1906 Targa Florio

The 1906 Targa Florio was the inaugural running of the Targa Florio, an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded by wealthy Sicilian wine producer, Vincenzo Florio, it was held at Madonie on 6 May 1906 and run over 3 laps of the 92.473 mile circuit, totalling 277.42 miles.

The entry list was badly affected by a dock strike in Genoa but the race was won by the Italian driver Alessandro Cagno in an Itala.

Results

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References

1930 Targa Florio

The 1930 Targa Florio was a non-championship Grand Prix motor race held on a 67 mile (108 km) course made up of public roads on the mountainous Italian island of Sicily.

Race

Yet again in 1930 Maserati strove to win the Targa Florio. The new 2.5L cars made their debut in this race and four were entered for Luigi Arcangeli, Baconin Borzacchini and Ernesto Maserati. The opposition included a strong entry of Bugattis and OMs and from Scuderia Ferrari (now entering cars on behalf of the Alfa works) one of the rebuilt P2 for Achille Varzi and 1,75Occ six-cylinder cars for Tazio Nuvolari, Giuseppe Campari and Count Aymo Maggi. Campari was originally supposed to drive a P2, but did not and Luigi Fagioli was on the roster for the Maserati team, but didn't appear.

Scuderia Ferrari set a searing pace from the start of the race and the young and fiery Varzi pulled out a lead of 1½ minutes over team-mate Nuvolari on the first lap. Ernesto Maserati was the highest placed Bologna driver in eighth place, but he gradually fell back further down the field. Arcangeli went off the road on lap 2 because of a locking brake and retired soon afterwards. A lap later race-leader Varzi, with Chiron's Bugatti now hot on his heels, found himself in trouble. His P2 had shed its spare wheel which had damaged the fuel tank as it fell off. At the end of the lap Varzi rushed into the pits, all four wheels were changed, the mechanic grabbed a can of fuel and the Alfa roared back into the race.

1955 Targa Florio

The 39a Targa Florio took place on 16 October, around the Circuito delle Madonie Piccolo, (Sicily, Italy). It was also the sixth and final round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. The title lay between Ferrari, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz, with Ferrari leading 19 points to 16 from the other two marques.

Report

Entry

A grand total of 65 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 64 arrived for practice and qualifying. Scuderia Ferrari entered a pair of Ferrari 750 Monzas for Carroll Shelby and Gino Munaron, and Umberto Maglioli and Sergio Sighinolfi, alongside a 860 Monza for the partnership of Eugenio Castellotti and Robert Manzon. One of their closest championship rivals, Jaguar, did not entry not all, leaving it to just one locally entered Jaguar XK120 to take up to the fight. Meanwhile, Officine Alfieri Maserati sent a total of six works cars across the Strait of Messina to keep their very slim championship hopes alive. Amongst their line-up was Luigi Musso, Giorgio Scarlatti and Franco Bordoni.

Targa Florio

The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973. While the first races consisted of a whole tour of the island, the track length in the race's last decades was limited to the 72 kilometres (45 mi) of the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, which was lapped 11 times.

After 1973, it was a national sports car event until it was discontinued in 1977 due to safety concerns. It has since been run as a rallying event, and is part of the Italian Rally Championship.

History

The race was created in 1906 by the wealthy pioneer race driver and automobile enthusiast, Vincenzo Florio, who had started the Coppa Florio race in Brescia, Lombardy in 1900.

One of the toughest competitions in Europe, the first Targa Florio covered 3 laps equalling 277 miles (446 km) through multiple hairpin curves on treacherous mountain roads, at heights where severe changes in climate frequently occurred. Alessandro Cagno won the inaugural 1906 race in nine hours, averaging 30 miles per hour (50 km/h).