mille miglia 1939

I need your help for a doubt about the Mille Miglia 1939.
Was the race stopped? Or not organized?

I had some font that said the race was stopped after a terrible accident near Bologna, other font that said Consalvo Sanesi was classified first on an Alfa Romeo.



I know that in 1940 Aymo Maggi organized a race around Brescia (more more short than others Mille Miglia!) named "Coppa di Brescia" or "Circuito di Brescia", and that Bmw 328 Touring won this race with Huschke von Hanstein-Walter Baumer.
Only after some year this race was named "Mille Miglia 1940".

But the 1939 Mille Miglia?

Thanks!

The 1939 Mille Miglia were won by Sanesi/Boratto on Alfa Romeo.

A terrible crash was held in Bologna, a driver of Lancia went out of control and ten persons died.

Thanks, Heros. But these are the same informations I had: if the accident happened in Bologna, they stopped the race at the same time (and Sanesi, first at the moment, was named winner), OR they continued to race until Brescia, and Sanesi won the race at the end.

The Mille Miglia circuit was about 1600 km, Brescia-Bologna-Roma-Firenze-Bologna-Brescia.
From Brescia to Bologna there are about 250 km: did the accident happen at first or at second stage in Bologna?

Hi guys,

to my knowledge in March 1939 the "Mille Miglia Africana" was held.
It was a "just under" 1000 mile race from Tobruk to Tripoli.

Winners were Boratto/Sanesi in an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500SS Corsa.

So the accident in Bologna must have been in another year, or at anther event.

Last weekend I was very greatful to find the interview of Doug Nye with Consalvo Sanesi!

There Sanesi tells the story how he became driver, that was just in this race!
He has been mechanic and test-driver before.
While picking up Jano at Tripoli, Sanesi was told that one of the sceduled drivers could not take part, and that he had to replace him.
So Sanesi started in his first race, he was put together with Ercole Boratto (I found different spellings of his name).

The race came to them and they took the win.
Boratto recieved all the credits, because he was Mussolini's chauffeur and Sanesi wasn't even mentioned.
Just on the cover of the 1939 Auto Italiana, you see them both in their car.

Thanks again to Doug, the fact that the interview is from 1986 doesn't matter at all, it's so vivid and refreshing that it's still pure joy to read

Ciao Carlo

Thanks Carlo!
You light my mind!

Finally I found the story!
http://www.millemigl...v_ita/5_3_1.htm

The accident in Bologna happened during the 1938 race: a Lancia Aprilia went off the road in the centre of Bologna and 10 spectators were killed! The race arrived to Bologna at the end of the big lap into Italy, because at the beginning of the race from Brescia to Roma they passed by Ferrara and Ravenna, not by Bologna.
After the accident the Automobile Club of Italy stopped ALL THE RACES in Italy, and the Italian Government prohibided for ever the races in city-roads. So the organisators (Aymo Maggi, Castagneto and friends) had the idea to transfer the race in AFrica (the 1939 Mille Miglia Africana, as Carlo said on Tobruk-Tripoli circuit.
For the 1940 race they organized (without Maggi, that refused to partecipate) the "Gran Premio di Brescia della Mille Miglia", in a short triangle circuit about Brescia-Cremona-Mantova, 165 km for 9 laps = 1485 km.

ahh, that makes sense ;)

Btw, during this time Libya was Italian protectorate.
So they could avoid the race-prohibition that was valid only in Italy this year.

Ciao Carlo

Originally posted by Nanni Dietrich
For the 1940 race they organized (without Maggi, that refused to partecipate) the "Gran Premio di Brescia della Mille Miglia", in a short triangle circuit about Brescia-Cremona-Mantova, 165 km for 9 laps = 1485 km.

Mille Miglia 1940 was raced on this triangle circuit (click to open page on my site with more details and a couple of photos) :


Ciao,
Guido