EVERYTHING IS READY FOR THE START OF THE COPPA MILANO-SANREMO
Official presentation of the new route, the sponsors and the crews
15 March 2018 – We are now exactly a week away from the start of the Coppa Milano-Sanremo, a
historical revival—included for the first time in the Italian Automobile Club’s (ACI) Super Classic
Trophy—of the oldest race in Italy (the first edition was in 1906), which will be ran over some of the
most fascinating and tortuous roads of the Italian peninsula from the 22 nd to the 24 th of March.
Everything is ready for the start of the race. After technical and pre-rally checks at the Autodromo
Nazionale Monza and a parade of the cars through the streets of Milan the day before, the
participants will leave from Piazza Castello for an intermediate stop at Rapallo before proceeding on
to Sanremo and the Riviera dei Fiori.
The preparations for this new edition continue unabated. The organization has already selected over
70 prestigious, historical cars that were built between 1906 and 1976 to participate. The many foreign
crews participating underscore the importance of the race, both in its category, and for its many fans
around the world.
Among the cars in the race, the veteran among the veterans will be a 1926 Fiat 509S driven by HRH
Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, accompanied by such masterpieces as: a 1953 Maserati A6GCS-53
Berlinetta Pininfarina (from the Matteo Panini collection), a 1939 Bugatti Stelvio, a 1952 Aston Martin
DB2 and a 1960 DB4, a 1954 Ermini 1100 Sport International, a 1954 OSCA MT4 1100 Sport, a 1951
Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d'Este, a 1964 Alfa Giulia TZ1, a 1957 ACE Bristol Roadster, a 1957
Porsche 356 A 1600 Speedster and a historical contender making its grand return—a Fiat Colli, which
participated in the 12 th edition of the race in 1948.
The 2018 edition of the Cup has some exceptional partners: Maserati, the main official sponsor of the
event and promoter of the Maserati Tribute, the "race in the race", IWC Schaffahausen, the official
timekeeper, Pirelli, Bosch and Ermenegildo Zegna, to add a touch of elegance to the event.
The new—heavily modified from previous editions—route will touch Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria
in a journey of over 600 kilometres and will include more than 60 total timed-trials: 52 special and 6
medium (with intermediate measurements).
The event gets underway early on Thursday, March 22 nd , 2018 with a meeting of the teams at the
Autodromo Nazionale Monza for technical and pre-rally checks, and a few warm-up laps around the
legendary Formula 1 racetrack before the start of the inaugural parade of the historical automobiles
through the centre of Monza and on to Milan. After a genuine défilé de mode through the heart of
Milan’s fashion district, the cars will go down the world-famous via Monte Napoleone and continue
on to the shadow of the Milan Cathedral, where they will be officially presented to the public.
On Friday morning, March 23 rd , the drivers will queue their automobiles behind the starting line in
Piazza Castello to begin the planned 600-kilometre open-road rally. After traveling through the
countryside of Lombardy and Piedmont, the cars will make their first scheduled stop at the historical
Villa Sparina, near Gavi, before setting off through the extraordinary landscapes of the Ligurian
hinterland for their evening destination of Rapallo, where a nautical themed gala diner will be held at
the port of Carlo Riva’s Yatch Club.
Saturday, March 24 th will be the decisive day for the teams as they face the last time trials. From
Rapallo, they will pass close by La Superba and stop at the enchanting Villa Ottolenghi—once owned
by Count Ottolenghi, the winner of the 1929 edition—at Acqui Terme, before traveling over insidious
curves of the Faiallo Pass, Bric Barton Pass, the Melogno Hill, the Scravaion Hill and the San
Bartolomeo Hill before descending towards the finish line at Sanremo, where they should arrive
around 6:00 – 8:00 in the evening.
The 2018 edition will bestow no less than 20 titles of honor on the participants: the first 10 generally
classified crews, the first 3 classified in each category, the first 3 classified in the overall average-
speed trials, the first team overall and the first under-thirty crew.
As per tradition, the first-place female crew, which besides possibly winning the overall title, will be
awarded the coveted "Coppa delle Dame" (Ladies’ Cup), which is also called "La perla di Sanremo"
(The Pearl of Sanremo). As far back as 1929, there were 5 female crews competing for this award.
Also, the House of Savoy will award a special symbolic prize—the Dynastic Order of the Royal House
of Savoy Trophy in honor of Prince Adalberto who won the 1933 edition—to the crew that exhibits an
outstanding sporting and chivalrous spirit during the course of the rally.
The race will also feature personalities from the "automotive jet set" including Prisca Taruffi, who will
present the second edition of the Volpe Argentata Event (Silver Fox Event), thirty years after the
death of her father, the legendary driver, Piero Taruffi, during the final award ceremony in Sanremo.
For more information, contact the organization secretariat of Equipe International:
Tel. +39 0236752950 / race.office@milano-sanremo.it
VEHICLES ADMITTED
Cars built between 1906 and 1973 will be admitted if they have a F.I.V.A. Passport, or a F.I.A. Heritage
certificate, or A.S.I. approval, or an A.C.I. Sport certificate, or belong to a Brand Historical Register.
PRESS OFFICE COPPA MILANO-SANREMO
Equipe International – Tel. +39 0236752951
Maria Grazia Vernuccio – mariagrazia.vernuccio@equipemilano.com
Marta Canali – marta.canali@equipemilano.com
www.milano-sanremo.it