Targa Florio - forgotten race track in Sicily

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Targa Florio - forgotten race track in Sicily

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Created on May 11, 2013

Text:

Thomas Suter

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Archiv / J. Froidevaux / Daniel Reinhard

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Copyright Daimler AG

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Thomas Suter

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Archiv Bernhard Brägger

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Rainer W. Schlegelmilch

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Spirit Level Film

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Thierry Nou

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Porsche AG

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Archiv

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Ferrari 512S (1970) by Nino Vaccarella and Ignazio Giunti at the 1970 Targa Florio

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Porsche 550 A Spyder (1956) - Porsche achieved its first overall victory in an important international race at the Targa Florio on June 10, 1956.

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Fiat 18 20 HP (1907) - Felice Nazzaro wins the second Targa Florio in 1907

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Steyr (1920) - The 2-liter 4-cylinder model for the Targa Florio

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Steyr (1924) - Steyr's Targa Florio team - Hansal, Rützler, Brilli Peri (from left to right)

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Steyr (1930) - They were still driving, but the great era was over - A Steyr in the 1930 race

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Fiat S 57 14 B Corsa (1914) - Count G. Masetti wins the Targa Florio of 1921

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Mercedes 28/95 hp (1921) - at the Targa Florio on May 29, 1921 - Max Sailer won the Coppa Florio for the fastest production car

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Mercedes (1922) - the racing team fielded for the 1922 Targa Florio with various supercharged racing cars

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Mercedes 6/40/65 PS (1922) - at the 1922 Targa Florio, this type was used with a supercharger for the first time - Paul Scheef and co-driver Jakob Krauss came third

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (1955) - on the famous blue fast transporter - on the occasion of the 1955 Targa Florio

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (1955) - the L 311 / L 312 racing transporter brings the racing car to the Targa Florio race track in Sicily

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (1955) - Winner of the 1955 Targa Florio is Moss/Collins - the SLR proves its ability to take the strain and crosses the finish line first with severe damage

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (1955) - in October 1955 at the Targa Florio, loaded onto the famous blue high-speed racing transporter

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (1955) - John Cooper Fitch and Desmond Titterington took fourth place in this racing sports car at the 1955 Targa Florio

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (1955) - the Fangio/Kling team took second place at the 1955 Targa Florio

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (1955) - Peter Collins at the Targa Florio on October 16, 1955 - he drove together with Stirling Moss

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (1955) - the Fangio/Kling team refueling at the Targa Florio on October 16, 1955 - 2nd place at the end

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Colin Davis in a Porsche on the bends of the 1958 Targa Florio

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ATS 2500 GT (1964) - the mid-engined sports car on one of its rare race outings at the 1964 Targa Florio

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Nino Vaccarella with the 2-liter 8-cylinder Porsche at the 1962 Targa Florio

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Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ (1964) - Targa Florio in 1964

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Ferrari 250 LM (1964) - Hawkins and Epstein on the road in the Targa Florio

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Porsche 904 in the pits at the 1964 Targa Florio

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Shelby AC Cobra - Gurney at the wheel of the Cobra at the 1964 Targa Florio

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Shelby AC Cobra - Gurney overtakes a Giulietta at the 1964 Targa Florio

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Experience for the Daytona Coupe was gained with the older Cobra Roadsters at the Targa Florio - still from the movie The Snake and the Stallion

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Dino 206 S (1966) - Jean Cuichet and Giancarlo Baghetti at the 1966 Targa Florio

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Porsche 906 Carrera 6 (1966) - the pack of works Porsches at the 1966 Targa Florio

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Porsche 906 Carrera 6 (1966) - Gunther Klass at the 1966 Targa Florio

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Porsche 908/03 Spyder (1970) - Hans Hermann (center), Dieter Glemser (Porsche 904 GTS 1960, right), Herbert Linge (RS 60 Spyder 1960) at the anniversary Targa Florio from 1986

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Pedro Rodriguez in the Porsche 908/3 at the 54th Targa Florio 1970

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Porsche 550 (1956) - Umberto Magliali wins the overall classification of the Targa Florio in the 550A

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Swiss motor racing's Wall of Fame - Joseph Siffert

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The serpentine curves of the Targa Florio today

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Porsche poster: 42nd Targa Florio (1958)

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Porsche poster by Thierry Nou - Targa Florio (1956)

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Porsche poster: 44th Targa Florio (1960)

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Porsche poster: Targa Florio overall winner for the 5th time (1964)

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Nino Vaccarella won the 1975 Targa Florio together with Arturo Merzario with this Alfa Romeo T33/TT/12 (photo was taken during the Ennstal-Classics 2008)

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Nino Vaccarella won the 1975 Targa Florio together with Arturo Merzario with this Alfa Romeo T33/TT/12 (photo was taken during the Ennstal-Classics 2008)

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Nino Vaccarella won the 1975 Targa Florio together with Arturo Merzario with this Alfa Romeo T33/TT/12 (photo was taken during the Ennstal-Classics 2008)

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Nino Vaccarella - Winner of the Targa Florio 1975 - Portrait during the Ennstal-Classics 2008

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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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