This page revisits the participation of Alfa Romeo in the most ancient race in the world, the Targa Florio, the first edition of which was run in 1906. The name of the race came from its organizer, Vincenzo Florio, a wealthy gentleman from Palermo with a great passion for automobiles and Marsala wine. The race was disputed over the roads of the Madonie Mountains in Sicily, driving over unpaved roads with plenty of turns, going up and down passes and crossing through villages. Such a driving course was not common in those days, as most race venues were designed on more level and smooth surfaces to maximize pure speed. Vincenzo Florio wanted to highlight the driver and the struggle between going fast and finishing the race in conditions that would challenge both men and machines. You can imagine the warm welcome race drivers would receive when driving through the many small villages that were part of the actual circuit. Today the idea of driving a racecar through town without any safety measure may seem insane, but this was the way in Sicily from the beginning through the entire life span of the Targa Florio as a road race, which lasted until 1977. People loved it, and the Targa Florio became a legend. I can certainly testify to that, given that I was born and raised in Sicily. However, being born in 1962 I regretfully missed most of the action! Indeed, it was only in the 1980s that I was old enough to go watch the Targa, and by then it was being disputed as a European Championship Rally. Having watched those rally editions is no help in writing about the original Targa Florio road race, so I delved into my copy of the "Targa Florio", a wonderful book written by Salvatore Requirez and published by Flaccovio, Palermo, Italy. Another wonderful reference is found on the web at

http://www.targaflorio.info/

a web site dedicated to the Targa created by Aldo Lo Giudice. He kindly shared with us some of the pictures shown in this page. Below is what I found out about Alfas at the Targa Florio.

The involvement of Alfa Romeo in the Targa Florio started in 1920 when Enzo Ferrari, yes, the same Enzo who would become the world famous carmaker, raced an Alfa Romeo and set the fastest lap time in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 39 seconds driving on the Circuito delle Madonie (108 km) at an average speed of 51.571 km/h. Enzo participated in five editions of the Targa, from 1919 to 1923, with his best results being second in 1920. The famous driver Campari also drove an Alfa Romeo to third place in 1921. The first victory came in 1923, over 4 laps of the Circuito delle Madonie, for a total of 432 km. Ugo Sivocci won at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo RLTF with a 3 liter six cylinder engine. Despite Italian tradition associates #13 with bad luck, Sivocci won the race sporting # 13 on his radiator grille after contending the race with Steyr, Minoia and the formidable Antonio Ascari in a similar Alfa. In fact, Ascari dominated the race but he was the one with bad luck as his engine quit at the last turn even though his car was # 14. He managed to fire the engine again after 10 minutes, but by then Sivocci had taken the checkered flag. Sivocci won in 7 hours, 18 minutes driving at an average speed of 59.177 km/h. He was followed by less than 3 minutes by Ascari, who posted the fastest lap time in 1 hour, 41 minutes and 10 seconds at an average speed of 63.986 km/h. Two other Alfa RLTF models took part in the 1923 Targa Florio, driven by Enzo Ferrari and Giulio Masetti, who finished 4^th.   Masetti was known as the "Leone delle Madonie" (The Lion of the Madonie Mountains) because of his courageous and dramatic driving style. A wealthy and noble man from Tuscany, he won the Targa in 1921 driving a FIAT and again in 1922 with a Mercedes. He also finished 4^th and 2^nd driving Alfas in 1923 and 1924, respectively. His love for the Targa Florio was so evident that Sicilian fans had embraced him as one of their favorites. At the wheel of a Delage, he was battling for victory during the Targa Florio in 1926. While the Delage was powerful, brake failure was a probable factor in the fatal accident in which Masetti lost his life in a very demanding portion of the circuit, where true drivers would shine. Requirez wrote, "man like him, who die racing, never die".

Bugatti and Alfa Romeo fought for supremacy at the Targa Florio for about a decade. The races between 1925 and 1929 were dominated by Bugatti, and the best Alfa could do was second place with Campari in 1928 and third with Brilli-Peri in 1929. Both races went into history for their intense competition. Among the participants of the 1929 edition was Madame Juneck, a pioneer lady driver, who even held the lead of the race in her black and yellow Bugatti.

The reversal of fortune came in 1930 with 5 consecutive victories for Alfa Romeo. The great Achille Varzi broke the ice by taking first place and defeating the Bugattis of Chiron and Conelli in 1930. This was a legendary race, hardly fought against Bugattis aces Divo, Chiron and Conelli. Both Divo and Chiron were involved in accidents, but things were not going to be easy for Varzi either. During the last pit stop Varzi had the spare tires removed from his 175 HP supercharged 8-cylinder P2 to make it lighter, as it was a powerful but big and heavy car. In so doing the fuel tank was accidentally pierced, and after they resumed racing the engine started misfiring because of fuel starvation. Varzi ordered the mechanic riding with him to add fuel to the tank from a small spare container while they were racing. A few drops of fuel splashed over the exhaust pipes and the car was set on fire. Varzi did not stop fearing he may be passed by the Bugatti and crossed victorious the finish line with his P2 ablaze.

Nuvolari and Borzacchini finished first and second both in 1931 and 1932. In 1931, Nuvolari drove a 2300 8C to victory in an epic battle against Varzi, this time driving a Bugatti. The battle was made even more intense by inclement weather, which had seriously worsened the already poor conditions of the 148 km road circuit. Under heavy rain and driving on roads that had become muddy and flooded, Nuvolari passed Varzi, whose car had no fenders and finished the race literally covered in mud. At the finish, Nuvolari awaited Varzis arrival, about 7 minutes later, and the two men shook hands, acknowledging each others greatness. Nuvolari simply was above anybody else in 1932. He took the lead from the start and drove his 8C 2.3 liter all the way to victory, never challenged by anyone, including Varzi who finished third about 20 minutes behind. The 1932 Targa was the first one disputed on the Piccolo Circuito delle Madonie (72 km), and Nuvolari won driving at an average speed of 79.355 km/h, a record that stood for 20 years.

Three Alfa Romeo cars swept the podium in 1933, driven by Brivio, Balestrero and Carraroli. Alfa dominated and swept the podium again in 1934 and 1935. In 1934 Varzi was again the winner followed by Barbieri and Magistri. Brivio won once more in 1935 followed by Chiron and Barbieri. Note that just 12 years had gone by since the first Alfa victory at the Targa Florio, and Alfa had won 7 of those 12 races. Technical progress must also be noted here. The race of 1935 was disputed over the same distance of the one in 1923, and the winner completed the race in 5 hours, 27 minutes and 29 seconds, at an average speed of 79.149 km/h, much faster than in 1923.