The Mille Miglia may not be as famous as the Le Mans, but it was one of the most daunting endurance races in the world of motorsports

In the world of endurance racing, names such as the Le Mans and the Dakar Rally are etched in the minds of almost every motorsport fan. However, much may not be aware of the Mille Miglia; an open-road endurance racing event based in Italy that was as dangerous as the Le Mans. In the following paragraphs, we have drafted some facts about the race.

The origin and the name 

Back in the 1920s, for the people of Italy’s Brescia town, Brescia was the crown of Italian motorsport. However, in 1922, the Italian Grand Prix was moved to Milan. This incident led to the formation of the Mille Miglia by the Brescia Automobile Club that comprised men such as Franco Mazzotti, Giovanni Canestrini, Renzo Castagneto, and Conte Aymo Maggi.

Moving on to the name Mille Miglia, in Italian, it means 1,000 miles. When the organisers decided on the race route, they found out that the route was 1,600 kilometres or 1,000 miles long. And that is how the endurance race received its name. 

First winner and two non-Italian winners

The first winner of the Mille Miglia was a local Brescian racer driver named Giuseppe Morandi, who completed the tour in 21 hours and five minutes. He drove an OM 665S and clocked an average speed of 50mph. Sadly, in 30 years of the original Mille Miglia event, only two non-Italian drivers won the tourney. The first was German driver Rudolph Carraciola, whereas the second racer was Sir Stirling Moss.

A tournament full of tragedies

Between 1927 and 1957, engines evolved at a rapid pace, but cars lacked safety features coupled withpoor traction tyres and inadequate braking. Therefore, the tournament was full of tragedies. Between the mentioned years, the tournament led to the death of 57 individuals, including racers and spectators. In 1957, two horrible crashes led to the end of the original Mille Miglia. 

Rebirth 

In 1977, the Mille Miglia was revived but the format of the racing was changed to a biennial time trial. Not to forget, as of now, only cars manufactured between 1927 and 1957 are allowed to take part in the Mille Miglia, making it one of the largest vintage car rallies in the world.