Mille Miglia 2022
15 – 18 June 2022
The Most Beautiful Race In The World
Every now and again, it is good to dwell on the meaning of our journey, to look beyond through the route we have crossed.
The idea behind 1000 Miglia is made of passion for those wonderful jewels that are classic cars and that represent the pride of owning them, but also the shared joy of admiring them.
The Freccia Rossa ia it’s epic: tale of men and machines, of audacity and technology, of strength and endurance, of heart, muscle and road.
1000 Miglia is a world of emotions, a non-nostalgic, ironic and contemporary way of being. A unique and unrepeatable experience.
It’s difficult to describe this world; it must be experienced, interpreted with simplicity, without arrogance.
1000 Miglia is road, landscape, community, and a gentle, non-invasive solidarity.
The Route
The 1000 Miglia 2022 returned to travelling through Italy in a clockwise direction, starting and finishing in Brescia after completing the legs in Cervia-Milano Marittimo, Rome, and Parma.
Twelve months after a version considered experimental, in which the route resumed it’s pre-war direction, from 1927 to 1938, it will returned to the route that characterized the 1947 and 1948 editions and all subsequent ones, from 1950 to 1957, as well as thirty-eight historical re-enactments out of thirty-nine.
On Wednesday 15 June, after the inaugural lunch at the Mille Miglia Museum, the crews left Brescia in the direction of Lake Garda. Passing through Deswnzano, Salo and Sirmione before pointing their steering wheels south and descending to the Adriatic. From the Parco Giardino Sigurta they continued to Mantua and Ferrara, a historic and evocative passage that prelude the approach to the Comacchio coast. The leg ended in Cervia-Milano Marittima for the first over night stop.
The morning of Thursday 16 June was characterized by driving uphill and downhill. SAfter Foril and Gambettola, the cars climb the hairpin bends leading to Mount Titano, leaving the borders of Italy and arrive in the Republic of San Marino. After the waving of the traditional blue and white flags they descended to cross the Marche region and then to Urbino, a treasure trove of history and beauty. Stopping for lunch in Passignano sul Trasimeno from where they resumed their journey to arrive at the Autodromo dell’Umbria and then in Norcia, the easternmost point of the 2022 edition.
From they’re the cars headed back towards the center of Italy, with a descent through Terni and Rieti until the arrival in Roma with the traditional “Fellini-like” catwalk in Via Veneto.
On Friday 17 June, in defiance of all superstition, the journey back up through Italy commenced from the capital Roma to Parma passing through four regions. The traveling museum left Lazio via Ronciglione and the picturesque Marta, on the southern coast of Lake Bolsena. It then entered Tuscany, cross the Val d’Orciaand stopped in Siena for a spectacular lunch in Piazza del Campo.
The Siena refreshment stop was the prelude to the passages of San Miniato, Pontedera and Cascina then the cars went through Viareggio and Versilla.
The arrival in Parma for dinner and the third over night stay in the race was a welcome reward for the long hot day.
Saturday 18 June opened with the first collations and projections on the final classifications. The trials, which continued to determine the winning crew, were under way as soon as they said goodbye to Parma and the passages through Varano De Melegari and Salsomaggiore Terme.
From they’re the entry into Lombardy, with convoy of cars, for the first time in the history of the re-enactment, through Stradella and Pavia.
Then the grand return to the Monza Circuit one of the moments when the hi-story of motor racing was resumed powerfully to make hearts beat faster,
The excitement did not end there, because from Monza the cars headed straight for Bergamo, a welcome return to celebrate the joint nomination with Brescia as city of culture 2023.
Chiari, home of Count Franco Mazzotti, one of the four fathers of the race, and Travagliato was the prelude to the arrival in Breescia with the crowning of the winners.
The Mille Miglia is one of the biggest ticks on everyone's bucket list. It's called "The Most Beautiful Race In The World" for a reason and if you have never experienced the event, you will never know!
If you have always wanted to know how to entre, what to enter and how much to entre, we can assist, from the first step to the turn of the wheel. From entry, transport, registration and support, we are here to help.
It is a minefield but it can be easily navigated around and made simple.
So Who Won?
Andrea Vesco and Fabio Salvinelli have won the 1000 Miglia 2022. Crew number 46, aboard the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS ZAGATO of 1929, repeated the success achieved in the 2021 edition.
For Vesco, also first in 2020 alongside his father Roberto, there is the double satisfaction of having conquered a taboo that had endured for 22 years. Only Giuliano Cané, between 1998 and 2000, had managed to prevail in three consecutive editions of the “Most beautiful race in the world.”
