The Mille Miglia Experience

Date of the Mille Miglia 2025

The Mille Miglia 2025 will take place from Tuesday, June 17th, to Saturday, June 21st. The route for Mille Miglia 2025 will follow a more traditional path, avoiding the West and forming a figure “8” through classic waypoints in Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria, before returning to Brescia. The official website provides detailed route information for 2025.

Since its revival, the "Mille Miglia Storica" has been an annual classic car rally with special stages, after its tragic end in 1957. In Mille Miglia 2025, speed and victory are not the focus. Instead, it's about the parade of unique racing cars on one of motorsport’s most important and beautiful stages. Known as "La corsa più bella del mondo" – the most beautiful race in the world – it attracts celebrities and car enthusiasts from around the globe. The spectacle of Mille Miglia is a must-see, at least once in a lifetime.

Brescia & Rome

The Mille Miglia always starts and ends in Brescia, covering around 1,000 miles (1,600 km). The route heads south from Brescia to Rome and then returns north to Brescia. These two cities are always part of the route. Each October, the exact route is announced, often varying significantly from year to year. Some years, the route has passed through Milan or far west to Turin, looping down through Liguria.

The Route of The Mille Miglia

While the route of Mille Miglia changes annually, several key points remain constant:

1. Start in Brescia: The technical vehicle inspection in downtown Brescia is a major highlight, offering a chance to see the racing cars up close.
2. Rome as the Midpoint: The car parade in Rome is another highlight of the rally.
3. Return North: The drive back includes a passage through Siena’s Piazza Il Campo, a beloved highlight of the event.
4. Finish in Brescia: Every year ends in Brescia, though not all classic cars make it back, leaving only a portion of the starting field at the finish line.

Where to Watch the Mille Miglia?

The start in Brescia is a thrilling opportunity to watch the teams prepare and launch from the ramp on Viale Venezia. The arrival in Rome is also beautiful, although teams arrive gradually throughout the night. City passes with stamp stops are particularly exciting. Teams must collect a stamp to prove they passed through, creating congestion where spectators can leisurely admire the sports cars and interact with the teams. These stops occur in quaint towns or picturesque city squares like Siena, Lucca, or Orvieto, and are chosen anew each year.

Entry Fees:

Participating in Mille Miglia costs significantly more than other classic car events. This is due to the high demand – three times as many applicants wish to join each year than there are available spots. Organizers can, therefore, dictate prices. In recent years, several packages have been offered, starting at €15,000 for the basic version, which includes four hotel nights (usually 2-3 star hotels) and daily meals, mostly in a buffet style at the Mille Miglia paddock. The Platinum version costs €75,000, allowing a team of six to stay in luxury hotels seven times during the event.

Travel to Mille Miglia 2025

Most classics permitted in Mille Miglia are transported to Brescia in enclosed trailers, not driven there. Specialized companies handle the pick-up and drop-off of these valuable vehicles. For participants living in Germany, this service costs a few thousand euros, but for those from the USA or Japan, costs exceed €10,000. Many overseas collectors keep their valuable classics in private storage in Italy. Mercedes-Benz’s Classic department has even offered a package including a 300 SL Gullwing for personal use during Mille Miglia at a price of €150,000.

Serviceteam

Completing the 1000 miles in a classic car that is at least 65 years old is not a matter of course. On the contrary, it is an exhausting challenge for the drivers of pre-war cars as well as for the historic racing cars. The factory teams of Mercedes-Benz or Alfa Romeo support their teams with mobile workshops in converted lorries. Ambitious private teams hire teams from vintage car garages to accompany them with tools, spare parts and vans. The cost of a support team varies widely, with HK-Engineering charging around €10,000 per team.

The Application Process

To start with, it’s almost impossible to join the Mille Miglia as a race team.

However, basically everyone can apply. The Mille Miglia committee chooses which classic cars and teams are allowed to participate. Although objective criteria plays a role in the selection process, meeting this criteria does not guarantee a spot by a long shot.

