Mille Miglia 2019
Sports Car Digest, May 2019
The Mille Miglia 2019 was held 15-18 May over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of Italy’s most beautiful regions. Now in its 37th year, the retrospective of the Mille Miglia saw a great field of 430 historical automobiles commemorate the legendary endurance road race.
From 1927 to 1957, the Mille Miglia was one of the world’s great road races, and the combination of scenery and history associated with it have made the modern iteration a highlight of the vintage car racing season. Since 1977, the event has been held as a regularity rally for historic automobiles.
Keeping with tradition, the 1000 Miglia 2019 started and ended in Brescia, having crossed some of the most striking locations in Italy, with the turning point in Rome. Participants covered a total of 1,801 kilometers over four days and forty hours of driving, passing through seven regions and 200 town centers.
The Mille Miglia Storica featured 430 vintage cars from 75 different manufacturers, with 95 of the cars returning to Brescia, after having already taken part in one of the original editions between 1927 and 1957. The most represented automaker was Alfa Romeo with 44 cars, followed by Jaguar with 35, Fiat with 33 and Mercedes-Benz with 31 cars. The participants in the 1000 Miglia 2019 came from 33 different countries, across all continents.
The team of Giovanni Moceri and Daniele Bonetti are the overall champions of the 1000 Miglia 2019. The duo in a 1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 SS owned by the Alfa Romeo Museum of Arese won the 37th historical retrospective. Moceri, a doctor from Palermo, and Bonetti, a journalist from Brescia, beat the team composed by two Brescians, Andrea Vesco and Andrea Guerini in a 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS Zagato. In third place the last year title holder, Juan Tonconogy and Barbara Ruffini, in a Bugatti Type 40 of 1927. In fourth place, close to the podium were Alberto Riboldi and Paolo Sabbadini in a 1926 O.M. 665 S Superba 2000.
“We are happy for this great achievement, this 1000 Miglia was very challenging – says Moceri and Bonetti with satisfaction – we have been trying it for several years and now we made it. This also thanks to the support of the FCA Heritage team which has granted us a wonderful car belonging to the Alfa Romeo Museum of Arese. We are proud to associate our names to this car.”
The team of Silvia Marini and Francesca Ruggeri in a 1937 Aston Martin 2-Litre Speed Model won the Coppa delle Dame, the competition reserved to the first female team. Among motorsport drivers, Romain Dumas traveled with Armando Musotto in a 1957 Porsche 550 A Spyder 1500 RS, two-time World Rally champion Miki Biasion, together with Piero Giovanni Pissavini, drove a 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Spider Vignale, while Emanuele Pirro and Gian Carlo Bruno raced the 1935 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Pescara Spider.
Robin Peel GB Timothy Stevens GB BENTLEY 4.5 LITRE SC 1930
Source: Mille Miglia 2019 – Report and Photos