(May 21, 2014. by Steve McKelvie) The 2014 Mille Miglia was held last weekend and a number of Americans were fortunate to be able to take part in this wonderful event. While the competitive successes of the American teams were modest, at best, just being a part of the Mille Miglia represents a significant achievement.
One of the American teams that I was following was the team of Terry Hall and his good friend, Butch Healey. Terry had recently purchased a 1956 AC Ace with the express purpose of competing in the Mille Miglia. Terry and Butch, who were first time rally competitors, endured a tough schedule at the 2014 Mille Miglia and successfully finished the rally.
Butch said that they had good times on Days 1, 2, and 4, but that they had brake problems on Day 3, which made good times difficult to achieve.
The other American team that I was following was the Boston-area team of Bruce Male and his son, Andrew, who were competing in a 1953 Maserati A6 GCS. Bruce and Andrew have a tremendous amount of experience in the Mille Miglia. Given their extensive Mille Miglia experience I expected a somewhat better finish, so I suspect that they too had some mechanical difficulties.
The following is a listing of the American teams (including a few Canadians) who managed to finish the 2014 Mille Miglia. Note that Mark Gessler had a great finish in the 15th position! Mark was the navigator for Manuel Elicabe of Argentina. Argentina has a similar event, modeled after the Mille Miglia, the 1000 Millas. As a result, experienced Argentine entrants in the Mille Miglia traditionally have very good finishes. Manuel Elicabe is a previous winner of the 1000 Millas and is a perennial top finisher in Argentina. Mark’s finish at the 2014 Mille Miglia is very impressive.
FinishPosition | Team | Car |
15 | Mark Gessler (Navigator) | 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 GS Zagato |
72 | Shawn Till (Navigator) | 1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Cabriolet |
133 | Venanziora Fonte/Andrew Cress | 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Touring |
155 | Edward Loh/Robert Moran | 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL |
157 | Richard Lisman/Clifton Fiuk | 1929 O.M. 655 SS MM Superba |
160 | Craig Davis (Navigator) | 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS Spider |
166 | Ananda Covindassamy (Driver) | 1953 OSCA MT4 1500 2AD |
172 | Robb Horton (Navigator) | 1954 Goliath GP 700 |
208 | James Taylor/Donald Gould | 1953 Jaguar Type C |
212 | Kenneth Roath/William Story | 1955 Ferrari 250GT Europa |
216 | Eric Schigel/Leony Higiel | 1952 Cisitalia 202 |
219 | Najeeb Khan/John Breslow | 1952 Ferrari 225 S Berlinetta Vignale |
229 | Ronald Pound/Christopher O’Neill | 1955 Porsche 356 1500 Speedster |
238 | Robert Francis (Canadian)/Pamela Francis (Canadian) | 1951 Allard J2 Cadillac |
239 | Michael John Battaglia(Navigator) | 1953 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT |
260 | Michael Svess (Driver) | 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL |
268 | Camilo Miquel/Philipp Pageau-Goyette | 1957 Abarth Fiat 750 |
287 | Nicholas Fonte/Jonathan Kirshtein | 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 |
294 | Adrien Brody/Esmeralda Brojovic | 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL |
310 | Jay Leno/Ian Callum | 1951 Jaguar XK120 |
334 | Terrence Hall/Charles Shepard Healey | 1956 AC Ace |
336 | John Karubian/Daniel Karubian | 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL |
356 | Henry Michie (Navigator) | 1948 Fiat 1100S |
357 | Bruce Male/Andrew Male | 1953 Maserati A6 GCS |
390 | James Gingery/Jacob Gingery | 1954 Oldsmobile 88 |
394 | Theo Bean Jr./Ann Coffey | 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider |
400 | Jim Swartzbaugh/Gregory Dillion | 1929 Chrysler 75 Le Mans |
407 | Leslie Rudd/Susie Rudd | 1954 Fiat Zagato 1100 Coupe |
413 | Neal Dempsey/James H. Pugh Jr. | 1952 Fiat 8V Berlinetta |
418 | Spencer Croul/Natalie Croul | 1955 Fiat 8V Zagato |
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