The 1954 Mille Miglia (officially XXI Mille Miglia [1]), was a motor race open to Sports Cars, GT cars and Touring Cars. It was the 21st Mille Miglia and the third race of the 1954 World Sportscar Championship. The race was held on the public roads of Italy on 2 May 1954 using a route based on a round trip between Brescia and Rome, with the start and finish in Brescia.[2] It was won by Alberto Ascari driving a Lancia D24.
As in previous year, the event is not strictly a race against each other, as is a race against the clock. The cars are released at one-minute intervals with the larger professional class cars going before the slower cars, in the Mille Miglia, however the smaller displacement slower cars started first. Each car number related to their allocated start time. For example, Giuseppe Farina’s car had the number 606, he left Brescia at 6:06am, while the first cars had started late in the evening on the previous day.[2]
The previous August, Italian racing legend Tazio Nuvolari died. As a mark of respect, the route of this race was changed to divert through Mantua, where he was a resident.[3]
A total of 483 cars were entered for the event, across nine classes based on engine sizes, ranging from up to 750cc to over 2.0 litre, for Grand Touring Cars, Touring Cars and Sport Cars. Of these, 378 cars started the event.[2]
Fresh from their loss in Florida at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Lancia entered in force with four newly revised D24 cars, these were piloted by Piero Taruffi, Alberto Ascari, Eugenio Castellotti and Gino Valenzano. The cars were modified by race car designer Vittorio Jano. These enhancements featured an enlarge version of their V6 engine, so that could produce 265 bhp.[3]
Ferrari for their part arrived with four 300 bhp 4.9 litre, Ferrari 375 Plus’s for Giuseppe Farina, Umberto Maglioli, Giannino Marzotto and his brother Paolo Marzotto. For 1954, the Mille Miglia was a round of the World Sports Car Championship; the home teams faced strong challengers. From Great Britain, came Aston Martin and Austin-Healey, and West Germany sent Porsches.[3] [4]
Also amongst the entry was the four-time winner, Clemente Biondetti, but by the time of the race, he was very sick man, fighting cancer, and only had a few months left to live.[3]
The race started at 21:01 on 1 May, when Domenico Stragliotto and Adolfo Montorio departed Brescia in their Iso Isetta. The faster cars would leave the following morning, when conditions were foggy mixed with little rain. After nine and half hours, all the cars were on their way to Rome.[2] [3] The Lancias took the early lead, with Taruffi's D24 controlling the pace, averaging 108.9 mph, on the opening stages into Ravenna, with a lead of 90 seconds, over Ascari and Castellotti. The Ferrari of Maglioli was back in fourth. On the run into Rome, the Lancia of Castellotti developed distributor problems, and was forced into retirement, moving Maglioli into third. Further trouble hit the Lancia of Taruffi, when his sprung an oil leak and he soon retired. Ascari had taken it easy in the early stages, now assumed the lead.[2] [3]
