WHAT WAS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE MILLE MIGLIA?

by Jacopo Villa

Mille Miglia! Never two words ever sounded so daring and evocative when put together. People always seem to take a moment to pronounce them with the right amount of emphasis, just if they want to stress how important this event is. As a matter of fact, the Mille Miglia has always been a sensation, a race followed almost religiously every year since its creation, in 1927. Of course, many things have changed over its history: the cars, the speeds, the driving styles...but the spirit of this competition has never changed—it is still there, even today. For many, the Mille Miglia is world's most beautiful race: an electrifying rush of exactly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) throughout Italy from Brescia to Rome, and back to Brescia again. It was a genuine product of the 1920s, when those who dared always seemed to win. At that time, the world was ruled by idealistic entrepreneurs who loved to take risks under the guise of progress. But why create a race that could be easily considered—especially when you consider the lack of safety—the epitome for madness? Why organize a circuit that stretches across Italy? Simple, because Brescia needed to be the centre of Italian and international motorsports. In fact, it was one of the first towns to host a motor race in 1899, which took place in the ring roads outside the town. It proved to be an extremely successful and popular sport, and in the following years, added whole weeks dedicated to racing, the famous Settimane Automobilistiche Bresciane—“Brescia's Car Weeks”. These events were similar to today's Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Monterey car week, but the difference is that they were dedicated only to racing. These races allowed important names like Vincenzo Lancia, Giovanni Agnelli and Vincenzo Florio to become legendary. A curiosity: after Vincenzo Florio participated to one of those events. He was so impressed by the days he spent there racing that he decided to pay homage to Brescia by creating his own race in Sicily, where he was from, calling it the “Targa Florio”. In 1921, after WWI, those "racing weeks" resumed and the Italian Grand Prix was held in the outskirts of Brescia, bringing Brescia back onto the motorsport scene. Unfortunately, the newly built Monza racetrack was destined to quickly become the home for the country’s Grand Prix, and Brescia was left without any important racing events. To make matters worse, international technical regulations banned 2.0-liter engines, preferring instead those with 1.5-litres of displacement. As a result, all Italian manufacturers withdraw from these international competitions, leaving racers only foreign cars to choose from. For two years, Brescia starved from the loud noise of motorcars and local enthusiasts began to think that no more competitions would be held in their town. They were wrong: a new era was about to begin. The Mille Miglia was the brainchild of four young men who wanted to make their town the center of motor racing once again. They were nicknamed the "four musketeers": Aymo Maggi, Franco Mazzotti, Giovanni Canestrini, and Renzo Castagneto. The first three were "daredevils" and had a fame as racers with cars, boats and motorcycles: later, Mazzotti even raced in the Mille Miglia, with good results. They embodied the spirit of the time and like Cicero said, they were cupidi rerum novarum, or “avid of new things”. Their pioneering and daring spirit brought them reunite in December 1926, in the house of Canestrini in Milan to discuss a plan for a new race. It had to be something new and groundbreaking, huge and so attractive that it would encourage Italian manufacturers to make a comeback in international racing. The four men discussed their ideas in front of a map of Italy: by looking at it they set up a course of 1,600 km, or exactly 1000 miles. The idea of calling this new event Coppa delle Mille Miglia, “Mille Miglia Cup”, was of Franco Mazzotti. It was decided that a circuit starting from Brescia to Rome and back was the most interesting. The Mille Miglia was born.      The first edition was organized in just four months and it proved to be a gruesome test for drivers and cars: no less than 10 hours of constant driving, few stops and dangers everywhere. Yet everybody wanted to come back the year after. The first edition of the event was won by an official OM works car, a sportscar manufacturer from Brescia. The first iteration of the race was held until 1940 and it resumed in 1947 and went on until 1957. This event gathered hundred thousands of people from Italy and Europe: everyone wanted to be close to the cars, and all municipalities along the route wanted the race course to pass through their main square—just to let everybody see the cars better. Over its 30 year history, there were many legends forged here: Tazio Nuvolari, Alfa Romeo, Zagato, Bugatti, Mercedes Benz, Ferrari… Maggi, Mazzotti, Canestrini, and Castagneto understood that car’s weren’t exciting just because of technological progress, but also because of image. The Mille Miglia had it all: it was daring, fast, dangerous, and exciting. It created a sense of occasion that stretched, for a short time each year, 1,000 miles around an entire country. It’s best summed up by the words of Giannino Marzotto, the winner of the 1950 and 1953 editions: “Defining this race is difficult…We can define it as a mixture of technology, competition, prestige and popularity—all dictated by passion which seems like an obsession.”  via PETROLICIOUS

Aston Martin’s latest design project is sure to make waves

In an official collaboration with the British car-maker, Netherlands-based yacht-builder Quintessence has designed a powerboat inspired by Aston Martin’s sports cars. This is no dead-end design study, however – the fully sanctioned production version will be on the water later this year…

This isn’t the first time we’ve come across an Aston Martin-badged boat, as some of our most loyal readers might remember. However, while that was merely a conceptual study by a freelance designer, the Quintessence AM37 is the real thing – it has the Gaydon seal of approval, having been designed in consultation with Aston Martin, and will become a physical reality before the year’s end.

