Mille Miglia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mille Miglia signpost
Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Mille Miglia Spyder, manufactured in 1938
The BMW 328 Touring Coupé, with which von Hanstein / Bäumer won the replacement Mille Miglia in 1940
BMW 328 Roadster "Mille Miglia"
Press conference for the Mille Miglia 2018 with Franco Gussalli Beretta , Jacky Ickx and sponsor Karl-Friedrich Scheufele

Mille Miglia (abbreviation: MM ; Italian : Mille "thousand", Miglia "miles") referred to a car race on public roads on a triangular course in the north of Italy in the years from 1927 to 1957. The name Mille Miglia was reintroduced in 1977 for the New edition of the race.

history

After the Targa Florio which were one thousand miles (Mille Miglia) as a classic among long-distance road race (the Carrera Panamericana was added in the 1950s) and as a basis for the term "Gran Turismo" (GT), the fast travel sports car endurance race describes such as those developed by Ferrari especially for the MM . The MM was part of the sports car world championship introduced in 1953 .

The first edition of the Grand Prix of Italy had in 1921 still on the Circuito di Montichiari in Brescia taken place, but was then on the new Circuito di Monza changed.

In December 1925, four young men from Brescia named Count Franco Mazzotti, Count Aymo Maggi, Renzo Castagneto and Giovanni Canestrini vowed to make their hometown a center of motorsport by holding a race. It should be a road race - mostly on unpaved country roads - and start and end in Brescia. The sports car enthusiasts Aymo Maggi and Franco Mazzotti chose a course from Brescia through northern Italy to the capital Rome and back to Brescia. The length of the route turned out to be about 1,600 kilometers which corresponds to 1,000 English miles . As a reason for choosing this unit of length, reference was made to the " Ancient Romans ", who would have already measured in miles.

Two years after the start of the deliberations, on March 26, 1927, the go-ahead was given for 77 cars  in Via Rebuffone . The premiere of the race was won by an OM 665 “Superba” from Brescia with the works drivers Ferdinando Minoia and Giuseppe Morandi in a time of 21 hours, 4 minutes and 48 seconds and with an average speed of 77 km / h. Even today, always carries with the historic edition of the race OM start number 1. Only three years later the average was at 100 km / h as Tazio Nuvolari from Mantua , the Italians affectionately called "il Mantovano Volante" the flying Mantuan called, , celebrated his first Mille Miglia victory against arch-rival Achille Varzi . In 1933 , the exceptional racing driver with passenger Decimo Compagnoni in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 achieved the winning feat for the second time.

Since the premiere in 1927, almost exclusively Italians have won on domestic manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo , Lancia and Ferrari , but Mercedes also won twice, in 1931 with Rudolf Caracciola and in 1955 with Stirling Moss . He started on May 1, 1955 at 7:22 a.m. with starting number 722 in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR and, thanks to the prayer book of his co-driver, the journalist Denis Jenkinson , reached the finish line after 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds. The average speed of almost 157.62 km / h was the fastest ever driven on this route.

Not only fast sports cars took part in the Mille Miglia, but also small touring cars like Renault 4CV or small cars like Fiat 500 . These vehicles were on the road for over 20 hours, starting before midnight and arriving in the dark. In 1955, vehicles with diesel engines also started: three private teams on Mercedes-Benz W120 (180 D) with 40 hp (29 kW) and works teams from Fiat with the 1400 D and Peugeot on 403 diesel. The Austrian Mercedes dealer Helmut Retter with his co-driver Walter Larcher won with a Mercedes 180 D with 16 hours, 52 minutes and 25 seconds (average speed 94.645 km / h). Mercedes used this success for its advertising and sold more than 20,000 Mercedes 180 Ds in 1955; the diesel became the best-selling type of this series.

As early as 1938 , the MM came under fire due to a serious accident with a tram and was banned in its old form (with city crossings). In 1940, only a 165 km short course in the Po Valley was traveled a total of nine times. As second of three foreigners in the history of MM , Huschke von Hanstein and co-driver Walter Bäumer won in an aerodynamically clad BMW 328 with which an average of 166 km / h was achieved on the straight roads between Brescia, Cremona and Mantua. The duo's total travel time for the 1500 km was 8 hours, 54 minutes and 46 seconds.

After the Second World War , MM was enthusiastically resumed on the great course, and the associated risks were judged to be of minor importance compared to the military conflicts that had just been experienced. Well-known drivers from the pre-war period such as Rudolf Caracciola and especially Tazio Nuvolari took up the challenge again. Later the course was also run through his hometown Mantua in his honor.

But young drivers also made a name for themselves, such as Hans Herrmann in 1954 , who drove his flat Porsche 550 under a closing barrier before an approaching train, whereby he and his co-driver Herbert Linge had to duck their heads.

The Mille Miglia took place for the last time in 1957 , as a serious accident involving the Spaniard Alfonso de Portago claimed several lives on May 12th . After a puncture at high speed near the village of Guidizzolo , between Mantua and the finish in Brescia, his Ferrari skidded, killing ten spectators, including five children. Portago and his co-driver Edmund were also killed. The church in particular demanded that the popular spectacle cease. The team and the tire manufacturer Englebert were investigated in a three-year process with the charge that they did not change tires shortly before the finish line for reasons of time. The accident was the main reason why the Mille Miglia was banned in this form.

The MM was still held from 1958 to 1961 as a kind of rally , with only short, closed-off sections being driven for a period of time.

The route from Bologna to the Passo della Raticosa was used for mountain races until 1969 . The section over the Futapass , further south in the direction of Florence, served as the western part of the 66 km long road course from Mugello , on which World Cup races were held until 1967.

