Targa Florio - forgotten race track in Sicily
Summary
The Targa Florio is one of the most famous races of all, held for the first time in 1908. With lap averages of up to 128 km/h and top speeds of over 300 km/h, it was the stuff of true heroes. Even today, many remnants bear witness to its former glory. The last world championship race took place 40 years ago in 1973, a good reason to look back with this report and praise the heroic deeds of that time.
This article contains the following chapters
- Sicilian idol
- Resting at 300 km/h
- It all began at the beginning of the 20th century
- With a single start
- The flying Finn
- Forfeit
- The winners of the world championship races
Estimated reading time: 7min
Preview (beginning of the article)
Were they heroes or madmen who set off to Sicily every year in pursuit of fame and glory? "Lock up your children and pets!" was the vital instruction in the days of the legendary "Targa Florio". At the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s, in the heyday of sports car racing, racing cars such as the Alfa Romeo 33, Ferrari 512 and 312 or Porsche 908 thundered along the roads of the Madonie, a region in the hinterland of the Sicilian town of Cefalù that is now a nature reserve. The 72 km long lap was one of the toughest that a route could demand of a racer. "And you're never sure whether a donkey cart won't block the road behind the next bend if you're driving at the limit," said Jo Siffert at the time, describing the risks.
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