Mille Miglia 2011 : Dernière ligne droite
We left Rome at full pelt to get back to Brescia and finish the traditional Mille Miglia circuit.
While I was driving en route to Spoleto, several drivers made a sign pointing their fingers to their temples. My instinctive response was to congratulate them on the spectacular noise of their car.
I finally realised that I should in fact turn on my car radio to listen to the news: two participants lost control of their vehicle… A moment of enormous anxiety, before learning that they were only slightly injured.
Italian hospitality
I also learnt why drivers were suffering from dehydration less than I was.
Italian restaurateurs, apparently all very enthusiastic about the Mille Miglia, were running behind the cars offering them a plate of ‘pasta’, a slice of ‘pizza’ or a fresh ‘panino’. To be completely honest, they were running mainly behind Ferraris!!
Forget the rules of the road
The home straight offered the opportunity for certain teams to improve their times, making the most of “exceptions”.
To put it simply, red lights, radars and white lines were ignored. Basta, we’ve got to finish the course!
Maranello Checkpoint
One of the last and most emblematic checkpoints on the course is at Maranello, where drivers were the given the chance to drive around the famous circuit there.
La ligne d’arrivée est en vue
I surprisingly listened to the Italian Makina to distract myself from fatigue, as we raced through the final kilometres in the rain. We were approaching Bologne!
Euphoria finally kicked in under the noise of spectators’ applause, the never-ending sound of drivers tooting their horns and the blinding light of the finish line.
I hardly realised that I had just completed the Mille Miglia and nearly 1700km in three days.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to all the drivers who crossed the finish line! It is without a doubt the most beautiful race in the world!
Thanks to the Chopard team
Thank you to all the Chopard team for having allowed me to participate in this fantastic venture! One of their members probably saved my life by guiding me back to the hotel. After 18 hours of driving that day, I was far from capable of getting my bearings.
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