• An estimated 1,500 applications will be recieved per year.
• From that, less than 400 teams are typically admitted to the race.
• Including the spots reserved to sponsors, approximately 250 starting numbers will remain.

Below we will reveal details on how you can still get involved!

Mille Miglia team on a pre-war Bugatti on the road in Umbria

Which Classic Cars Are Allowed?

Only vehicles that participated in the original Mille Miglia between 1927 and 1957 are eligible. The list of eligible cars can be found on the official website. If you own a vehicle on the list, you’ll also need a FIA or FIVA pass to confirm the car’s authenticity. Applications must be submitted by December of the previous year. Still, only a fraction of applications are accepted.

Important Additional Qualifications That Can Help

Unless you are an Oscar winner, hold a significant political office, or are a pop star or Olympic champion, only your car will matter. If you’re serious about participating, search for a car on the Mille Miglia list with low prestige among collectors. You won't need a fortune, but a vehicle with a special history increases your chances significantly, as the Committee strives for a diverse starting field.

The Mille Miglia teams have to overcome around 1,600 kilometres of country roads, some of them gravel tracks, complete over 100 regularity tests, are checked at 28 stamping stations and monitored at 16 time controls. The winners have to compete against around 400 teams from over 40 different countries. Of these, Italy, Holland and Germany traditionally provide the most participants. The great dominator of the historic Mille Miglia, Alfa Romeo, usually provides the largest contingent of classic cars, closely followed by Jaguar, FIAT, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz. Exotic brands such as OM, Cisitalia, Arnolt, Benedetti, Ermini, Frazer-Nash, Gilco-Mariani and many more are also at the start and bring long-forgotten car manufacturers back onto the road and into the consciousness of Mille Miglia fans. The Mille Miglia Committee endeavours to ensure a varied starting field. That's why exotic cars have the best chances.

If you are one of the lucky ones who manage to apply despite all the hurdles, all you have to do is pay the entry fee of around €15,000 - and you're in!

Mille Miglia teams are welcomed by flag bearers as they pass through the piazza in Volterra.

The Roadbook & Regularity Tests at the Mille Miglia

If you have somehow managed to secure one of the coveted spots at the Mille Miglia, please familiarize yourself with the rules of the rally.

You’ve probably already raced at one of the existing classic car rallies. The Mille Miglia works the same either way.

• There is a road book with the so-called ‘Chinese signs’ to show you the way. The entire route is also marked with the famous red arrow, the logo of the Mille Miglia.
• There are time controls and stamping points, but the Mille Miglia is decided in the so-called tube tests: You have to complete specified sections of the route in a certain time. The smaller the deviation, the more points are awarded.

When, where and how the tests work exactly, can be found in the roadbook.

What is the Secret of the Mille Miglia Winners?

To win the Mille Miglia, 7 skills are crucial:

• Precision
• Timing
• Vehicle Control
• Navigation Skills
• Teamwork
• Physical Condition
• Tactical Skills

The winners of recent years had a lot of practice in regularity rallies and were no novices at the Mille Miglia. The teams had been together for many years and were well attuned to each other. You need to be in good shape because the driving days are very long, the vehicles are uncomfortable and some are only equipped with open discs. It gets cold in the Apennines when it rains and it is often dark by the time you reach the finish. It takes a clever strategy to know when to take a risk and how much you can expect from the vehicle. You have to keep an eye on your competitors, take the weather forecast into account and keep a cool head in stressful situations.

Nostalgic guests travel with the Mille Miglia teams from Buonconvento to Piazza Il Campo in Siena

Experience The Mille Miglia with Nostalgic

With Nostalgic you have the following options to experience the Mille Miglia:

Option 1 Mercedes-Benz Umbria Tour: Take the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz SL in Umbria with the Mille Miglia convoy and experience the spectacular drive through Orvieto. Click here for the detailed programme of this tour.

