Targa Florio 1963

Edoardo Lualdi in the Ferrari Dino 196SP

The Ferrari 250P by Willy Mairesse and Ludovico Scarfiotti

Porsche 718 GTR , shown here in the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1962 , driven by Dan Gurney and Joakim Bonnier . Bonnier won the Targa together with Carlo-Maria Abate on a 718 GTR

Porsche 356B 2000 GS

René Bonnet Djet

The 47th Targa Florio , also Targa Florio, Piccolo Circuito delle Madonie, Sicilia , took place in Sicily on May 5, 1963 and was the fourth round of the sports car world championship of that year.

The race

Before the race

Before the Targa Florio, three races were held as part of the World Sports Car Championship . The season started with the Daytona 3-hour race, won by Pedro Rodríguez in a Ferrari 250 GTO at Daytona International Speedway . The following 3-hour race at Sebring ended with the success of Hans Herrmann in a Fiat-Abarth 1000 . The 12-hour race at Sebring International Raceway was won by John Surtees and Ludovico Scarfiotti in a Ferrari 250P .

Drivers and vehicles

As in previous years, the public and experts expected a duel between Porsche and Ferrari's factory cars for overall victory in 1963 . In 1959 , Edgar Barth and Wolfgang Seidel won the Targa for Porsche for the first time and in doing so, clinched the first victory for the German sports car manufacturer in the sports car world championship. After another success for Porsche in 1960 , Ferrari won the race in the following two years. The Scuderia came to Sicily with three vehicles, a 2-liter Dino 196SP and two 3-liter 250P. There were changes to the previous year in the driver pairings. Olivier Gendebien , Richie Ginther and his American compatriot Phil Hill were no longer part of the factory team . New to Eugenio Dragoni's team were John Surtees, Mike Parkes and Nino Vaccarella . There were also the previous works drivers Willy Mairesse , Lorenzo Bandini and Ludovico Scarfiotti. For Vaccarella, who was born in Palermo and worked as a teacher , a dream came true when Enzo Ferrari hired him for the Scuderia. The dream of a start of the Sicilian for Ferrari in Sicily was not to come true. The regulations stipulated that a driver the Official of the event in addition to his international driver's license and his license had to present. There was hardship for Vaccarella because he could not teach it. After an accident a few years earlier, which was not very exciting in itself, the responsible authority in Pescara had withdrawn it at the beginning of March . After Vaccarella was allowed to start in Sebring without any problems, Ferrari did not attach great importance to the fact that there was no driver's license. The Targa officials, however, persisted; no start without a certificate. All of Drogani's interviews with the organizing committee were unsuccessful; Vaccarella was not allowed to take part in the race and the Scuderia had to make do with five drivers for three cars.

Porsche brought four works cars to the race track. Two Porsche 718s , one of them a Spyder that was driven by Umberto Maglioli and Giancarlo Baghetti . The second 718 was a coupe for pilots Joakim Bonnier and Carlo-Maria Abate . There were also two 356s in the GT category . Edgar Barth and Herbert Linge's vehicle had a new 4-cylinder engine. Antonio Pucci and Paul-Ernst Strähle drove a 1962 model.

The course of the race

From the very first kilometers of the race, the Porsche and Ferrari drivers fought a fierce duel for overall victory. After the first lap, however, none of the works cars led, but Giorgio Scarlatti in a privately registered Ferrari 250 GTO. From the second lap, the works drivers took over the top races, led by Mike Parkes in a 250P. Ferrari suffered the first failure of the top cars. Ludovico Scarfiotti came to the pits at the end of the second lap with his 250P at slow speed and with a stuttering engine, where the mechanics could not find the fault. Next to the car, Willy Mairesse waited impatiently for his mission. When he was finally able to drive off, the car had lost more than 10 minutes. While the lead car required just under 40 minutes for one lap, Mairesse was on the road for 47 minutes despite the greatest effort. Then Dragoni took the car out of the race. A defective fuel supply was stated as the reason for failure.

