1955 Mille Miglia

The 22. edizione Mille Miglia was a motor race held on a 992.332 mile (1597 km) course made up entirely of public roads around Italy, mostly on the outer parts of the country on April 30-May 1, 1955. The route was based on a round trip between Brescia and Rome, with start/finish, in Brescia. It was the 3rd round of the 1955 World Sportscar Championship and for the Coppa Franco Mazzotti.^[1]

As in previous years, the event this not strictly a race against each other, this is race against the clock, as the cars are released at one-minute intervals with the larger professional class cars going before the slower cars, in the Mille Miglia, however the smaller displacement slower cars started first. Each car number related to their allocated start time. For example, Luigi Musso’s car had the number 651, he left Brescia at 6:51am, while the first cars had started late in the evening on the previous day. Some drivers went with navigators, others didn't; a number of local Italian drivers had knowledge of the routes being used and felt confident enough that they wouldn't need one.^[1]

This race was won by Mercedes-Benz factory driver Stirling Moss with the aid of his navigator Denis Jenkinson. They completed the 992-mile distance in 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds- an average speed of 99 mph (160 km/h). The two Englishmen finished 32 minutes in front of their second-placed teammate, Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio.

Report

Entry

A total of 661 cars were entered for the event, across 12 classes based on engine sizes, ranging from up to 750cc to over 2.0-litre, for Grand Touring Cars, Touring Cars and Sport Cars. Of these, 534 cars started the event.^[1]

For this year's Mille Miglia, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati and Aston Martin all came to Brescia wanting to win. Scuderia Ferrari brought cars for Umberto Maglioli, Sergio Sighinolfi, Paolo Marzotto and Piero Taruffi, Aston Martin had a DB3S for Peter Collins and DB2/4s for Paul Frère and Tommy Wisdom; and Maserati only had one 300S for Cesare Perdisa. Daimler Benz AG, who were making their Championship debut in this event, had probably the strongest line-up: Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Hans Herrmann and Karl Kling in their Mercedes-Benz 300 SLRs. Lancia decided to put all their efforts into Grand Prix and did not attend the race.^[2][3]

Race

Moss and Jenkinson were the favourites to win although they had no knowledge of the local roads being used despite this being Moss’s fifth attempt at the Mille Miglia, but Moss was relying entirely on Jenkinson's innovative pace notes (now used ubiquitously in modern rallying) that they spent months accumulating.

Initially, the Mercedes duo didn’t have everything their own way, Eugenio Castellotti simply streaked away from the field in his privately entered Ferrari 121 LM. With its massively powerful 4.4-litre engine, he had sufficient speed to do the job, but he was trying the extract more than the car had to offer. By the time the fastest cars reached the town of Ravenna on the Adriatic Sea, he was two minutes ahead of Moss/Jenkinson, but Castellotti was driving like a madman as he slid his Ferrari through the corners, his tyres leaving large black streaks on the road and enveloping itself in a cloud of dust. However, as the cars streaked down the coastline towards Pescara, Castellotti had simply been pushing too hard, and he ended up breaking his Ferrari. His team-mate, Marzotto had a promising start but disaster struck when a tyre threw a tread as he was traveling at 174 mph. He was able to keep the car on the road but as he stopped to grab the spare, he noticed that it was a different size from the others, so he was forced into retirement.^[3][4]

Moss surged into the lead as the fastest Ferrari expired, but still there was opposition to be dealt with – this time from the Scuderia Ferrari driver, Piero Taruffi. Taruffi had averaged a stunning 130 mph on the sprint down to Pescara, leaving all previous Mille Miglia records shattered in the dust of his 118 LM. But only a wafer-thin margin now separated the lead two cars as they refuelled, with Moss snatching the advantage thanks to a quicker stop. Fangio at this stage began to develop engine problems.^[4]

The next checkpoint was in the town of L’Aquila, and in order to get there, a 62.5 mile (100 km) route through the mountains had to be bypassed. By the time Moss and Jenkinson reached this town, they were leading by 35 seconds, followed by Herrmann, Taruffi, Fangio and Kling - All the Mercedes cars entered were running 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th.

