Page 12 - Paddock Life Issue 13 ADRENALINE

Pure adrenaline is the only way to describe it.... we are in a fiat 124 spider, top down, driving at over 100mph behind several million pounds
worth of classic cars through the Italian hillside between Rome and Siena. These guys are racing hard. Racing each other on the roads that this race started on 90 years ago. I‘m working quite hard in the little Fiat as I hit apexes changing up and down my 6 speed manual box, so the pilots of the cars in front must be really working in those old race cars...
The sun is beating down and the temperature is in the thirties as the locals line the streets waving flags for this extraordinary national event. This year we decided to get right in there and follow the race, Jenny shooting front and back from our little Fiat spider.
But it was a very long week to get here, Monday to Wednesday were twenty hour days as I worked with the team to deliver our Classics issue to print, at 4am on Thursday morning I have 5 pages to finish and my cab was picking me up at 4:30am to take me to the airport... after 2 hours sleep on the flight I land in Milan and switched on the laptop, one hour later we had all the pages complete. After a very long wait at the rental desk I was handed the keys to a blue Fiat 124 Spider, a pleasant surprise having booked a more pedestrian 4 seater convertible, the next challenge was squeezing my bags and cameras into this compact sportster. Top down iPhone connected, Google maps talking to me, I left the Airport now three hours late for Brescia - the start of the Mille Miglia.
I was due in the paddock to collect my media car stickers that morning so two hours queuing for my rental followed by a three hour (usually ninety minutes) journey through traffic meant I arrived to a deserted car park... I tapped in the press room address and drove into Brescia. Having now collected the passes for Jenny and myself, I was
told it was not possible now for the car stickers.... a few calls from the very helpful lady running the press room and one of the organisers drove back to bring me my stickers... these allow us access to small ancient villages en route so we can truly follow the action. Paddock Life was now officially part of the 90th anniversary Mille Miglia.
Finally with decent wifi connection the new issue of Paddock Life has its final pages delivered to our printers and I am all set. I‘ve now been up for 36 hours and have a three hours drive to San Marino ahead of me. Now maybe it was my dyslexia coupled with lack of sleep, but a slip on booking. com and I‘m heading to a hotel, pretty much on the wrong side of the country. Problem is I don‘t notice this until I stopped for fuel. So rethink. No point getting upset let‘s figure out a new plan. Jenny is flying into Rome on Friday evening and it‘s now almost 10pm on Thursday, I need the nearest big city, a nice hotel and some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day.
After a hearty breakfast, the official Mille Miglia 2017 media decals neatly allied to the 124, my hotel in Rome in Google maps and the top down I pull out of the parking garage into the glorious sunshine and start my 5.5 hour journey to Rome. 4 hours and 45 minutes later (I did stop twice) I arrive at the hotel. Checking the road book I see the first cars would be due to arrive around 7:30pm, so I decide to run out to Fiormicino airport to collect Jenny then get back to the finish line.
As we get close the Roman traffic is even worse than usual due to the closed roads so we park and walk to the line, just in time as the cars file in... then.. rain drops, then more rain drops, then a torrential down poor followed by huge thunder claps, we dash for our car. That‘s it for today as it‘s now nearly 11pm and neither of us have eaten, we drive toward the hotel keeping an eye out for a restaurant. We see one on the right so I make a
quick turn around the block and park at the end of the road about 100 yards away. The rain is still coming down hard and the sky is full of lightening flashes as we prepare for a wet dash to dinner. Then, almost like the old Mr Benn cartoon an Indian man appears selling umbrellas, €15 later I am the proud owner of a large €5 umbrella, but we are dry.
Saturday morning 8am and we are now ready to start our Mille Miglia (I‘ve already driven 1000 miles) we drive out through Re, where a lot of Rome‘s government buildings are situated, to the start line. These are usually a park or car park where the 700 (yes this is a big event) cars can gather nearby and leave one by one once their times are logged. The 1920-40s class has all gone and we are seeing off the later 1950’s models.
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The variation of cars is spectacular, Ferraris naturally, Maserati and Alfa Romeo almost define the event, but it‘s great to see a couple of MGAs and Austin Healeys amongst the gorgeous BMW 507s, Mercedes Gullwings and Jaguar D Types.
We leave the paddock following some of the cars, we figure if we stay with the cars we won‘t need to navigate using the very comprehensive road books provided as my co-driver is here to take photos not navigate. We are soon on the Autostrada out of Rome and I‘m getting a little taste of things to come, these boys are flying. There are a number of support vehicles other media cars and organiser cars all keeping pace as Maseratis, Alfa Romeos, Ferraris and Jaguars push through the traffic. As we leave the Autostrada for the old roads it‘s starting to rain, we peel off into a local petrol station to put the roof up as do about 6 of the Mille Miglia racers. I take the opportunity to brim the tank (this is not going to be an economy run) the pale blue Maserati 200 si prototype built for Sterling Moss, now driven by two German gentlemen is also fuelling whilst they put on waterproof over suits.
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