1931 Mille Miglia – Race Profile

In April 1931, Rudolf Caracciola became the first non-Italian to win the Mille Miglia road race. Alongside his co-driver Wilhelm Sebastian, the Mercedes-Benz works team driver won the 1,635km race, which took place from 12 to 13 April 1931, in a Mercedes-Benz SSKL racing car.

Caracciola achieved an average speed of 101.1 km/h in the race from Brescia to Rome and back. It was the first time that the Mille Miglia – traditionally dominated by Italian drivers – had been won by a foreigner in a foreign car and the first time that a driver’s average speed exceeded 100 km/h.The Mercedes-Benz driver received a gold medal from the King of Italy and a cup from the Automobile Club of Germany in recognition of his victory.