1957 Mille Miglia

Official poster.

The 24. edizione Mille Miglia (Italian for "One Thousand Miles") was an auto race held on a course totalling 992.332 miles (1,597.004 km), made up entirely of public roads around Italy, mostly on the outer parts of the country on 11–12 May 1957. The route was based on a round trip between Brescia and Rome, with start/finish in Brescia. It was the 3rd round of the 1957 World Sportscar Championship season.^[1]

As in previous years, the event was a race against the clock, as the cars were released at one-minute intervals. In the Mille Miglia, the smaller displacement, slower cars started first. Each car number related to their allocated start time. For example, Wolfgang von Trips's car had the number 532, he left Brescia at 5:32am, while the first cars had started late in the evening on the previous day. Some drivers went with navigators, others did not; a number of local Italian drivers had knowledge of the routes being used and felt confident enough that they would not need one.^[1]

This race was won by Scuderia Ferrari driver Piero Taruffi without the aid of a navigator, the 3rd time in the past 4 years that a driver won the race without a navigator. He completed the 992-mile distance in 10 hours, 27 minutes and 47 seconds- an average speed of 94.841 mph (152.632 km/h). The Italian finished three minutes in front of his second-placed team-mate, the German driver, von Trips. Olivier Gendebien and Jacques Washer were next, ensuring Scuderia Ferrari finished 1-2-3.^[2] The race is marked with fatal crashes of drivers Alfonso de Portago and Josef H. Göttgens, the former involving in an accident that claimed the lives of nine spectators near the road.

Report

Enzo Ferrari with Peter Collins shortly before departure

Entry

A total of 391 cars were entered for the event, across 25 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, 310 cars started the event. The limit on the number of starts was reduced from previous years. The Auto Club of Brescia took steps to try to combat the unsportsmanlike tactics by which some competitors sought to negate the procedure of drawing lots for departure times.^{[1][3][copyright violation?]}

Even though the event continued to count towards the World Sportscar Championship, only Ferrari and Maserati entered works teams. Officine Alfieri Maserati was in receivership but still managed to have two 450Ss for Stirling Moss and Jean Behra, a brand new 350S for Hans Herrmann and older 300S for the Italian Giorgio Scarlatti. Meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari entered four Sports cars, to be driven by Taruffi, von Trips, Peter Collins and Alfonso de Portago. They also entered Olivier Gendebien in a Grand Touring car. Britain was represented by a single semi-works Jaguar D-Type, entered by the Scottish team Ecurie Ecosse for Ron Flockhart.^[2][3][4]

One of the more unusual entrants was a Kurtis Kraft roadster for Akton Miller, a car constructed in the US, with a powerful 6.4 litre Chrysler engine, mounted on a space-frame single seat chassis, designed for use on American oval circuits.^[5][3]

Race

Linda Christian kissing Alfonso de Portago before the latter departed for his last part of the Mille Miglia race. The photo is popularly known as "The Kiss of Death" (Il Bacio della Morte).^[6][7][8][9]

Soon after the race started, Maserati's hopes vanished. Before the event even started, Behra was out, having crashed his 450S during pre-test. Moss was forced to retire soon after the start having rather dangerously snapped a brake pedal. Herrmann did not get as far as the Ravenna checkpoint.^{[5][3][copyright violation?]}

In Guidizzolo, less than 40 miles from the finish in Brescia, de Portago's front tyre exploded.^[10] He lost control of the car; it hit a telephone pole, jumped over a brook, then hit several spectators.^[10] The Ferrari then bounced back on the road, hitting more spectators, slid over the road, spinning, and ended up, wheels down, in a brook at the other side of the road. In addition to de Portago, his American navigator Edmund Gunner Nelson and nine spectators – among them five children – lost their lives.^[10] A further 20 were injured. De Portago's body was found near the car, severed in half. Furthermore, Dutchman Josef Göttgens crashed his Triumph TR3 near Florence and later died of his injuries in a Florence hospital.^{[5][3][11][12][copyright violation?]}

When Taruffi arrived back in Brescia, he was dueling with von Trips but had a three-minute advantage over him due to a later start time. Gendebien finished third, completing a top three sweep for Ferrari. Maserati experienced a debacle with only Scarlatti arriving in Brescia in fourth place overall, followed 15 minutes later by the Porsche 550 RS of Umberto Maglioli. Taruffi reached Brescia after racing for 10 hours and 27 minutes after he left Brescia at 05:35.^[3][1][2][4]

Three days after the race, the Italian government decreed the end of the Mille Miglia and banned all motor racing on the public roads of Italy. Taruffi thus became the last winner of this famous event.^[3][4]

Classification

Official results

Of the 310 starters, 172 were classified as finishers. Therefore, only a selection of notable racers has been listed below.

