BRESCIA, Italy – Each year, over a long weekend, a classic-car open-road endurance race takes place in Italy between Brescia and Rome. As it has since 2010, Santa Maria degli Angelia (PG)-based rental company Acoustic Light provided a HARMAN’s JBL VERTECA® line array system for the arrival at Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome and the initial departure from Brescia (and eventual return to the city).
Only 375 vehicles are accepted for participation in the event, and these are selected exclusively from the models that took part in at least one of the historic Mille Miglia races, which were held between 1927 and 1957—with crews coming from all over the world to compete. Like the older Targa Florio and later the Carrera Panamericana, the Mille Miglia helped make Gran Turismo (Grand Touring) sports cars like Alfa Romeo, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati and Porsche world famous brands.
Starting off from Brescia on the Thursday night, and arriving in Rome the day after, participants then drive the route in reverse, arriving back in Brescia late on Saturday night. The following day was then dedicated to the prize ceremony and celebrations. With up to five million enthusiasts lining the route, the whole 4-day re-enactment needs to be coordinated by high-quality sound reinforcement, which shows the same powers of endurance as the drivers themselves.
Acoustic Light, with the support of HARMAN Professional distributor, Leading Technologies, played an active role as they have been doing since 2010. At each destination a sound engineer, two audio technicians and a PA manager were stationed. In Brescia, Acoustic Light provided 24 JBL VERTEC VT4888DP powered midsized line array elements; eight JBL VT4880A fullsize arrayable subwoofers; 12 JBL VRX932LAP powered Constant Curvature loudspeakers—as well as a Soundcraft Vi1 digital mixing console and AKG D700 radio microphone systems.
The setup in Rome included 12 JBL VT4887A compact line array elements; four JBL SRX728 subwoofers; 12 VRX932LAP loudspeakers; a Soundcraft Vi1; and two AKG D700 radio mic systems.
These sound reinforcement systems were used at the destinations for the presentations of the car and the team (driver and co-driver) and interviews up on the ramp. During the event itself there were various VIP interviews. The whole event was televised by RAI, the Italian state broadcaster.
Stephan Luthi, Acoustic Light’s technical chief responsible for this event, was delighted with the standard of production, particularly the fidelity and reliability of the audio systems. “We have the relationship with Leading Technologies to thank for this, and the support they provided with HARMAN components.”
And Giacomo Laria, Key Account and Live Division Manager of Leading Technologies, added his endorsement of the event. “Apart from the rain during assembly in Brescia and Rome, there were no problems whatsoever. Fortunately we had prior warning of the weather and arrived in both locations one day early!”
Meanwhile, Leading Technologies’ newly-formed Live Division will comprise a network of rental companies, under the name THP (Totally HARMAN Pro)—designed to expand their presence in this market. “It is particularly important at this time to be able to reinforce the relationship that exists between distributors and customers,” said Giacomo.
HARMAN (
) designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of audio, lighting and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKGA®, Harman KardonA®, InfinityA®, JBLA®, LexiconA®, and Mark LevinsonA®, and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with Harman audio and infotainment systems. Harman has a workforce of about 14,300 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.