Option 2 Mercedes-Benz Brescia Tour: You also drive a Mercedes-Benz SL but experience the start of the Mille Miglia in Brescia. Click here for the detailed programme of this tour.

Option 3 Alfa Romeo Spider Tuscany Tour: Take the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider in Tuscany as part of the Mille Miglia procession and experience the drive through what is perhaps the most beautiful piazza in the world in Siena. Click here for the detailed programme of this tour.

Mille Miglia Car-Entry-List is unrivalled

Around 400 teams are admitted each year, with participants coming from over 40 different countries. Of these, Italy, Holland and Germany traditionally provide the most participants. Some of the vehicles taking part in the Mille Miglia can of course also be seen at the Targa Florio and the Gran Premio Nuvolari , but the Mille Miglia is the perfect stage for the top vehicles in the endurance racing car category. Only at the Goodwood Revival is the density of the most expensive collector's cars even greater, as the owners of Aston Martins and Ferraris in the GT category prefer to compete in short races there rather than having to endure 1,600 kilometres of country roads at the Mille Miglia.

The orgins of the thousand-mile race (Italian: “mille miglia”) lie in the age-old rivalry between Milan and Brescia. After the contract for the construction of Italy’s first Grand Prix track in Monza near Milan was awarded in 1925, resourceful merchants from Brescia countered with a virtual race track: instead of a circuit, the same track length as in the Grand Prix, namely 1,600 kilometers, should be driven overland. A race across the Italian peninsula, with a prestigious apex in the Eternal City, was a good choice. And we were blessed with this majesty of races.

Mille Miglia live and up close

You want to learn more about this special trip?You will get a great insight into the Mille Miglia adventure from our tour guide Ludwig. In his A great insight into the adventure Mille Miglia you get from our tour guide Ludwig. In his Travelogue to the Mille MigliaTravelogue to the Mille Miglia he shares his impressions and emotions: This is how Ludwig experienced the classic car trip to the Mille Miglia.

A Show Featuring The Rich and Famous

Over time, the modern Mille Miglia has quickly become a showcase of celebrities: from sport personalities, major figures in politics and economics, to actors and musicians regurlarly participate in the event.

The media interest in the Mille Miglia is fittingly high: no other classic car rally draws so much attention, far beyond that of the true vintage car scene. Many celebrities eagerly collect classical cars, some to such an extent that their collections have become famous over time.

Stamp stop in Siena, Maserati A6 GCS53 an icon with 40 important racing victories. Value: approx. 3 million euros

Prominent classic car collections

The collections from Ralph Lauren and Jay Leno have achieved worldwide notoriety:

• The fashion icon Ralph Lauren has built up one of the most renowned collections. With an estimated Total value beyond 150 million euros.
• Late Night presenter Jay Leno owns more than 200 classic cars.
• Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean, is a passionate collector of classic English-style cars.
• Nicolas Cage and Eric Clapton share a mutual enthusiasm for early model Ferraris.
• The Panini family, who have made their fortune from teenager soccer collection stickers, proudly owns the largest Maserati collection.

Celebritiy Drivers at The Mille Miglia

The Mille Miglia is the perfect stage for renowned collectors to showcase their valuable vintage cars.

Let’s take a look at which drivers registered before 2016. The list contains musicians, actors, politicians, and former Formula 1 drivers:

Gran Premio Nuvolari Team on Maserati Vignale at the stamp stop in Piazza Il Campo in Siena.

Is there an alternative to the Mille Miglia?

Many Mille Miglia teams also take part in the Gran Premio Nuvolari in autumn. Among the classic car rallies, the Mille Miglia clearly attracts the most attention. It is clearly the absolute number one classic car event when it comes to media hype and flashbulbs. But away from the hustle and bustle, a second event has quietly blossomed into a real alternative for true classic car fans in recent years:

The Gran Premio Nuvolari. 