Class Winners are in Bold text.

Pos.	No.	Class	Driver		Entrant	Car - Engine	Time	Reason Out
1st	535	S+2.0	Piero Taruffi		Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 315 S	10hr 27:47
2nd	532	S+2.0	Wolfgang von Trips		Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 315 S	10hr 30:48
3rd	417	GT+2.0	Olivier Gendebien	Jacques Washer	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti	10hr 35:53
4th	530	S+2.0	Giorgio Scarlatti		Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 300S	11hr 00:58
5th	349	S1.5	Umberto Maglioli			Porsche 550 RS	11hr 14:07
6th	441	GT+2.0	Camillo Luglio	Umberto Carli		Ferrari 250 GT LWB Zagato	11hr 26.58
7th	431	GT+2.0	Paolo Ferraro			Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti	11hr 30:55
8th	451	S2.0	Gino Munaron			Ferrari 500 TRC	11hr 32:04
9th	430	GT+2.0	Albino Buticchi			Ferrari 250 GT LWB Zagato	11hr 44:27
10th	458	S2.0	Gotfrid Köchert		Gotfrid Köchert	Ferrari 500 TRC	11hr 49:02
11th	354	S1.5	Heinz Schiller		Ecurie La Meute	Porsche 550 RS	11hr 54:24
12th	453	S2.0	Siro Sbraci			Ferrari 500 TRC	12hr 02:08
13th	507	S2.0	Jean Guichet			Ferrari 500 Mondial	12hr 08:22
14th	225	GT1.6	Paul-Ernst Strähle	Herbert Linge		Porsche 356A Carrera	12hr 10:08
15th	442	GT+2.0	”Kammamuri”	Vincenzo Bellini		Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti	12hr 21:21
16th	435	GT+2.0	Erasmo Crivellari	Oscar Papais		Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti	12hr 22:08
17th	224	GT1.6	Dieter Lissmann			Porsche 356A Carrera	12hr 29:45
18th	217	GT1.6	Hans-Joachim Walter	R. Reinhold		Porsche 356A Carrera	12hr 33:18
19th	422	GT+2.0	Guido Mario Terzi			Lancia Aurelia B20	12hr 35:45
20th	105	GT1.3	Henry Convert	Raul Martin		Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	12hr 39:44
21st	122	GT1.3	Pietro Laureati			Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	12hr 44:50
22nd	450	S2.0	Odoardo Govoni			Maserati A6GCS	12hr 46:07
23rd	504	S2.0	Nando Pagliarini			Maserati 200SI	12hr 47:47
24th	102	GT1.3	Kostas Spiliotakis	S. Zannos		Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	12hr 48:54
25th	439	GT+2.0	Ovidio Capelli			Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti	12hr 49:28
26th	325	S1.1	Giulio Cabianca			Osca S950	12hr 51:46
27th	403	S1.5	Harald von Saucken	Georg Bialas		Porsche 550 RS	12hr 54:05
28th	410	TS+2.0	Albert Heuberger			BMW 502	12hr 54:33
29th	109	GT1.3	Bruno Grazioli Vicenza	Paolo Grazioli		Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	12hr 54:47
30th	117	GT1.3	Rocco Lanzini	Gianfranco Stanga		Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	12hr 55:16
31st	357	GT1.3	Robin Carnegie		Fitzwilliam Racing Team	MG A	12hr 55:21
33rd	121	GT1.3	Carlo Mario Abate			Alfa Romeo Giulietta SVZ	13hr 00:04
34th	308	GT2.0	Luigi Nobile	Pietro Cagnana		Fiat 8V Zagato	13hr 00:49
37th	414	GT+2.0	Tommy Wisdom	Cecil Winby		Austin-Healey 100/Six	13hr 04:10
41st	230	GT1.6	Carel Godin de Beaufort			Porsche 356A Carrera	13hr 06:58
46th	409	TS+2.0	Walter Löffler	Carsten Johansson		BMW 502	13hr 18:27
50th	012	GT1.1	Luciano Mantovani			Lancia Appia GT Zagato	13hr 20:22
54th	024	GT1.1	Enrico Anselmi			Lancia Appia GT Zagato	13hr 23:39
58th	138	S750	Giancarlo Rigamonti			Osca S750	13hr 29:41
59th	505	S2.0	Roberto Montali			Ferrari 500 Mondial berlinetta	13hr 29:44
63rd	52	GT750	Alfonso Thiele			Fiat-Abarth 750 GT Zagato	13hr 32:33