Mike Parkes handed his 250P over to John Surtees at the start of the fourth lap. The road circuit was uncharted territory for the former motorcycle world champion. On the same lap he retired after an accident. As a result, Abate took the lead in the works Porsche. Lorenzo Bandini, who had taken over the Dino 196SP from Scarfiotti, followed. Surprisingly, after the seventh round, Dragoni Bandini ordered to the pits and enabled Willy Mairesse to make a big appearance. First the Belgian drove two very fast laps and thus brought the Dino to first position with a safe margin. Shortly before the end of the race, a heavy thunderstorm came down and a few kilometers from the finish and the sure win in mind, Mairesse had an accident on the wet track. His stern crashed into a wall, and the engine cowling came loose from the latches. Mairesse drove on, pulling the cover behind her. He crossed the finish line to the cheers of the spectators, but the victory was lost. Joakim Bonnier and Carlo-Maria Abate won for Porsche with a lead of 12 seconds.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	P 2.0	160	Porsche System Engineering	Joakim Bonnier Carlo-Maria Abate	Porsche 718 GTR	10
2	S 2.0	190	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Lorenzo Bandini Ludovico Scarfiotti Willy Mairesse	Ferrari Dino 196SP	10
3	GT 2.0	80	Porsche System Engineering	Edgar Barth Herbert Linge	Porsche 356B 2000 GS	10
4th	GT 3.0	104	Scuderia ST. Ambroeus	Maurizio Grana Gianni Bulgari	Ferrari 250 GTO	10
5	GT 2.0	76	Porsche System Engineering	Antonio Pucci Paul-Ernst Straehle	Porsche 356B 2000 GS	10
6th	GT 3.0	108	Juan Manuel Bordeu	Juan Manuel Bordeu Giorgio Scarlatti	Ferrari 250 GTO	10
7th	P 2.0	156	Porsche System Engineering	Umberto Maglioli Giancarlo Baghetti	Porsche 718 WRS	10
8th	GT 3.0	110	Tommy Hitchcock	Tommy Hitchcock Zourab Tchkotoua	Ferrari 250 GTO	10
9	GT 1.3	4th	Etna	Giuseppe Virgilio Salvatore Calascibetta	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	10
10	S 2.0	188	Gaspare Cavaliers	Gaspare Cavaliere Vincenzo Riolo	Porsche 718 RS61	9
11	GT 2.5	94	Leo Cella	Leo Cella Franco Patria	Lancia Flaminia Zagato	9
12	GT 1.6	62	Paul-Ernst Straehle	Gerhard Koch Sven von Schröter	Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth	9
13	GT 3.0	112	Alfio Nicolosi	Egidio Nicolosi Luigi Taramazzo	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	9
14th	GT 1.3	36	SACI	Secondo Ridolfi Pietro Laureati	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	9
15th	GT 1.3	8th	Giovanni Rigano	Giovanni Rigano Giuseppe Pirrone	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	9
16	GT 1.3	48	Francesco Lessona	Francesco Lessona Antonio Nicodemi	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	9
17th	P 2.0	158	René Bonnet	Bruno Basini Jean Vinatier	René Bonnet Djet	8th
18th	GT 2.5	99	Bartolomeo Donato	Bartolomeo Donato Vittorio Masacari	Lancia Flaminia Zagato	8th
19th	GT 1.3	72	Carmelo Guigno	Carmelo Guiogn Amedeo Sillitti	Afa Romeo Giulietta SZ	8th
20th	P 1.0	138	René Bonnet	Jacques Bigrat Claude Bobrowski Gérard Laureau	René Bonnet Djet	8th
21st	GT + 3.0	122	Clemente Ravetto	Innocente Baggio Clemente Ravetto	Jaguar E-Type	8th
22nd	GT 2.5	86	Luigi Cabella	Luigi Cabela Luciano Massoni	Lancia Flaminia Zagato	8th
23	S 2.0	112	Jack Epstein	Jack Epstein William Wilks	Cooper T61	8th
