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1959 Targa Florio

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The 43° Targa Florio took place on 24 May 1959, on the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, (Sicily, Italy). It was the second round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. Early that year, the event founder, Vincenzo Florio died and his nephew Vincent Paladion promised to keep alive Florio’s Targa. “The Targa must continue… Promise me!..” [1]

Report

Entry

The event attracted few cars, with 59 racing cars were registered for this event,[2] instead of the 81 in 1958,[3] of which 58 arrived for practice. Only these, 52 qualified for, and started the race.[4]

Reigning champions, Ferrari had entered three of their latest 250 TR 59 for their squad of drivers; Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Tony Brooks, Olivier Gendebien, Jean Behra and Cliff Allison. As Aston Martin elected to miss the event, there was no other entrants in the S3.0 class, therefore their main opposition would come from the works Porsches of Jo Bonnier, Wolfgang von Trips, Edgar Barth and Wolfgang Seidel, but these were smaller engined cars and less powerful.[5]

Race

This was meant to be a Ferrari battle, but it was not to be, as all the Ferraris retired due to mechanical problems. This left Porsche alone to command the race, taking the top four places. Their only issue was the lead Porsche 718 of Bonnier and von Trips was forced to withdraw on the last lap.[6][7]

As Porsche record their first win in the World Sportscar Champions, with the pairing of Barth/Seidel. They took an impressive victory, with their 718 RSK completing 14 laps, covering 626.343 miles in just over 11 hours of racing, averaging a speed of 56.737 mph. Second place went to the second Porsche of Eberhard Mahle, Paul Ernst Strähle and Herbert Linge in a Porsche 550 RS, albeit 20 mins adrift. The podium was complete by another works Porsche, this time a 356A Carrera of Antonio Pucci and Huschke von Hanstein who were further 9 mins behind, the first GT car to finish. Surprisingly, the fourth car home was driven by the same crew that finished second.[8][9][10]

The result meant Porsche took the lead in the World Championship standing. This was the first time Ferrari did not top the standing since March 1957.[11]

Official Classification

Class Winners are in Bold text.

