Drivers shouldn’t be surprised if they see some rare and vintage sports cars rumbling through the Virginia countryside Friday, and into D.C. on Saturday.
The 1000 Miglia Warm Up USA is in town, with Middleburg, Virginia, as its home base. It’s put on in cooperation with organizers of the original 1000 Miglia (Italian for 1000 miles) in Italy.
“They started looking around for places that embodied that small, rural town feeling of Italy,” said Middleburg Mayor Bridge Littleton.
The top two finishers of the 19 vintage entries — including cars manufactured between 1927 and 1957 — will be able to register for the Italian race.
“Having a piece of that here, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Littleton said.
The idea was for this race to end on Italian soil, at the Italian embassy in the District. That’s set to happen at 2 p.m. Saturday, after drivers go through Purcellville, Virginia, and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
On Thursday, drivers went to Montpelier, and on Friday, they were set to hit checkpoints in Virginia’s Loudoun and Clark counties.
The race is not about speed. Instead, the cars must hit checkpoints at precise times and are penalized for being early or late.
Drivers come from this region as well as states as far away as Texas and California, and even from other countries such as Switzerland and Italy, organizers said.
The festivities include a street festival in Middleburg featuring the vintage cars from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday. The cars will also be shown at a ticketed event at nearby Creighton Farms on Saturday.
“These are all museum pieces and absolute works of art,” Littleton said.