24	P 1.0	140	Jean-Pierre Hanrioud	Jean-Pierre Hanrioud Michel Gauvain	Fiat-Abarth 1000	8th
25th	P 2.0	154	Daniel Richmond	Bernard Cahier Rob Slotemaker	Austin Mini Cooper	8th
26th	GT 2.5	98	Anatoly Aruntunoff	Anatoly Aruntunoff Bill Pryor	Lancia Flaminia Zagato	8th
27	P 2.0	162	Daniel Richmond	John Whitmore Paul Brother	Austin Mini Cooper	8th
28	GT 2.5	88	Mario de Tommasi	Mario de Tommasi Carlo de Leo	Lancia Aurelia	8th
Failed
29	GT 1.3	10	Ignazio Giunti	Ignazio Giunti Paolo Datti	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	6th
30th	GT 1.3	24	Scuderia St. Ambroeus	Sergio Pedretti Giampiero Biscaldi	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	6th
31	GT 1.3	26th	Castagnini	Castagnini Corrado Ferlaino	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	5
32	GT 1.3	18th	Etna	Angelo Bonaccorsi Antonio Bonaccorsi	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	4th
33	GT 1.3	20th	Sergio Mantia	Sergio Mantia Franco Tagliavia	Afa Romeo Giulietta SZ	4th
34	GT 3.0	116	J. Wray Roberts	J. Wray Roberts Albert Prince	René Bonnet Djet	8th
35	P 3.0	172	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Ludovico Scarfiotti Willy Mairesse	Ferrari 250P	4th
36	P 3.0	174	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Mike Parkes John Surtees	Ferrari 250P	4th
37	GT 1.3	38	Vittorio Venturi	Vittorio Venturi Teodoro Zeccoli	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	3
38	GT 1.3	6th	Emanuele Trapani	Emanuele Trapani Nicolo Lombardo	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	2
39	GT 1.3	16	Ada Pace	Ada Pace Vincenzo Arena	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	2
40	GT 1.3	32	Guido Garufi	Guido Garufi Antonio di Salvo	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	2
41	GT 1.3	40	Enzo Buzzetti	Enzo Buzzetti Renzo Sinibaldi	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	2
42	GT 1.3	42	Etna	Francesco Susinno Giuseppe D'Amico	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	2
43	GT 2.0	74	Francesco Fiorentino	Francesco Fiorentino Michele Paratore	Fiat 8V	2
44	P 1.3	2	Salvatore Giglio	Salvatore Giglio Sergio Abbate	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	1
45	GT 1.3	12	Giuseppe Picciotto	Giuseppe Picciotto Checco D'Angelo	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	1
46	GT 1.3	22nd	Craft fisherman	Craft fisherman Mario Simonetti	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	1
47	GT 1.3	34	Nanni Galli	Nanni Galli Giorlama Capra	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	1
48	GT 1.6	64	Alfonso Vella	Alfonso Vella Pietro Termini	Porsche 356B Carrera	1
49	GT 3.0	118	Etna	Vito Coco Salvatore Calascibetta	Ferrari 250 GT SWB	1
50	P 1.0	142	René Bonnet	Gérard Laureau Fernand Carpentier	René Bonnet Djet	1
51	P 2.0	152	René Bonnet	Roland Charrière Jean-Pierre Beltoise	René Bonnet Djet	1
52	GT 1.3	50	Francesco Santoro	Francesco Santoro Vincenzo Mirto Randazzo	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	1
53	GT 2.0	78	Franco Lisitano	Franco Lisitano Manasseri	Fiat 8V	1
54	S 2.0	184	Scuderia St. Ambroeus	Edoardo Lualdi Umberto Bini	Ferrari Dino 196SP	1
55	S 2.0	186	Francesco di Benedetto	Francesco di Benedetto Mario Raimondo	Alfa Romeo Sport	1
Not started
56	GT + 3.0	176T	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Nino Vaccarella	Ferrari Dino 246SP	1