Is Gran Premio Nuvolari „better“ than Mille Miglia? We dare to say: In many respects, it certainly is. How exactly? We have compared the two events (click here)!!

In the inter-war period, the Mille Miglia was the most prestigious race for drivers and car manufacturers. The history of the Mille Miglia is full of great moments and tragedies that have made motorsport history. Here are some of the most exciting and beautiful. Join us on a journey through the great moments: Learn about the meteoric rise of Alfa Romeo and the birth of Ferrari. Or feel the spirit of the original Mille Miglia through fascinating stories that every Mille Miglia fan should know. From its inception in 1927 until the 1950s, the Mille Miglia remained the most famous and perhaps the most important motor race in the world. The route from Brescia to Rome and back to Brescia measured exactly 1597 kilometres and was always completed in one piece. What made the race so special was that the competitors did not compete directly against each other. Each participant raced against the clock. The drivers started every minute. Their Mille Miglia results counted towards the World Championship and the Franco Marzotti Trophy.

The Golden Years for Alfa Romeo and Ferrari 

For 20 years – starting from the event´s founding 1927 to 1947 – the race cars from Alfa Romeo were virtually invincible. With a total of <strong11 victories, they dominated the Mille Miglia. Afterwards however, Alfa Romeo temporarily withdrew from the motorsport scene. This is when Enzo Ferrari stepped up and took over: He won a total of 8 victories with his own sports cars.

Enzo Ferrari Makes Alfa Romeo Invincible

After having modest success behind the wheel of race cars, Enzo Ferrari became team manager of the official Alfa Romeo racing team. He not only succeeded in continuing Alfa Romeo´s success every year at the Mille Miglia. He also made Alfa Romeo the most successful racing team ever. For a while, Alfa Romeo was invincible on the track.

The exit of Alfa Romeo from motor sports

But the consequences of the global economic crisis did not stop at motorsport at the beginning of the 1930s. All car manufacturers were struggling with massive problems. Especially Alfa Romeo, as it only had luxury bodies and sports cars in its range. But there was hardly any demand for them. Alfa Romeo had to make savings wherever possible and officially retired from motorsport in 1932. It was thanks to Enzo Ferrari that Alfa Romeo did not completely disappear from the scene: he founded his own motorsport team, the ‘Scuderia Ferrari’, and further developed the racing cars provided by Alfa Romeo.

The ‚Scuderia Ferrari‘ is born

Enzo decided to develop his own racing cars. After the end of the Second World War, the time had come: The first racing cars and road cars left the Ferrari factory in Maranello and a unique history and winning streak began. From then on, Ferraris dominated the Mille Miglia with 8 victories and continued the winning streak even after the end of the road races. No other Formula 1 team was able to compete with Ferrari in the long run: 16 constructors' and 15 drivers' victories in the Formula 1 World Championships bear witness to this and make Ferrari a unique myth worldwide.

Every Mille Miglia fan should know it: The incredible story of Stirling Moss' infamous triumphant drive in the Mercedes-Benz SLR at the 1955 Mille Miglia, which made unforgettable racing history. Every Mille Miglia fan should know about the incredible story about the race with Stirling Moss behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz SLR at the 1955 Mille Miglia.

The racing team Moss and Jenkinson mastered the 992-mile circuit in just 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds, which corresponds to an average speed of little less than 160 km/ h. With their victory, history had been written.

Completing a race in such a short amount of time is hard to imagine, given the fact that the entire route included country roads that had not been previously closed off to local traffic. The race team had to be ready for unexpected obstacles on the road at any given time. To this day, the ride of Stirling Moss is considered a “hussar” ride and a milestone in motorsports history. Juan Manuel Fangio, one of the best ever behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz race car, crossed the finish line a half an hour later.

