The classic Mille Miglia (1,000 Miles) race from Brescia to Rome and back and known as 'the most beautiful race in the world' took place last week-end.
The original Mille Miglia was an endurance race which was staged 27 times between 1928 and 1957 and kickstarted the careers of motor racing legends like Tazio Nuvolari, Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio and Sterling Moss, who set a course record in 1955.
After a car crash in 1957 which caused the death of a driver, his navigator and 11 spectators the race was banned, but twenty years later in 1977 it was revived as the Mille Miglia Storica (Historic 1,000-Mile) and has become a parade reserved for cars from racing's golden era (pre-1957) including beautiful machines like Bugattis, Lancias, Alfa Romeos, Aston Martins, Ferraris, Maseratis and prewar Mercedes and Porsches.
Most of the cars are driven by international celebrities from the worlds of business, entertainment and sports. This year they include, former talk show host Jay Leno, actors Jeremy Irons and Adrien Brody, and Ac/Dc frontman Brian Johnson.
Here is an interview by Repubblica TV to Brian Johnson while he is still in the car.
The late Enzo Ferrari once described the Mille Miglia as ''the world's greatest road race''.