On the run back to Brescia, Ascari's Lancia suffered a throttle spring return failure, and this was temporarily replaced by a rubber band. This and other problems started to affect the Lancia and by the time Ascari reached Florence, he had enough and wanted to retire from the event. It was only after a long stop for repairs, he was persuaded to continue. By Bologna, all the top Scuderia Ferrari cars were out, and the path was clear for Ascari to win.[3]
For Ferrari, they had not lost a Mille Miglia since 1947, but this they were sounded thrashed by the team from Torino, with Ascari, winning in a time of 11hr 26:10mins., averaging a speed of 72.80 mph. 33:51mins adrift in second place was Ferrari 500 Mondial of Vittorio Marzotto, who salvaged some honour for Maranello marque with second place and a class win. The third different car on the podium was the Maserati of Musso. Another Ferrari came home in fourth, driven by Biondetti, in what was to be his last Mille Miglia; he was lifted exhausted from the car at the finish.[3] [5] [6] [7]
With the British attack failing to make it back to Brescia, it was left to the Germans to provide some opposition to the Italian teams. Encountering a lowered gate at a railway crossing, the Porsche driver, Hans Herrmann drove his low 550 Spyder under it, narrowly missing an express train. This daring act gave Porsche a first in class and an amazing sixth overall.[2] [8]
The event was marred by fatal accidents which killed 5 people and injured 13. Andre Pouschol and co-driver Gabriel Saisse were both killed and eight spectators injured when his Citroën 15 Six crashed into a signpost near Vicenza 75 miles into the race. The second accident saw navigator Silvio Dal Cin lose his life when his driver Ferdinando Mancini crashed his Maserati A6GCS after crossing the finish line. While other competitors were still arriving, Mancini left the course area at speed, waving hands and greeting the crowd. Shortly later, for unknown reasons Mancini lost control of the Maserati and crashed, passing in a long straight towards Ghedi, a neighbourhood of Brescia. During the crash Dal Cin was thrown out and received fatal skull fractures, and on top of this the crashing Maserati also hit an unnamed bystander and killed him instantly. Another accident involving a Renault 4CV of Jean Bianchi-Jean Sigrand at the village of Alfonsine near Ravenna. 15-year old spectator Settimio Caroli was killed and 2 other spectators injured after the Renault went off the road and crashed; Bianchi and Sigrand were both unhurt. There was a spectating woman who was also killed during the race in unknown circumstances.[9] [10] [11]
Of the 378 starters, 182 were classified as finishers. Therefore, only a selection of notably racers has been listed below.
Class Winners are in Bold text.
| Pos. | No. | Class | Driver(s) | Entrant | Car - Engine | Time | Reason Out | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 602 | S+2.0 |  Alberto Ascari | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D24 | 11hr 26:10 | ||
| 2nd | 523 | S2.0 | Vittorio Marzotto | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 500 Mondial | 12hr 00:01 | ||
| 3rd | 500 | S2.0 | Luigi Musso | Augusto Zocca | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati A6GCS/53 | 12hr 00:10 | |
| 4th | 601 | S+2.0 | Clemente Biondetti | Clemente Biondetti | Ferrari 250 MM Morelli Spider | 12hr 15:36 | ||
| 5th | 506 | S2.0 | Bruno Venezian | Massimo Orlandi | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati A6GCS | 12hr 27:43 | |