The Top Favorites for Victory In 1955

Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin were poised for a podium finish along with the race cars from Stuttgart. When it came to racers however, the Mercedes-Benz team was superior to its rivals: Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, Hans Herrmann and Karl Kling were known as world class drivers. Each of them had what it took to win at the Mille Miglia. Nevertheless, their opponents were not to be underestimated: Paolo Marzotto, Piero Taruffi, Peter Collins, Count Trips and Umberto Maglioli were top drivers in their own right.

The Perfect Start: Ferrari Takes The Lead Early Against Mercedes-Benz

Stirling Moss got off to a slow start as the race began. Barely off the starting line, Moss had already found himself behind three Ferraris who took an early lead. There was nothing to suggest that the British duo in the Mercedes-Benz would go on to break the biggest record in the history of the Mille Miglia. Castelotti, who was behind the wheel of a Ferrari, was also lucky enough to get off to a head start. Although he was unbeatable on the first leg of the Mille Miglia, his driving style was too much for his Ferrari: his car broke down close to Pescara. His teammate Marzotto, who was the driver of the second Ferrari, unfortunately had to drop out of the race due to a flat tire. A spare tire was mounted on the wrong rim and did not fit properly on the race car.

Tension at the start of the 1955 Mille Miglia on the faces of Moss and Jenkins before the fabulous record drive.

Stirling Moss Strikes Back With His Mercedes-Benz

Due to car trouble, The two toughest rivals were forced to drop out of the race. Faster refueling enabled Moss to lead the race for the first time as he overtook Taruffi’s third Ferrari. Upon entering Rome, Moss´s lead over second-placed Taruffi continued for more than a minute. Suddenly, Fangio´s car began to have engine problems, resulting in a crash just outside the gates of Rome. Given that Rome was the apex of the race, a team leading at half-time in Rome and subsequently winning the Mille Miglia was a first in the event´s history.

A Huge Triumph

The return journey to Brescia from Rome became a veritable triumph for the top two. At the Siena control point, Moss and Jenkings were in the lead by five minutes. After passing Florence, the infamous Passo della Futa awaited them. However, Moss and Jenkinson cleared the area brilliantly. The flat fields leading past Bologna helped them secure the lead. The dream duo led eventual runner-up Fangio by an impressive 27 minutes in the area of Modena, which is btw home to Enzo Ferrari. Unfortunately, Karl Herrmann was forced to withdraw from the race due to an accident. At that moment, all potential rivals for the title were either out of the race or were too far behind to catch up. By the time they reached the finish line in Brescia, team Moss-Jenkinson was more than half an hour ahead of second-placed Fangio and just under 45 minutes ahead of Umberto Maglioli’s best Ferrari, which was in third place.

The Secret of The Record-Breaking Run

How could such a groundbreaking triumph be possible given the circumstances?

• Well for one, Stirling Moss was a gifted racer. Before the Mille Miglia, he never won the World Cup. In fact, he was runner-up four times and won a total of 16 races throughout his career.

• Although the Mercedes-Benz SLR was a winning car, it did not match up to the Ferraris in the World Cup.

• The combination of Fangio and the Mercedes-Benz SLR was considered stronger and therefore a top favorite for winning the race.

Moss and Jenkinson succeeded because they did something no one had done before. Today, it is considered a standard procedure while preparing for a race: they conducted a detailed route inspection which ensured success for all endurance races

The winning team Moss/Jenkins overjoyed and exhausted at the finish line in Brescia after their record-breaking ride

What is standard in today’s rally sport races had been invented by the British´s success story at the Mille Miglia: a detailed written logbook that described roadways in painstaking detail, allowing the driver to drive at maximum speed in confusing areas.

Moss' ace up his sleeve against legendary Fangio

Co-driver and motorsport journalist Dennis Jenkinson spent months visiting the track of the Mille Miglia before the start of the race to gather info and record it to a logbook. Moss blindly trusted his co-pilot’s notes and used it to his advantage over his competitors. Of course, the great weather conditions and a bit of luck on the track also played a role in helping Moss write racing history and create an all-time record.

