a slot car version of the Mille Miglia.
In aid of the Alzheimer's Research Trust.

Time and Place

The next Mini Mille Miglia (MMM) will take place on 8th and 9th May 2010 at the 'Oasi Verde' community centre of Castello delle Forme, Umbria, Italy.  Castello delle Forme is midway between Perugia and Todi on the edge of the Tiber Valley in the centre of Umbria, Italy.

Programme of Events

It is important that all cars entered for the MMM are treated with care and respect.  The public will not be allowed to handle them and only experienced slot car drivers will be allowed to drive them.  Some of these models have taken many hours and a great deal of skill to create and are delicate by their very nature.  Some are very rare, whilst others are extremely expensive.  So, the events listed below are designed to keep the risk of damage to a minimum whilst providing exciting viewing for the spectators, and exciting competition for the drivers.

MMM Programme

Thursday

Transfer track to Oasi Verde and set up

Testing of track and electronics

Set up display cabinet, work station, MMM merchandise stand, etc.

Wednesday

Visit to the Mille Miglia Museum at Brescia for those competitors who are driving down in convoy from Switzerland.  Details to follow.

Thursday

Preliminary testing and adjustment of cars

Application of decals to cars

Photographing of individual cars for entrants

19:30 Dinner at ‘La Grotta del Gallo’

Friday

Visit to Assisi to watch the full-size Mille Miglia as it passes through the city.  Details to follow.

Saturday

09:00 Doors Open

Throughout the day:

Filming and photography for video

Concours d’elegance

Driver Practice (The Tour)

11:00 Public Race

12:00 Public Race

15:00 Public Race

16:00 Public Race

17:00 Public Race

18:00 Poolside Barbecue at Villa Rosa

Sunday

09:00 Doors Open

Throughout the day:

            Time Trials (all cars)

            Pursuit Race (with a pair of digital Mercedes 300SLR)

11:00 Public Race

12:00 Public Race

13:00 Public Race

15:00 Public Race

16:00 Public Race

17:00 Public Race

19:30 Prize-giving Dinner at Oasi Verde

Monday

Break-down of track and transfer to Castello Slot Racing Club at Bar Bellavista, Castello delle Forme.

Concours (digital, analogue and static cars)

There will be two classes for all cars entered in this event; pre-war and post-war.  The panel of judges will be selected from local dignitaries so that there is impartiality.  If entrants do not wish their cars to be driven at all they can elect to enter this class only.  They must be working models though.  The cars may be used in the film as static models, moved on a couple of inches for each shot to simulate movement.
 
The Tour (digital and analogue cars)

This event will take place on the Saturday.  It is non-competitive so there are no prizes.  It is designed to enable drivers to get to know the track and the individual cars.  Spectators will be welcome.  It will also give us a chance to do some fine tuning and adjustment of the cars where necessary.

It is also a chance for us to photograph and film the cars for the video that will be available after the event.

Time Trials (digital and analogue cars)

This is the main event and will take place on the Sunday.  It is competitive, but still designed to minimise risk of damage to the cars.  A time of 35 seconds is set for completion of one lap.  Drivers will then attempt to match that time as closely as possible with each of the cars they have been assigned.  Any time over or under the set time will be added together and the winners will be the driver and car owner accumulating the fewest seconds.  There will also be a prize for the person who achieves the closest time to target.

The cars will be numbered (either with an official MMM decal or with a removable sticker) and put on display.  Drivers then draw numbers out of a bag and those are the cars that they drive.  Like the regularity trials in the current Mille Miglia there is no advantage from having a fast car, it's all down to driver skill, and a bit of luck!  Some cars will be easy to drive whilst others may have to be 'encouraged' round the track to achieve the target.

Another fun event and much more competitive for the drivers - speed is the essence!  For this event we use two dedicated and almost identical cars - the Scalextric Mercedes 300SLRs of Stirling Moss (No 722) and Juan Manuel Fangio (No 658).  They are started half a lap apart and the race ends when one car passes the other to become the winner.  The race is particularly exciting for both drivers and spectators as the cars cannot pass on the single-lane portion of the track and can change lanes to block passing manouvers on the two-lane part.  It will be done on a knock-out basis.  Cheering on is mandatory!

Public Races (super-resistant cars only)

From time to time during each of the two days members of the public can experience slot racing for themselves.  They will be able to drive a sponsored fleet of digitally-enabled super-resistant cars like this...

The cars will be modern day Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Gallardo, and Porsche 997 GT3.  There are sponsorship opportunities for companies wishing to advertise on the cars.  See the Sponsorship page.

Races will be for six drivers at a time.  The winner of each race will receive a slot car, similar to that shown below.

Dinner and Barbecue
On the Saturday evening there will be a pool-side barbecue at Villa Rosa for drivers and guests.  Cost: 15 euros per person including drinks.

On the Sunday evening there will be a prize-giving dinner at the venue, Oasi Verde, for the drivers, sponsors, and guests.  Cost: 25 euros per head.

Food and drinks are available at the venue throughout the event.

How to enter

Entry forms are available from the Entries Secretary (see Entry Details page)

Entry fees are 15 euros for the first car and 7 euros for each subsequent car.  This covers the cost of return postage and packing and each entrant gets a photo of their car or cars on the track and a free copy of the video. 

Many of the cars make very fragile models and take many hours to build so some owners may not want to have them driven at all.  We respect that and they can still be entered, so long as they are working models.

Publicity

We are planning a broad marketing campaign to publicise the event.  All the slot forums across the world will be helping to promote it and we expect plenty of magazine articles.  The press and TV will be invited to cover the event.  Last year we had a full page spread in Autocar magazine.

If you are attending the event, as a spectator or as a driver, and need accommodation please contact Graham Lane on +39 075 878 4296 or email graham@laportaverde.com to help arrange accommodation, advice on flights etc.  This is a busy time of the year so book early to avoid disappointment!

If you wish to book your own accommodation we recommend the following:

Casa Girasole.  A B&B in the pretty village of Papiano.  Three minutes away.  The owners are Dutch/Italian and speak fluent English.

Il Recanto.  An excellent country house with self-catering apartments, swimming pool, and a superb restaurant.  Two minutes away.  The owners speak English.

Hotel Melody.  A nice hotel at Deruta.  Five minutes away.  English-speaking staff.

Pieve del Castello.  An agriturismo (farm holiday) with nice apartments and swimming pool.  One minute away.  English-speaking owners.

There will be a courtesy car provided on request to take you to and from your accommodation if required.