| 6th | 351 | S1.5 | Hans Herrmann | Herbert Linge | Porsche | Porsche 550 Spyder | 12hr 35:44 | |
| 7th | 440 | GT+1.5 | Gugliemo Serafini | Carlo Mancini | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia Aurelia B20 | 12hr 47:12 | |
| 8th | 326 | T+1.3 | Piero Carinin | A. Artesiani | Alfa Romeo 1900TI | 12hr 51:52 | ||
| 9th | 439 | GT+1.5 | Carlo Leto di Priolo | Salvatore Leto dr Prilol | Fiat 8V Zagato | 12hr 52.38 | ||
| 10th | 343 | S1.5 | Giulio Cabianca | O.S.C.A. MT4 1500 | 12hr 55:08 | |||
| 11th | 305 | T+1.3 | Mario Della Favera | R. Artusi | Alfa Romeo 1900TI | 12hr 56:10 | ||
| 12th | 428 | GT+1.5 | Paolo Petrobelli | Evelino Cremonesi | Lancia Aurelia B20 | 13hr 09:42 | ||
| 13th | 553 | S+2.0 | Ilfo Minzoni | Giovannu Brinci | Ferrari 212 Export | 13hr 10:34 | ||
| 14th | 516 | S2.0 | Franco Cortese | E. Perrucchini | Ferrari 500 Mondial | 13hr 12:38 | ||
| 15th | 512 | S2.0 | Enrico Sterzi | O. Rossi | Ferrari 500 Mondial Pinin Farina Spyder | 13hr 14:33 | ||
| 16th | 425 | GT+1.5 | Ferdinando Gatta | Giuseppe Azzini | Lancia Aurelia B20 | 13hr 16:06 | ||
| 17th | 430 | GT+1.5 | Franco Ribaldi | Romano Basili | Lancia Aurelia B20 | 13hr 19:49 | ||
| 18th | 416 | GT+1.5 | Pierpaolo Poillucci | Manilo Poillucci | Fiat 8V | 13hr 25.29 | ||
| 19th | 534 | S+2.0 | Innocente Baggio | E. Berni | Ferrari 250 MM Berlinetta | 13hr 31:38 | ||
| 20th | 524 | S2.0 | Luigi Oiotti | Bruno Cavallari | 13hr 31:52 | |||
| 21st | 411 | GT+1.5 |  Olivier Gendebien | Charles Fraikin | Olivier Gendebien | Jaguar XK120 | 13hr 34:03 | |
| 22nd | 312 | T+1.3 | Lino Franceschetti | Polo Meo | Alfa Romeo 1900TI | 13hr 38:12 | ||
| 23rd | 550 | S+2.0 |  Lance Macklin | Austin-Healey 100 | 13hr 38:34 | |||
| 24th | 433 | GT+1.5 | Eugenio Lubich | Luigi Villotti | Lancia Aurelia B20 | 13hr 40:39 | ||
| 25th | 444 | GT+1.5 | Piero Siena | Antonio Negri Bevilacqua | Lancia Aurelia B20 | 13hr 41:55 | ||
| 26th | 431 | S2.0 | Ottavio Randaccio | P. E. Serboli | Lancia Aurelia | 13hr 42:45 | ||
| 27th | 528 | S2.0 |  Maurice Gatsonides | W. Ken Richardson | Triumph TR2 | 13hr 52:31 | ||
| 28th | 317 | T+1.3 | Siro Sbraci | Giudizi | Alfa Romeo 1900TI | 13hr 53:12s. | ||
| 29th | 229 | GT1.5 | Richard von Frankenberg | Heinrich Sauter | Porsche | Porsche 356 1500 Super | 13hr 53:50 | |
| 30th | 331 | T+1.3 | Franco Marenghi | Franco Concari | Alfa Romeo 1900 TI | 14hr 00:53 | ||
| 33rd | 228 | GT1.5 | Walter Hampel | Wolfgang von Trips | Porsche | Porsche 356 1300 Super | 14hr 11:23 | |
| 34th | 219 | GT1.5 | Max Nathan | Helmut Glöckler | Porsche 356 1300 Super | 14hr 13:14 | ||
| 36th | 424 | GT+1.5 |  Michel Parsy | Georges Guyot | Jaguar XK120 | 14hr 17:00 | ||
| 41st | 156 | T1.3 | Ersilio Mandrini | M. Ferraris | Fiat 1100/103 TV | 14hr 34:35 | ||
| 52nd | 457 | S2.0 | Consalvo Sanesi | Giuseppe Cagna | Alfa Romeo 1900 TI | 14hr 46:06 | ||
| 55th | 349 | S1.5 | Gilberte Thirion | Annie Bousquet | Thirion/Bousquet | Gordini T15S | 14hr 49:47 | |
| 65th | 2320 | S750 | René Phillippe Faure | Claude Storez | DB HBR Panhard | 15hr 03:16 | ||
| 66th | 2206 | T750 | Jean Rédélé | Louis Pons | Renault 4CV | 15hr 04:33 | ||
| 86th | 028 | T1.3 | Roberto Lippi | V. Galenda | Fiat 1100/103 | 15hr 35:12 | ||
| 94th | 507 | S2.0 | Leslie Brooke | Jack Fairman | Triumph TR2 | 15hr 42:16 | ||
