2015 Mille Miglia – 14.05.2015 – 17.05.2015
Posted: 16.04.2015
Source: Mille Miglia
“Mille Miglia is so much more than race cars, drivers, winners, and losers. Mille Miglia is a part of Italian life, and its effects extend the length and breadth of Italy, all the way down to Sicily.” (Denis Jenkinson)
Although written seventy years ago, this sentence by British journalist Denis Jenkinson, winner of the 1955 Mille Miglia with Stirling Moss, is still current, because it fully reflects what the Red Arrow means to this day, and how beloved it is even now.
In keeping with our tradition, the 33rd nostalgia edition of the Mille Miglia race, scheduled from 14 through 17 May, was launched on the opening day of Techno-Classica Essen, Europe’s most important classic cars show.
“Yet again, eighty-eight years after the first race in 1927, the can’t-miss appointment with the Red Arrow is planned in Brescia, the City of the Mille Miglia, where, from 14 through 17 May 2015, Mille Miglia’s 32nd retrospective edition will be held,” commented Roberto Gaburri, Chairman of 1000 Miglia Srl.
Adding together the 24 racing editions from 1927 to 1957 (13 before the Second World War and 11 after 1947), the 3 with the rally formula of 1958, 1959 and 1961, and the 32 retrospective editions from 1977 to 2014, the 2015 event will see the seventieth auto competition to bear the Mille Miglia name.
As always, this will be a one-of-a-kind opportunity to savour the best of Italian hospitality, through artistic masterpieces and natural scenery of extraordinary beauty, all enriched by the passing of 430 vintage cars.
This year, Mille Miglia will be organized for the third time by a company that is a 100% stakeholding of Automobile Club di Brescia, the owner of the brand since the first edition.According to Marco Makaus, Managing Director of 1000 Miglia Srl, “This year’s Mille Miglia will be another step on a long journey that continues to fascinate thousands of enthusiasts, and to which some modifications are made every year, always with the utmost respect for tradition.
In 2015, after the positive experience of the previous year, the Mille Miglia will be held once more in four stages.
This choice has strong consequences on the entire programme and course, which in 2014 met with the general public’s enthusiastic approval. The extra stage, with extended passage times, was less tiring for participants and allowed more people to watch the cars go by: in particular, the finish was moved to Sunday instead of Saturday night, to allow families and younger people to be on hand as well.
Our commitment is always focused on guaranteeing authenticity and safety for Mille Miglia, as well as its historical and sporting aspects. All this led us to introduce some new elements, while seeking to respect the legend we have been called upon to protect and celebrate, and for which we are grateful to those who managed the race before us.”
THE 2015 COURSE
In 2014, the course underwent changes in order to allow the Mille Miglia to pass through places where it had been absent for years. This year, continuing with this same philosophy, some variations have been introduced.
The start – moved forward to 2:30 PM on Thursday, 14 May – will take place as always from Viale Venezia delle Mille Miglia: the first stage will end in Rimini. The next day, stage two, in accordance with tradition, will bring the competitors to Rome.
The programme on day two, Friday, 15 May, does not hold much new in store: after San Marino, the participants will continue towards Senigallia, where they will have lunch on the coastal road, and Pesaro and Ancona; they will then continue south, along the coastline, to Loreto, Recanati and Macerata and on to Ascoli and Teramo.
From here, the long caravan of cars will turn inland towards Rieti. The arrival in the capital will be anticipated from last year, with the first car reaching Rome, at Castel Sant’Angelo at 8:30 PM.
On Saturday 16 May, the course will remain virtually unchanged from Rome to Tuscany, with the usual transits, so loved by competitors, through Ronciglione, Viterbo, Radicofani, and Siena. The rest stop will take place for the first time in Cascina; after Pisa and Lucca, the competing cars will cross the Abetone Pass, returning to flat ground all the way to Reggio Emilia.
