1970 Targa Florio

March 2015 March 2015 March 2015 thumb|The winning Porsche 908/03 #12 The 1970 Targa Florio was an endurance race that took place on 3 May 1970. It was held on a 44.6 mi (71.8 km) anti-clockwise circuit made up entirely of public roads on the mountainous Italian island of Sicily. It was the fifth round of the 1970 International Championship for Makes. World Championship 1970 http://www.classicscars.com/wspr/results/wscc/ms1970.html WSPR Racing classiccars.com https://web.archive.org/web/20150602034058/http://www.classicscars.com/wspr/results/wscc/ms1970.html 2 June 2015 1 June 2015 live Pre-race The Targa Florio was in 1970 the oldest motor race in the world, even older than the Isle of Man TT and the Indianapolis 500. First run in 1906, it was run on narrow public mountain roads that went up and down, and twisted and turned around the Sicilian countryside. The race was run on a number of variants over the years- from 1932 to 1936 and 1951 to 1977 it was run on the 45 mile Piccolo (Italian for small) course- by far the longest circuit on the 1970 World Sportscar Championship calendar. It was one of, if not the last of the genuine road races still run in the world. The previous courses were 67 and 92 miles long; and there were 680 mile Island tour versions run in the early 1910s and the late 1940s. The Piccolo course went through 4 to 5 towns in the island of Sicily. The circuit was extremely demanding and very difficult to learn- over the 45 mile course, there were between 800 and 900 corners- 16 to 20 corners for every mile, and the circuit had about 2,000 feet of elevation change- twice that of the Nurburgring. There was also a number of straights joined by a number of fast corners at the top of the circuit that measured out to about 6 miles- but the circuit was so twisty and had so many corners, average speeds never went past even 80 mph (128 km/h)- which in racing terms is very slow. The circuit was also very dangerous- although the roads and streets were closed off to the public for the race (but not for practice and test sessions- this caused all sorts of problems) the circuit was identical to every day civilian use, so it had no safety features of any kind and a crash often meant tumbling down a mountain slope or when in a town, crashing into a stone building, trees, and even groups of spectators. Although the Targa was a race where over its history very few people died in comparison to other races like the Mille Miglia and the Carrera Panamericana, it was still a risky affair. thumb|upright|left|The Piccolo Targa Florio circuit in 1970 The Targa Florio, was unusual in that it was a time trial race against the clock as opposed to a race for physical position. Like most races that take place on extremely long courses such as the Isle of Man TT, the Mille Miglia and some other Italian public road races, each car was started one at a time on the road at timed intervals, much like how a rally-type race is started instead of the cars starting alongside each other, which is almost always the case in general circuit racing and on every other race on the sportscar championship calendar in 1970. So, for example, Car A would be started at 10 minutes before Car B. Once Car B starts and as more race distance would be covered, if Car B was then 9 minutes behind Car A on the road, then Car B would actually be 1 minute in front of Car A. So it was really a driving challenge to see what car could cover the 11-lap distance the quickest- this is almost identical to how a rally works; the Madonie Piccolo course used roads that would be suited for a rally. Most drivers only knew what their position was every 35–50 minutes, and that was when they reached the start-finish line in the town of Cerda; or in more organized team's cases, in another town or on some part of the isolated section of the track, where