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The world’s most beautiful race to start on 6 May |
Brescia, 3 November 2009 – Eighty-two years after it began, the Mille Miglia
continues to grow. After the extraordinary success of this year’s event (which
attracted four million spectators along its route, a result in the balance right up to
the end, press coverage throughout the world) the 2010 race officially started
today with the opening of the entry list. A Mille Miglia rich in new initiatives
that were presented this morning in a press conference at Brescia.
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“The Red Arrow”, said the President of the Organising Committee Alessandro Casali,
“is conquering the hearts of the Italians and of the world. And that is what we
want; that this marvellous race, which is true to its traditions, is recognised and
loved everywhere for what it is: a unique event for its fascination and beauty, a
symbol of its territory, of motor racing, of Italy”. .
As well as by Alessandro Casali, the race was presented by the Director of the
Automobile Club of Brescia Giorgio Ungaretti, the Secretary General of the
Organising Committee Sandro Binelli and the Vice-President Paolo Binelli, the
Councillor for Commerce, Fairs and Markets of the Lombardy Region Franco Nicoli
Cristiani, the President of the Brescia Chamber of Commerce Francesco Bettoni
and the Mayor of Brescia Adriano Paroli. .
First of all, the dates. The 2010 Mille Miglia will take place from 6 – 9 May.
But the entry list opens today and will close on 20 December. As always, 375 cars
will be able to compete in the race, and they will be selected using extremely rigid
criteria to protect the traditions and characteristics of the Mille Miglia. .
The route includes various new developments, such as the passage at Sirmione,
Casal Maggiore and Manerbio and a return to the past with a lunch break at Urbino
and Buonconvento, but also a passage through the picturesque Umbrian town of
Spoleto. But the most important news is that the Red Arrow will cross Bologna. .
“After the splendid Ferrara”, Paolo Binelli explained, “this year Bologna will be the
city of the first stage”. Why Bologna? “Because it is one of the areas of the historic
Mille Miglia”, Binelli continued, “and we want to involve it, also alternating with all
the cities of the 1927-1957 race, making the links between the Mille Miglia and the
territory of its route grow further”. .
A route over which the 375 selected cars will challenge each other in a motor sport
event that will be among the most exciting in the world. But this year, the
fascination of the race will be even greater due to a completely new development.
Over 100 Ferraris built between 1958 and today will precede the actual
race by 30 minutes. “It will be an event never seen before”, affirmed Sandro
Binelli, “a spectacular tribute to the Mille Miglia and the enthusiasm for the cars,
which find their maximum expression in this very race”. .
Brescia, which a few days ago officially became the city of the Mille Miglia as a
result of a decision taken by the municipal authorities in agreement with the
Automobile Club of Brescia, will, as always, be the centre of the event. The 2010
Mille Miglia will begin with the grand gala of 18 December in honour of the Red
Arrow, following a tradition begun three years ago. This year, the protagonist of the
concert at the Teatro Grande will be one of the world’s greatest musicians:
Maestro Salvatore Accardo. .
To underline the profound association between the city and the race a number of
new ideas were introduced last year, such as the sleepless night of the Mille Miglia,
which attracted over 70,000 people to the square despite the rain. Will it also take
place for the 2010 event? “We want”, says the Organising Committee, “to repeat
and perhaps even exceed the success of last year and hope there will be all the
conditions in which to do so because, of course, the sleepless night does not
depend on us alone”. .
Certainly, sleepless night apart, the Mille Miglia is an extraordinary symbol of
Brescia and Italy in the world. “And we shall always want it to be even more so”,
Casali underlined, “because having increased the awareness and enthusiasm for
this race has meant the Mille Miglia has become a brand of Italian excellence, also
chosen as such by the Government and the ICE”, .
In fact, last Saturday was the penultimate stage of the 2009 Mille Miglia
Roadshow at Abu Dhabi in parallel with the Formula 1 Grand Prix there, in the
presence of Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. The Abu Dhabi event followed
others in Munich, New York, Moscow and Johannesburg, the latter at the time of
the Government mission of Minister Claudio Scajola. The Roadshow will conclude at
Sao Paolo, Brazil, on 10 October, where the Red Arrow will be the protagonist of
the important mission of Sistema Italia with the Minister of Economic Development,
the Foreign Minister, Confindustria and ABI. “They are important occasions”,
continued Casali, “of international promotion and visibility of the Brescia and
Lombardy territory and of everything that is made in Italy, but they are also a
vehicle to make the world love this race more deeply than ever”. .
The Photographic Book of the 2009 Mille Miglia was also presented to the
press conference, an elegant volume of photographs, images and text that recounts
the 2009 event in all its details.
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