¹ training car

Only in the entry list

Here you will find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race but did not take part for a variety of reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis
57	GT 1.3	14th	Etna	"Gordon" "Arriba"	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero
58	GT 1.3	28		Gaetano Starrabba	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ
59	GT 1.3	44	Francesco Ghezzi	Francesco Ghezzi	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero
60	GT 1.3	46	Scuderia Centro Sud	Giorgio Acutis Giancarlo Castellina	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero
61	GT 1.3	52	Madiolanum	Oddone Sigala Remo Cattini	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero
62	GT 2.5	82	Bagnasacco	Gilberto Bagnasacco Piero Bagnasacco	Lancia Flaminia
63	GT 2.5	84	Bandon	Bandon	Lancia Flaminia
64	GT 2.5	90	Paolo Samona	Paolo Samona	Lancia Flaminia
65	GT 2.5	96	Milio	Milio Giovanni Rizzo	Lancia Aurelia
66	GT 3.0	102	David Piper	David Piper Ed Cantrell	Ferrari 250 GTO
67	GT 3.0	106	Kalman from Csazy	Kalman from Csazy	Ferrari 250 GTO
68	GT 3.0	114	Luigi Mosca	Fabrizio Corcos Luigi Mosca	Ferrari 250 GTO
69	P 1.0	132	René Bonnet	Jacques Rey Guy Druget	René Bonnet Djet
70	P 1.0	134	ASA	Paolo Lado Bruno Deserti	ASA 1000 GT
71	P 1.0	136	ASA	Giorgio Bassi Carlo Facetti	ASA 1000 GT
72	GT + 3.0		John Coundley	John Coundley	Jaguar E-Type
73	GT 1.3	30th	Claude Dubois	Claude Dubois	Lotus Elite

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Prototypes up to 3000 cm³	no participant in the finish
Prototypes up to 2000 cm³	Joakim Bonnier	Carlo-Maria Abate		Porsche 718 GTR	Overall victory
Prototypes up to 1000 cm³	Jacques Brigart	Claude Bobrowski	Gérard Laureau	René Bonnet Djet	Rank 20
Sports car up to 2000 cm³	Willy Mairesse	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari Dino 196SP	Rank 2
GT over 3000 cm³	Innocente Baggio	Clemente Ravetto		Jaguar E-Type	Rank 21
GT up to 3000 cm³	Maurizio Grana	Gianni Bulgari		Ferrari 250 GTO	Rank 4
GT up to 2500 cm³	Leo Cella	Franco Patria		Lancia Flaminia Zagato	Rank 11
GT up to 2000 cm³	Edgar Barth	Herbert Linge		Porsche 356B 2000 GS	Rank 3
GT up to 1600 cm³	Gerhard Koch	Sven von Schröter		Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth	Rank 12
GT up to 1300 cm³	Giuseppe Virgilio	Salvatore Calascibetta		Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	Rank 9

Racing data

• Registered: 73
• Started: 55
• Rated: 28
• Race classes: 10
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: hot, heavy rain at the end of the race
• Route length: 72,000 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 6: 55: 45.100 hours
• Overall rounds of the winning team: 10
• Total distance of the winning team: 720,000 km
• Winner's average: 103.908 km / h
• Fastest training time: unknown
• Fastest race lap: Mike Parkes - Ferrari 250P (# 172) - 40: 04.100 = 107.816 km / h
• Racing series: 4th round of the sports car world championship in 1963

literature

• Pino Fondi: Targa Florio - 20th Century Epic. Giorgio Nada Editore Vimodrone 2006, ISBN 88-7911-270-8 .

Web links

Commons : Targa Florio 1963  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Race results

Previous race of the Sebring 12-hour race in 1963

Sports car world championship

Successor race 500 km from Spa-Francorchamps 1963