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The “World’s Most Beautiful Race” contestants all praised the beautiful scenery, humanity and friendliness, and the car art works traveled around the country.
Photo by Neeraj Murali
Yowla dancing and kava cups are part of the Arabian hospitality that welcomes the participants of the inaugural Mille Miglia Classic Car Race back to Dubai after completing a 1,600km circumnavigation of the UAE.
100 of the most exclusive and rare vehicles took part in the inaugural race in the UAE, where rally participants have already had an adventure in their classic cars. Known as “the most beautiful race in the world”, the Mille Miglia was first held in Italy in 1927.
In this UAE edition, the cars departed from the Park Hyatt Hotel in Dubai on December 5, after which they drove through several key points in the northern emirate, including the majestic Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah, before returning to Dubai’s Flat 12 cafes.
British supermodel David Gandy, who is in the UAE for the first time, said the past two days had been a lot of fun. “Beautiful scenery, hospitable people who made us feel at home, fast driving, beautiful cars…it ticked all the boxes,” he told reporters. harrij times.
“When I came here, I didn’t know what to expect. In Italy, I knew all the cities and places, but here I wasn’t sure what the journey would be like. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The scenery, the desert, was so beautiful , everything is so clean. We absolutely love everything about it.”
The 42-year-old is excited about driving his custom 1954 Jaguar XK120 that he restored and rebuilt especially for the Mille Miglia. At 6-foot-3, he’d be hard-pressed to fit into any classic car. So he found a vehicle that he had tuned and rebuilt for racing in Italy, which he did twice. But when that race was canceled due to Covid, the car was parked in the garage.
“It’s a very unique car and I named it after my daughter Matilda because she was born when the car was finished. It was great to drive it in the UAE for the first time. Matilda today It was a great performance,” Gandy said.
Accompanying him in the navigator’s seat was his longtime friend and business partner Charlie Tee, who said: “We’ve known each other for over 15 years and we both love cars. The whole experience was great.”
fun ride
In the modern version of the race, competitors follow signposts on public roads to travel from one point to another. Timing is a very important element of the race and equipment is flown in from Italy to ensure accuracy. Cars in different categories are required to hand over their notes and times at each checkpoint, and inspectors closely monitor the time it takes them to complete each segment of the race.
Kazhak National Nikolay Miroshnichenko and his son Gennadiy drove a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing. Miroshnichenko, who played the Italian version earlier, said he found the UAE version much easier.
“In Italy we have to work hard. Here, it’s more fun and easier. I really enjoy it,” he said.
In the inaugural competition, 60 cars came from the Arabian Peninsula and 40 from other countries. They are divided into three categories: Original Mille Miglia class: built between 1927 and 1957; Jubilee class: built between 1957 and 1971 to commemorate the founding date of the United Arab Emirates; and Contemporary cars: a curated selection of unique cars built after 1971 .
Car enthusiasts Bushra Nasr and Marwa Ba Rahiem took part in the race the next day to test the cars. “I’ve raced a lot of tracks, but this is my first time in a classic car rally and it’s very different,” Nasr said. “I was driving a Mercedes 560 SL and it was a fantastic ride. We were doing 140 km/h and the car was unaffected.”
After more than 20 years living in the UAE, the friends admit the game has its own set of challenges.
“The constraints of using technology are difficult to adapt to,” Nasr said. “It was a very primitive experience. You had to follow the points by the manual, so there was a limit to using Google Maps or any technology on your phone. I’m an IT person, so for me, being out of technology That’s a challenge in itself.”
Ba Rahiem said they saw a lot of classic cars break down during the race. “It was very unpredictable. Some people knew how to fix their cars; some people weren’t in sync with their cars, so they struggled. We saw a mix of everything,” she said.
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