1957 Mille Miglia
Mille Miglia |
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Brescia-Roma-Brescia |
May 11-12, 1957 |
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Carel Godin de Beaufort |
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Porsche 356 Carrera |
No: 230 |
Q: n/a |
R: 41 (4) |
C: GT16 |
Carel had travelled to Brescia with his sister Cornelie a few days before the start and he did some scouting of the course with her VW Beetle. He met some of the other competitors like fellow Dutchman Joseph Göttgens and marquis Alfonso de Portago, with whom he did not only share the fact they were both noblemen, but they also discovered a shared affection for Coca Cola.
Carel started at 02:30 in the morning and drove a reasonably trouble-free 1000 miles through middle Italy. He returned in Brescia some 12 hours later and was classified 42nd overall and fourth in class. He was awarded with two trophies for this achievement: one for driver Godin and one for co-driver De Beaufort!
There were more surprises for Carel at the end of the race, and these were less pleasant. De Portago and his co-driver Nelson had crashed their works Testa Rossa near Brescia and the horrific accident didn't only kill them but also took the lives of nine spectators. Furthermore he learned that Göttgens had crashed his Triumph near Florence and was in hospital. He would die of his injuries the same night. The fact that Carel had spoken to these men only hours before they were killed had a huge impact on him and his attitude towards the sport. After this experience he changed his driving style and put safety first.
The events of this Mille Miglia did not only have an impact on Carel but on the whole of the watching world. Safety increasingly became an issue and the Mille Miglia was no longer considered a race that could be held in modern times on normal Italian roads. Motor racing as a whole was severely criticized and Enzo Ferrari especially as entrant of the most deadly of these racing monsters. The Mille Miglia was to be banned and Piero Taruffi thus became the last winner of this (in)famous event.
De Portago and Nelson lining up for the start.
1957 Mille Miglia images