GEOFF’S MILLE MIGLIA PART 1

TALK ABOUT FIRST-HAND COVERAGE! The R&T author wrote in January 1950, “Six weeks before the race my father, Donald Healey, decided that two Healey cars should run in the Mille Miglia: the old roadster which finished 9th last year and his Monte Carlo saloon.” This, from son Geoff who would co-drive the roadster with fellow Brit Tommy Wisdom. Here, in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow, are quoted excerpts “As Seen From the Driver’s Seat,” together with tidbits about this Italian classic. 

The Classic’s History. As described in Wikipedia, “The race was established [in 1927] by the young Counts Aymo Maggi and Franco Mazzotti, sports manager Renzo Castagneto and motoring journalist Giovanni Canestrini, apparently in response to the Italian Grand Prix being moved from their home town of Brescia to Monza. Together with a group of wealthy associates, they chose a race from Brescia to Rome and back, a figure-eight shaped course of roughly 1500 km—or a thousand Roman miles.” All but the 1940 running followed similar Brescia-Rome-Brescia patterns. 

The 1949 Mille Miglia was its 16th running, with 367 entries from Fiat 500s to Ferrari 166 MM sports racers—as well as the Healey 2400 Westland Roadster and 2400 Elliot Saloon. 

Getting Ready, Getting There. Geoff described race preparations back home: “The cars were checked over, an extra horn fitted for the use of the passenger, and a 500 mile test-run completed. Racing Dunlop tyres were fitted and balanced, and we left England seven days before the start of the race.”

Above, R&T’s summary of Healey products in 1950. Below, amplification of the Sportsmobile. Images from R&T, February 1950 and December 1949, respectively. 

Nothing as fancy as race-car transporters: “We drove across Europe and arrived in Italy two days later, ready for this great international road race. We fueled with the 72 octane fuel permitted for the race [U.S. average octane was 88 that year] and tried the cars on the Autostrada. The Lodge plugs functioned perfectly and we obtained our desired maximum.”

Top Accommodations: “We were welcomed by Count Maggi, one of the founders and organizers of the race, who very generously accommodated us and placed his garage at our disposal. We experienced good Italian food, sunshine, and hospitality. The team was on top of the world!” 

Years later on a Pirelli trip, our group also dined at the Maggi estate with similar enthusiasm. 

An Early Start (for Everyone). “It was early to bed on Saturday after a light meal,” Geoff said, “for we had to rise at 2 a.m. We drove the 15 miles to the start warming the engines and transmissions, and accustoming our eyes to the darkness.”

This 1948 Healey Westland Roadster is a sibling of Geoff’s 1949 Mille Miglia entry. Image from PostWarClassic.com.

“The cars started at one minute intervals; we were number 335 which meant that we left at 3:35 a.m. Even at that early hour, great crowds waited in the cold…. What a grand sight for this Italian crowd: cars at minute intervals speeding away in the darkness with snarling exhausts.”  

“There were crowds at every bend, lying on straw and with bonfires blazing, cheering us on to greater speeds…. Twenty miles flashed by when we struck fog and speed was down to 40 miles per hour. Quickly we caught two slower cars. The fog lifted and we sped through Parman [a typo? likely Parma], our first control.” 

The 1949 Mille Miglia route. Image from Sports Car Digest.

Follow the Expert, and Hope…. “The tricky La Cisa pass came up and Count Lurani, with his greater knowledge of the route, was ahead of us. We tailed him over the Cisa, letting him guide us, hoping he might blow up in trying to get away.”

Tomorrow in Part 2, Geoff continues his adventure. Cokes help; trains hinder. Does he beat Lurani? ds 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024