Stage three will end in Parma, with the final control in front of its renowned Teatro Regio at 9:00 PM. On Sunday morning, from the ducal city, the competitors will return to Brescia.
Stage four, on Sunday, 17 May, offers two entirely new elements for the Red Arrow course: to make its own contribution to an extraordinary event like Expo Milano 2015, while not blocking fair traffic with its own caravan of more than one thousand cars, Mille Miglia will be paying tribute with a passage control at Villa Reale in Monza, one of the external seats of Expo 2015.
Moreover, to the great joy of the drivers and the spectators alike, the Red Arrow will be entering the Autodromo di Monza, thanks to an agreement between the owners of these two car racing icons: Automobile Club d’Italia of Brescia, and of Milano.
In the Brianza circuit, the cars will drive on the current Formula One track as well as on the historical and recently restored “high-speed” banked section, where competitors will be contending in some time trials: the winner will be awarded an Automobile Club di Milano trophy named for the great Alberto Ascari who lost his life in Monza in May 1955, exactly sixty years ago.
Then, passing through Bergamo and Franciacorta, the approximately 430 cars in the race will return to Brescia 1,760 kilometres later.
Organization
The logistical and organizational aspects of an event like this one are always quite complex, explains Andrea Dalledonne, Managing Director of 1000 Miglia Srl: “The numbers are indicative of the apparatus set in motion by Mille Miglia, which this year will see about 430 cars in the competition, a record figure for all editions, with about 1,600 persons between participants and team members, involving more than 2,000 persons in the organization, and accrediting about 2,000 journalists and media operators. This is why we would like to publicly thank all those who made the commitment to host the Red Arrow’s passage and to offer an exciting spectacle of history, sport, and culture.”
From the sporting standpoint as well, there are some new features: 2015 saw an increase in the number of trials to determine classification, rising to 84, 76 of which traditional and 8 by average time. Unchanged are the coefficients applied to the cars, but the supplementary “bonus” will no longer be applied to the models that took part in an edition between 1927 and 1957.
MILLE MIGLIA 2015 registrations
The world’s most admired “travelling museum” continues to charm fans on all five continents. The past years, 2013 and 2014, saw on-line entries on the Mille Miglia registration site by more than 2,500 teams and vehicles. Those who had already registered this year did not have to repeat the process; with the new registrations, the number of potential registered competitors exceeds 3,000.
Registrations with Mille Miglia 2015 confirmed the trend of recent years, which has exceeded all expectations: despite the persisting economic crisis, which certainly conditioned the number, the total is virtually identical to previous years. The only difference is in the addition of five represented countries, which have risen to 42: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Japan, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monte Carlo, New Zealand, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Republic of San Marino, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, United States, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand.
A total of 617 registrations were assessed by the examination commission, from 7 nations more than last year; Italy continues to be the country with the highest representation, with 131 entries.
Slightly declining are participations from Germany, with 85 registered teams. The United Kingdom, with 54 entries, has held steady.
Countries with double-digit entries include Netherlands and Belgium, respectively with 42 and 40 competitors, Switzerland with 38, the United States with 36, Austria with 12, and Japan with 11.
Of the registered vehicles, the most represented brands are Alfa Romeo and Jaguar with 58 cars; followed by Lancia with 43 and Fiat with 42 entries; Mercedes-Benz also counts 42, followed by Porsche with 36 cars, Aston Martin with 29, Bugatti with 22, and Ferrari and Austin Healey with 21; the list ends with other names, for a record total of 73 carmakers.
Teams and vehicles accepted to the start of MILLE MIGLIA 2015
Like every year, so many requests have caused some difficulty for the Committee called upon to make the choice to select the teams admitted to the Mille Miglia. Taking part in the event has always been considered a success: finishing it – no matter where in the classification – brings sublime excitement.
After the difficult selection work applying rigorous criteria of merit, the Committee published the list of accepted cars, whose value in terms of quality, collector’s interest, and sporting merits is quite high. Of these, 67 are motor cars that actually took part in at least one Mille Miglia racing edition, from 1927 to 1957.
