HCVA Trade Members come together to take on the Mille Miglia

We’re keen to encourage HCVA members to work together - so when Simon Smith of The Fast Lane Club mentioned to us that he was looking for a Jaguar XK to compete in the prestigious Mille Miglia rally we knew just the member to help!

The Fast Lane Club is a classic & prestige car owners club that offers high end events and driving tour packages. As an official main sponsor of the Mille Miglia, The Fast Lane Club are allocated a number of guaranteed entries to the race each year. If somebody is considering entering the famous endurance race they can approach The Fast Lane Club and they will handle the whole process from sourcing or hiring an eligible car, managing the entry process, organising the car preparation & support throughout the race plus all accommodation, meals and pre-race hospitality.

It is very difficult to get a car accepted into the famous race due to the number of applications and the variety of cars the organisers of the race are looking for. Thankfully, the Fast Lane Club team know the regulations inside out from their extensive experience of the race. They know exactly what the organisers are looking for when making entrant applications.

We introduced Simon to Nik Rochez of Twyford Moors, a world renowned Jaguar XK specialist, at the NEC Classic Motor Show. Nik then sourced an XK140 OTS perfect for the event and the team at Twyford Moors got to work.

This was the first time that the Twyford Moors team had prepared a car for the Mille Miglia. Their wealth of experience in building reliable XKs for rallies and endurance events however, along with Simon’s knowledge of the event, ensured that the car preparations conformed precisely to event regulations. The car was transported to Italy and thanks to both the expert organisation from the Fast Lane Club team and the mechanical support from Twyford Moors the car finished the event a very creditable 214th out of 422 competitors.

Finishing an event of this length (over 2000km in 5 days) is an achievement in itself. Finishing without any notable mechanical issues is a testament to how brilliantly the car was prepared and maintained throughout the event. The car performed so well that it’s looking likely to return this year!

“Taking part in 1000 Miglia race is utterly unique. Apparently, and don’t ask me how they know, around 6million spectators line the streets along the 1000 mile route. The lucky drivers taking part get to follow in the foot steps the great 1000 Miglia drivers such as Tazio Nuvolari, Clemente Biondetti, Alberto Ascari, Fangio and or course Sir Stirling Moss. To drive a similar route on open, public roads as Stirling Moss did in 1955 where he reached top speeds of 180mph and completed the course in an incredible 10:07:48 (an average of 98mph) makes you understand his achievement was unquestionably the greatest endurance race drive of all time.

It is a lot closer to how you imagine the actual race was between 1927 and 1957 too. 400 classic and vintage cars taking part in what can only be described as the most beautiful race in the world. We have a fantastic team and are incredibly lucky to have a Race Main Sponsor association that allows us to help clients knock racing in the 1000 Miglia off their bucket list. Although, a number come back again for more as they have such an amazing experience.”

Simon Smith of The Fast Lane Club

See the full story on the Twyford Moors website here.

The HCVA were thrilled to have played a part in this story and we’re starting a regular news and social media feature covering HCVA members working together to achieve great things. If your membership of the HCVA has helped initiate a business collaboration or opportunity, do get in touch. We’d be delighted to highlight it in our upcoming series.