Power, beauty and soul at sea

At present, only three semi-teaser images have been released, but Aston is apparently providing potential new owners with ‘more details of the new project on a strictly confidential, one-to-one basis’. For now, we’ll have to make do with the promise of a high-tech composite structure, interactive voice control, and a high-definition touchscreen navigation and multimedia system.

Photos: Quintessence

You can find many Aston Martins for sale in the Classic Driver Market, where you can also find a selection of yachts for sale, too.

pharaons rally : The magic of the Pyramids welcomes Al Attiyah, Piatek and Abu Issa

GIZA – The emotion to finish the Pharaons Rally at the Giza Pyramids it’s a unique thing in the scenery of the rally raid. An even stronger emotion for the winners of the 2015 edition: Nasser Al Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel (QAT/FRA – Mini All4 Racing) among the cars, Jakub Piatek (POL – KTM) among the bikes and Mohammed Abu Issa (QAT – Honda) among the quads.

The last leg of the 2015 Pharaons has started this morning from the Baharija Oasis for a special of 339 kilometres, a special that traditionally shows up some surprises. But tradition was almost playing against Mohammed Al Balooshi (ARE – KTM), the pilot that dominated the first three stages and yesterday lost his leadership for a navigation mistake. An engine failure of his KTM right before the CP1 has obliged him to push his bike for five kilometres, then got to the finish one hour and half after the winner of the stage JakubPiatek. Fortunately he has managed to keep the third absolute position. Piatek is now able to celebrate his first World, stepping on the highest place of the podium together with Chavo Salvatierra (BOL – KTM) and Mohammed Al Balooshi.

Alvis Lecis won the over 450 class in fron of Tommaso Biondi and Cesare Francolini.

In the quad category Mohammed Abu Issa (QAT – HONDA), strong of twelve minutes over the Polish Rafal Sonik POL – Yamaha), today only had to manage it to ensure his final victory. Beyond the winner of the last Dakar, together with him on the podium the French Antoine Lecomte (Yamaha).

No surprises among the cars. Victory of the day has not been useful to Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU – Toyota), as well as the second place of the Russian Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS – Mini) to challenge the leadership of Nasser Al Attiyah, that summed an advantage 10 minutes. With the third position of stage, the “prince of the desert” has ensured himself the final victory in front of the Saudi Al Rajhi and the Russian Vasilyev, after the passionate battle that lasted five days.

The T2 class was won by the lebanese based in Abu Dhabi, Emil Khneisser, in front of Kazak Denis Berezovskiy. Raul Orlandini is the winner of T3.

So it can be recorded up this 2015 edition of the Pharaons Rally, a competition that has once again confirmed to be “different”. Egypt, its history, a desert that changes continuously its feature, the bivouac in top African style , the familiar atmosphere … But mainly the 2015 Pharaons Rally has established that racing in Egypt is wonderful and cool at the same time.

Don’t forget to join the legend also on 2016. Pharaons is different!

Nasser Al Attiyah (QAT – Mini): “Easy game today. We controlled the race and didn’t any mistake. It was a nice and fast stage, but finally the average speed was very high during the whole race. I love this rally, and love to come back to Egypt, and of course love to win. Pharaons had a good name and we have good drivers here, so it’s a good feeling to win the Rally and celebrate in front of the Pyramids. We had a good strategy from the beginning and we were the leaders from the second day, so I’m happy.”

Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU – Toyota): “We planned to catch Vasilyev and after 30 km we saw his dust. But than, at km 35 we got a puncture, and lost some time. I pushed to catch him again, and we drove together between the dunes. I passed him just at the end of the dunes, and kept him behind us. It was a nice race, we got more experience, which will be useful for the future. Good race, good organization.”

Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS – Mini): “The first part of the stage was good, but after the dunes we got a puncture and we had to stop to change the wheel. But. we are really happy to be here and happy to be on the podium. We show we could fight and we finished a very good race. And now? The battle must go on!”

Jakub Piatek (POL – KTM): "Its amazing, I just can’t believe it!. This is my first Pharaons, and also the others are faster than me, but... I could fight here and I could beat them. Maybe because I did only one mistake and the others did more. Today was really very fast, the fastest day in the race.”

Chavo Salvatierra (BOL – KTM): "The day was not so bad, but the race was complicated, because of the new rules, which are absurde. I love this race, it’s my third Pharaons Rally and I love also Egypt, the dunes here and the atmosphere. Second place is good, but of course my goal was to win.”

