The Gran Premio Nuvolari will see a special new category added this year, the Coppa 40th Anniversario Miura, which will be dedicated to drivers at the wheel of the famous Lamborghini sportscar during its 40th anniversary year. The popular and well-supported Gran Premio Nuvolari is a tribute to the legendary motor racing driver's memory and today the historical re-run event recalls the Alba d'Oro which originally ran from 1954-57. This year the Gran Premio Nuvolari - which is organised by Scuderia Mantova Corse, in association with the Museo Tazio Nuvolari and l'Automobile Club Mantova - will make its traditional start in Mantova, Tazio Nuvolari's home town, on 15th September, with overnight stops scheduled for Viareggio and Rimini before the anti-clockwise route is completed when the competitors return back to Mantova for the finish two days later.

The race is open to cars built between 1919 and 1973, but the sight and sound of the glorious Lamborghini Miura supercar is sure to be one of the highlights of this year's event. The Miura is regarded as the "father" of the modern-day supercar breed, and by many it is upheld as the greatest Italian sportscar of all time. The Miura - which was built from 1966-72 - grew out of the desire of Dallara, Wallace and Stanzani (the main designers at Lamborghini of the day) to go racing. They developed a new chassis with a mid-mounted transverse engine in the hope of persuading Lamborghini to race it. That attempt failed, but the chassis was displayed on the Lamborghini stand at the 1965 Turin Motor Show and Lamborghini asked Bertone to design a body for it to use as a show car. The design work was carried out by Gandini and Giugiaro (both at Bertone) and revealed to the world at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966. Although having had no plans to produce it, Lamborghini took 17 deposits at the show and so production was go.

The rest was history, and the stunning Miura is today assured of its position in the history of Italian automotive masterpieces. This year has seen the exotic supercar celebrating its 40th anniversary with a series of high profile events that started with an unveiling of a modern-day concept re-working of the Miura by Walter de'Silva at the Detroit Motor Show in January. Other appearances by the Miura this year include an exhibition of six immaculate examples (alongside Walter de'Silva's 'Concept') in the Cartier 'Style et Luxe' Paddock at last month's Goodwood Festival of Speed.

However the Miura's participation in the Coppa 40th Anniversario Miura during next month's Gran Premio Nuvolari promises to be a real highlight of the 40th anniversary celebrations as these glorious supercars will scream round the open roads of Italy in anger as the competitors chase the Equipaggi Lamborghini Miura which will see trophies being awarded to the top three teams to cross the finish line in Mantova.
 

The entry list promises to be excellent, with Luc Donckerwolke the highly respected chief designer of Lamborghini's modern-day sportscars, the Murciélago and Gallardo, and recently appointed as Head of SEAT Design, set to enter.

The Gran Premio Nuvolari

The death of Tazio Nuvolari, on 11 August 1953, touched all the world. Particularly it moved Renzo Castagneto, Aymo Maggi and Giovanni Canestrini, the men behind the "Mille Miglia", who planned "the most beautiful race in the world" with Franco Mazzotti, who died during World War II. Castagneto and his friends were very attached to the Mantuan pilot. They were linked by a close bond of affection and they felt deep consideration and admiration toward this great champion. They also were grateful to him to because he contributed much to their concept. To honour his memory, the traditional itinerary of the Mille Miglia was changed in order see it pass through Mantova.

The Gran Premio Nuvolari was rapidly established in order to give a prize to the fastest pilot on the route along the impressive straight roads which cross "The Po Valley", starting from Cremona, through Mantova until the finish in Brescia. Today, the Scuderia Mantova Corse and the Museo Tazio Nuvolari recall the Gran Premio Nuvolari. The formula: an international rally reserved for historical cars, giving the possibility to pilots of later generations, to try for themselves the cars that wrote the history of those days, paying homepage to the greatest, bravest, most audacious of their predecessors.

The were four editions of the original Alba d'Oro which ran from 1954-57. Alberto Acari (Lancia D24 Pinin Farina) won the first race; Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson (Mercedes 300SL) beat the team mate Juan Manuel Fangio to win in 1955; Eugenio Castellotti (Ferrari 290 MM Scaglietti) won in 1956; while the final edition saw Olivier Gendebien (Ferrari 250 GT Scaglietti) leading out a 1-2-3 for the Maranello brand. In 1991 the first "revival" was held and won by Adamoli/Adamoli in a 1957 OSCA 750 Sport.

Fourteen more editions under the Gran Premio Nuvolari have been held uninterrupted since then, with the last two events being won by official Alfa Romeo Museo driver Luciano Viaro, currently the in-form driver these historical competitions. In 2004 he won at the wheel of a 1929 Alfa Romeo 1750 Super, and last year he triumphed in a 1928 Alfa Romeo 1500 Super. Viaro also won the Mille Miglia last year, and the Gran Premio Nuvolari is now considered by many to be second only to this highly illustrious event on the calendar for historical re-run events.

The 2006 edition of the Gran Premio Nuvolari will start on 15th September with the first stage that begins in Mantova before passing through Suzzara, Brescello, Parma, Autodromo R. Paletti, Passo della Cisa, Pontremoli, La Spezia and Forte dei Marmi before the first overnight stop in Viareggio. The second stage (16th September) will see the competitors leaving Viagreggio, and passing through S. Giuliano T., Pisa, Livorno, Circuito del Montenero, Casciana T., Peccioli, Monteriggioni, Siena, Monte S.Savino, Arezzo, Monterchi, San Giustino, Sant'Angelo and San Leo before the second overnight stop takes place at Rimini. The third stage (17th September) will see the competitors leaving the popular seaside resort town and heading North West through Cervia, Lugo, Portomaggiore, Ferrara, Bondeno, San Giacomo and Bondanello before the event finishes back in Mantova.