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Mille Miglia Trip Report
A Bit of Background
The Mille Miglia is a road race first held in 1927, traditionally the cars set off at one minute intervals from the centre of Brescia (near Lake Garda - in the North of Italy), to the centre of Rome, and then back.The race record is held by Stirling Moss, who completed the course in 1955 in a Mercedes 300 SLR with an average speed of 157.55 km/hour - 1600 kilometers in 10 hours, 47 minutes, and 48 seconds. All this done on normal Italian streets of 1955!!
However, in 1957, a wheel of driver De Portago´s Ferrari detached during the race through a village; his car was catapulted into the crowd of spectators, killing many of them. The race was then cancelled, but it was reborn in 1977 as a race for historic-cars.
The following is the official Mille Miglia site, it includes a list of all the cars in this years race, and the final placings:
http://www.millemiglia.it
The following is really just a book advert, but it does contain some interesting background info:
http://www.mille-miglia.de
For some more background and some great pictures :
http://www.kastroll.de/e/mille-miglia.html
Back to today! Marcus and Janina had been to see the race before, and it seemed like a great excuse for an MGF weekend, so the following Munich MGers met up for the trip:
Simon & Diana (the organisers)
Christian & Claudia
Peter & Nicole
Janina & Marcus
Thomas & Sabine
Ian & Gabi
Me & Paul
Ilja & Ilka
Bernd & Monika (guest MX5)
The Departure
The week before
the trip the weather in Munich was awful - wet, windy, & cold. Our luck
with the weather on previous meets was also pretty bad - so what was
it going to be like on the Friday of our departure?
Friday morning was cloudy and cool (but dry), by lunchtime the sun was trying to show through, but as 4pm approached it just got hotter and hotter - no excuses for the soft-top not to be down!
Most of us arranged to meet up at Holzkirchen Rastplatz - just south of Munich, but we arranged to meet Peter / Nicole & Thomas / Sabine in Innsbruck (they were travelling via Garmish). Janina and Marcus hadn't arrived though - they had to make a trip to the garage to fix the electric windows which refused to work. They phoned to say that they would catch up with us later. So off we set - 6 MGFs and an MX5 - even the MX5 had his roof down!
The drive to Innsbruck was pretty uneventful - we shuffled positions a few times and I even let the MX5 overtake me - I was in such a good mood!
We met up with the others in Innsbruck, and checked in with Janina & Marcus - they were now about an hour behind us and closing fast.
Even though it was Friday, and the weather was brilliant, the Brenner Pass was amazingly empty ! No queues !
By the time we hit the Italian Autostrada the pollen count must have soared though. As I didn't think driving when I couldn't actually see where I was going was a good idea - Paul took over as pilot. In the nearly 2 years that I have had the car he has managed to drive it for about 4 hours - he never usually gets a chance to get near the driving seat, so he was quite happy about it.
So off we set again, even the Italian Autostrada was pretty quiet. We eventually pulled off the Autostrada onto the smaller roads to Garda - that's where the queues started. Driving down the twisty turning Italian roads whilst in a traffic jam, and one where the locals still insisted on overtaking when they couldn't possibly see what was coming the other way is certainly an experience!
Then disaster struck!!!
The MX5 overtook me!!!
Oh, I am so ashamed!!!
Paul (driving) : But... but... there is no overtaking allowed here!
Me: Mmm maybe, but you will have to keep up with the others because I have no idea where the hotel is.
Paul: Yes dear. ( He then proceeded to hit the rev. limiter in just about every gear )
Paul: Oh ! This car really does move if you put your foot down !
Me: Yes dear. ( I guess I should have let him have a bit more practice in my car! )
We arrived at the hotel, dumped our bags and re-grouped in the bar for a drink. Just as we started our drinks Janina and Marcus arrived - what timing !
To end the day, Simon had booked us into a local restaurant, and after an excellent meal and a few glasses of Bardolino wine it was off to bed...
Friday morning was cloudy and cool (but dry), by lunchtime the sun was trying to show through, but as 4pm approached it just got hotter and hotter - no excuses for the soft-top not to be down!
Most of us arranged to meet up at Holzkirchen Rastplatz - just south of Munich, but we arranged to meet Peter / Nicole & Thomas / Sabine in Innsbruck (they were travelling via Garmish). Janina and Marcus hadn't arrived though - they had to make a trip to the garage to fix the electric windows which refused to work. They phoned to say that they would catch up with us later. So off we set - 6 MGFs and an MX5 - even the MX5 had his roof down!
