Driving the Targa Florio circuit

The pits complex on the old Little Madonie circuit near Cerda.

Just after my visit to this year’s 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, I was off to Sicily and the Little Madonie circuit in the North of the Island.  By doing this I was in the footsteps of the World Sports Car Championships of 1967, 1971 and 1972 when the Spa 1000kms was followed by the Targa Florio.  In other years the Targa Florio was often followed by the race at Spa.   In many ways these two circuits were miles apart, both in terms of geography and nature, but there were also similarities as neither the original Spa circuit nor the Little Madonie circuit survived the increasing speed of the cars and the increasing safety concerns of the seventies.  Also both were true road circuits, being run entirely on public roads.

Don't forget to visit our Auto Vitesse Facebook page via this link to see what we have been posting recently.

The three main routes taken over the years by the Targa Florio.

The first Targa Florio was on the 6^th May 1906 and by the early seventies was the oldest continuously run race in the world.  From 1955 to 1973 it was normally a round of the World Sports Car Championship and thus an important race internationally.  Over the year a number of great drivers won the race including Tazio Nuvolari and Stirling Moss.   It also had the distinction of being the longest circuit in the world.  In later years the Targa Florio was run on the Little Madonie circuit that had a length of just 45 miles or 72 kms.    The original version had been 92 miles or 148 kms long and then this was shortened to  67 miles or 108 kms.  The race was also run pre-first World war on an even longer circuit that ran around the whole Island of Sicily.

The parc naturel Madonie is a beautiful part of the world.

For my visit, I started in the town of Caltavuturo and drove through Scillato to Collesano and then through Campofelice di Roccella to Cerda.  Shortly after Cerda the original route becomes impossible to follow.   Around some parts of the route the roads are falling into extreme disrepair but it is still possible to get a real impression of the challenge of this magnificent circuit.  I was worried that it might be difficult to follow the original circuit but in most places the route is obvious and there are lots of helpful signs.   The must see places are the pits to the north of Cerda and the town of Collesano.  Little Targa Florio museums exist in Cerda, Collesano and Campofelice but my itinerary didn’t give me time to visit them.

Fiat 500 in Caltavuturo.

As soon as I reached Caltavuturo there were signs of the Targa Florio and the adventure began.  It was great to see an old Fiat 500 as these both competed in the race and also spectator’s Fiat 500s feature in a number of famous photos and paintings of the Targa Florio.

Amazing scenery and bumpy roads.

As soon as you start the drive out of Caltavuturo towards Scillato you appreciate both the amazing scenery and the torturous winding route that the circuit took.  Every few metres another corner!

One of the many information boards around the old circuit.

Along the route there are a number of information boards about the circuit and the race.  It is great to this old race being celebrated.

Entering Collesano.   Imagine racing through these narrow streets with spectators on each side of the road!

One of the most famous and most photographed corners on the Targa Florio.

As I drove downhill into the town of Collesano I suddenly had a big smile on my face.  I had found that famous corner that features in so many Targa Florio photographs.  It is still recognizable today but lacks the Viva Vaccarella sign, which is a shame.

The 1970 Targa Florio and the Porsche vs Ferrari battle.

Throughout the town of Collesano are a number of ceramics celebrating the famous races, cars and drivers.   On the outside of that famous corner is a ceramic of Jo Siffert and Brian Redman’s victory in 1970 in a Porsche 908/3.  To drive a car like that, with such a low amount of driver protection, around roads like this needed a special type of person.

Ceramics in Collesano.

A little further down the road are some further ceramics reminding us of some of the great drivers and cars who raced here.  No surprise that local boy, Nino Vaccarella is amongst them.  He lived in Collesano and owned a school in nearby Palermo.  However, racing was his passion and he drove in F1 and took victories in Sports Cars around the World including at the 1964 Le Mans 24 Hours and three times the 12 hours of Sebring.  He also, importantly, won the 1965 Targa Florio for Ferrari and the 1971 Targa Florio for Alfa Romeo.   The 1965 victory was with Lorenzo Bandini, so one can imagine how popular that victory was for the locals.  In 1975 Nino Vaccarella took another victory for Alfa Romeo but by this time it was just a national race.