| 100th | 2137 | T750 | Marino Guarnieri | Danilo Brancalion | Renault 4CV | 15hr 53:41 | ||
| 159th | 2341 | S750 | Marino Brandoli | Johnny Claes | Marino-Fiat Coupe | 18hr 49:59 | ||
| 177th | 2101 | T750 | Domenico Stragliotto | Adolfo Montorio | Iso Isetta | 22hr 10:02 | ||
| DNF | 253 | T+1.3 | Andre Pouschol | F. Saisse | Fatal Accident | |||
| DNF | 409 | S1.5 | Nello Pagani | Giacomo Pagani | Stanguellini Bialbero | DNF | ||
| DNF | 519 | S2.0 | F. Mancini | S. Dal Cin | Maserati A6GCS | 6hr 31:38 | Fatal Accident – Dal Cin | |
| DNF | 526 | S+2.0 | Paolo Marzotto | Marino Marini | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 375 Plus | 5hr 45:57 | Accident |
| DNF | 538 | S+2.0 | Gianni Marzotto | Gioia Tortima | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 375 Plus | Driver illness | |
| DNF | 539 | S+2.0 | Reg Parnell | Louis Klemantaski | David Brown | Aston Martin DB3S | Accident | |
| DNF | 540 | S+2.0 | Eugenio Castellotti | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D24 | Distributor | ||
| DNF | 541 | S+2.0 | Gino Valenzano | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D24 | Accident | ||
| DNF | 545 | S+2.0 | Umberto Maglioli | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 375 Plus | 5hr 41:51 | Accident | |
| DNF | 546 | S+2.0 | Piero Scotti | Piero Scotti | Ferrari 375 MM | 6hr 12:53 | Accident | |
| DNF | 547 | S+2.0 | Piero Taruffi | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia D24 | 5hr 30:19 | Oil loss | |
| DNF | 548 | S+2.0 | Franco Bordoni | Cetti Sarbelloni | Franco Bordoni | Gordini T24S | Accident | |
| DNF | 549 | S+2.0 | Gerino Gerini | Luciano Donazzolo | Ferrari 250 MM | DNF | ||
| DNF | 558 | S+2.0 | Enrico Anselmi | Lancia Aurelia B20 | DNF | |||
| DNF | 551 | S+2.0 | Tommy Wisdom | Mortimer Morris-Goodall | Donald Healey | Austin-Healey 100 | 8hr 02:30 | DNF |
| DNF | 547 | S+2.0 | Louis Chiron | Donald Healey | Austin-Healey 100 | Brake Pipe | ||
| DNF | 606 | S+2.0 | Giuseppe Farina | Luigi Parenti | Ferrari 375 Plus | Accident | ||
| DNF | 609 | S+2.0 | Peter Collins | Pat Griffith | David Brown | Aston Martin DB3S | 6hr 08:45 | Accident |
| DNF | 613 | S+2.0 | George Abecassis | Denis Jenkinson | H. W. Motors | HWM Jaguar | Shock absorber | |
| DNF | 2215 | T750 | Robert Manzon | Maurice Foulgoc | Renault 4CV | DNF | ||
| DNF | 2224 | T750 | Guy Monraisse | Jacques Féret | Renault 4CV | 8hr 31:43 | DNF | |
| Class | Winners | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Vetture Sport oltre 2000 | 602 | Lancia D24 | Ascari |
| Vetture Sports 2000 | 523 | Ferrari 500 Mondial | V. Marzotto |
| Vetture Sports 1500 | 351 | Porsche 550 Spyder | Herrmann / Linge |
| Vetture Sports 750 | 2320 | DB HBR Panhard | Faure / Storez |
| Gran Turismo oltre 1500 | 440 | Lancia Aurelia B20 | Serafini / Mancini |
| Gran Turismo fino 1500 | 229 | Porsche 356 1500 Super | von Frankenberg / Sauter |
| Turismo Serie Speciale +1300 | 326 | Alfa Romeo 1900 TI | Carini / Artesiani |
| Turismo Serie Speciale 1300 | 156 | Fiat 1100/103 TV | Mandrini / Ferraris |
| Turismo Serie Speciale 750 | 2206 | Renault 4CV | Rédélé / Pons |
| Pos | Championship | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1= | Ferrari | 14 |
| Lancia | 14 | |
| 3 | Osca | 8 |
| 4 | Maserati | 5 |
| 5= | Aston Martin | 4 |
| Austin-Healey | 4 | |