The drive to Innsbruck was pretty uneventful - we shuffled positions a few times and I even let the MX5 overtake me - I was in such a good mood!
We met up with the others in Innsbruck, and checked in with Janina & Marcus - they were now about an hour behind us and closing fast.
Even though it was Friday, and the weather was brilliant, the Brenner Pass was amazingly empty ! No queues !
By the time we hit the Italian Autostrada the pollen count must have soared though. As I didn't think driving when I couldn't actually see where I was going was a good idea - Paul took over as pilot. In the nearly 2 years that I have had the car he has managed to drive it for about 4 hours - he never usually gets a chance to get near the driving seat, so he was quite happy about it.
So off we set again, even the Italian Autostrada was pretty quiet. We eventually pulled off the Autostrada onto the smaller roads to Garda - that's where the queues started. Driving down the twisty turning Italian roads whilst in a traffic jam, and one where the locals still insisted on overtaking when they couldn't possibly see what was coming the other way is certainly an experience!
Then disaster struck!!!
The MX5 overtook me!!!
Oh, I am so ashamed!!!
Paul (driving) : But... but... there is no overtaking allowed here!
Me: Mmm maybe, but you will have to keep up with the others because I have no idea where the hotel is.
Paul: Yes dear. ( He then proceeded to hit the rev. limiter in just about every gear )
Paul: Oh ! This car really does move if you put your foot down !
Me: Yes dear. ( I guess I should have let him have a bit more practice in my car! )
We arrived at the hotel, dumped our bags and re-grouped in the bar for a drink. Just as we started our drinks Janina and Marcus arrived - what timing !
To end the day, Simon had booked us into a local restaurant, and after an excellent meal and a few glasses of Bardolino wine it was off to bed...
The Race Day
The Big Day
dawned. It was rather cloudy & cool. I had hoped to take a trip up Mount
Baldo, but the cloud level looked too low for a good view - so we decided
to go shopping / sightseeing instead.
The race was due to arrive in Brescia at about 7 or 8pm, so we decided to leave the hotel at about 3pm in convoy. We all had a rather enjoyable drive down the side of the lake and across towards Brescia.
Eventually (after what seemed like at least 10 laps of Brescia) we found a small restaurant on a corner of the race route, with an empty car park not far away. So we all sat down to eat and drink, and wait for the race. We watched all the traffic speed around - it seemed obligatory for all the motorbikes to do wheelies after turning the corner. Lots of other interesting cars had turned up to find somewhere to watch the race too (I didn’t realise Ferraris were THAT common).
Then the police arrived to set up road blocks to clear the route for the race, and shortly later the first cars arrived. First was an Argentinean Om 665 Superba (a what? It looked nice anyway!). The next 2 cars were also Argentinean, closely followed by a 1927 British Bentley. The rest of the cars (about 370!) followed in small groups afterwards. A couple of MGs, Healeys and a Lotus were also in the race. Hr. Schrempp, the head of Daimler Chrysler, waved at us from his 1955 Mercedes 300 SL. But where was Stirling Moss?
Just as we were beginning to give up, Mr. Moss came flying down the road in his 1955 Mercedes SLR. The Germans and the Italians thought I was completely mad when I started jumping up and down and cheering as he went past!
So that was it. It was getting late so we decided to head back. Off we set again in convoy. Ilja set off first, followed by Thomas and Christian, and then me and the rest. We had to stop occasionally to let the remaining race cars past.
Then Ilja, Thomas and Christian turned Italian and zoomed off - and I got stuck behind an Italian. This left me leading the convoy - but with no idea of where I was, or where I was going (Paul is not the greatest of map readers - especially at night)! I spotted a lay-by and pulled in to let Ian come to the rescue. He got us back onto the Lake road and then we got separated again. Never mind, the route seemed pretty straightforward from there.
About half way down the lake it started to pour down with rain. When I had let Ian past I noticed that his roof was down - but he had put it back up at a set of traffic lights ‘cos it was getting rather cloudy. I wondered about the cars behind - but I couldn’t see if the roofs were up or down in the dark. I guessed that if they had the roofs down they would flash me to pull over. I was mistaken! They had the roofs down and suffered the rain.
Sorry guys - but what a true set of MGers!
Back at the hotel Ian was relaxing with a beer - but there was no sign of Ilja, Thomas and Christian. Eventually (oh, at least an hour later ;-) ) they showed up - they had taken the ‘fast’ route around the lake on the Autostrada.
The race was due to arrive in Brescia at about 7 or 8pm, so we decided to leave the hotel at about 3pm in convoy. We all had a rather enjoyable drive down the side of the lake and across towards Brescia.