By this time, Jenkinson’s map-rolling device was paying off well. Moss’s supreme confidence in his co-driver allowed him so slam over blind brows in absolute confidence at around 170 mph, on occasion the Mercedes actually flying for about 200 feet before crashing back on the tarmac. In that 28 second stop at Pescara, the 300SLR was quickly topped with 18 gallons of fuel, sufficient to reach its main stop in Rome.^[4]

Moss’s winning Mercedes-Benz 300SLR in the Mercedes-Benz Museum

The next checkpoint was the Italian capital of Rome, which was the halfway point. Moss had taken 1 hour and 6 minutes to reach Rome from L’Aguila and he had extended his lead to 1 minute and 15 seconds over Taruffi. Kling crashed just outside the city and was out. His Mercedes was up against a tree, as he crashed avoiding some spectators. Luckily he only suffered some broken ribs. Meanwhile, Fangio was still struggling with engine problems; his complaints were ignored by Mercedes pit personnel in Rome. But there was no time for Moss buckled down to tackle the most challenging and demanding section of the route. In the back of his mind all the time was a fierce desire to disprove one of the old legends – ‘He who leads at Rome never finishes’.^[3][4]

The mountainous 140 mile (227 km) route from Rome to the next time control in Siena began a rate of attrition. Perdisa and Taruffi both retired, and by the time he reached Siena, Moss had pulled out his lead to 5 minutes and 40 seconds over Herrmann - he had pulled 1 minute and 36 seconds on Herrmann on this section alone. At this point, 690 mi (1,101 km) of distance had been covered in 6 hours, 51 minutes and 16 seconds by Moss and Jenkinson.

The next stage was from Siena to Florence, 44 mi (70 km) long. Moss had pulled out only 8 seconds over Herrmann, who was pushing hard. Fangio's engine began to make unhealthy noises, and when the mechanics checked the engine, one of the very advanced fuel injection pipes had broken; the engine in Fangio's car was running on 7 cylinders.

Fangio’s Mercedes-Benz 300SLR on the 2012 Mille Miglia

After Florence was Bologna, 65 miles (107 km) away, through the fearsome Futa Pass in Tuscany - one of the most difficult parts of this race. Bologna was nearby Modena, which was home to Ferrari and Maserati. Herrmann crashed on this stage and was out; Moss was at his best, out to shatter the one-hour bogey, and he was now 27 minutes and 38 seconds ahead of Fangio, and was fastest on this section, 4½ minutes ahead of Magiloli.^[4]

By the time Moss and Jenkinson had reached the town of Cremona, they had extended their lead over Fangio to 30 minutes. They were once again fastest over this 115 mile (185 km) stage.

Now Moss/Jenkinson were on the final stage from Cremona to Brescia, but there was no letting up as Moss would the Mercedes round to 170 mph for a glorious finale. Back at the finish, fêted by the Italian fans and surrounded by their team, the Englishmen discovered just how successful they had been. Although they had won the Mille Miglia, but had also left all records shattered in the wake of their victorious 300SLR. Into second place came Fangio driving alone in the only other 300SLR to finish albeit 32 minutes behind. Third was the Ferrari 118 LM of Umberto Maglioli/Gino Monetferrario and fourth Francesco Giardini’s 2-litre Maserati A6GCS. Moss and Jenkinson reached Brescia at 17:29; 10 hours and 7 minutes after they left Brescia at 07:22. Moss became the first and only Briton and one of the few non-Italians to win the Mille Miglia outright. As if that was not enough, Moss also won the Index of Performance, normally the preserve of the smaller capacity cars.^[3][4][5][6]

Classification

Official Results

Of the 521 starters, 281 were classified as finishers. Therefore, only a selection of notably racers has been listed below.

Class Winners are in Bold text.