To expand the historical value of a fleet of vehicles that no vintage car event can boast of, those making the selection decided to accept, in addition to the 430 cars selected, 9 more entered by the Italian Army, in the special “military” category, bringing the total to nearly 430 cars, a record figure. Of these, 22 belong to the “Special List”: these are cars that, although responding to the characteristics of Mille Miglia, for a number of reasons did not take part during the classic years. These cars, competing to all effects as the others, will start in a “Special List”: the only difference will be that of not assigning the coefficient of merit, so that victory remains reserved for the models that took the field from 1927 to 1957.
From the carmakers’ museums: treasures of INESTIMABLE value
Among the many reasons why Mille Miglia is without compare for refinement, exclusivity, and prestige, there is that of being the rarest travelling museum of automobile history. Once a year, treasures of inestimable value, which have gone down in history as among the finest in international motor sports, will converge on Brescia.
Participants include cars from the museums of carmakers like Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Jaguar and Porsche.
The cars taking the field at the Viale Venezia start on the evening of Thursday, 16 May belong to 61 different brands: the lion’s share goes to Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo with 38 cars, followed by Jaguar with 36, FIAT with 34, Lancia with 30 and Porsche with 22 cars.
THE RED ARROW READY FOR 2016
Yet again, after eighty years, the unmissable appointment with the Red Arrow is scheduled in Brescia, the city of the Mille Miglia, for this coming 14 May; and next year’s date is already set: Mille Miglia 2016 will take place from 12 to 15 May.
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Mille miglia 2015: participating cars |
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| Alfa Romeo | 38 | –> | Gilco | 2 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 38 | –> | Lotus | 2 |
| Jaguar | 36 | –> | Talbot-Lago | 2 |
| FIAT | 34 | –> | Allard | 1 |
| Lancia | 30 | –> | Alpine Renault | 1 |
| Porsche | 22 | –> | Autobleu | 1 |
| Bugatti | 21 | –> | Benedetti-FIAT | 1 |
| Aston Martin | 19 | –> | Borgward | 1 |
| Ferrari | 19 | –> | Bristol | 1 |
| Healey | 11 | –> | Cargem | 1 |
| Maserati | 11 | –> | Citroen | 1 |
| Cisitalia | 10 | –> | Cooper | 1 |
| BMW | 9 | –> | Delage | 1 |
| O.M. | 8 | –> | Delahaye | 1 |
| Austin Healey | 7 | –> | FIAT Cisitalia | 1 |
| Bentley | 7 | –> | Giaur | 1 |
| S.I.A.T.A. | 7 | –> | HRG | 1 |
| Triumph | 7 | –> | HW (poi HWM) | 1 |
| Zagato | 7 | –> | HW Alta (poi HWM) | 1 |
| MG | 6 | –> | Invicta | 1 |
| Riley | 6 | –> | Kieft | 1 |
| Arnolt | 4 | –> | Lincoln | 1 |
| Chrysler | 4 | –> | Nash-Healey | 1 |
| Lagonda | 4 | –> | Oldsmobile | 1 |
| A.C. | 3 | –> | Peugeot | 1 |
| Alvis | 3 | –> | Rally | 1 |
| Amilcar | 3 | –> | Renault | 1 |
| Ermini | 3 | –> | Rovelli-FIAT | 1 |
| Ford | 3 | –> | Rover | 1 |
| O.S.C.A. | 3 | –> | SS | 1 |
| Abarth | 2 | –> | Stanguellini | 1 |
| B.N.C. | 2 | –> | Studebaker | 1 |
| Bandini | 2 | –> | Talbot | 1 |
| D.B. | 2 | –> | Zanussi-FIAT | 1 |
| Frazer-Nash | 2 | –> | Total: 69 brands: | 430 |
(plus “Military” vehicles)