In 1977, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Mille Miglia Cup, the Brescia Automobile Club decided to organize the Mille Miglia Rally on local roads, as a regularity event with competitive speed trials – a format already adopted for the last three Mille Miglia races organized from 1958 – 1960, which were classified by the FIA as qualifying events for the European Rally Championship.
On the fiftieth anniversary, the Club also organized a revival of the race from Brescia to Rome and back. It was reserved for historic cars and final standings were based on the results obtained in the precision driving tests organized along the route.
Although the number of cars admitted today is almost four times the number that participated in the first revival in 1977, fewer than half of the applications received each year can be accepted. This has been a problem since 1955, when 521 teams were at the start in Viale Venezia, forcing the organizers to make a drastic and unpopular reduction in their number – mainly for reasons of safety, related to the drivers’ experience and the ability of the registered cars to withstand the rigors of the race.
Today, limiting the number of participants allows the organizers not only to select cars that are the most significant in the context of race history, but also to offer spectators a cavalcade that is almost unique, portraying thirty years of the evolution of motor racing, from 1927 to 1957.
Following are pictures taken on the Rome to Brescia leg of the 2009 Mille Miglia Storica.
2009 Mille Miglia Storica – Rome to Brescia Picture Gallery
[Source: Mille Miglia]