Eventually (after what seemed like at least 10 laps of Brescia) we found a small restaurant on a corner of the race route, with an empty car park not far away. So we all sat down to eat and drink, and wait for the race. We watched all the traffic speed around - it seemed obligatory for all the motorbikes to do wheelies after turning the corner. Lots of other interesting cars had turned up to find somewhere to watch the race too (I didn’t realise Ferraris were THAT common).
Then the police arrived to set up road blocks to clear the route for the race, and shortly later the first cars arrived. First was an Argentinean Om 665 Superba (a what? It looked nice anyway!). The next 2 cars were also Argentinean, closely followed by a 1927 British Bentley. The rest of the cars (about 370!) followed in small groups afterwards. A couple of MGs, Healeys and a Lotus were also in the race. Hr. Schrempp, the head of Daimler Chrysler, waved at us from his 1955 Mercedes 300 SL. But where was Stirling Moss?
Just as we were beginning to give up, Mr. Moss came flying down the road in his 1955 Mercedes SLR. The Germans and the Italians thought I was completely mad when I started jumping up and down and cheering as he went past!
So that was it. It was getting late so we decided to head back. Off we set again in convoy. Ilja set off first, followed by Thomas and Christian, and then me and the rest. We had to stop occasionally to let the remaining race cars past.
Then Ilja, Thomas and Christian turned Italian and zoomed off - and I got stuck behind an Italian. This left me leading the convoy - but with no idea of where I was, or where I was going (Paul is not the greatest of map readers - especially at night)! I spotted a lay-by and pulled in to let Ian come to the rescue. He got us back onto the Lake road and then we got separated again. Never mind, the route seemed pretty straightforward from there.
About half way down the lake it started to pour down with rain. When I had let Ian past I noticed that his roof was down - but he had put it back up at a set of traffic lights ‘cos it was getting rather cloudy. I wondered about the cars behind - but I couldn’t see if the roofs were up or down in the dark. I guessed that if they had the roofs down they would flash me to pull over. I was mistaken! They had the roofs down and suffered the rain.
Sorry guys - but what a true set of MGers!
Back at the hotel Ian was relaxing with a beer - but there was no sign of Ilja, Thomas and Christian. Eventually (oh, at least an hour later ;-) ) they showed up - they had taken the ‘fast’ route around the lake on the Autostrada.
The Return Trip
So the last
day dawned. Brilliant sunshine !
Christian and Claudia shot off to do a last bit of shopping. When they arrived back they had bought 3 olive trees - 2 were in the boot, and one sat on Claudias lap - I hope they all survived the trip back!
Simon arranged to have a group photo near the centre of town. Since I was now running on just petrol fumes, I decided to make a 50m detour to a petrol station whilst everyone lined up. The ***** pump would NOT work ! ARGHHH ! So I got to miss the group photo :-(
I eventually made it back and there were only Simon / Diana and Janina / Marcus left. Janina and Marcus were heading further south for a holiday - so after we had said our goodbyes, the remaining 2 cars were left for a mini tour back to Munich. We followed the Autostrada back up towards the mountains, and then took a smaller mountain road through Brenner, stopping off on the Italian side of the Austrian border for some wonderful pasta.
So all in all we had a wonderful trip ! We got to meet a few more MGers and seeing all the race cars was great. Lots of other people had turned up to watch the race in some great cars too (shame on the Healey driver that refused to wave back at me!)
So, lots of thank yous to Simon & Diana for arranging everything, it was a great success!
Christian and Claudia shot off to do a last bit of shopping. When they arrived back they had bought 3 olive trees - 2 were in the boot, and one sat on Claudias lap - I hope they all survived the trip back!
Simon arranged to have a group photo near the centre of town. Since I was now running on just petrol fumes, I decided to make a 50m detour to a petrol station whilst everyone lined up. The ***** pump would NOT work ! ARGHHH ! So I got to miss the group photo :-(
I eventually made it back and there were only Simon / Diana and Janina / Marcus left. Janina and Marcus were heading further south for a holiday - so after we had said our goodbyes, the remaining 2 cars were left for a mini tour back to Munich. We followed the Autostrada back up towards the mountains, and then took a smaller mountain road through Brenner, stopping off on the Italian side of the Austrian border for some wonderful pasta.
So all in all we had a wonderful trip ! We got to meet a few more MGers and seeing all the race cars was great. Lots of other people had turned up to watch the race in some great cars too (shame on the Healey driver that refused to wave back at me!)
So, lots of thank yous to Simon & Diana for arranging everything, it was a great success!
