Pan-Emirates 1,000 mile Mille Miglia classic car race postponed until February

Grand tour will start from Dubai Expo on February 18 to mark the country's 50th anniversary

The Dubai Police V8 Mercedes Benz SLS AMG was flown to Milan in Italy by Emirates SkyCargo, to take part in the Mille Miglia tour. Courtesy Dubai Police

A version of the historic Mille Miglia race is coming to the UAE to mark the nation's jubilee year in 2022. Courtesy: MM

Classic cars race tour the streets of Italy in the Mille Miglia grand tour from Brescia to Rome. Courtesy: MM

A total of 100 classic cars will be invited to take part in the first UAE tour of the classic Mille Miglia race. Courtesy: MM

The Brescia sealing ceremony of the Italian Mille Miglia classic car race coming to the UAE in February 2022.Courtesy: MM

One of Stirling Moss’ iconic racing cars that competed in the famous Italian road race “Eldorado Ice Cream” Maserati Tipo 420/M/58 on view in Modena at the Maserati motorsport museum. The Mille Miglia classic car race will take place in the UAE in February. Nicholas Webster / The National

Cars will now line up for the pan-Emirate celebration of motoring on Friday, February 18, with the first leg now taking place from Dubai to Al Ain. Antonie Robertson / The National.

Classic cars will descend on the UAE in February for the Mille Miglia race. A fleet of classic Maseratis that competed in the race's original format are on show in Modena, Italy. Nicholas Webster / The National

The UAE project has been three years in the making and will see design meet art on the nation’s roads with 50 cars from the world touring alongside 50 cars from the Arabian Peninsula. Antonie Robertson / The National.

A fleet of classic cars that competed in Italy's Mille Miglia race are displayed at the Maserati museum in Modena. The race is coming to the UAE in February. Nicholas Webster / The National

The Mille Miglia was announced at a press conference at the House Of Wisdom in Sharjah. Antonie Robertson / The National.

The Mille Miglia will take in each of the seven emirates. Antonie Robertson / The National.

The Mille Miglia, an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927, could become an annual event in the UAE. Antonie Robertson / The National.

A thousand-mile classic car parade across the UAE to mark the nation’s 50th anniversary has been postponed until February.

The five-day grand tour based on the famous Mille Miglia Italian classic car race was scheduled to start on December 5 and would cover all seven Emirates, starting out from Yas Marina, home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Cars will now line up for the pan-Emirate celebration of motoring on Friday, February 18, with the first leg taking place from Dubai to Al Ain.

The 1,600 kilometre tour was announced at a glittering event in Sharjah in May, with a line-up of classic cars and speeches from drivers scheduled to take part.

While no official announcement for the delay to the tour has been for made, new dates and a revised route have been added to the organiser’s website.

The 1,000 Miglia Experience “UAE Jubilee Edition” is expected to attract 100 participants from around the world.

Three classes of vehicles can take part in the event.

It is open to cars manufactured between 1927 and 1957 that competed at least once in the original Italian race from Brescia to Rome; UAE jubilee cars that date from 1971 or before; and "contemporary icons", for distinctive or historic vehicles.

The second leg will take drivers from Al Ain to Fujairah on February 19, followed by Fujairah to Ras Al Khaimah a day later, then Ras Al Khaimah back to Dubai on day four before a final leg to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, February 22.

The new route for the Mille Miglia classic car race that has been postponed from this weekend until February.

The Mille Miglia is described by motorsport aficionados as the most beautiful race in the world.

For the first time, the lush green of Brescia will be replaced by the sandy deserts of the UAE as the endurance event hits the nation's roads.

The original race took place 24 times between 1927 and 1957, cementing its place in motor racing folklore.

The grand tour attracted some of the fastest vehicles in production, piloted by courageous drivers.

At its pomp, the race attracted about five million spectators across the country.

For five years from 1953, the Mille Miglia achieved global status in the World Sportscar Championship, making famous now-established names in the annals of motorsport, such as Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Porsche and Mercedes Benz.

The race made famous names of racing heroes such as Britain's Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio from Argentina and German driver Hans Herrmann.