Veteran car race to celebrate 130 years of Skoda production
Vintage car lovers from around Central Europe are getting ready for the annual “1,000 Miles of Czechoslovakia” race leading from Prague to the Slovak capital Bratislava and back. The festive event is traditionally accompanied by live music and a period fashion show to enhance the atmosphere.
The vintage car race of the year originated in 1933 when it was first held under the auspices of President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Today the common state of Czechs and Slovaks no longer exists, but the race still takes place. It was briefly renewed in 1970 and since 2015 it has been held annually.
This year's event marks the 130th anniversary of the founding of the Skoda automobile company, and the organizers of the race - Friends of 1,000 Miles of Czechoslovakia Association, the Veteran Car Club Prague and the Veteran Car club Bratislava - have promised an impressive show. Moreover, President Petr Pavel, who is a motorsports enthusiast, is also expected to attend.
The race was originally inspired by the Mille Miglia in Italy and was established by the Autoclub of the Czechoslovak Republic. Participants, had to cover nearly 1,600-kilometres, and since it took place in normal traffic drivers were confronted with horse-drawn carriages, trucks, cyclists, and pedestrians. Moreover in 1933 it was a speed race in which the winner reached a record 108 kilometers per hour.
Today the race is not about speed, but about endurance. Competitors must aim to maintain an average speed as close as possible to 45 kilometers per hour –in normal traffic -and reach the finish line. Given the age of these veterans that’s no mean feat. The original route of the race led from Prague to the Czech towns of Kolín, Jihlava, Brno and Břeclav, then to Bratislava in Slovakia, and back. The current version is slightly shorter than the original, although it copies the original route where possible.
At a press briefing for journalists the head of the Veteran Car Club Prague Vaclav Kafka explained:
“We had to pick the route and set the conditions so as to make it doable for veterans to cover this distance in normal traffic. Even so, they sometimes end up in traffic jams and the whole enterprise is technically very demanding – so in a way it is an endurance race. But it has the same goal as it did in the 1930s –to showcase the high quality of Czech - or Czechoslovak – carmakers. Today we want to show the public how well-made these veterans were, how skilled we are at tuning them and that they can hold their own on Czech roads almost a century later.”
A record 130 cars will participate in this year’s vintage car race and only models produced before 1939 are eligible to take part.
The race will start on June 12 at 6 am in Opletalova Street. On Wednesday afternoon a technical inspection of the veterans will take place there and the event will feature live music and a period fashion show to enhance the atmosphere.
Several vehicles that competed in the original races of the 1930s will be at the starting line this year. One of the major attractions will be a Praga Piccolo, which raced in 1934 and is making its first appearance in the revived event. Given the fact that this is Skoda’s anniversary year the organizers have introduced a special category for Skoda automobiles and a total of nine Skoda cars will compete.
The National Technical Museum, which co-organized the event, will field several vehicles: a Jawa Minor with an all-female crew, an Aero 50 HP from 1938, and an Aero 662 from 1931. Other vintage stars include four Bugattis, four Lagondas, and nine cars from the Czech brand Tatra.
The race will end on Saturday sometime between 5:00 and 7:00 PM in front of the National Technical Museum in Letná. For the first time, the route will include a special stage along the Brno Circuit.