members of teams would wait for their team's car to come by and they would show pitboards showing their position and how much time their opponents are in front or behind them, which was sometimes out of date; communication in those days was very limited (compared to now). For this event, Porsche introduced their new car, the light and nimble 908/03, which was better suited to the twisty and demanding circuit than the big and powerful 917 (although Vic Elford managed to post the fifth fastest overall time with a spare 917K on Friday practice, he was so physically exhausted after doing this he had to be removed from the car). Porsche motorsports chief Ferdinand Piëch (a grandson of founder Ferdinand Porsche) and his team brought 4 908/03's to the island; 3 were given to John Wyer and his factory-supported team and 1 was run as an official works car. The 908/03, unlike the 917K, was of exclusive use for the factory teams. Race distance was lengthened to 11 laps from 10 in previous years, to comply with championship regulations and so the race would last at least six hours. Jenkinson D. June 1970 THE 54th TARGA FLORIO https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-1970/36/the-54th-targa-florio Motorsport 29 Nov 2020 Pole position went to the Wyer 908/03 of Jo Siffert/Brian Redman, followed by the official works 908/03 of Vic Elford/Hans Herrmann, the sole works Ferrari 512S of Sicilian Nino Vaccarella/Ignazio Giunti, a works Alfa Romeo T33/3 of Piers Courage/Andrea De Adamich and then another Wyer 908/03 of Leo Kinnunen/Pedro Rodriguez . The 908/03's had a 3-liter Flat-8 engine; so they were entered in the 3-liter prototype class; as opposed to the big-engined Flat-12 917's and V12 Ferrari 512's which were competing in the 5-liter sportscar class. There were 12 different classes of racing- more than any other race on the calendar. Race thumb|The Ferrari 512S #6 closed in 3rd place The turnout for the race exceeded 400,000 people; the large amount of area the circuit covered helped to spread people out. The cars each left the start in numerical order, so the 5-litre cars left first- Herbert Muller in the #4 Fillipinetti Ferrari 512S left first, then Vaccarella in the works #6 512S. Then the 3-litre cars left next- first Siffert in the #12 908/03, then Hezemans in the #14 works Alfa Romeo T33/3, then Van Lennep in the #18 908/02, then Elford in the #20 908/03 (which crashed on the first lap), then Maglioli in the #36 works Alfa T33/3, then Waldegard in the #36 908/03 and finally Kinnunen in the #40 908/03. Rodriguez was ill on raceday, so his co-driver, ex-rally driver Kinnunen took over as #1 and, in the rally-type event, sprinted into the lead. Once the car was handed off to Rodriguez, he lost the lead to Vaccarella in the lone works Ferrari. While out on the course, Redman caught up to Vaccarella, and attempted to pass him. Vaccarella blocked Redman and in doing so, nearly ran him off the road. This happened multiple times, and knowing Vaccarella knew the course extremely well, Redman decided to stay behind the Sicilian, cleverly deciding to wait for the next pit stop, knowing that the Wyer team was better at pitstops than Ferrari. And sure enough, when he came in after his 3-lap stint on the end of the 6th lap, he handed the car off to Siffert, and the Wyer team's pitwork was quick enough that Siffert got past the Ferrari while it was still in the pits, and Siffert sprinted off and went into the lead on the 7th lap. Once Kinnunen was back in, he set the fastest ever lap of the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie circuit- 33 minutes, 36.0 seconds on the last lap; and he managed to climb to and finish second to the Siffert/Redman car. There was some consolation for the Italian fans- homeland hero Nino Vaccarella in the sole works Ferrari 512 finished 3rd, the works Alfa of Courage/De