The Legacy of the Mille Miglia - Part 4: The Mille Miglia from 1947 to 1957. The epic story and end of the speed race
29 November 2024 3 min read 11 images
Photo credit: 1000 Miglia
Before moving on to the present day, the edition that commemorates the legendary Mille Miglia, let's take a look at the winners and the names of the eleven postwar years, from 1947 to 1957, in which the Mille Miglia took place. We offer a summary of a unique and unrepeatable history. A history that today's Reenactment upholds and represents one of the many reasons to truly discover Italy and the magnificent, still untouched roads that determined the rankings of the time.
1947: Alfa Romeo, driven by the famous "road racer" Clemente Biondetti, achieved its last victory in the Brescia race after a fierce battle with the indomitable Nuvolari. The battle was between a powerful but dated 8C 2900 Berlinetta and the small Cisitalia 202 S MM of just 1100cc, which finished second just over 15 minutes behind after over 1800 km – the distance of that edition – at an average speed of 121 km/h. A truly remarkable result.
1948: It was a year of great disappointment: Enzo Ferrari, competing in the Mille Miglia for the first time with the 166 Sport Competizione from Maranello, saw his dream of seeing Nuvolari, in a Ferrari, win in Brescia dashed. The Mantuan was stopped by a suspension failure just as he was in sight of the finish line with a more than forty-minute lead over Biondetti, the eventual winner, also in a Ferrari, the 166 Coupe Allemano. It would have been the culmination of a life together—as rivals, as friends, and, on occasion, even as enemies—that Tazio and Enzo were unable to celebrate.
1949: For the first time, 300 cars competed, including the two Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta Tourings driven by Clemente Biondetti and Felice Bonetto, which finished first and second, respectively. This dominance was confirmed a few weeks later when the same cars won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Spa. For a manufacturer founded in 1947, this was a record that signaled its great destiny.
1950: If Ferrari's dominance needed any further hype, it would have been difficult to imagine what Count Giannino Marzotto, the very young heir to the famous Italian wool family, did. He showed up in a suit and tie at the start of the race. He wore a suit and tie to a resounding victory in his recently purchased Ferrari 195 S Berlinetta Touring. Marzotto prevailed over Serafini's other Ferrari and the Alfa Romeo 6c 2500 Competizione driven by the great Juan Manuel Fangio. As if to say: if you buy a Ferrari, you can win too, without even changing your clothes.
1951: It was once again a Berlinetta Touring officially entered by Scuderia Ferrari that won the 1951 edition, driven by the expert “Gigi“ Villoresi ahead of a combative official Lancia Aurelia B20 (Gianni Lancia, at the helm of the company, already had in mind the racing program that would lead up to Formula 1) and Scotti’s private Ferrari.
1952: Over 500 cars were on the starting line, and the challenge was tough for Ferrari, who faced a threatening opponent: Mercedes with three 300 SL W194s, a foreshadowing of the future 300 SL W198, driven by top drivers: Caracciola, Kling, and Lang. The 1952 edition's time was terrible, and Ferrari had placed its bets on Taruffi and Bracco, the former an expert, the latter notoriously bold. The battle quickly tightened between two cars that stood out above the rest: Kling's Mercedes and Bracco's Ferrari 250 S. The German was still in the lead, but Bracco was close behind and was betting everything on the 100 kilometers separating Florence from Bologna via the Futa and Raticosa passes. It is said that Bracco, at the Florence checkpoint, asked for a bottle of red wine from which he took two generous gulps... and then off he went! He arrived first in Bologna, and Kling, on the stretch to Brescia, couldn't catch up! Even if the wine legend isn't true, it's still fun and entertaining!
1953: Giannino Marzotto returns, undaunted by the challenge of Manuel Fangio, the freshly crowned Formula 1 World Champion, entered by Alfa Romeo with a new version of the Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 and Felice Bonetto in the factory Lancia D20. The leap in engine size and power doesn't faze the nobleman from Vicenza, who, after that victory, will dedicate himself to managing his large industrial group. The Mille Miglia was a memory that stayed with him for life.
1954: The entry of four Lancia D24s, with Ascari, winner of two Formula 1 World Championships with Ferrari, Taruffi, Castellotti, and Valenzano, sent a clear message to Ferrari: we want to win. But the race proved more complicated than expected and ended in a dispute at the elimination round: three Lancias retired, as did the three factory Ferraris. Ascari, in the last remaining Lancia, won by a stroke of luck, overcoming serious technical problems, ahead of Giannino Marzotto's brother, Vittorio, in the two-liter Ferrari 500 Mondial.
1955: Stirling Moss's Mercedes remained the only true protagonist of the 1955 Mille Miglia: no one remembers the competitive Ferraris of Castellotti, Taruffi, and Paolo Marzotto, Giannino's brother, who overtook him at certain stages; no one remembers that there were three other Mercedes SLRs at the start. Everyone remembers Moss's astonishing race and the no less astonishing performance of British journalist Denis Jenkinson, who, with a several-meter-long roll of notes, sat in the cramped cockpit of the Mercedes, promptly pointed out the risks and opportunities of the road. The result: victory and a record that has remained unbroken in history.
1956: Enzo Ferrari must return to win "his" Mille Miglia, his because it was so beloved that he called it the most beautiful race in the world. Mercedes, after the Le Mans tragedy, withdrew, and Ferrari entered four sports cars and an extraordinary Gran Turismo, the 250 long wheelbase driven by Olivier Gendebien. The final standings were deceptive: the five Ferraris, with Castellotti as winner, occupied the top five places, but the race, also due to terrible weather with rain and fog, held many surprises and, in addition, six drivers were killed. The Mille Miglia showed signs of being too risky. Unfortunately, the following edition would confirm this.
1957:
The Mille Miglia, its final year, saw three marques officially competing: Maserati, which would go on to win the Formula 1 World Championship that year, fielded two 450 Ss for Moss and Behra, and a 350 S for the experienced Hans Hermann, as well as a 300S for Scarlatti. Jaguar had a single D Type for Ron Flockhart, while Ferrari lined up veteran Taruffi, von Trips, Collins, and de Portago. Disaster struck for Maserati, with Moss's immediate retirement due to a brake problem and Behra and Hermann's exits. Taruffi, protected by Ferrari, who held the position in Bologna, preventing a possible attack by von Trips, won, but the victory was not a joy. A few kilometers from Brescia, de Portago's car went off the road due to a tire failure. Eleven people died, including the driver and his teammate Nelson. At that moment, the Mille Miglia of speed ended.
A myth, magnificent and tragic, a nonsense that bears witness to how extraordinary road races could be. But history has shown that this cannot be done. Fortunately, the passion of AC Brescia has preserved its memory with the magnificent annual reenactment, held only with the cars that took part.