Mohammed Al Balooshi (ARE – KTM): "At the beginning of the stage I was in front, but then, 9 km from the refuelling point I had a problem: my second fuel-tank was not working. I tried to solve the problem and could ride 4 more km, but 5 km before the point the bike stopped again. I decided to push, and don’t give up... So I pushed this very heavy bike... I pushed like there is no tomorrow... Finally if I didn’t win, I tried to achieve the best position I could: it was the 3rd, and I’m happy with it..”

Mohammed Abu Issa (QAT – Honda): “My race was consistent and enjoyable. I’ve got a lot of very useful experience, which is very important for me. This race is a good preparation for the Dakar, a lot of caps, a lot of kilometers. I learned a lot, and I’m happy with the result.”

Rafal Sonik: (POL – Yamaha): "Smooth day, finally! At the beginning it was not very easy, but the end was OK and I’m happy. If I compare this race with the others, its easier to win the others. So I have to think about this. This is my 4th time here, and I only won once. I had a lot of problems the first two years, and I asked myself what else could come this year. Its not good, because I opened a door with it. But... This is the beauty of the racing.”

CARS 

1	1	1	302	NASSER SALEH AL ATTIYAH	AL-ATTIYAH NASSER BAUMEL MATHIEU	QAT FRA	FIA	MINI ALL4 RACING	T1	2			0	14:00:02
2	2	1	308	YAZEED RACING	AL-RAJHI YAZEED GOTTSCHALK TIMO	SAU DEU	FIA	TOYOTA HILUX OVERDRIVE	T1	1			0	14:06:35
3	3	2	301	G-ENERGY TEAM	VASILYEV VLADIMIR ZHILTSOV KONSTANTIN	RUS RUS	FIA	MINI ALL4 RACING	T1	2			0	14:08:20
4	4	2	305	ORLEN TEAM	DABROWSKI MAREK CZACHOR JACEK	POL POL	FIA	TOYOTA HILUX OVERDRIVE	T1	1			0	14:56:01
5	5	3	306	ZAPLETAL MIROSLAV	ZAPLETAL MIROSLAV MARTON MACIEJ	CZE POL	FIA	H3 EVO VII	T1	1			0	15:08:07
6	6	4	304	OVERDRIVE RACING	VARELA REINALDO GUGELMIN GUSTAVO	BRA BRA	FIA	TOYOTA HILUX OVERDRIVE	T1	1			0	15:14:07
7	7	3	303	X-RAID TEAM	VAN LOON ERIK ROSEGAAR WOUTER	NLD NLD	FIA	MINI ALL4 RACING	T1	2			0	15:34:33
8	8	5	310	MOBILEX RACING TEAM	SAZONOV YURIY SAKHIMOV ARSLAN	KAZ KAZ		HUMMER H3 EVO	T1	1			0	15:48:34
9	9	6	319	OPEL DAKAR TEAM	SZALAY BALAZS LAKLOTH ALADAR	HUN HUN		OPEL MOKKA	T1	1			30:00	17:25:46
10	1	1	316	4WD JATON RACING	ORLANDINI RAUL BLANCO EDUARDO	PER ESP		TOYOTA HILUX	T3	1			0	20:06:20
11	1	1	324	KHNEISSER EMIL	KHNEISSER EMIL KUZMICH ALEKSEI	LBN RUS		NISSAN PATROL Y62	T2	1			30:00	20:22:28

BIKES 

1	1	11	PIATEK JAKUB	POL	ORLEN TEAM	KTM BIKE	450	0	17:44:59
2	2	10	SALVATIERRA JUAN CARLOS	BOL	KTM WARSAW RALLY TEAM	KTM RALLY REPLICA 450	450	0	17:48:18
3	3	7	BALOOSHI MOHAMMED	ARE	KTM UAE	KTM RALLY BIKE 450	450	0	19:21:03
4	1	102	ABU-ISSA MOHAMMED	QAT	ABUISSA RACING	HONDA TRX 680	QUAD	12:00	20:05:02
5	4	14	GAGGIANI ANDREA	ITA	FZ FACTORY	KTM RALLY REPLICA 450	450	0	20:12:24
6	2	100	SONIK RAFAL	POL	SONIK TEAM	YAMAHA RAPTOR 700	QUAD	0	20:12:49
7	5	13	NIFONTOVA ANASTASIYA	RUS	VEB RACING	HUSQVARNA 450FE	450	0	21:24:46
8	1	153	LECIS ALVIS	LVA		KTM 500 EXC	OPEN	0	23:02:16
9	3	104	LECOMTE ANTOINE	FRA	TEAM AL DESERT	YAMAHA QUADDY 450 YZR	QUAD	0	25:11:14

Sunday race