Adamich crashed on the 8th lap and Elford also crashed the official works 908/03 on the first lap. This was the 10th time a Porsche had won the Targa outright, a Porsche's first victory was in 1956. A final victory would come in 1973, when a Porsche 911 won outright. Porsche, on a track generally suited to their general design philosophy, hold the record for most victories at the Targa, a race which dated back to 1906. Official results Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Laps 1 P3.0 12 United Kingdom John Wyer Automotive Engineering Switzerland Jo SiffertUnited Kingdom Brian Redman Porsche 908/03 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 11 2 P3.0 40 United Kingdom John Wyer Automotive Engineering Finland Leo KinnunenMexico Pedro Rodríguez Porsche 908/03 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 11 3 S5.0 6 Italy SpA Ferrari SEFAC Italy Nino VaccarellaItaly Ignazio Giunti Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 11 4 P3.0 18 Finland Racing Team AAW Netherlands Gijs van LennepFinland Hans Laine Porsche 908/02 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 11 5 P3.0 36 United Kingdom John Wyer Automotive Engineering Sweden Björn WaldegårdUnited Kingdom Richard Attwood Porsche 908/03 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 11 6 S5.0 4 Switzerland Scuderia Filipinetti Switzerland Herbert MüllerUnited Kingdom Mike Parkes Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 10 7 P2.0 56 Italy Scuderia Madunina United Kingdom Jonathan WilliamsItaly Giovanni Alberti Alfa Romeo T33/2 Alfa Romeo 2.0L V8 10 8 S2.0 94 Italy Scuderia Brescia Corse Italy "Pam"Italy "Gibi" Abarth 2000S Abarth 2.0L I4 10 9 GT1.6 174 Italy HF Squadra Corse Italy Sandro MunariItaly Claudio Maglioli Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.6L V4 10 10 S2.0 98 Italy Etna Italy Giuseppe VirgilioItaly Luigi Taramazzo Abarth 2000S Abarth 2.0L I4 10 11 P2.0 58 Italy Pegaso Italy Pietro Lo PiccoloItaly Salvatore Calascibetta Ferrari Dino 206S Spyder Ferrari 2.0L V6 10 12 P2.0 60 Italy Antonio Nicodemi Italy Antonio NicodemiItaly Gianpiero Moretti Porsche 907 Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 10 13 P3.0 26 Germany Martini International France Gérard LarrousseAustria Rudi Lins Porsche 908/02 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 9 14 GT2.0 140 Italy Liber Marchiolo Italy Liber MarchioloItaly Antonio de Castro Porsche 911S Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 9 15 GT2.0 138 United Kingdom David Weir United Kingdom Alain de CadenetUnited Kingdom Mike Ogier Porsche 911S Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 9 16 P1.0 262 Italy Nord-Oest Italy Pier Giorgio PellegrinItaly Renzo Ruspa Fiat-Abarth 1000SP Abarth 1.0L I4 9 17 GT2.0 120 Switzerland Andre Wicky Racing Team France Sylvain GarantSwitzerland Bernard Cheneviére Porsche 911S Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 9 18 GT1.6 190 Italy Jolly Club Italy Raffaele RestivoItaly Alfonso Merendino Lancia Fulvia HF Zagato Lancia 1.6L V4 9 19 P1.0 260 Italy Scuderia Brescia Corse Italy Ugo LocatelliItaly Paolo Gargano AMS SP Ford 1.0L I4 9 20 GT1.3 278 Italy Romano Ramoino Italy Giuseppe GaicominiItaly Romano Ramoino Alpine A110 Renault 1.3L I4 9 21 GT1.3 286 Italy Scuderia Brescia Corse Italy Giovanni ArcovitoItaly Angelo Rizzo Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.3L V4 9 22 GT1.6 172 Italy Monzeglio Italy Gianpaolo BenediniItaly Cesare Poretti Alfa Romeo GTA Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 9 23 GT1.6 178 Italy Giancarlo Galimberti Italy Giancarlo GalimbertiItaly Domenico Cedrati Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.6L V4 9 24 S1.6 154 Italy Pasquale de Francisci Italy Pasquale de FrancisciItaly Settimino Balistreri Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ Alfa Romeo 1.6 I4 9 25 P1.3 