Classic beauties to run the Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano tour

2 June, 2015

The 21st edition of Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano is sure set to be one of the globe’s finest classic motoring events of the year. Held over June 19–21, Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano is a tour open to sports and competition cars built before 1959, covering ground over the spectacular Northern Italy.

The rally commences on June 19, near Bassano del Grappa, winding its way north through the Passo Manghen and Passo Lavazé, finishing the day at Bolzano.

The second day, June 20, faces an even more legendary challenge — including the Passo Mendola, Passo delle Palade, and the Passo dello Stelvio (yes, the mythical Stelvio Pass), before closing the day in Trento.

The grand finale, on June 21, climbs Passo Vezzena, due for Asiago, before heading due south for Bassano, to finish at Marostica.

The spectacular backdrop will be one thing, but such an event is as much about the cars, too. Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano will not disappoint in this respect — almost 90 entrants from across the globe, covering as many as 24 vehicle marques, have been confirmed for entry.

Bentley is one of the better represented marques here, with the line-up including the incredible 1931 Bentley 8 Litre, and the legendary Bentley 4.5 Litre Blower.

The British firepower is to be backed up by eight Jaguars, including this incredible 1955 Jaguar D Type, owned by Ben Cussons, President of the Royal Automobile Club.

Of course, such an event could never be devoid of Italian-racing pedigree, and one of this year’s stars is suitably fitting. The beautiful 1924 Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio is one of only four built, and placed second at the 1924 Targa Florio. Nine decades later, it will be driven by Giulio Masetti.

For a cinematic overview of the unparallelled automotive, and Northern Italian, beauty, watch this short teaser video — it is truly worth it.

Travelling companion

It’s easy to see why the Morris Minor Traveller was one of the best-loved variants of the Morris Minor. Introduced in 1953, it was equipped with the same independent torsion bar front suspension, drum brakes, and rack and pinion steering as its saloon sibling but, with their foldable rear seat increasing versatility, many Travellers were used as trade vehicles, says Derek Goddard. Derek and Gail Goddard, the owners of this superbly restored example, have run Morris Minors since before they were married in 1974.
“Our honeymoon vehicle was a blue Morris Minor van — it was a rust bucket,” says Derek.

Super Leicht Gullwing

It’s fair to say that nothing much in the classic Mercedes world gets past Mercedes-Benz Club stalwart Garry Boyce so it wasn’t surprising to learn that around 15 years ago he had sniffed out an extremely rare 300SL lightweight Gullwing as well as a 1958 300SL Roadster hiding away in the Waikato. The cars were not for sale but Garry eventually managed to persuade the owner to allow him and his restoration team to take a look at the Roadster. They discovered a very distressed but largely unmolested car. The car was so original that the body had never been off the chassis, meaning most of the parts and fittings were still present and correct, as they had been fitted by the factory.