For someone accustomed in his career to tackling curves at over two hundred kilometers per hour, traveling long stretches in zone 30 might seem like a game. «But no. To win this race you have to be a top driver.” Word of Giancarlo Fisichella, former Formula 1 driver who participated in first three stages of the Mille Miglia.
«We travel in cars that are many years old and that need to be treated in a certain way. It’s not a sprint race which I’m used to doing, but it is a regularity race and therefore you have to do stretches at twenty, twenty-two, twenty-five kilometers per hour, which goes against my DNA but in short that’s also the difficult part. Be precise» says the Roman driver of the latest editions of the Corsa rossa he had experienced them aboard green cars. Winning. The music – and not just that of the engine – has changed this year.
Italian pride
«You can’t think of win the Mille Miglia against crews who are truly prepared. It’s another sport” assures Fisichella. Who once again saw first-hand the enthusiasm of the people. “I think it is one of the most important races in the world and I’m talking about all categories. I say this after noticing how much passion there is around and how much cheering.”
An example? “Before get to Viareggio we had a technical problem. We were stopped for four hours and there were problems that were almost impossible to fix. Some people stopped and did their best to take us around to mechanics and we managed to set off again. This is the beauty of this race. I was proud to be Italian».
Cheering everywhere
Enthusiasm that overwhelmed another former driver. That Miki Biasion, two-time world rally champion. «The only Italian and what’s more with an Italian car» his friends underline. Who follow him everywhere and in some cases escort him. Praised by the people, Biasion is stopped at every corner.
«They bring me models to sign, ask me for photographs and autographs. It’s a satisfaction, even a thrill to see that so many enthusiasts remember what I did for Italian motorsport” admits the former rally driver. He is used to stepping on the accelerator and obviously has to control himself. «It’s another way of driving and racing. I am respectful of all limits »he assures.
The appeal
Then send a message to the organizers. «Calculating that ninety percent of the people here do it for passion, to have fun, these hours and these drudgery do not provide the opportunity to those who come especially from abroad to enjoy the landscapes and enjoy the race».
Also on the same wavelength is Giancarlo Fisichella, who finally got out of the car yesterday in Rome. «I can say that it’s hard, it’s really hard to leave early in the morning, spend many hours in the car, in traffic. There are spectacular moments, beautiful landscapes but the hours in the car are many. In cars that are often very small, which give off heat, you don’t have air conditioning and on the contrary you have problems with the clutch, with the brakes. My advice? You can also continue to compete over five days, but with fewer hours in the car, fewer kilometres.”