218 Italy Monzeglio Italy Maurizio ZanettiItaly Giorgio Pianta AMS Alfa Romeo 1.3L I4 8 26 P1.3 214 Italy Aretusa Italy Matteo ScarlataItaly Giuseppe Marotta Lancia Fulvia TS Lancia 1.3L V4 8 27 S1.6 152 Italy Nissena Italy Carmelo GuignoItaly Salvatore Sutera Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ Alfa Romeo 1.6 I4 8 28 GT+2.0 82 France Patrice Sanson France Patrice SansonFrance J. Claude Peramone Porsche 911S Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 8 29 GT2.0 136 Switzerland Jean SelzSwitzerland Pierre Greub Porsche 911S Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 8 30 S1.6 162 Italy Nissena Italy Antonio FerraroItaly Giuseppe Valenza Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider Alfa Romeo 1.6 I4 8 31 GT1.3 274 Italy Jolly Club Italy Franco LisitanoItaly "Zerimar" Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.3L V4 8 32 GT1.6 184 Italy Scuderia Pegaso Italy Giulio PucciItaly Vincenzo Mirto Randazzo Alfa Romeo GTA Alfa Romeo 1.6L V4 8 33 GT2.0 142 Italy Fiorenzo GentaItaly Piero Monticone Porsche 911S Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 8 34 S1.3 236 Italy Scuderia Pegaso Italy "Black & White"Italy Guido Garufi Abarth 1300 OT Abarth 1.3L I4 8 35 P2.0 64 Italy Scuderia Pescara Italy Turillo BarbusciaItaly Leandro Terra Ferrari Dino 206S Ferrari 2.0L V6 8 36 GT2.0 112 Italy Franco Berruto Italy Franco BerrutoItaly Michele Licheri Porsche 911S Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 8 37 GT1.3 292 Italy Scuderia Pegaso Italy Sergio MantiaItaly Gaetano Lo Jacono Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.3L V4 8 38 S2.0 96 Italy Etna Italy Alfio NicolosiItaly Angelo Bonaccorsi Porsche 910 Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 8 39 P3.0 44 United Kingdom John Chatham United Kingdom John ChathamUnited Kingdom Alan Harvey MGC BMC 3.0L I6 8 40 GT1.3 282 Italy Jolly Club Italy Cristiano RattazziItaly Pasquale Anastasio Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.3L V4 8 41 P3.0 28 Italy Autodelta SpA United Kingdom Piers CourageItaly Andrea de Adamich Alfa Romeo T33/3 Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 7 42 S2.0 90 Italy Scuderia Pegaso Italy Ferdinando LatteriItaly Nino Todaro Porsche 906 Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 7 43 GT1.6 200 Italy HF Squadra Corse Italy Amilcare BallestrieriItaly Raffaele Pinto Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.6L V4 7 44 GT+2.0 86 Switzerland Porsche Club Romand Switzerland Claude HaldiSwitzerland "Mirage" Porsche 911S Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 7 45 GT1.6 62 United Kingdom Ed Negus United Kingdom Edward NegusUnited Kingdom Peter Hanson Chevron B16 Ford 1.6L I4 7 46 GT1.6 200 Italy Sport Trid Italy Salvatore CucinottaItaly Domenico Patti Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.6L V4 7 47 GT1.6 194 Italy Franco Sebastiani Italy Stefano SebastianiItaly Roberto Nardini Lotus Europa Renault 1.6L I4 7 48 P1.0 252 Italy Mario Spataro Italy Mario SpataroItaly Claudio Bruschi Osca S1000 Maserati 1.0L I4 7 49 GT2.0 122 Italy Scuderia Brescia Corse Italy Giuseppe SchenettiItaly Sergio Zerbini Porsche 911S Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 7 Did Not Finish Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Laps Reasons S1.6 160 Italy Silvestre Semilia Italy Silvestre SemiliaItaly Giuseppe Crescenti Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider Alfa Romeo 1.6 I4 6 Gearbox GT1.6 186 Italy Luigi Rinaldi Italy Luigi RinaldiItaly Mario Radicella Alfa Romeo GTA Alfa Romeo 1.6 I4 6 DNF P3.0 14 Italy Autodelta SpA Netherlands Toine HezemansUnited States Masten Gregory Alfa Romeo T33/3 Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 5 Accident P2.0 52 Italy Etna Italy "Peter von Serzawa"Italy Santo Scigliano Fiat 124 Spider Fiat 2.0L I4 5 DNF GT1.6 188 Italy