Ceramics in Collesano.

The Ceramics also remind us of other great sports car drivers.  One of the most successful Targa Florio drivers was a Belgian, Olivier Gendebien.  He was obviously popular as all three of his victories were for Ferrari.  These victories came in 1958, 1961 and 1962.  Another driver with a successful Targa Florio record was Joakim Bonnier who won for Porsche in 1960 and 1963.  The Madonie circuit was a happy hunting ground for Porsche.  Although, Alfa Romeo took the most victories of all marques in the Targa Florio, Ignazio Giunti pictured below could only manage second in 1968 in his T33.  He also shared the third place Ferrari 512S with Nino Vaccarella in 1970.  Anyone who drove a 512S around here deserves a plaque.

Ceramics in Collesano.

I remember reading of Vic Elford’s drive in the 1968 Targa Florio and immediately become a fan of this British racing driver.  At the time he was still also a rally driver and had won the Monte Carlo Rally earlier that year.  He followed that up with a win in the Daytona 24 hours.  Later in the year he made his F1 debut at the French GP and came fourth.  A different world!   However, at the Targa Florio he made up a large deficit from an early puncture to win the race and set fastest lap.  He set fastest lap again the following year.  One of Elfords skills was memorizing very long tracks such as the Madonie circuit or the Nurburgring – amazing!

Ceramics in Collesano.

Another driver celebrated on the ceramics is Rolf Stommelen.  Like so many of the Targa winners, he eventually was killed in a racing car but not before he had won the Daytona 24 hours four times and the Targa Florio once in 1967 for Porsche.  The Targa Florio itself was not as dangerous as you might imagine.  There were only 9 fatalities in 61 years that the race took place.  Considering the era this was not that bad. 

Another ceramic in Collesano.

The Targa Florio is named after its founder Vincenzo Florio and Targa refers to the plaque awarded to the winner.  The first race was in 1906 and was one by Alessandro Cagno in an Itala.  It must have been a real test of endurance on mountain dirt roads!  A ceramic picture in Collesano celebrates the first race.

The Targa Florio circuit as it approaches the coast at Campofelice.

The Targa Florio pits as they are today in 2018.

After Collesano the road is very mixed with some very poorly maintained stretches.   Eventually you reach the nice coastal resort town of Campofelice.  Then comes the long straight stretch on the road towards Palermo.  Nothing of real interest along here but as soon as you leave the coast road towards Cerda you happen upon the well preserved pits and grandstand complex.

Ferrari 312PB poster.

A lot was done for the 100 years celebrations in 2016 and some remains.   A picture of the 1972 Ferrari 312PB that took victory in the hands of Arturo Merzario and Sandr Munari reminds me of a couple of things.  Firstly, how successful rally drivers were at this venue.  We have already talked about Vic Elford but other rally drivers also did well.  Sandro Munari was another winner here as was Gerard Larrousse.   Leo Kinnunen put in a fine lap record in 1970 in finishing second with a sick Pedro Rodriguez, and Bjorn Waldergard came fifth the same year.   It is also interesting to note that Sandro Munari went on to be a World Champion at rallying, in 1977, but no one ever won both the Targa Florio and the Formula One World Championship for drivers.

Sicily is an amazing vacation destination for its history, its beautiful architecture, its food, its weather, and many other reasons.  However, if you go do visit the parc naturel Madonie and its amazing old circuit.  Drive around slowly and be amazed that the average speed here was over 70 mph for such a long, twisty, narrow, bumpy circuit

Don't expect to drive fast around the old circuit.  However, many visitors soon suspect that speed limit signs in Sicily are minimum speeds rather than maximum speeds.  Go there to find out what i mean!

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page.

Poster of some famous cars that raced in the Targa Florio.