLR shortly after his crash. Photo by John Bradshaw courtesy Dale LaFollette.
Story by Pete Vack
From the VeloceToday Archives, October 2017
Before the 1955 Mille Miglia, Enzo Ferrari was worried about the entry of the Mercedes-Benz 300SLRs so he opted to install a 4.4 liter engine in place of the regular 3.7 liter six into a lengthened Monza chassis.
Which was fine, except that he didn’t tell anyone, even the drivers.
Fangio on the Mille Miglia. Note the Spica injection. Photo by John Bradshaw courtesy of Dale LaFollette.
Story by Pete Vack
From the VeloceToday Archives, October 2017
Part 1 addressed the two main teams that participated in the 1955 Mille Miglia, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari. No one else was even in the game for overall victory and with at least four entries each, one of the two was going to win the event.
Before we proceed, last week we noted that there were many 300SL Gullwings that were used for practice weeks before the event itself, which would be a victory for the Germans in all classes, including our own late John Fitch, who placed 5th overall with a Gullwing and won his class, a remarkable achievement.
Fangio on the Mille Miglia. Note the Spica injection. Photo by John Bradshaw courtesy of Dale LaFollette.
Story by Pete Vack
Part 1 addressed the two main teams that participated in the 1955 Mille Miglia, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari. No one else was even in the game for overall victory and with at least four entries each, one of the two was going to win the event.
Before we proceed, last week we noted that there were many 300SL Gullwings that were used for practice weeks before the event itself, which would be a victory for the Germans in all classes, including our own late John Fitch, who placed 5th overall with a Gullwing and won his class, a remarkable achievement. [Read more…] about Mille Miglia Moments, 1955 Part 2
Kling’s 300SLR shortly after his crash. Photo by John Bradshaw courtesy Dale LaFollette.
Story by Pete Vack
Before the 1955 Mille Miglia, Enzo Ferrari was worried about the entry of the Mercedes-Benz 300SLRs so he opted to install a 4.4 liter engine in place of the regular 3.7 liter six into a lengthened Monza chassis.
Which was fine, except that he didn’t tell anyone, even the drivers. [Read more…] about Mille Miglia Moments: 1955
At the 1988 Mille Miglia with a 1951 Cooper MG.
Part 2 of the Excerpt from Steering with your Knees by Anatoly Arutunoff
Read Part 1
By Toly Arutunoff
We overnighted in Rome at the midpoint of the event, and my timing was such that while Karen was smart enough to grab a Coke and head straight for bed, I hit the lobby at the exact time another dining room was opened up to accept the overflow of competitors from the main room. Chicken, veal, pasta, pasta, antipasto, wine, beer — it was all there, fresh, and as much as you could choke down if you weren’t too tired to swallow. [Read more…] about Arutunoff on the Mille Miglia Part 2
At the 2005 edition of the Mille Miglia retro, Toly is seen here with Sandy Orttewell in Orttwell’s totally original 1928 1500S Alfa.
An Excerpt from Steering with your Knees by Anatoly Arutunoff published with permission of the author.
By Toly Arutunoff
It’s difficult to know what to say about the Historic Mille Miglia … it’s been covered by all the enthusiast press in articles of varying lengths, and since I subscribe to most of them I’m mildly saturated … I guess I just don’t want to simply rehash, from my personal point of view, all the things you might’ve read elsewhere. Now that that’s outta the way, let me say that the event taken as a whole is inspiring and enthusiastically stimulating to an American; more so I think than it is to a European.