Etna Italy Checco D'AngeloItaly "Jimmy" Alfa Romeo GTA Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 5 DSQ GT1.3 288 Germany V10 Kleber Germany Ferdi BökmannGermany Hans E. Böhm Simca 1300 Simca 1.3L I4 5 DNF GT2.0 128 Italy Ignazio CapuanoItaly Giancarlo Barba Porsche 911S Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 4 DNF GT1.6 180 Italy Scuderia Pegaso Italy Paolo de LucaItaly Giuseppe Vassallo Alfa Romeo GTA Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 4 DNF S1.6 156 Italy Scuderia Pegaso Italy Salvatore BarracoItaly "Amphicar" Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 3 DNF S1.6 156 Italy Etna Italy Giuseppe D'AmicoItaly Girolamo Perniciaro Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 3 DNF GT1.6 192 Italy Scuderia Pegaso Italy Giovanni Dell'OlioItaly Vincenzo Virgilio Alfa Romeo GTA Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 3 Mechanical GT1.6 198 Italy Salvatore Gagliano Italy Salvatore GaglianoItaly Alfonso di Garbo Alfa Romeo GTA Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 3 DNF GT1.6 204 Italy Gianluigi Verna Italy Francesco CosentinoItaly Gianluigi Verna Alfa Romeo GTA Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 3 Accident P1.0 254 Italy Romano Martini Italy Francesco PatanéItaly "Oras" Fiat-Abarth 1000SP Abarth 1.0L I4 3 DNF GT1.6 264 Italy Romano Martini Italy Romano MartiniItaly Alessandro Federico ATS 1000 SP Ford 1.0L I4 3 DNF P3.0 38 Italy Abarth-Osella Italy Arturo MerzarioAustria Johannes Ortner Abarth 3000SP Abarth 3.0L V8 2 Gearbox P1.0 256 Italy Scuderia Brescia Corse Italy Luigi MoreschiItaly "Patrizia" AMS SP Ford 1.0L I4 2 DNF P1.0 266 Italy "Gero" Italy "Gero"Italy "Roger" De Sanctis Ford 1.0L I4 2 Starter motor GT1.6 276 Italy Scuderia Pegaso Italy Antonio CatalanoItaly Marco de Bartoli Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.6L V4 2 DNF GT2.0 124 Italy Giampaolo Baruffi Italy Giancarlo SalaItaly Giampaolo Baruffi Porsche 911 Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 1 Mechanical GT1.6 196 Italy Giovanni Rizzo Italy Giovanni RizzoItaly Stefano Alongi Alfa Romeo GTA Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 1 Suspension S1.3 232 Italy Aldo Bersano Italy Aldo BersanoBelgium William Scheeren Abarth 1300S Abarth 1.3L I4 1 Mechanical GT1.3 272 Italy Jolly Club Italy Antonio TrentiItaly Alberto Fasce Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.6L V4 1 Off course P3.0 20 Germany Porsche System United Kingdom Vic ElfordGermany Hans Herrmann Porsche 908/03 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 0 Accident P3.0 32 Italy Autodelta SpA Italy Umberto MaglioliItaly Nanni Galli Alfa Romeo T33/3 Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 0 Accident GT1.6 204 Italy Antonio Guagliardo Italy Antonio La LuceItaly Antonio Guagliardo Abarth 2000S Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 0 Mechanical P1.3 220 United Kingdom Jack Wheeler United Kingdom Jack WheelerUnited Kingdom Martin Davidson Jerboa SP BMC 1.3L I4 0 Accident S1.3 234 Italy Settecolli Italy Enzo BuzzettiItaly Gianni Marini Abarth 1300S Abarth 1.6L I4 0 Mechanical GT1.3 280 Italy Scuderia Pegaso Italy Giuseppe ChiaramonteItaly Giuseppe Spatafora Lancia Fulvia HF Lancia 1.6L V4 0 Mechanical Statistics Pole position: #12 John Wyer Automotive Engineering Porsche 908/03 (Jo Siffert/Brian Redman) - 34:10.0 (78.321 mph/126.087 km/h) Fastest lap: #40 John Wyer Automotive Engineering Porsche 908/03 (Leo Kinnunen)- 33:36.0 (79.890 mph/128.571 km/h) Distance covered by cars on leading lap: 789.8 km Time taken for winning car to cover distance: 6 hours, 35 minutes and 30 seconds Average Speed: 120.152 km/h (74.659 mph) Weather conditions: Sunny, dry, clear skies References 1970 World Sportscar Championship 1000km of Monza 1000km of Spa Targa Florio Category:Targa Florio Category:1970 in Italian motorsport