After the amazing number of registrations last year, the Mille Miglia confirms this positive trend for 2011. Over 1470 requests for admission, coming from all over the world.Over 1470 requests were made to enter the Mille Miglia 2011. “Registration has just closed, and it is with great pleasure that I confirm that the interest and the passion that the Mille Miglia has instilled among collectors throughout the world, during all these years, just continues to grow. It is a success upon which we, of the Organizing Committee, have built by adding the International Roadshows and continuous innovation that however always respects […]
After the amazing number of registrations last year, the Mille Miglia confirms this positive trend for 2011. Over 1470 requests for admission, coming from all over the world.
Over 1470 requests were made to enter the Mille Miglia 2011. “Registration has just closed, and it is with great pleasure that I confirm that the interest and the passion that the Mille Miglia has instilled among collectors throughout the world, during all these years, just continues to grow. It is a success upon which we, of the Organizing Committee, have built by adding the International Roadshows and continuous innovation that however always respects the traditions of the race. As a result, the Mille Miglia is seen by the world as even more of a symbol of Made in Italy excellence.” commented Alessandro Casali, President of the Organizing Committee of the Mille Miglia, upon the close of registration for “the world’s greatest road race”.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, also expressed his pride in the strong growth in registrations:
“It is very satisfying to learn that the requests for participation in the Mille Miglia—arriving from all over the world—have increased in such a visible way. This is also because the Mille Miglia has become such a great symbol of Italy, to the point where the Government on its missions has often emphasized it as a true icon of Made in Italy. This is another reason why, together with the Organizing Committee, we are planning on inviting several high government officials from foreign countries to take part in the next race. This is yet another way to get people to know and appreciate yet more our splendid country, its history, its landscapes, and it capabilities.”
One of the exciting new features of this year’s race is the first Mille Miglia Auction (May 11, 2011) organized by the German auction house, Lankes Auktionshaus e.K. For the next two years, on the eve of the race, collectors, participants, and appassionati can gather at the Brescia trade fairgrounds, the Fiera di Brescia, to take part in the auctioning off of 20 prestigious classic cars and valuable automobile-related items.
“It fills us with enthusiasm to see that this year as well, the legendary Mille Miglia has attracted such a great number of registrations—almost 1500 requests, of which more than 400 are from foreign countries including Mexico, Australia, South Africa, Japan, and Argentina,” said Sandro Binelli, the General Secretary of the Mille Miglia Organizing Committee. “The high level of foreign participation shows great promise for the Tributes to the Mille Miglia in the rest of the world. The first of these, planned for August 2011, will be held in the United States to promote the tradition of the Mille Miglia on the other side of the Atlantic.”
The Tribute in the United States is one of the new features of this year’s race. It will bring out the emotions of the race through a picturesque route designed to cross the most characteristic of West Coast landscapes. The event will be open to cars that have a particular historic value—built between 1927 and 1957—giving preference, of course, to those cars that have actually raced in the Mille Miglia races of the past. The company in charge of organization, Stratus Media Group Inc., has the sole official sub-license for the Mille Miglia trademark for events organized in the United States of America until June 2012.
Another one of last year’s great successes, the Ferrari Tribute to the Mille Miglia, will return this year with 130 splendid Ferraris—both of the past and of the present—which will parade in front of the cars in the race.
Other popular initiatives having the scope of showing the valuable characteristics of the Mille Miglia territory will be on offer again in the 2011 race. In particular, the Notte Bianca della Mille Miglia (the night the sun does not set on the Mille Miglia) is planned for May 7. The last Notte Bianca, on April 30, 2010, saw almost 100,000 people present from all over northern Italy.
And this year’s Mille Miglia will also have its International Roadshow, which takes Brescia and Italy to five world capitals. In the last three years, this initiative has seen the public interest in this unique Brescian competition grow throughout the world, emphasizing the excellences that have tied their names to that of the Mille Miglia.