The second Revival Coppa Milano - Sanremo for cars built before 1973 is ready for the "off ". Just a few days left before the auspicious date of March 11, when the first participants will arrive at the Autodromo Nazionale in Monza for their pre-rally check-up. There will be another round of scrutineering on the Friday morning and then, having had their first taste of the legendary Monza circuit, they will all drive off in the early afternoon to Milan's Cathedral Square where they will be introduced to the public at 4.30 p.m.
The touring rally will start from outside the Cathedral on Saturday morning at 9 o'clock, a first stage that is scheduled to finish at around 4.30 p.m. in Genoa's Old Port. On Sunday, the procession of historic cars will drive off from Corso Italia, arriving in Savona's Via Italia at 11 a.m. and reaching Lungomare Italo Calvino on the Sanremo seafront at around 5 p.m. there are over 150 entries, and - as was the case last time - a large proportion are from abroad : Germany, Britain, Austria and Switzerland are particularly well represented. Crews from the United States and Canada are also expected. And of course, all the great marques will be there.
Worthy of attention this year is the official participation of the Alfa Romeo Museum, an extraordinary event.
Among the noteworthy models participating will be the legendary the 1939 Alfa 2900 B Speciale Le Mans, Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GTC Cesare Sala from 1932, one 1924 and one 1929 Lancia Lambda, a Lancia Astura Coupé Pourtout (1938) and a 1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Pininfarina.
The pre-war British motorcar industry will be represented at the Milan start with a 1937 Jaguar SS100, a 1927 Rolls Royce 20 HP, a 1937 Alvis Speed 25 and many more. Among the pure racing models, there is a 1950 Cisitalia 202 B, a 1953 Maserati A6 GCS, a gullwing Mercedes-Benz 300SL and a 1961 Alfa Romeo SZ. Another eye-catcher will be the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE Police Car.
Among the host of Italian celebrities and VIPs attending the event, Minister Scajola will be appearing at the wheel of his own Lancia Aurelia B24. Also on the starting line will be the winner of last year's event, Luciano Lui in his Triumph and Roberto Chiodi, one of the two Italian drivers who took part in the Classic Car World Tour. And it was Lancia's own idea to enter the Aurelia B20 given to Fausto Coppi by the Lancia Dealers in honour of his World title triumph.
As usual this revival of the Coppa Milano - Sanremo will be organized jointly by MAC Events and Meet Comunicazione with the support of the Milan Automobile Club. This year the Coppa Milano-Sanremo will also be supporting the ACI's Road Safety campaign. April 7 has been proclaimed Road Safety Day on which the Italian motoring public will be asked to do its civic duty and make every effort to prevent accidents. As the poster says: "April 7. No deaths or injuries on our roads".
Text & Photos: Coppa Milano-Sanremo