Americans At The 2013 Mille Miglia

What has been described as the world most beautiful race, the Mille Miglia was recently held in Brescia, Italy.  The race/rally took place from May 16 to May 19, 2013.

Route of the 2013 Mille Miglia Race/Rally

The Mille Miglia is a very hard event to enter.  Each year they have so many entrants that only a fraction of the people who enter the event actually are selected to compete in the event.  The selection criteria used are mainly based on the car that is proposed to be entered (basically a car that either was or could have been entered in the original Mille Miglia which was held between 1927 and 1957), who you are, and/or who you know.

I think that the best way to have your entry accepted, assuming that you are not famous, would be to enter an O.M. car.  O.M. cars (Officine Meccaniche of Brescia) are honored in the Mille Miglia as the race/rally has always been based in Brescia and the O.M. cars are “home town” cars as they were built in Brescia.  Further, in the first Mille Miglia race in 1927, O.M. cars finished first, second, and third.  In the modern version of the Mille Miglia O.M. cars are the first cars on the road.

For the 2013 running of the Mille Miglia, for some reason, 415 cars were allowed to start the Mille Miglia instead of the usual 375 car limit.  Of the 415 entries, 30 entries had at least one American as part of the in-car crew.  This shows high American interest in this event, as most European rallies only have a few American entrants.

The Overall winners of the Mille Miglia this year was a team from Argentina, Juan Tonconogy/Guillermo Franci Berisso, driving a 1927 Bugatti Type 40.  Argentina has a rally based on the Mille Miglia, the Mille Pas, so this team from Argentina might be very well versed in how to compete in the Mille Miglia.

This Argentina-Entered Bugatti Type 40 Won The 2013 Mille Miglia

The final results of the 2013 Mille Miglia can be seen at the following address:

http://www.1000miglia.it/crono/CIAA367.HTM 

Among the Bugattis, the Alfa Romeos, the Ferraris, and yes, the O.M. cars, the car that finished fourth overall was a 1933 Ford Model B!  The Ford Model B is a largely forgotten car.  In 1932 Ford replaced the Model A with a completely new design which featured the new Ford “flathead” V8 engine.  However, Ford still had a large number of 4-cylinder engines left over from the production of the Model A.  As a result, a few of the 1932 and 1933 Fords did not have the V8 engine, they had a 4-cylinder Model A engine.  These 4-cylinder cars were known as the Model B. 

This 1933 Ford Model B Finished Fourth Overall In The 2013 Mille Miglia

I note that the front grille of the Ford car above has a V8 symbol at the center top.  If this car is a true Model B, as shown on the official standings, then this car would not have a V8 engine, if the original engine was still in the car.  Possibly, at some point in the past, the original 4-cylinder engine was removed and replaced with the V8 engine that was widely available in the Ford line-up that year, but the owner still refers to the car as a Model B, it original designation.

Of the 415 cars that started the 2013 Mille Miglia 409 cars finished the rally.  Unfortunately one of the cars that did not finish was the American team of Wayne and Andrew Golumb in their 1954 Ferrari 375 MM.

This Mercedes-Benz 300SL Crewed by the American Team of Alterman/Day Finished in 304th Position

I have prepared the following table of the results of all of the American entrants in the 2013 Mille Miglia.  The results that I have tabulated below included all of the cars that had at least one American in the car.

2013 Mille Miglia Results For The American Teams

Finishing
Position	Driver	Navigator	Car
88	Douglas Hampson	John Hampson	1933 MG K3 Magnette
149	Spencer Croul	Thomas Rofles	1955 Fiat 8V
168	Thomas Smith	Donald James Polak	1954 SIATA 1100 TV Coupe
177	Stanford Horn	Jeremy Horn	1952 Alfa Romeo 1900
179	Massimo Finco	Robert Krause	1956 Lancia Aurelia B20
182	John Harold Barrett	Charles Andrew Beam	1953 Fiat 1100
204	Roger Penske	Mario Illien	1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL
212	David Eichenbaum	Jonathon Elliot	1929 Chrysler 75
237	Jeff Lotman	Brian Grozier	1954 Lincoln Capri
240	Robert S. Fallon	Jamers Hoeffner	1949 Lancia Aprilia
258	Martin Mercorelli	Charles Schoendorf	1955 Ford Thunderbird
263	Franz Wittner	Thomas J. Miller	1956 Aston Martin DB 2/4
272	Martin Gruss	Michel Bragard	1956 Ferrari 250 GT LWB
275	Don Rose	Ariel Bertschi Cristian	1957 Aston Martin DB 2/4
278	Leo Schigiel	Erich Schigiel	1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk
279	Ananda Mich Covindassamy	Guy Fidele Pasquini	1953 OSCA MT4-2AD 1450
280	Alan Tribe	Craig Davis	1954 Maserati A6 GCS/53
287	Diego Ribadeneira	Barry Lundgren	1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce
289	Adam Gordon	Kristina O’Neal	1952 Ermini 1100 Sport
304	Eddie Alterman	Geoffrey Harold Day	1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL
309	Steven Adler	Jakob Greisen	1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport
326	Bernhard Maier	Randy Lawrence Webster	1955 Porsche 550 Spyder 1500 RS
344	Najeeb Khan	John Braslow	1952 Ferrari 225 S
355	Richard Lisman	Clive Doyle	1929 O.M. 665 SS MM
361	Maurizio Cerasoli	Larry McLaughlin	1954 Austin Healey 100M
370	Jack E. Thomas	David Prange Oetting	1956 Ferrari 250 GT
384	Peter Fodor	Peter Wiesner	1949 Maserati A6 1500
387	Peter Carlino	Robert Kauffman	1950 Ferrari 166 Touring Coupe
402	Jean Jennings	Stephen Cannon	1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL
DNF	Wayne Golumb	Anfrew Thomas Golumb	1954 Ferrari 375 MM

I noticed that well-known former race driver and current multi-race team owner, Roger Penske, competed in the 2013 Mille Miglia.  I know that Penske has competed in the Mille Miglia at least once before, a couple of years ago.

Roger Penske At The 2013 Mille Miglia

All of the people who are able to take part in the Mille Miglia are among the most privileged motor sports people in the world.  To have an appropriate car and to be selected to compete in the Mille Miglia is a true honor.  Unfortunately for most of us, taking part in the Mille Miglia is only a dream.