Targa Florio 1953
The 37th Targa Florio , also XXXVII Targa Florio , in Sicily was a circuit race over eight laps with a total distance of 576 kilometers. It was held on closed, otherwise public roads and took place on May 14, 1953.
CSI and the lack of world championship status
In 1952 the world motor sport association CSI (predecessor organization of today's FIA) decided to introduce an international world championship for sports cars from 1953 . The organizers of the Targa Florio assumed at the time that their race would also be part of this racing series. Vincenzo Florio soon realized, however, that his race was not on the racing calendar for the 1953 season . What happened: The CSI had stipulated in its regulations that only one race would receive world championship status per host country. After the organizers of the Giro di Sicilia and the Mille Miglia had tried to achieve this status in addition to the Targa, the CSI decided on the 1000-mile race .
In Sicily, the decision from Paris was noted with displeasure. The fact that they were not part of the new World Cup also had a negative effect on the entry list in 1953. In 1952 just under 75 teams submitted their reports, a year later there were only 50. Above all, the Sicilians had to forego the participation of works teams almost completely. Here the Targa could not keep up with the Mille Miglia. Alfa Romeo decided not to take part, so Italy was primarily represented by Lancia and Maserati . The race was also a sideline for Scuderia Ferrari ; only one works car, a 250MM with Giulio Cabianca at the wheel, was reported.
The British teams also largely stayed away. Only Jaguar and Frazer Nash were represented with one vehicle each. Tommy Wisdom drove the factory Jaguar and Frazer Nash signed the Italian veteran Franco Cortese .
The race
For Lancia works driver Felice Bonetto , the race was over before the start. Not uncommon at the time, Bonetto took his Lancia D20 to the already closed track an hour before the start of the race to test a lot on the car. Agostino Bignami had the same idea with his Fiat Stanguellini 1100 Sport. However, this drove in the opposite direction to Bonetto around the course. A head-on collision occurred in a blind bend. Both vehicles were so badly damaged that they could not take part in the race. The two drivers were uninjured.
The race itself was clearly dominated by Umberto Maglioli from the start . The then 25-year-old Italian won in the factory Lancia D20 ahead of the Maseratis of Emilio Giletti and Sergio Mantovani , who was replaced by Juan Manuel Fangio after his retirement . Maglioli would win the Targa two more times. 1956 together with Fritz Huschke von Hanstein and 12 years later with Vic Elford in the Porsche 907 .
Results
Final ranking
| Item | class | No. | team | driver | vehicle | Round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S 3.0 | 76 |
 Sucderia Lancia
|
Umberto Maglioli
|
Lancia D20 | 8th | ||
| 2 | S 2.0 | 98 |
Officine Alfieri Maserati
|
Emilio Giletti
|
Maserati A6GCS | 8th | ||
| 3 | S 2.0 | 66 |
Officine Alfieri Maserati
|
Sergio Mantovani Juan Manuel Fangio
|
Maserati A6GCS | 8th | ||
| 4th | S 3.0 | 62 |
Scuderia Lancia
|
Luigi Valenzano
|
Lancia Aurelia B20 | 8th | ||
| 5 | S 3.0 | 64 |
Franco Bordoni
|
Franco Bordoni
|
Gordini Type 23S | 8th | ||
| 6th | S 3.0 | 70 |
Scuderia Ferrari
|
Giulio Cabianca
|
Ferrari 250MM | 8th | ||
| 7th | S 3.0 | 48 |
Franco Bornigia
|
Lancia Aurelia B20 | 8th | |||
| 8th | S 3.0 | 50 |
Roberto Bonomi
|
Ferrari 225S | 8th | |||
| 9 | S 3.0 | 22nd |
Antonio Stagnioli
|
Antonio Stagnioli
|
Ferrari 225S | 8th | ||
| 10 | S 3.0 | 72 |
Antonio Pucci
|
Lancia Aurelia B20 | 8th | |||
| 11 | S 2.0 | 32 |
Officine Alfieri Maserati
|
Luigi Musso
|
Maserati A6GCS | 8th | ||
| 12 | S 2.0 | 26th |
Domenico Tramontana
|
Alfa Romeo 1900 Ti | 8th | |||
| 13 | P. 20 | 80 |
Nicola Musmeci
|
Alfa Romeo 1900 Ti | 8th | |||
| 14th | S 750 | 14th |
Mario Piccolo
|
Nardi Danese | 8th | |||
| 15th | S 750 | 8th |
Giuseppe Musso
|
Giuseppe Musso
|
Fiat Stanguellini 750 Sport | 8th | ||
| 16 | S 3.0 | 36 |
Luigi Bordonaro
|
Luigi Bordonaro
|
Ferrari 212 export | 8th | ||
| 17th | S 3.0 | 78 |
 Jaguar Cars Co.