In 2018, the aged Sir Stirling Moss climbed back into his winning car from 1955 and took part in the Mille Miglia.

In its 30-year-history, the Mille Miglia was an adrenaline rush and a joy for all in the racing world, but it all came to an abrupt end. Read on about how a tragedy ended the original Mille Miglia back in 1957.

Folk Celebration at The Mille Miglia

In the villages and small towns of the Mantua province, which belongs to the Italian region of Lombardy, the modern age had not arrived yet for all. There was hardly any industry, and the people still worked in agriculture and small businesses.

At the same time, the economic boom in the Milan-Turin-Genoa industrial triangle ensured that a middle class emerged that could afford a washing machine, a car and later a television. However, it passed by the sleepy nests of this province. This made extraordinary events that promised a change from the dreary routine of working in the fields and going to church all the more welcome in this community.

So, it is no wonder that the people of the community were always electrified by the futuristic-looking cars racing by during the Mille Miglia every year in May and could hardly wait to hear the roaring engines.

1957: The Fateful Year and The 24th Mille Miglia

It was a warm and sunny Sunday in the municipality of Cavriana.

Hundreds of people came on foot, by bicycle and by bus to attend the Mille Miglia. They all came together in the isloated homesteads which lined the Strada Statale 236 Goitese – a narrow paved strip of road with irrigation ditches. Once a year, several hundred sports cars raced like lightning through the desolate Campagna.

From here, 50km remained before reaching the finish line Brescia after more than 1500 kilometers. Victory was within reach. The 24th edition of the Mille Miglia, a thousand-mile race across the Italian peninsula, turned the fields and villages along the route into a huge modern folk festival. The heroes in their loud sports cars, the smell of gasoline and the screeching of tires was so different from the bleak everyday life.

The Red Ferraris Dominate at The Mille Miglia

Eight-year-old Giovanni Conzato passed the time before the start of the race by playing with his playmates in the homestead ‚Corte Colomba‘. They were happy that church activities were canceled on this particular Sunday due to the ‚Mille Miglia‘.

With him were his two siblings Virginio and Valentina Rigon, ten and six years old respectively. The race took place on public roads with almost no protective barriers and staff to control them. The audience trusted the drivers and their race cars. Experiencing this type of action up close and personal gave an adrenalin rush and thrill which made men, children and women wave enthusiastically from the roadside.

On this fateful race day in May, Enzo Ferrari‘s cars, which were built in nearby Modena, were far ahead of the competition. It was him who had looked after the Alfa Romeo racing cars two decades earlier at the Mille Miglia before starting his own automobile company.

„Vinca Taruffi!“ –Enzo Ferrari's fatal call

29-year-old Spanish aristocrat Alfonso de Portago enjoyed a succesful career as a jockey and bobsleigh athlete before he was recruited by Le Mans winner Luigi Chinetti to be a co-driver for the Carrera Panamericana. In 1956, Enzo Ferrari offered the newcomer a spot on his production team. A short time afterwards, on May 12, 1957, he was driving a Ferrari 335 S and had learned at the last service stop that he was on the way to finishing fourth place.

Earlier this morning, the Spaniard had spilled some milk at breakfast, which is a bad omen. Before the start of the race, he handed the race director of the ‚Scuderia Ferrari‘ a note with his wife´s contact information. On Sunday at 2.30pm, Enzo Ferrari saw his drivers pass through Bologna. He ordered: ‚Vinca Taruffi!‘ (Taruffi should win!).

For Ferrari, a magnificent victory was achieved: after the failure of team drivers Peter Collins, Piero Taruffi and Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips were in first and second places, respectively, followed by Gendebien, albeit behind the wheel of a less-powerful racing car, the 250 GT Scaglietti. Meanwhile, Alfonso de Portago was unhappy. Perhaps the ambitious aristocratic bon vivant thought that fourth place was a humiliating. Because he secretly knew that he had a chance with his larger-capacity, 4.1-liter twelve-cylinder engine – on the 5 km-long straight behind Goito towards Guidizzolo.

