Alfa Romeo won its third edition of the Mille Miglia re-run on Sunday. 65 year-old businessman from Trieste, Luciano Viaro, and his 50 year-old co-driver from Mantua, Luca Bergamaschi were the winners of the 2007 Mille Miglia historical regularity race, arguably the most famous car-race in the world when it was run from 1927 to 1957.

After an exhausting battle against the 1927 Bugatti T37 driven by Bruno and Carlo Ferrari, Viaro, still driving the 1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 S, with which he won the race in 2005 with Maurizio De Marco alongside, he repeated that success. Last year he was second behind Giuliano Cané (nine victories from 1992 to 2006). The second triumph for Viaro and the third for the Alfa (the car-maker won in 1977 with the 1927 RL driven by Hepp-Bauer) are the result of a competition always run in attacking mode, without making mistakes, with great concentration and perfect resoluteness. The crew, representing the Alfa Romeo Register of Members, has shown an exemplary determination, even in facing the most difficult events such as in Urbino, where they had to skip the refreshment, being afraid of a possible breakdown in the middle of the second lap because of problems with the gas-pump. Once they solved the technical problem which bothered the crew on the hills of Montefeltro, “the red” has marched at full speed, giving Viaro a victory which will go down in history: 80 years after the birth of the Red Arrow, this triumph acquires great sports and historical significance since the 25th Mille Miglia is also the last one of a long and successful series of achievements for Marva.

Worth mentioning are the golden turtle - the winners’ lucky charm - pinned to the suits, and the perfect partnership between Viaro and his new navigator Luca Bergamaschi (director of the Museo Nuvolari and organizer of the homonymous historical race). The driver from Trieste explains: “I want to dedicate my victory to Alfa Romeo, to my wife Maria Giovanna and our son Antonio, who works with me producing stopwatches. Mille Miglia was conceived in Brescia and still in Brescia it was brought back to life, but it is an Italian inheritance."

To the 56 year-old architect Bruno Ferrari from Brescia, winner in 1995 (Abarth 750 Zagato), the second position should not sound as a defeat: his Bugatti T37 n. 41 flawlessly competed, running regularly as clockwork were it not for a moment’s carelessness during the last trial in Scaldsole/Radicofani. Ferrari dominated the race both after the first and the second trial in Rome, thus ending the race with honour, after only 1031 points from the winner.
 

The third position goes to the lawyer Flaminio Valseriati and his young co-driver Andrea Guerini in extremis. Their 1933 Aston Martin Le Mans has allowed them to step up to the podium thanks to the wonderful performance during the last trails in Modena.

The Bolognese Giuliano Cané, coupled with his wife Lucia Galliani, came home fourth in their BMW 328 Touring, which led them to victory in 2002. They have not seized the tenth achievement, in spite of the general expectation. The Mille Miglia record-holder was hindered during the first part of the race due to some troubles with the carburettor. He solved them in Rome and was able to move from the seventh to the third position before arriving in Modena, but was finally defeated by Valseriati. Ezio Perletti, fifth in the cockpit of his Fiat 514 Coppa Alpi, was able to face the troubles to the engine together with Andrea Vesco. Salvinelli Fabio came sixth after succeeding in defending his position from the attacks of Sisti Sergio, who was seventh in an Aston Martin. The Argentinian Manoel Elicabe was eighth (Bugatti) and first among the foreign drivers. Franca Boni and Monica Barziza (BMW) won the Ladies’ Cup with their thirteenth position. Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu, anchormen of the satirical TV show on Italia Uno Channel, ended the race in the 110th position.

MILLE MIGLIA, FINAL OVERALL CLASSIFICATION (after 40 time trials): 1. Viaro-Bergamaschi (1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 S n. 26) 15452; 2. Ferrari-Ferrari (1927 Bugatti T37 n. 41) 14421; 3. Valseriati-Guerini (1933 Aston Martin Le Mans n. 112) 13080; 4. Cané-Galliani (1940 BMW 328 Touring n. 138) 13021; 5. Perletti-Vesco (1930 Fiat 514 Coppa Alpi n. 50) 12761; 6. Salvinelli-Rizzo (1936 MG PB n. 121) 12630; 7. Sisti-Sisti (1932 Aston Martin International n. 84) 12302; 6. Ecalibe-Varalla (1926 Bugatti T37 n. 30) 12276; 9. Sielecki-Hervas (1926 Bugatti T35 A n. 34) 11941; 10. Accerenzi-Bettoncelli (1936 Riley 12/4 n. 117) 11184; 11. Redaelli-Moceri (1929 Aston Martin International n. 60) 11099; 12. Per bellini-Perbellini (1950 Jaguar Biondetti S n. 369) 11065; 13. Boni-Barziza (1937 BMW 328 n. 118) 10260.