Vanity Fair UK – September 2019

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M

y hometown of Brescia,

Italy is also the birthplace

of the “most beautiful

race in the world”, the legendary Mille

Miglia (or 1000 Miglia). It all started in

1927 with four car enthusiasts—Count

Aymo Maggi of Gradella, Count Franco

Mazzotti, Renzo Castagneto and

Giovanni Canestrini. These visionaries

decided to create a thousand-mile race

from Brescia to Rome and back, taking

in Italy’s most beautiful landscapes

while also developing the country’s

automotive industry and its

infrastructure. Except for a break

during the Second World War, the

majestic race continued for 30 years,

bringing exotic sports cars and

world-famous drivers to Italy’s scenic,

winding roads, until it was banned in

1957 after a fatal crash.

Then, in 1977, it was re-established by

a group of friends headed by the

businessman and car collector

Giuseppe Lucchini. No longer a speed

race, the newly named 1000 Miglia

Classic is a road endurance test that has

continued to this day, organised and

controlled by the Automobile Club

Brescia (ACB), part of the Automobile

Club Italia (a self-financed statutory

corporation of the Italian Republic that

promotes and regulates the car sector

as well as representing car owners’

interests in Italy).

Like many others born and raised in

Brescia, I am passionate about cars,

especially when it comes to

the 1000 Miglia. When I was

young, the joy of the event

came purely from seeing the

incredible cars each year,

from the atmospheric

“Sealing of the Cars” in the

Piazza Vittoria to the start of

the race in Viale Venezia

come nightfall. As a teenager,

it was also a great excuse to

hang around in Brescia, a city

that was suddenly packed

with all kinds of beautiful,

glamorous spectators. It was only when

my father Ugo—a friend of Lucchini

and an ACB board member for more

than 10 years—began to participate that

the race went beyond a mere spectator

sport for me.

Only classic cars whose models

competed in the original race between

1927 and 1957 are allowed to enter the

Extra Mile Franco Gussalli Beretta

thought the Mille Miglia was a gentle

jaunt through Italy—until he entered it

1000 Miglia Classic, so, at first, my

father competed with friends in their

cars. One of the most striking of these

in my memory is a Lancia Aurelia B24,

which I still believe to be one of the

most beautiful cars ever designed and

produced—in Italy, naturally. After a

while, though, my father bought his

own classic car, an astonishing 1955

Mercedes 300 SL, also known as

“Gullwing” due to its distinctive doors.

He has now completed the race more

than 12 times, often with his co-driver

Donato Benetti, a classic endurance

racing professional.

Although I offered a

great deal less experience,

one year my father kindly

invited me to participate

with him, allowing me to

truly comprehend the

complexities of the race. I

had previously thought of

Above: Alberto Ascari’s Lancia D24 (chassis “006” of nine cars built ) in Rome, heading for home ,

May 2, 1954. Below left: Peter Collins, on return from testing his new Ferrari 335 Sport, discussing

the design of the gearstick with Enzo Ferrari (left) and test driver Martino Severi, in Maranello

before the Mille Miglia, May 1957

Below: Franco during

his third Mille Miglia in

2005, waiting at a

check point with his

father’s 1955 Mercedes

300 SL Gullwing

Essays

By Franco Gussalli Beret ta

VANITY FAIR EN ROUTE SEPTEMBER 2019

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