Pos.	No.	Class	Driver	Navigator	Entrant	Car - Engine	Time	Reason Out
1st	722	S+2.0	Stirling Moss	Denis Jenkinson	Daimler Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR	10hr 07:48
2nd	658	S+2.0	Juan Manuel Fangio		Daimler Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR	10hr 39:33
3rd	705	S+2.0	Umberto Maglioli	Luciano Monteferrario	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 118 LM Scaglieti	10hr 52:47
4th	621	S2.0	Francesco Giardini			Maserati A6GCS/53	11hr 15:32
5th	417	GT+1.3	John Fitch	Kurt Gesell		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	11hr 29:21
6th	724	S+2.0	Sergio Sighinolfi		Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 750 Monza	11hr 33:27
7th	428	GT+1.3	Olivier Gendebien	Jacques Washer		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	11hr 36:00
8th	541	S1.5	Wolfgang Seidel	Helmut Glöckler		Porsche 500 Spyder	12hr 08:17
9th	646	S2.0	Luigi Bellucci			Maserati A6 GCS	12hr 09:10
10th	445	GT1.1	Salvatore Casella			Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	12hr 55:08
11th	700	S+2.0	George Abecassis			Austin-Healey 100S	12hr 11:15
12th	631	S2.0	Siro Sbraci			Maserati A6GCS	12hr 24:31
13th	408	GT+1.3	Carlo Castelbarco	Angelo Savoretti		Fiat 8V Zagato	12hr 24:43
14th	542	S1.5	Luc Descollanges	Robert Nicol		Osca MT4 1500	12hr 29:56
15th	717	S+2.0	“Kammamuri”			Ferrari 250 Monza	12hr 40:42
16th	441	GT+1.3	Hermano da Silva Ramos	Jean-Charles Vidilles		Aston Martin DB2/4	12hr 43:50
17th	650	S2.0	Enrico Sterzi	Vittoriano Vigano		Maserati A6GCS	12hr 49:04
18th	411	GT+1.3	Carlo Croce			Lancia Aurelia	12hr 52:29
19th	451	GT+1.3	V. Vanini	Ivo Badaracco		Alfa Romeo 1900 SS Zagato	12hr 56:11
20th	647	S2.0	Luigi Olivari			Maserati A6GCS	12hr 57:31
21st	244	GT1.3	Richard von Frankenberg	Peter Oberndorf		Porsche 356 1300 Super	12hr 58:39
22nd	354	GT+1.3	Rainer Günzler			Porsche 356 1300 Super	12hr 58:46
23rd	548	S1.5	Ernst Lautenschlager	Rudi Scholl		Porsche 550 Spyder	12hr 59:52
24th	518	S1.1	Claude Bourillot			Osca MT4 1100	13hr 01:21
25th	238	GT1.3	Wolfgang von Trips			Porsche 356 1300 Super	13hr 02:55
26th	416	GT+1.3	Vladimiro Galluzzi	“Ippocampo”		Alfa Romeo 1900 SS Zagato	13hr 13:08
27th	720	S+2.0	Enzo Pinzero		E. Pinzero	Ferrari 750 Monza	13hr 14:01
28th	334	T+1.3	Guido Cestelli-Guidi	Giuseppe Musso		Alfa Romeo 1900 TI	13hr 14:05
29th	638	S2.0	Pietro Pagliarini			Maserati A6GCS	13hr 14:07
30th	344	T+1.3	Giancarlo Sala	Manuel Vigliani		Alfa Romeo 1900 TI	13hr 14:57
33rd	533	S1.1	Arnaldo Colantoni	Raffaele Foglia		Osca MT4 1100	13hr 18:27
34th	532	S1.1	Luigi Nobile	Luigi Bettiol		Osca MT4 1100	13hr 18:38
35th	021	S750	Claude Storez			D.B. HBR Panhard	13hr 19:03
36th	708	S+2.0	Lance Macklin			Austin-Healey 100S	13hr 19:55
37th	501	GT+1.3	Salvatore Leto di Priolo	Massimo Leto di Priolo		Fiat 8V Zagato	13hr 21:36
46th	614	S2.0	Franco Cortese	Achille Stazzi		Fiat 8V Zagato	13hr 35:25
55th	118	T1.3	Ersilio Mandrini	Luigi Bertassi		Fiat 1100/103 TV	13hr 48:12
56th	243	GT1.3	Oscar Cabalén	Ottavio Guarducci		Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint	13hr 49:04