|
Tommy Wisdom
|
Jaguar XK 120 | 8th | ||
| 18th | S 3.0 | 34 |
Francesco Toia
|
Lancia Aurelia B20 | 8th | |||
| 19th | S 750 | 16 |
Mario Ricci
|
Lancia Frediani 750 Sport | 8th | |||
| 20th | S 2.0 | 86 |
 Jean-Paul Kecks
|
Porsche 356 1500 | 8th | |||
| 21st | S 2.0 | 28 |
Giulio Musitelli
|
Ferrari 166MM | 8th | |||
| Not classified | ||||||||
| 22nd | S 3.0 | 56 |
Paolo Gravina
|
Fiat 8V | 8th | |||
| Failed | ||||||||
| 23 | S 750 | 10 |
Anna Maria Peduzzi
|
Anna Maria Peduzzi
|
Fiat Stanguellini 750 Sport | |||
| 24 | S 3.0 | 24 |
Scuderia Lancia
|
Giovanni Bracco
|
Lancia D20 | |||
| 25th | P 2.0 | 44 |
Luigi Piotti
|
Ferrari 166MM | ||||
| 26th | S 750 | 46 |
Guido Garufi
|
Cisitalia 202 | ||||
| 27 | S 3.0 | 52 |
Eugenio Castellotti
|
Eugenio Castellotti
|
Ferrari 225S | |||
| 28 | S 3.0 | 58 |
Frazer Nash
|
Franco Cortese
|
Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica Mk.II | |||
| 29 | S 3.0 | 82 |
Piero Scotti
|
Piero Scotti Giulio Contini
|
Ferrari 250MM | |||
| 30th | S 3.0 | 84 |
Scuderia Lancia
|
Piero Taruffi
|
Lancia D20 | |||
| 31 | S 3.0 | 92 |
Pietro Palmieri
|
Pietro Palmieri
|
Ferrari 250MM | |||
| 32 | S 2.0 | 94 |
Franco Bordoni
|
Salvatore Casella
|
Gordini Type 20S | |||
| 33 | S 750 | 96 |
Francesco Bruni
|
Cisitalia 202 | ||||
| 34 | S 750 | 2 |
Sergio Sighinolfi
|
Nardi Danese | ||||
| 35 | 4th |
Giuseppe Schermi
|
Zagato | |||||
| 36 | 6th |
Francesco Sartarelli
|
Fiat Siata | |||||
| 37 | S 750 | 12 |
Angelo Orlando
|
Fiat 500C | ||||
| 38 | S 3.0 | 20th |
Scuderia Lancia
|
 Robert Manzon
|
Lancia Aurelia B20 | |||
| 39 | S 2.0 | 40 |
Officine Alfieri Maserati
|
Juan Manuel Fangio
|
Maserati A6GCS | |||
| 40 | 42 |
Ignazio Consiglio
|
Siata | |||||
| 41 | S 750 | 54 |
Domenico Rotolo
|
Nardi Danese | ||||
| 42 | 60 |
Antonio Picone
|
Volpini | |||||
| 43 | S 2.0 | 74 |
Francesco Siracusa
|
Francesco Siracusa
|
Fiat Stanguellini 1100 Sport | |||
| 44 | S 3.0 | 88 |
Enrico Anselmi
|
Lancia Aurelia B20 | ||||
| Not started | ||||||||
| 45 | S 3.0 | 30th |
Scuderia Lancia
|
Felice Bonetto
|
Lancia D20 | 1 | ||
| 46 | S 2.0 | 18th |
Agostino Bignami
|
Fiat Stanguellini 1100 Sport | 2 | |||
1 collision with Bignami before the start 2 collision with Bonetto before the start
Only in the entry list
No further reports are known for this race.
Class winner
| class | driver | vehicle | Placement in the overall ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3.0 |
Umberto Maglioli
|
Lancia D20 | Overall victory |
| S 2.0 |
Emilio Giletti
|
Maserati A6GCS | Rank 2 |
| S 750 |
Mario Piccolo
|
Nardi Danese | Rank 14 |
Racing data
- Reported: 46
- Started: 44
- Rated: 21
- Race classes: 3
- Spectator: unknown
- Race day weather: warm and dry
- Route length: 72,000 km
- Driving time of the winning team: 7:08:35,800 hours
- Overall rounds of the winning team: 8
- Total distance of the winning team: 576,000 km
- Winner's average: 80.635 km / h
- Fastest training time: unknown
- Fastest race lap: Piero Taruffi - Lancia D20 (# 84) - 49: 37,000 = 87.067 km / h
- Racing series: did not belong to any racing series
literature
- Pino Fondi: Targa Florio - 20th Century Epic. Giorgio Nada Editore Vimodrone 2006, ISBN 88-7911-270-8 .
