 When I talk about the Mille Miglia, I feel quite moved, for
it played such a big part in my life. I knew it as a driver, a team director and a
constructor ... and was always an admirer of its champions. In fact, the Mille Miglia not
only provided enormous technical advances during its three decades, it really did breed
champions.
I was present at every one of the twenty-four
Mille Miglias that were run and was numbed by the tragic accident in 1957 when the
marchese de Portago was killed driving one of my cars, causing the race to be banned.
 In my opinion, the Mille Miglia was an
epoch-making event, which told a wonderful story. The Mille Miglia created our cars and
the Italian automobile industry. The Mille Miglia permitted the birth of GT, or grand
touring cars, which are now sold all over the world. The Mille Miglia proved that by
racing over open roads for 1,000 miles, there were great technical lessons to be learned
by the petrol and oil companies and by brake, clutch, transmission, electrical and
lighting component manufacturers, fully justifying the old adage that motor racing
improves the breed.
COMMENDATORE ENZO FERRARI |