At the second place there are Andrea Luigi Belometti and Gianluca Bergomi from Bergamo, at the wheel of the Lancia Lambda Spider TIPO 221 (also from 1929).
Finally, the third place is held by Lorenzo and Mario Turelli from Brescia, with their OM 665 S MM Superba 2000 (also from 1929, it seems incredible).
With this car they have also won the Tazio Nuvolari Trophy, dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the birth of the legendary pilot.
The Monza 2022 Autodromo Centennial Trophy instead went to Alberto and Giuseppe Scapolo on the OM 665 S MM Superba 2000 of 1929.
Silvia Marini and Irene Dei Tos have won the Ladies' Cup. Finally, the runway in via Venezia was also opened to the racing cars of the Ferrari Tribute (won by Andrea Milesi and Giordano Mozzi) and of the 1000 Miglia Green (won by the driver Giancarlo Fisichella) But, in the end, the winners are all those who have participated, the people who ticked the Mille Miglia off their bucket list. The support teams who made sure the cars finished the 1000 miles and heat of the Italian countryside.
If you ever wanted to do the Mille Miglia and had no idea where to start, let us know or looking for the right car to compete in the wonderful event, we can assist.
Contact: keith@classicmobilia.com
The Mille Miglia differs from most other motorsport contests in that it is run currently as a regularity race. This means that instead of focussing on outright speed and lap times it is instead necessary for competitors to complete the course as close to a specified and predetermined time as possible, with the emphasis on precision and average speed rather than driving as quickly as possible. This has been the format since 1977 and historically the Mille Miglia was a more traditional out-and-out dash from start to finish, but we’ll get to that.
As you may have guessed, depending on how good your Italian is, the Mille Miglia covers a 1000 mile (approximately) round trip beginning and ending in Brescia in Northern Italy, through some of the most picturesque landscapes the country has to offer. To be included, participants must adhere to strict guidelines as far as the cars themselves are concerned with entry limited to vehicles produced no later than 1957 which had competed in, or were registered to take part in the original series of races between 1927 and 1957. Not only that but of all of the world wide applications received hoping for a chance to take part only a few hundred will be accepted, with the final group of entrants being decided by a dedicated selection committee. Oh, and there’s also a €10,000 fee on top of the comprehensive list of paperwork and documentation required. Not exactly a “run what ya brung” kind of deal.
This year sees the race split into four legs spanning four days respectively from the 15th to the 18th of June. Competitors begin in Brescia, as is tradition, before heading east to Lake Garda and finishing the day on the Adriatic coast. From here, on day two, the route winds south ending with a parade through Rome. Day three takes the racers all the way up to Parma via Siena before heading to Monza on day four for some time-trial shenanigans and then on to the finish line back in Brescia. It is known as the most beautiful race in the world for a reason.
The first official Coppa Della Mille Miglia was held in 1927 but Brescia was no stranger to racing at that point, with competition in the city going as far back as 1899 when a 6km speed race was organized around its outskirts. Brescia and a passion for motorsport were inexorably linked from that point onwards and the by the following Monday the Brescia-Mantua-Verona-Brescia 223km race was run.
What followed these initial races was a series of high profile motorsport events that put the northern Italian city firmly on the map as far as motor racing was concerned. These included the very first Coppa Florio in 1904 and the inaugural Italian Grand Prix in 1921 and the eyes of motorsport fans the world over were fixed directly on the Italians and Brescia. From the midst of this furore emerged the four founders of what we now know as the Mille Miglia. An eclectic mix of racing drivers, journalists and sports managers these four musketeers came together with the shared goal of creating a new race from Bresica to Rome and back again.
Conceived as a way for manufacturers to show off their cars and with an entrance fee of a single Lira the race was also open to anyone, regardless of wealth or status. Competing over the course of 1,000 Roman miles the demanding circuit attracted the world’s best drivers, all hoping to take home the win and the glory that followed. Out of 77 starters in that first race that particular honour went to Giuseppe Morandi in his O.M. 665 Superba who crossed the line in 21 hours, 4 minutes and 48 seconds, with an average speed of 77.238 kmh.
It was official – a legendary race was born and continued to thrive until 1957 whereby it was deemed too dangerous following two tragic and fatal crashes and was subsequently and unceremoniously banned. The course went through numerous changes over this period, going from a figure of eight route to a more circular one but always keeping to its original spirit and providing non-stop racing, through countryside and cities, along mountain passes and coastal roads, all to the delight of drivers and fans alike.
