MILLE MIGLIA 2013
The organizers of the 2013 Mille Miglia were so kind to invite me in the 'Comitato d'Onore' of the most beautiful race in the world.... this meant enjoying from Thursday to Saturday the unique ambience of this extraordinary race and following the 415 pre-1957 cars along the route
Thursday 16th May: on the Viale Venezia grandstand just before the beginning of the race with Roberto Gaburri (centre, President of the Mille Miglia organizing committee) and dr. Andrea Dalledonne, CEO of the same Committee. After a long morning and early afternoon of rain, thunders, wind and cold weather, the sun is beginning to show
Friday May 17th: I followed the convoy from Brescia with Anna in our Bristol 409 as a guest. Here we are in San Marino, a welcome stop after the climb up to the Titano. in front of our 409, the magnificent Mercedes-Benz 300 SL of Simon Kidston. Please note the splendid registration number and the Rudge wheels
The start of the Mille Miglia is always a good place to meet old friends, enthusiasts, celebrities and hard-core classic car collectors. However, it takes the stamina of a former Royal Marine like our good old friend Andrew English, Daily Telegraph's motoring editor, to brave the thunderstorms of the MM weekend aboard this splendidly massive but very open Bentley.....
The weather was in fact quite rainy. Friday afternoon we experienced a heavy thunderstorm in San Sepolcro; Anna and I decided to abandon the convoy before reaching Rome and find a confortable shelter somewhere near the return leg of the MM
To our delight, we found that the 'Thermae' is an extraordinary hotel, even better than the Ortisei one. Built around a large sauna/ spa/ fitness center, the 'Thermae' is amazing for the many ideas that they did put together to offer their customers a great experience. If you mix the spaces and hospitality of Interalpen with the good service and overall cure to detail of the Adler Ortisei you could have an idea of the quality of this extraordinary resort. The opening roof over the restaurant is an extraordinary touch of luxury....
This said, the bar will have to improve to match the expectancy of the customers of an expensive 5-star resort. The Martini was good, but the staff not on par
Saturday 18th May we joined the MM convoy again in San Quirico d'Orcia, just in front of the 'Adler Thermae', and travelled with them towards Bologna. This is what the Mille Miglia is all about: driving briskly in the fascinating scenery of Toscana with cars as beautiful as Adrian Berry's Bristol 400...
...crossing Firenze near Ponte Vecchio....
...and in front of Santa Croce
Great friend Renzo Panzacchi welcomes us in Loiano showing us the right way to go
The 2013 Mille Miglia was a huge success. It's appropriate to toast to it, and to the 'good guys' who made it happen: Prefetto Matteo Piantedosi as Commissary of the Automobile Club Brescia, Marco Makaus and Andrea Dalledonne as the Chiefs of the Mille Miglia srl who organized the whole event, Roberto Gaburri, President of the same, the Polizia di Stato with its invaluable contribute for keeping the roads safe and open all the time, and many, many other people who contributed to the success of this extraordinary event, one of Italy's most appreciated events around the world. I toast at it in front of the shop of one of the MM Main Sponsors....
SUMMARY
The Bologna-Brescia-Bologna-San Sepolcro- San Quirico-Firenze- Futa- Bologna was 684 miles long, shorter than the full MM as we cut it short before Rome. As usual, our 409 went like a watch and her fuel consumption was around 6 kms/litre (14-15 mpg) that is quite high but not unexpected, as the Mille Miglia is run on normal roads, not highways
