December 2015 Classic& SportsCar 115Fromthe outset,Eystonand Luraniwerethe
mostthorough,evenheadingout to Monzato
resolveissueswith spongybrakesand poorsteer-
ing. Luranielectedto wearred for luckand
insistedon a grab-handlebeingfittedto the rear
wing,sincehe sufferedfromnauseaas a passen-
ger.Thelatediscoverythatcarsrequiredsilencers
wouldbe anotherheadachefor the ‘insomnia
crew’, as the mechanicswereknown.
The teamrelocatedto Bresciatwo days before
thestartandcaused quiteastir when theraucous
MG‘sixes’,theirgreenbodyworkgleaming,
arrived in Piazza Vittoriofor scrutineering.
‘Viva,vivagliInglese!’the throngof localsis
reportedto haveshoutedafterHowe’s thank
you speech.Birkinwas allegedlynominatedto
play the hare and push the Maseratis to break-
ing point,but in trutheachcrewdroveits own
race and,withearlierstartingtimes,the MG
driversneversaw theirred classrivals.
Despitealackofsleepduetothelocalspartying
all night,the adrenalinwas highwhenEyston
droveontothestartrampat8:03amincarnumber
- The choiceof soft plugssoonprovedto be a
problem– not helpedby the increasedoil flow to
the supercharger– and forcedan earlystop,but
mechanicBert Denlyhad cleverlydeviseda neat
storagefor 50 plugson the seatbacks.Birkin,in
car 41, soonpassedEystonbut an incidentbrak-
ing from100mphto avoidahorseand cart caused
him to brieflyrelinquishthe lead.The Bentley
hero’s familiaritywiththe roadto Modena,
however, led to him settingthe pace.
Earlydramasincludeda 70mphlaunchwhile
crossingthe pontoonbridgesover the riverPo- reallyspookingHowe– plus continualtrouble
withthe plugs.Eystonlaterreportedthat they
changed150 duringthe race.
By Bologna,Birkinhad stretchedhis lead to
four minutesoverhis team-mates,but closeto
Sienaa burntvalvehad him wavinghis compat-
riots past. Aftersix hoursand 16 minutes,Eyston
arrivedin Rome andhanded over to Lurani,who
provedto be very quick.OnlyNuvolari’sAlfa 8C
was fasterto Te rni, but chargingproblemsbegan
to manifestthemselvesenroute,leadingto
concernsfor the long nightahead.
BothLuraniand Eystonweresufferingfrom
exhaustionby the timethey reachedthe pitstop
at Perugia, from where instructions were sent to
Bolognato sourceanew battery.Overthe Apen-
ninesthe spectators’bonfiresmadevisibility
difficult,particularlywith the oncomingtrucks
thathadn’t beenstoppedfor the race.The
specialMarchalfoglampswereeffectiveat
cuttingthroughthe dustytwilight,but the elec-
tricalwoesrestrictedtheiruse. The enginewas
also misfiring due to oiled plugs and the brakes
provedto be hopelesson the mountaindescent.
In the dark,Howestartedto makeup time on
his team-mates. The gap shortenedaftera pit-
stop in PortaMazzini,Eystonand Luranilosing
14 minuteswhentheirnew batterywouldn’t fit.
After15 hoursand 750 miles,Howefinally
handedthe wheelto Hamilton,but soonvowed
that he wouldneveragaingo as a passenger. On
the last leg throughthe Dolomites,Hamilton
madeupfourminutesbut,withasingleheadlight,
Luraniwas strugglingto maintainpace over the
mountainroads.Puncturesand missingjacks,
plugchanges,plusoncomingtrafficallchallenged
the MGs,but withjust secondsseparatingthe
team,a revivedEystonwas in a fightingmood.
Leadingthe eventon the road,he gunnedthe
dustyK3 throughthe ‘wall’to the Bresciafinish
and,at 2am,the crowdswarmedaroundthe
English car to lift the exhausted driver from
behindthe wheel.The first to crossthe line, the
MG had passed38 rivalsand for 18 hours,one
minuteand four secondshad averaged91.6kph.
Fourminutes later , Hamilton and Howeraced
over the line, 90 secondsadriftof theircompatri-
ots. Aconsolationwas the teamprizebut all were
overjoyedat the result.“We wereusingexperi-
mentalcars, andwerevery happyand proudthat‘BIRKINWAS ALLEGEDLY
NOMINATEDTO PLAY
THEHAREANDBREAK
THEMASERATIS’
Clockwise:K3 at speedis
an imposingsight;Jaeger
stopwatch,as fittedby
Lurani; original-style
Marchalfoglightswere
discove red in Holland