Vanity Fair UK – September 2019

(Kiana) #1

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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


09-19Essay-Beretta-Miglia.indd 36 17/07/2019 08:14


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