Portugal celebrates the 50th anniversary of its rally, but it is not the only race celebrating an important anniversary. Mille Miglia (1000 miles) celebrates this year the 90th anniversary of its first edition.
The Mille Miglia, as the name implies, is an open road race with a length of 1000 miles, the equivalent of 1600 km. Since its beginning, the starting point has been Brescia, heading towards Rome and returning again to Brescia, but by another route.
We can separate the history of Mille Miglia into several phases, the first two, from 1927-1938 and 1947-1957, being the most recognized. It was during this period that legends were created, whether the pilots or the machines. Like other races with a similar format – Carrera Panamericana or Targa Florio, this race brought enormous fame to manufacturers who participated in it with their sports cars, such as Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, among others.
It was a real test of endurance, for both pilots and machines, as the clock wouldn't stop. In other words, in the beginning, it was common for even the fastest ones to take 16 hours or more to complete the test. There were no stages or driver changes, as happens in rallies or endurance races.
The race was organized differently from other disciplines. The slower cars were always the first to start, unlike what happens, for example, in rally events. This allowed for a more efficient organization of the race, as the marshals saw the work time reduced and the period of road closures was minimized.
After 1949, the numbers assigned to automobiles were those of their departure time. Some became legendary, such as the number 722 (departure at 7:22 am) which identified Stirling Moss' Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR and its navigator Denis Jenkinson. They entered history in 1955, when they managed to win the race in the shortest time recorded on that variant of the course, in 10:07:48 hours at an average speed of 157.65 km/h.
Let's not forget that we were in 1955, on secondary roads – no highways – to understand the spectacular feat of the English pilot. Despite being one of the most remembered victories, it was up to the Italians, drivers and machines, the bulk of the victories in the Mille Miglia editions.
For the next two years, no one could beat Moss's time. In 1957 it would also be the end of the Mille Miglia as we know it, due to two fatal accidents.
From 1958 to 1961, the race took on another format, similar to a rally, practiced at legal speeds, with the absence of limits being reserved for a few stages. This format was also eventually abandoned.
It would only be in 1977 that the Mille Miglia would be taken over, now called Mille Miglia Storica, assuming a regularity-proof format for pre-1957 classic cars. The route remains as close as possible to the original, with the starting and ending points located in Viale Venezia in Brescia, extending over several stages and for several days.
This year's edition has more than 450 entries and started yesterday, May 18th, and ends on May 21st.