66th	040	TS1.3	Roger Delagenste			Peugeot 403	13hr 34:17
68th	40	GT750	Marino Guarnieri			Fiat-Abarth 750 GT Zagato	13hr 38:40
73rd	015	GT1.1	Giorgio Lurani			Lancia Appia GT Zagato	13hr 40:52
77th	46	GT750	Vittorio Gianni	Luciano Gianni		Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato	13hr 45:57
78th	208	TS1.6	Joachim Springer			Ford Taunus 15 M	13hr 46:54
79th	348	S1.5	Georges Berger	René Foiret		Maserati 150S	13hr 47:28
81st	73	GT1.0	Jean-Claude Vidilles			D.B-Panhard HBR	13hr 47:42
83rd	64	TS1.0	Paul Frère			Renault Dauphine	13hr 47:55
86th	256	TS2.0	Jean Aumas	Willy Brandt		Alfa Romeo 1900TI	13hr 56:24
87th	244	T2.0	Achille Fona	Amletto Della Fona		Alfa Romeo 1900TI	13hr 56:30
91st	006	TS1.1	Ersilio Mandrini	Luigi Bertassi		Alfa Romeo Giulietta	14hr 16:55
93rd	212	TS1.6	Peter Harper	Jackie Reece		Sunbeam Rapier	14hr 06:16
95th	206	T1.6	Paul Guiraud	G. Chevron		Peugeot 403	14hr 12:28
98th	257	TS2.0	Claude Bourillot	Pierre About		Citroën DS19	14hr 15:16
99th	032	T1.3	Alberto Massari	Pier Luigi Gatti		Peugeot 403	14hr 12:28
103rd	253	TS2.0	Louis Chiron	André Testut		Citroën DS19	14hr 22:01
108th	2348	T1.1	Dino Faggi			Fiat 1100/103TV	14hr 31:23
110th	71	TS1.0	Maurice Michy			Renault Dauphine	14hr 32:53
141st	63	T1.0	Robert Chancel	Bergonoukoux		Panhard Dyna 54	15hr 22:40
154th	14	TS750	Louis Chardin			Renault 4CV	15hr 59:47
161st	3	T750	Carl Lohmander	Harald Kronegård		Saab 93	16hr 40:22
172nd	77	GT1.0	Gerard Parmentier			D.B.-Panhard HBR	18hr 34:03
DNF	534	S+2.0	Peter Collins	Louis Klemantaski	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 335 S	5hr 03:11	Drive shaft
DNF	531	S+2.0	Alfonso de Portago	Edmont Nelson	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 335 S	5hr 17:43	Fatal accident (de Portago & Nelson)
DNF	448	S2.0	Franco Bordoni			Maserati 200SI	6hr 32:24	DNF
DNF	337	S1.1	Gregor Grant			Lotus-Climax Eleven	6hr 58:42	Split fuel tank
DNF	437	GT+2.0	Piero Scotti	Adalberto Parenti		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL		DNF
DNF	69	TS1.0	Jean Lucas			Renault Dauphine	7hr 18:43	DNF
DNF	39	GT750	Jean Rédélé			Alpine A106 MM	7hr 26:49	DNF
DNF	309	GT2.0	Joseph H. Göttgens			Triumph TR3	7hr 56:12	Fatal accident
DNF	141	S750	René Philippe Faure			Stanguellini Efac Sport 750		DNF
DNF	213	TS1.6	Sheila van Damm	David Humphrey		Sunbeam Rapier		Accident
DNF	227	GT1.6	Gunnar Blomqvist			Porsche 356A Carrera 1500 GS		DNF
DNF	301	GT2.0	Ludovico Scarfiotti			Fiat 8V Zagato		DNF
DNF	339	S1.1	Bruno Ferrari			Lotus-Climax Eleven		DNF
DNF	428	GT+2.0	Bengt Martenson	Wittigo von Einseidel		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL		DNF
DNF	440	GT+2.0	Wolfgang Seidel	Helmut Glöckler		Mercedes-Benz 300 SL		DNF
DNF	506	S2.0	Luigi Bellucci		Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 200SI		Oil leak
DNF	518	S+2.0	Ron Flockhart		Ecurie Ecosse	Jaguar D-Type		Loose fuel tank
DNF	524	S+2.0	Ak Miller	Douglas Harrison	Akton Miller	Caballo de Hiero-Chrysler Mk II		Broken exhaust
DNF	115	GT1.3	Henry N. Manney III			Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV		DNF
DNF	533	S+2.0	Hans Herrmann		Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 350S		Holed sump
DNF	537	S+2.0	Stirling Moss	Denis Jenkinson	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 450S		Broken brake pedal

^[1][13][14]

Class winners

Taruffi and von Trips cross the finish line in Brescia on 12 May 1957.

