Abstract
The book concludes by examining how the convergence of Fascism and motorsport in the 1920s and 1930s left an important legacy on the sport. Indeed, Grand Prix racing’s very survival in the 1920s owed a great deal to the regime. It lay the groundwork for Nazi Germany’s full-throated support of the sport in the 1930s. Italian Fascism’s appropriation of motor racing, through the ideas of Marinetti and D’Annunzio, continued to influence the sport’s relationship with politics in Europe and other parts of the world. Moreover, Formula 1, the postwar heir of Grand Prix racing, continues to flirt with authoritarian and non-democratic regimes. Meanwhile, the Mille Miglia continued after the war, and today it is a vintage car race held every May on roughly the same “figure eight” course. The event is now an exercise in nostalgia, and it comes complete with a museum on the outskirts of Brescia housed in an ex-monastery. Despite an attempt to downplay the race’s Fascist origins, the regime’s ghost continues to haunt the event.