There 1000 miles It is the most ancient and famous street car race in Italy. Call too “Red arrow”, Due to the famous stylized red arrow symbol of the race, the Mille Miglia was born in 1926 as a sort of “spite”. In 1922, in fact, the Italian Grand Prix It was moved by Montichiari, in the province of Brescia, to Monza: the decision sent the fury the Count Aymo Maggi di GradellaBrescia and pilot aristocrat Bugatti who, together with his friend and first lender Franco Mazzotti (he also passionate about racing), decided to invent a new race that rotated around the city of Brescia. To the two, who were already driving the then newborn Automobile Club of Brescia, they joined later Renzo Castagneto And Giovanni Canestrini, the latter journalist of the Gazzetta dello Sport.
The first edition of the “most beautiful race in the worldIt was therefore held in 1927, with an eight -shaped route from Brescia to Rome round trip, about 1600 km long. The name, in fact, is not accidental: a thousand miles are exactly the distance along which the race develops (about 1600 km in fact), which still travels the route today Brescia-Roma-Brescia Crossing villages, hills, city of art and mountain steps. In the 1957 However, the race was canceled, after a serious accident in Guidizzolo who caused the death of 11 spectators and the two pilots Alfonso de Portago And Edmund Gurner Nelson. For the accident it was also investigated Enzo Ferrarias a manufacturer of the car on which they traveled. Since 1977 it has become one regularity race for vintage car.
The first editions of the race: no stop along the route
At the first edition of March 26, 1927 77 cars showed up, but only 51 actually reached the finish line. To win were Ferdinand Minoia And Giuseppe Morandi On board the Brescia car OM 665, which traveled the thousand miles in just over 21 hours and with an average of 77 km/h. Among other things, unlike modern editions, initially the race did not foresee stagesbut it was played in oneonly pulled: There were no boxes, curbs or escape routes, only dusty roads, blind curves and public everywhere, without any kind of barrier that would protect them along the streets. In many ways, therefore, it was a race closer to the Modern Rally that to the Formula 1.
Since 1940 the race was suspended due to Italy’s participation in the Second World War, and then resumed on June 21, 1947 with the victory of Blondespaired with Romanon board the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900b. In 1955, however, it was the English pilot Stirling moss to record the absolute record, along the 1600km in just 10 hours and 8 minutes, behind the wheel of one Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR number 722.
The tragedy of Guidizzolo: the accident that has changed the 1000 miles forever
The year that has marked the history of the 1000 miles most is the 1957when a terrible accident occurred to Guidizzoloin the province of Mantua, caused the death of 11 spectators (including five children) and pilots Alfonso de Portago And Edmund Gurner Nelson. The car on which the two competitors travel was one Ferrari: Due to a burst tire, the pilots had lost control of the vehicle, out of the road at almost 300 km/h overwhelming the audience present.
As founder of the Maranello car manufacturer, Enzo Ferrari was directly involved in the affair, ending up on trial for liability linked not only to vehicle safetybut also to method with which the race took place, considered Too risky.
In 1961 Ferrari was acquitted, but that accident marked a critical moment For the company: the factory even risked closing, so much so that, as revealed years later by the then sports director Romolo Tavonithe car manufacturer found itself in a period of unprecedented crisis, also due to the reputational damage.
That drama led to a profound reflection on racing safety and marked the end of the Mille Miglia And of all the other speed race on open roads. Security became priority and the race was suspended for twenty years: in 1977 the 1000 miles was then relaunched as a regularity race, with more stringent rules and rigorous respect for the highway code.
The most beautiful race in the world: how the race changed today
Since 1977, the Mille Miglia was then re -proposed as a simple regularity race for vintage cars: today it is reserved exclusively to Historical cars produced until 1957or those who participated or could have participated in the original editions. Only certified and registered vintage cars can parade along the classic route Brescia-Roma-Bresciafacing regularity tests with times and middle schools to be respected literally. For the 2025 edition, scheduled from 17 to 21 Junewill be involved Over 400 historic cars from 29 different countries. In the year of the 90th anniversary, in 2017, the record was recorded for the number of cars registered, i.e. 705. However, the race remains an event of great international appeal, which celebrates the Italian historical and cultural heritage by attracting fans from all over the world.
