La Festa Mille Mille Miglia 2018

Report

【Day3】21 Oct 2018

Second half starts under clear autumn sky

The second half started and the weather finally cooperated on day three. The pleasant blue sky stretched out in the morning. The entrants were warming up their car for the start while thoroughly wiping off morning dew on the car. Today's start was at 6:45 a.m., an earlier start than usual.

The route of day three started from Fukushima Prefecture and passed through Tochigi Prefecture to Narita City in Chiba Prefecture, a long drive of approximately 450 km. While the entrants couldn't enjoy beautiful fall foliage very much in the past two days as the weather was unstable, they were captivated by the scenery seen from the side of Lake Inawashiro on the way to today's first point, British Hills. The blue sky and the lake created a beautiful contrast with vibrant trees on the mountains. The stunning scenery is seen only at this time of year.

The entrants passed through Fukushima Prefecture and drove on the Nichien Momiji Line in Tochigi Prefecture while enjoying colorful trees again. The winding road surrounded by trees was like a tunnel of fall foliage, and the sunlight filtering through the trees and the wind were pleasant and refreshing.

The entrants left the last point in Tochigi Prefecture, the Hero Sinoi Circuit, and drove direct to Narita City on an expressway. PC competition was held at Nihon Automobile College in Narita City, but it was hard to see measurement lines as it's already dark outside by the time the latter cars arrived there. The entrants were struggling to look at the lines and match the timing.

As it was sunny and Sunday, a lot of local people came to cheer at each point today as well, and there were many waving their hands at the entrants with a smile on the route. The second half is a time when fatigue begins to show on both the entrants and the cars. Encouraged by the cheers of local people, they managed to run the whole distance. When arriving at Ana Crowne Plaza Narita, the cars needed maintenance by mechanics.

When we talk about this event, we must mention mechanics maintaining the cars until midnight every day. They've also been fighting with the entrants and believe the entrants will complete the rally even though the cars are in bad condition. Sometimes the mechanics maintain other teams' cars, and even in that case they do everything they can. That is a true professional. So many cars and entrants have been saved by mechanics. They are still working on the cars at the parking lot tonight too.

Day four, the final day of the event, will take a route of approximately 235 km, starting from Chiba Prefecture and passing through Nihonbashi, Tokyo to the finish line in Meiji Shrine. Who will take this year's title? But first of all, the entrants must get all of the stamps to complete the rally. How will this four-day journey end?

(text & photo:Mika Iwamoto)
FIAT SIGHINOLFI 1100S competes PC competition in results open format in Hunter Mountain Shiobara
FIAT SIGHINOLFI 1100S competes PC competition in results open format in Hunter Mountain Shiobara
Entrant in MG PA gets stamp at British Hills where tea and scones served
Entrant in MG PA gets stamp at British Hills where tea and scones served
MG C-TYPE competes PC competition at British Hills
MG C-TYPE competes PC competition at British Hills
PORSCHE 356 A SPEEDSTER competes PC competition in Hero Sinoi Circuit
PORSCHE 356 A SPEEDSTER competes PC competition in Hero Sinoi Circuit
Mechanic working on BUGATTI T40 until midnight
Mechanic working on BUGATTI T40 until midnight
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