57th	554	S1.5	Gilberte Thirion	Nadège Ferrier	Thirion/Bousquet	Gordini T15S	13hr 52:18
59th	611	S2.0	Leslie Brooke	David Lampe		Triumph TR2	13hr 54:52
62nd	026	S750	Vincenzo Auricchio		Vincenzo Auricchio	Stanguellini 750 Sport	13hr 55:22
65th	041	S750	Louis Navarro			Panhard Dyna	13hr 58:01
67th	022	S750	Élie Bayol			D.B. HBR Panhard	13hr 58:45
74th	2254	TN1.1	Olinto Morolli			Fiat 1100/103	14hr 14:43
83rd	203	GT1.1	Ferrante Viola			Fiat 1100/103 TV	14hr 32:50
93rd	93	T750	Juillet Galtier	Maurice Michy		Renault 4CV Allemano	14hr 44:58
100th	325	T+1.3	Giovanna Maria Cornaggia Medici	Luigi Grassi		Alfa Romeo 1900 TI	14hr 50:42
108th	84	T750	Jean Rédélé	Louis Pons		Alpine-Renault A106 MM	15hr 01:43
201st	04	D	Helmut Retter	Wolfgang Larcher		Mercedes-Benz 180D	16hr 52:25
215th	09	D	Karl Reinhardt	Wulf Wsnewski		Mercedes-Benz 180D	17hr 12:14
273rd	2211	T750	Osvaldo Pieri	Luigi Villoresi		Fiat 600	20hr 51:18
DNF	045	S750	Jean Lucas			D. B. HBR Panhard		DNF
DNF	346	T+1.3	Jo Bonnier	B. Boscen		Alfa Romeo 1900 TI		DNF
DNF	418	GT+1.3	Paul Frére	Louis Klementas	Aston Martin Ltd	Aston Martin DB2/4		Clutch
DNF	436	GT+1.3	Tommy Wisdom	Peter Bolton		Aston Martin DB2/4		Clutch
DNF	615	S2.0	Giorgio Scarlatti			Maserati A6GCS	5hr 55:06	DNF
DNF	620	S2.0	Maria Teresa de Filippis			Maserati A6GCS	6hr 04:29	DNF
DNF	628	S2.0	Luigi Taramazzo			Ferrari 500 Mondial	5hr 52:07	DNF
DNF	651	S2.0	Luigi Musso			Maserait A6GCS	5hr 36:41	DNF
DNF	701	S+2.0	Karl Kling		Daimler Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR	5hr 13:20	Accident
DNF	702	S+2.0	Peter Collins		Aston Martin Ltd	Aston Martin DB3S		Con rod
DNF	704	S+2.0	Hans Herrmann	Hermann Eger	Daimler Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR	5hr 07:06	Accident
DNF	706	S+2.0	Luigi Piotti	Luigi Zannini		Ferrari 750 Monza		DNF
DNF	709	S+2.0	Ron Flockhart			Austin-Healey 100S		Accident
DNF	712	S+2.0	Donald Healey	Jim Cashmore		Austin-Healey 100S	8hr 43:27	DNF
DNF	714	S+2.0	Piero Carini			Ferrari 750 Monza		DNF
DNF	718	S+2.0	Piero Scotti			Ferrari 375 MM		DNF
DNF	718	S+2.0	Eugenio Castellotti		priv.	Ferrari 121 LM Scaglietti		Tyres
DNF	725	S+2.0	Paolo Marzotto		Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 118 LM Scaglietti		Tyres/accident
DNF	727	S+2.0	Cesare Perdisa		Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 300s Fantuzzi	5hr 19:01	DNF
DNF	728	S+2.0	Piero Taruffi		Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 118 LM Scaglietti	5hr 04:54	Oil

^[1][7][8]

Class Winners

^[1]

Standings after the race

Pos	Championship	Points
1	Ferrari	18
2	Maserati	11
3=	Jaguar	8
	Mercedes-Benz	8
5	Porsche	3

• Note: Only the top five positions are included in this set of standings.

Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 4 results out of the 6 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.

References

Further reading

• Anthony Pritchard. The Mille Miglia: The World’s Greatest Road Race. J H Haynes & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-1844251391
• Leonardo Acerbi. Mille Miglia Story 1927-1957. Giorgio Nada Editore. ISBN 978-8879115490