Class	Winners
Sport +2000	535	Ferrari 315 S	Taruffi
Sports 2000	451	Ferrari 500 TRC	Munaron
Sports 1500	349	Porsche 550 RS	Maglioli
Sports 1100	325	Osca S950	Cabianca
Sports 750	138	Osca S750	Rigamonti
Grand Touring +2000	417	Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti	Gendebien / Washer
Grand Touring 2000	308	Fiat 8V Zagato	Nobile / Cagnana
Grand Touring 1600	225	Porsche 356A Carrera	Strähle / Linge
Grand Touring 1300	105	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	Convert / Martin
Grand Touring 1100	012	Lancia Appia GT Zagato	Mantovani
Grand Touring 1000	73	D.B.-Panhard HBR	Vidilles
Grand Touring 750	52	Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato	Thiele
Touring Special +2000	410	BMW 502	Heuberger
Touring Special 2000	256	Alfa Romeo 1900 TI	Aumas / Brandt
Touring Special 1600	208	Ford Taunus 15 M	Springer
Touring Special 1300	040	Peugeot 403	Delageneste
Touring Special 1100	006	Fiat 1100/103	Mandrini / Bertassi
Touring Special 1000	64	Renault Dauphine	Frère
Touring Special 750	14	Renault 4CV	Chardin
Touring Prep 2000	244	Alfa Romeo 1900 TI	Fona / Della Tore
Touring Prep 1600	206	Peugeot 403	Guiraud / Chevron
Touring Prep 1300	032	Alf Romeo Giulietta	Massari / Gatti
Touring Prep 1100	2348	Fiat 1100/103 TV	Faggi
Touring Prep 1000	63	Panhard Dyna 54	Chancel / Bergonoukoux
Touring Prep 750	3	Saab 93	Lohmander / Kronegård

^[1]

Standings after the race

Pos	Championship	Points
1	Ferrari	19
2	Maserati	17
3	Jaguar	7
4	Porsche	2
5	O.S.C.A.	1

• Note: Only the top five positions are included in this set of standings.
  Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 4 results out of the 6 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.

In popular culture

The race is dramatized in the 2023 film Ferrari, including a scene of Alfonso de Portago’s crash.

References

1. "Mille Miglia 1957 - Racing Sports Cars".
2. "Reference at www.teamdan.com". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
3. "1957 Mille Miglia". 10 September 2010.
4. "Mille Miglia History – End of an era: 1957 | Mille Miglia". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
5. "Mille Miglia 1957 - Photo Gallery - Racing Sports Cars".
6. Lerner, Preston (May 2018). Speed Read Ferrari: The History, Technology and Design Behind Italy's Legendary Automaker. Quarto Publishing Group USA. ISBN 9780760360415.
7. Eason, Kevin. "No seatbelts, 170mph: Days of death and dynamism".
8. Levy, Shawn (27 October 2016). Dolce Vita Confidential: Fellini, Loren, Pucci, Paparazzi and the Swinging High Life of 1950s Rome. Orion. ISBN 9781474606172.
9. Hays, Charlotte (7 August 2007). The Fortune Hunters: Dazzling Women and the Men They Married. St. Martin's Publishing. ISBN 9781429917438.
10. Rospigliosi, William (May 20, 1957). "Horror in Italy". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 6, no. 20. Chicago. pp. 12–15. Retrieved February 3, 2024. Marquis Alfonso de Portago dies in a holocaust which probably spells the end of the Mille Miglia, greatest of all the open-road auto races.
11. "The Ten Most Infamous Crashes in Racing". 20 July 2010.
12. "DB - Races - 1957 Mille Miglia".
13. "Reference at www.teamdan.com". ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
14. "World Sports Racing Prototypes - World Championship 1957". Archived from the original on 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2015-08-25.

Further reading

• Anthony Pritchard. The Mille Miglia: The World's Greatest Road Race. J H Haynes & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-1844251391
• Leonardo Acerbi. Mille Miglia Story 1927-1957. Giorgio Nada Editore. ISBN 978-8879115490
• Mille Miglia 1957: L'Ultimo Atto Di Una Corsa Leggendaria. Giorgio Nada Editore. ISBN 978-8879115322

World Sportscar Championship
Previous race: 12 Hours of Sebring	1957 season	Next race: 1000km of Nürburgring