In a previous interview, de Portago had talked about fear: ‚Fear is the knowledge of impending danger … I like the feeling of fear. In the end, you get used to it and need it more and more of it‘.

A Stroke of Misfortune

What exactly happened shortly after 4.00 pm on this Sunday in the northern Italian province remained controversial even in later court hearings.

What appears to be certain is that Portago’s car on the long straight, the Strada Statale 236 Goitese near Santa Colomba – was traveling at a speed of at least 200 km/ h. Some sources say that the speed was 250 km/ h.

And then tragedy struck. According to contemporary sources, a damaged fender which had not been repaired in order to save time caused a flat tire, which subsequently caused the driver to lose control of the Ferrari, crashing into a telegraph pole, flying into an adjacent moat from which it catapulted out and finally crashed right into the audience.

De Portago lost control of the Ferrari. First crashed into a telegraph pole. Then fell into the adjacent moat. Was catapulted out of there again.

And flew into the audience.

Only a hundred meters further did the completely destroyed vehicle come to a standstill. With Alfonso de Portago and his co-driver, the American journalist Edvard Gurner Nelson, Roberto, Virginio and Valentina, two other children and four adults died. Twenty people were seriously injured.

The dead were laid out on homestead kitchen tables. Priest Pio came and identified the bodies and provided comfort the injured. Bystanders creaded makeshift stretchers from nearby argicultural equipment. News of the tragedy was broadcasted by the official Italian news agency ANSA.

Enzo Ferrari, The Scapegoat

Enzo Ferrari had previously lost several race car drivers due to fatal accidents. But the events of May 12, 1957 shook him deeply. After the catastrophe of Le Mans, with 84 deaths just two years ago, the opposers of public car racing voiced their opinion in Italy as well.

Even from his own ranks, one can speculate that de Portago reluctantly signed up for this edition of the Mille Miglia, realizing the danger of open street racing. He was probably persuaded by Enzo Ferrari to race. It could not be determined whether or not Enzo Ferrari persuaded his driver de Portago in Bologna, fearing a breakdown of Gendebia.

The victory at 24th annual Mille Miglia was overshadowed by the nationwide outpour of grief and criticism that placed the blame in large part on Enzo Ferrari. The Mille Miglia became known as the – Cemetery for Men and Children – Stop It‘—the local press publically criticized the man from Modena. With powerful support from the church and state, most people believed that races such as Mille Miglia should be banned. Although several lawsuits against the tire manufacturer as well as the ‚Commendatore‘ did not result in convictions, people believed that Enzo Ferrari was morally responsible for the tragedy.

Ferrari struggled with all of the criticism, eventually contemplating whether or not he should completely retire from racing. In the end, he decided to stay, but stood away from all future racing events unless special circumstances arose.

Chopard becomes Main Sponsor of Mille Miglia

Chopard is a luxury watch brand and its President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele is a great classic car fan and collector. In 1988, Chopard became the official timekeeper and main sponsor of the Mille Miglia. Since then, Scheufele has taken part in the Mille Miglia every year with various classic cars from his collection. His most prominent co-driver is the racing icon and six-time Le Mans champion Jacky Ickx. The sponsorship relationship continues to this day, making Chopard the oldest sponsor of the Mille Miglia.

Chopard Mille Miglia watch collection

Since the beginning of the partnership, there has been a new limited edition watch model every year at the start of the Mille Miglia. These editions are numbered and have the Mille Miglia logo engraved on the back of the watch case. The Mille Miglia models are characterised by their vintage design and are often inspired by elements of classic racing cars such as rubber straps with tyre tread, dials that are reminiscent of the design of dashboards of classic vehicles and tachymeter rings for measuring speeds.