Pos No Class Driver Entrant Chassis Laps Reason Out
1st 112 S1.5 East Germany Edgar Barth West Germany Wolfgang Seidel Porsche KG Porsche 718 RSK 11hr 02:21.8, 14
2nd 118 S1.5 West Germany Eberhard Mahle
West Germany Herbert Linge 		West Germany Paul Ernst Strähle Porsche KG Porsche 550 RS 11hr 22:20.8, 14
3rd 102 GT2.6 West Germany Huschke von Hanstein Italy Antonio Pucci Porsche KG Porsche 356A Carrera 11hr 31:44.4, 14
4th 96 GT2.6 West Germany Paul Ernst Strähle
West Germany Eberhard Mahle 		West Germany Herbert Linge Porsche KG Porsche 356A Carrera 11hr 36:10.0, 14
5th 134 S2.0 Italy Mennato Boffa Italy Piero Drogo Centro-Sud Maserati A6GCS/53 11hr 41:20.0, 14
6th 38 GT1.3 Italy “Dario Sepe”
Italy Mario Sannino 		United Kingdom Colin Davis Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato 12hr 02:30.0, 14
7th 84 S1.1 Italy Umberto Bini Italy Luciano Mantovani Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus Osca S1100 12hr 10:52.3, 14
8th 132 S2.0 Italy Mario Cammarata Italy Domenico Tramontana Mario Cammarata Ferrari 500 TRC 12hr 14:45.4, 14
9th 120 GT+2.6 Italy Salvatore La Pira Italy Francesco Siracusa Nissena Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta 12hr 24:15.0, 14
10th 138 S2.0 Italy Giuseppe Allotta Italy Nino Vaccarella Giuseppe Allotta Maserati A6 GCS 12hr 35:47.4, 14
11th 72 S1.1 Italy Domenico Rotolo Italy Gaspere Cavaliere Monte Pellegrino Osca MT4 1100 12hr 39:40.0
12th 30 GT1.3 Italy Antonio Picone
Italy Sergio Mantia 		Italy Franco Tagliavia Monte Pellegrino Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider 12hr 41:31.0, 14
13th 46 GT1.3 Italy Vito Coco Italy Vito Sabbia Nissena Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce 12hr 46.16.0, 14
14th 8 GT750 Italy Enrico Carini Italy Ernesto Prinoth Janua Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato 12hr 53:39.0. 14
15th 24 GT1.3 Italy Amedeo Bartoccelli
Italy Salvatore Panepinto 		Italy Giuseppe Parla Nissena Fiat 1200 Boano 13hr 00:27.0, 14
16th 20 GT1.3 Italy Pietor Laureati Italy “Pompei”” Pietro Laureati Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce 162
17th 50 S750 Italy Sesto Leonardi Italy Alfredo Tinazzo Settecoli Osca S750 13hr 13:46.1, 14
18th 70 S1.1 United Kingdom Tommy Wisdom France Bernard Cahier Tommy Wisdom Austin-Healey Sprite 13hr 22:05.0, 14
19th 60 S750 Italy Gustavo Laureati Italy Giuseppe Celani Montegrappa Osca S750 13hr 22:05.4, 14
20th 56 S750 Italy Giancarlo Rigamonti Italy Anna Maria Peduzzi Scuderia Sant Ambroeus Osca S750 13hr 39:23.2, 14
21st 28 GT1.3 France José Rosinski France Claude Bobrowski Paris Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato 13hr 44:11.4, 14
NC 76 S1.1 Italy Enrico Manzini Italy Attilio Brandi Clemente Biondetti Ermini-Fiat 1100 14 Over time limit
NC 6 GT750 Italy Carmelo Giugno Italy Salvatore Giuffrida Nissena Fiat 500 14 Over time limit
NC 92 GT2.6 Italy Giovanni Giordano Italy Carlo Fulci San Rizzo Fiat 8V Zagato 14 Over time limit
DNF 136 S2.0 Italy Umberto Maglioli West Germany Hans Herrmann Porsche AG Porshce 718 RSK Transmission
DNF 150 S3.0 France Jean Behra United Kingdom Tony Brooks Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59 Rear axle
DNF 154 S3.0 United States Dan Gurney United Kingdom Cliff Allison Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59 Transmission
DNF 4 GT750 France Gérard Laureau France François Jaeger Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet D.B.-Panhard HBR4 did not finish
DNF 26 GT1.3 Italy Teodoro Zeccoli Italy Roberto Rosignoli G.S. Savio Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce did not finish
DNF 32 GT1.3 Italy Giuseppe Ruggero Italy Ciro Monaci Giuseppe Riggero Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato did not finish
DNF 34 GT1.3 France Jean-Pierre Hanrioud France Beniatt Jean-Pierre Hanrioud D.B.-Panhard HBR5 did not finish
DNF 36 GT1.3 Italy Sergio Bettoja Italy P. Feroldi Camidoglio Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato did not finish
DNF 40 GT1.3 Italy Ada Pace Italy Carlo Peroglio Racing Club 19 Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato did not finish
DNF 42 GT1.3 Italy Enrico Giaccone Italy Vincenzo Ribaudo Enrico Giaccone Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce did not finish
DNF 44 GT1.3 Italy Francesco de Leonibus Italy Carlo Peroglio Racing Club 19 Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato did not finish
DNF 52 S750 Italy Amerigo Brachetti Italy Elio Pandolfo Montegrappa Giaur 750 Sport did not finish
DNF 58 S750 Italy Giacomo Marino Italy Salvatore Sirchia Monte Pellegrino Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato did not finish
DNF 74 S1.1 Italy Francesco La Mattina
Italy Francesco Soldana 		Italy Armando dols Soldana Monte Pellegrino Osca MT4 1100 did not finish
DNF 78 S1.1 Italy Emanuele Trapani Italy Bartolomeo Donato Monte Pellegrino Osca MT4 1100 did not finish
DNF 80 S1.1 Italy Antonio di Salvo Italy Silvestre Semilia Falanga Roar-Fiat 1100 Special did not finish
DNF 82 S1.1 Italy Enzo Buzzetti Italy Giuseppe Rossi Settecoli Osca MT4 1100 did not finish
DNF 90 GT2.6 Italy Rosario Montalbano Italy Gaspare Bologna Giuseppe Bologna Fiat 8V did not finish
DNF 94 GT2.6 Italy Alfonso Vella Italy Pietro Tremini Pietro Tremini Fiat 8V did not finish
DNF 100 GT2.6 Italy Rocco Finocchiaro Italy Ignazio Consiglio Rocco Finocchiaro Fiat 8V did not finish
DNF 104 GT2.6 Italy Vincenzo Sorrentino Italy Franco Pisano Sorrentino Lancia Flaminia did not finish
DNF 114 S1.5 Italy Edoardo Lualdi Italy Ludovico Scarfiotti Scuderia Sant Ambroeus Osca MT4 1500 did not finish
DNF 116 S1.5 Belgium Christian Goethals Christian Goethals Porsche 550 RS did not finish
DNF 122 GT+2.6 Italy Nino Todaro Italy Gennaro Alterio Mediterranea Ferrari 250 GT did not finish
DNF 140 S2.0 Italy Gaetano Starrabba Italy Domenico Lo Coco Gaetano Starrabba Ferrari 500 TRC did not finish
DNF 142 S2.0 Italy Giulio Cabianca Italy Giorgio Scarlatti Scuderia Eugenio Castellotti Ferrari Dino 196 S Out of fuel
DNF 130 S2.0 Sweden Jo Bonnier West Germany Wolfgang von Trips Porsche AG Porsche 718 RSK 13 did not finish
DNF 152 S3.0 Belgium Olivier Gendebien United States Phil Hill Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59 1 Pinion
DNS 2 GT750 Italy Elio Lenza Italy Filippo Golia Elio Lenza Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato did not start
DNS 10 GT750 Italy Aldo Tine
Italy Matteo Sgarlata 		Italy Gianni Carpinteri Aretusa Fiat-Abarth 750 did not start
DNS 22 GT1.3 Italy Francesco Gambi Francesco Gambi Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce did not start
DNS 54 S750 Italy Gaetano Spampinato Spampinato Fiat-Abarth 750 Sport did not start
DNS 98 GT2.6 Italy Sergio Mantia Italy Giovanni Napoli Monte Pellegrino Lancia Aurelia B24 did not start
DNS 110 S1.5 France Henri Perrier
France Gilled Nebon Carle 		France Binachon Henri Perrier / Binachon Osca MT4 1500 did not start