Revival as a tourist event

Since 1977, the four-day “Mille Miglia Storica” has been held every year in May, an annual new edition with historic vehicles whose types had taken part at the time. It is no longer driven at top speed, but rather for uniformity and reliability. This event is considered to be the nucleus of many similar events with vintage cars such as the Ennstal Classic in Austria. The “Mille Miglia” is also about the travel experience and the evening exchange between the participants. It is more about tourism, culinary delights and “seeing and being seen” with magnificent, mostly lavishly restored old-timer vehicles , also on the part of the organizers and the communities they drive through .

Overall winner

year team Overall winner vehicle Travel time championship
1927 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Officine Meccaniche Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Ferdinando Minoia Giuseppe Morandi
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) 
OM 665 Superba 21: 04: 48,200 was not part of any championship
1928 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Giuseppe Campari Giulio Ramponi
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) 
Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Sport 19: 14: 05,800 was not part of any championship
1929 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)Giuseppe Campari Giulio Ramponi
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)
Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS Spider Zagato 18: 04: 23,000 was not part of any championship
1930 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Tazio Nuvolari Giovanni Battista Guidotti
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) 
Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS 16: 18: 59,400 was not part of any championship
1931 German EmpireGerman Empire Rudolf Caracciola Wilhelm Sebastian
German EmpireGerman Empire 
Mercedes-Benz SSKL 16:10: 10,000 was not part of any championship
1932 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Romeo Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Baconin Borzacchini Amedeo Bignami
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)
Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spider Touring 14: 55: 19.400 was not part of any championship
1933 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Scuderia Ferrari Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)Tazio Nuvolari Decimo Compagnoni
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)
Alfa Romeo 8C 2300MM Spider Zagato 15: 11: 50,000 was not part of any championship
1934 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Scuderia Ferrari Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Achille Varzi Amedeo Bignami
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)
Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza Spider Brianza 2.6 14: 08: 05,000 was not part of any championship
1935 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Scuderia Ferrari Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Carlo Maria Pintacuda Alessandro Della Stufa
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)
Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B 14: 04: 47,000 was not part of any championship
1936 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Scuderia Ferrari Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Antonio Brivio Carlo Ongaro
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)
Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A 13: 07: 51,000 was not part of any championship
1937 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Scuderia Ferrari Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)Carlo Maria Pintacuda Paride Mambelli
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)
Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A 14: 17: 32,000 Italian sports car championship
1938 Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Alfa Corse Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Clemente Biondetti Aldo Stefani
Italy 1861Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)
Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Spider MM Touring 11: 58: 29,000 Italian sports car championship
1940 German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) BMW works German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) Fritz Huschke from Hanstein Walter Bäumer
German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) 
BMW 328 Berlinetta Touring 8: 54: 46,600 was not part of any championship
1947 ItalyItaly Emilio Romano ItalyItalyClemente Biondetti Emilio Romano
ItalyItaly 
Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Berlinetta Touring 16: 16: 39,000 was not part of any championship
1948 ItalyItaly Scuderia Ferrari ItalyItalyClemente Biondetti Giuseppe Navone
ItalyItaly
Ferrari 166S Coupé Allemano 15:05: 44,000 was not part of any championship
1949 ItalyItaly Scuderia Ferrari ItalyItalyClemente Biondetti Ettore Salani
ItalyItaly
Ferrari 166MM Barchetta Touring 12: 07: 05,000 was not part of any championship
1950 ItalyItaly Scuderia Ferrari ItalyItaly Gianni Marzotto Marco Crosara
ItalyItaly 
Ferrari 195 Sport Touring Berlinetta Le Mans 13: 39: 20,000 was not part of any championship
1951 ItalyItaly Scuderia Ferrari ItalyItaly Luigi Villoresi Piero Cassani
ItalyItaly
Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta Vignale 12:50:18,000 was not part of any championship
1952 ItalyItaly Scuderia Ferrari ItalyItaly Giovanni Bracco Alfonso Rolfo
ItalyItaly
Ferrari 250S Berlinetta Vignale 12: 09: 45,000 was not part of any championship
1953 ItalyItaly Scuderia Ferrari ItalyItalyGianni Marzotto Marco Crosara
ItalyItaly
Ferrari 340MM Vignale 10: 37: 19,000 Sports car world championship
1954 ItalyItaly Scuderia Lancia ItalyItaly Alberto Ascari Lancia D24 11: 26: 10,000 Sports car world championship
1955 GermanyGermany Daimler-Benz AG United KingdomUnited Kingdom Stirling Moss Denis Jenkinson
United KingdomUnited Kingdom 
Mercedes-Benz 300SLR 10: 07: 48,000 Sports car world championship
1956 ItalyItaly Scuderia Ferrari ItalyItaly Eugenio Castellotti Ferrari 290MM 11: 37: 10,000 Sports car world championship
1957 ItalyItaly Scuderia Ferrari ItalyItaly Piero Taruffi Ferrari 315 Sport 10: 27: 47,000 Sports car world championship

literature

  • Hans-Jörg Götzl, Hanss Dieter Seufert: Mille Miglia . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-03318-4 (EA Stuttgart 2006).
  • Rolf Häring (texts), Conrad Piepenburg (photos). Miile Miglia. The legendary thousand miles . Podszun Verlag, Brilon 1988, ISBN 3-923448-50-3 .

Web links

Commons : Mille Miglia  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Christof Vieweg: A victory for the diesel. Two car enthusiasts compete in the Mille Miglia with 40 hp. In: Welt am Sonntag May 2, 2010, page 55. ( Available online )