PRESENTED YESTERDAY IN MILAN, MAY 4 2018, THE PASSAGE OF THE “FRECCIA ROSSA”.
Presented in Milan yesterday, the passage of the 1000 Miglia in the heart of the city of design and fashion will be the first time that the race will cross the heart of Milan, in homage to the place where it was conceived.
In the early twenties, in full futuristic climate, Franco Mazzotti, Aymo Maggi and Renzo Castagneto (the three Brescians among the future founders), competing with their cars in speed with the train, went every week to Milan, to the Biffi in Galleria, the lair of motoring enthusiasts such as Borzacchini, Brilli Peri, Danese, Nuvolari and Varzi.
Here they met the ‘fourth musketeer’ Giovanni Canestrini, journalist responsible for engines for the Gazzetta dello Sport. The four friends, right in the Gallery, decided to <>.
At those meetings followed the appointment at Canestrini’s home, in Milan in via Bonaventura Cavalieri, where on December 2, 1926, it was decided to organize a race from Brescia to Rome and back.
The legend of the Red Arrow had started.
The hypothesized path measured 1600 km and Franco Mazzotti said ‘That is a thousand miles; So why not the 1000 Miglia Cup? ‘
Less than four months later, on March 26, 1927, a car built in Milan, the Isotta Fraschini led by Aymo Maggi and Bindo Maserati, was the first to start from Viale Venezia in Brescia to Rome.
The route of the 1000 Miglia, however, did not provide for the passage in the Lombard capital. It was only in 1947 that the race passed for the first time in the Milan area. During the war period, the bridges over the Po river had been destroyed and, in 1947, not yet completely rebuilt. On their return from Rome, to avoid the risk of passing on temporary bridges or boats, the organizers were forced to divert the race to Turin, where the only ponto was able to safely handle the passage of eighty-eight racing cars. For this reason, both in 1947 and in 1948, the 1000 Miglia passed into the province of Milan on its return to Brescia, but did not enter the city.
For years, however, the Freccia Rossa meditated a tribute to the place where the heart of Milan was conceived.
This year, this novelty – as much awaited as rich in prestige – will characterize the thirty sixth reenactment of the speed race disputed between 1927 and 1957. The 1000 Miglia has never brought under the Madonnina what Enzo Ferrari defined as a ‘traveling museum unique in the world’, with its heritage of art, design, history and technology it will do for the first time in the 2018 edition.
The passage of the Freccia Rossa in the historic center of the Lombard metropolis, which will take place on Saturday morning 19 May, during the last Parma-Brescia stage, will be crowned by the CO., Control of the Stamp, in Piazza del Duomo, in a fascinating setting and full of history. The short stop will allow the Milanese public to admire closely some masterpieces of the history of motoring.
The vehicles will then head towards Arese and the renovated Alfa Romeo Historical Museum, also known as ‘the time machine’, where some timed tests will be played on the small circuit of the former Biscione factory. This will be a tribute, ninety years later, to the victory of Campari and Ramponi in 1928, with the Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 SS.
The race track includes the transition to the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, before running out on the platform of Viale Venezia in Brescia, the city from which, as tradition, ‘the most beautiful race in the world’ will start on Wednesday 16 May.
