THE MILLE MIGLIA 2018
“The unique traveling museum in the world”
Enzo Ferrari
The 36th edition of the re-enactment of the Mille Miglia will start on Wednesday 16 May 2018.
From Wednesday May 16th to Saturday May 19th, vehicles from 72 car companies will cross 7 regions, over 200 cities of art and culture, from Brescia to Rome and return.
The race will leave Brescia on Wednesday May 16th and return to the city of the Lioness in the afternoon of Saturday May 19tth. To make Brescia, the City of 1000 Miglia, living an entire week dedicated to Freccia Rossa and related events, everything will be anticipated of one day compared to tradition, in order to have the “White Night” the day of the race arrival.
Four legs (from Brescia to Cervia-Milano Marittima, from Cervia-Milano Marittima to Rome, from Rome to Parma and from Parma to Brescia) will cover 1,700 kilometers of Italian roads characterized by evocative and artistic landscapes, with the involvement of 450 vintage cars of extraordinary historical, technical and sporting value, belonging to 72 different car companies.
The classic route to Rome and back will end in Brescia on Saturday 19 May with stages in Cervia-Milano Marittima, Rome and Parma.
Four days of travelling through the most beautiful places of Italy: passing through the traditional places of the race and long-awaited returns.
Ninety-one years after the first of the twenty-four speed editions, held from 1927 to 1957, and three with the rally formula from 1959 to 1961, Wednesday 16 May 2018 will be the starting of the thirty-sixth re-enactment of Mille Miglia, which will be the 63rd automotive competition under the sign of the Freccia Rossa (Red Arrow).
The date, as per tradition, is one-week before the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix.
Respecting the tradition which dates back to 1927, the route will start and end in Brescia, travelling through half of Italy before and after the turning point in Rome.
Every year, the route undergoes modifications in order to take the Mille Miglia to the places it has not passed through for some years: in 2018, continuing with the same philosophy, some changes were made to the route.
As in 2017, the Mille Miglia will be held in four stages over as many days but there is an important novelty in 2018. The race – instead of on Thursday – will start a day earlier, on Wednesday 16 May and will return to Viale Venezia on Saturday afternoon, 19 May. Shortly thereafter, on the stage of Piazza della Loggia, the prize giving ceremony will start the long Night of the Mille Miglia.
The first leg, starting in the early afternoon of Wednesday, 16 May, after the passage to Desenzano and Sirmione, to the Parco Sigurtà di Valeggio Sul Mincio and to Mantova, Ferrara and Comacchio, will end in Cervia-Milano Marittima.
The next day, on Thursday, 17 May, after the passage to Pesaro and the Republic of San Marino and crossing through magnificent places such as Arezzo, Cortona and Orvieto, the second leg will bring the competitors to Rome, for the usual night parade in the “Urbe”, so appreciated by competitors and the public.
On Friday 18, the route from the capital city will remain virtually unchanged until Siena.
Among the novelties of the 2018 edition, there will be the passage to Lucca and along Versilia. After the restoration of the ancient road, the Mille Miglia will finally be able to travel through a section of the route of the 1949 edition, between Sarzana and Passo della Cisa.
Including the re-enactment editions, 1949 was the only year in which the Freccia Rossa crossed over the CISA: 2018 will mark the return after a 59-year wait.
The third leg will end once again in Parma, which in previous years has always given an enthusiastic welcome to the Freccia Rossa: from here, on Saturday morning, the convoy will return to Brescia.
Going towards the finish line, the long Freccia Rossa convoy will cross Lodi and continue north. Taking note of the huge appreciation of both the crews and the vast audience, the Mille Miglia will return to run some trials inside the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza to then proceed through Bergamo and Franciacorta, in order to continue with the promotion of the Brescia’s province, which began with the Garda area two days previously.
1000 MIGLIA IS EVERYDAY MORE INTERNATIONAL
The 725 crews registered to the race come from 44 different countries allover the world. The applications coming from Italy represents 28 % of the total.
Applications come from 44 countries while the crews accepted come from 36 countries around the world.
Italy keeps on being the most represented country with 405 applications and 254 crews accepted, that rappresents 28% of the total.
Netherlands confirmed its second place, with 199 applications and 127 accepted, followed by Germany (147 applications, 74 accepted) and the United Kingdom (109 applications, 62 accepted).
The participation of Belgium (85 requests, 54 accepted), United States of America (71 requests, 51 accepted) and of Japan (29 requests, 26 accepted) are growing year over year.
The most represented car company is Alfa Romeo with 47 cars, followed by Fiat with 42, Jaguar with 34 and Mercedes-Benz with 33.
For the fifth consecutive 10 cars belonging to the Military category will be attending, led by representatives of the Armed Forces.
The race, symbol of Italian excellence in the world, able to combine tradition and innovation, sportiness and elegance, internationality and Italian lifestyle, will once again be the prologue of two collateral events reserved for 130 modern cars: the Ferrari Tribute to 1000 Miglia and the Mercedes Benz 1000 Miglia Challenge.
1000 Miglia
“the most beautiful race in the world”.
