The details of the 2020 Mille Miglia, the re-enactment of the famous racing event that ran for thirty years to 1957, have now been released to the public. Now a regularity race held each year on much the same route as the original, there will be 400 cars this year – 30 fewer than in 2019. Much of this reduction is aimed at racing cars, with a greater proportion of sports cars to now feature with safety cited as one of the primary reasons.
Though there are now even fewer spots for what is always a highly popular event for entrants, the system for applying and registering for entry has now been significantly streamlined. So at least those who are turned away won’t have spent quite as much time dancing around formalities.
The event will start on May 13, 2020, from Brescia and follow the route that is, as usual, preceded by over a hundred modern cars. The classics will then arrive at Cervia, Milan Marittima before the next leg on the following day. On Thursday, May 14, the cars will parade through the streets of Rome, Friday May 15 carry on through Tuscany to Parma. The final day, Saturday May 16 will see the cars return to the starting point at Brescia for the concluding ceremony.
The last race
The last winner of the Mille Miglia 1000-mile race was Piero Taruffi in 1957. He set a time of 10 hours, 27 minutes and 47 seconds in his Ferrari 315 S, but this was still nearly 20 minutes off the all-time record set by Stirling Moss in 1955 with a Mercedes 300 SLR. Moss did enter in 1957 but a broken brake pedal left him and his Maserati out of the race. With faster and faster cars, as well as larger crowds each year, the race was brought to an end and was later reinvented into the event that continues today.
