The Great Mille Miglia Race with Bentley

The Mille Miglia starts in Brescia in the north of Italy, descends down the east coast to Rome over two days, and then ends with a single day dash from Rome back up to Brescia on the west coast. It is a magnificent cortege of the greatest racing cars and classic road cars ever built. To enter, the cars must have either been in the original Mille Miglia, or a car of sporting history listed in Palmares Winner’s Lists of international significance. This is about as exclusive as it gets even before the costs of the race and the cars come into it.
I went to race two Bentley “Blowers” (1929 & 1930) and the 1954 Bentley R Type Continental with Bentley Motors Ltd, now German owned but whose directors are demonstrably passionate about maintaining the quality and history of this iconic English brand. James Bond drove a 1930’s “Blower” Bentley in Casino Royale, Live and Let Die and Moonraker. The Bentley “Blower” gets its name from the supercharger mounted at the front of the radiator. Only four team cars were developed for racing thanks to the persistent efforts of Bentley Boy Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin who convinced Woolf Barnato into fitting a supercharger to enhance performance with the goal being to win Le Mans again.