Class Winners

Class Winners
Sports 3000 No finishers
Sports 2000 134 Maserati A6GCS/53 Boffa / Drogo
Sports 1500 112 Porsche 718 RSK Barth / Seidel
Sports 1100 84 Osca S1100 Bini / Mantovani
Sports 750 50 Osca S750 Leonardi / Tinazzo
Grand Touring +2600 120 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta La Pira / Siracusa
Grand Touring 2600 102 Porsche 356A Carrera von Hanstein / Pucci
Grand Touring 1300 38 Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato “Sepe” / Davis / Sannino
Grand Touring 750 8 Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato Carini / Prinoth

[15]

Standings after the race

Pos Championship Points
1 West Germany Porsche 12
2 Italy Ferrari 8
3 Italy Maserati 2
4 Italy Alfa Romeo 1
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included in this set of standings.

Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 3 results out of the 5 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.

References

  1. ^ http://www.targaflorio.info/43.htm
  2. ^ http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Targa_Florio-1959-05-24.html
  3. ^ http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Targa_Florio-1958-05-11.html
  4. ^ http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Targa_Florio-1959-05-24.html
  5. ^ http://www.racingsportscars.com/entry/Targa_Florio-1959-05-24.html
  6. ^ http://www.targaflorio.info/43.htm
  7. ^ http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Targa_Florio-1959-05-24.html
  8. ^ http://www.teamdan.com/archive/wsc/1959/59tf.html
  9. ^ http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Targa_Florio-1959-05-24.html
  10. ^ http://www.formula2.net/Targa59.htm
  11. ^ Peter Higham, The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing, 1995, page 266
  12. ^ http://www.teamdan.com/archive/wsc/1959/59tf.html
  13. ^ http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Targa_Florio-1959-05-24.html
  14. ^ http://www.formula2.net/Targa59.html
  15. ^ http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Targa_Florio-1959-05-24.html

Further reading

  • Ed Heivink. Targa Florio: 1955-1973. Reinhard Klein. ISBN 978-3927458666


World Sportscar Championship
Previous race:
12 Hours of Sebring 		1959 season Next race:
1000km Nürburgring
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