1958 Targa Florio
# 1958 Targa Florio

The 42° Targa Florio took place on 11 May, on the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, (Sicily, Italy). It was the third round of the 1958 World Sportscar Championship, which was running to new regulations introduced at the beginning of the season. The most influential of these regulations changes would be the 3.0 litre engine size limit. The event returned to the championship for the first time since 1955, following the demise of the Mille Miglia and the ban on road racing on mainland Italy. But such outcry did not deter Vincenzo Florio from holding his event on the traditional 45 mile mountainous circuit.

## Report

### Entry

A massive total of 65 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 53 arrived for practice. Of these, only 38 started the long-distance race on the public roads of Sicily. This, the 42nd edition of the event, saw a change on the nature of the race. Two drivers would be permitted now and the limit set so no driver would drive more than seven laps out of the total race distance of 14. So, it ensured no single driver would be able to complete the whole race.

The first two events of the season, the 1000 km Buenos Aires and 12 Hours of Sebring ended with victory for Phil Hill and Peter Collins, for Scuderia Ferrari. As Hill and Collins also won the last race of the previous season, the Venezuelan Grand Prix they’ve now won three races in a row for the Scuderia. With these new rules, and Maserati on the brink of financial crisis, Scuderia Ferrari would head the Italian challenge. Ferrari had four works 250 TRs in Sicily, Hill/Collins, Mike Hawthorn/Wolfgang von Trips, Luigi Musso/Olivier Gendebien and Gino Munaron/Wolfgang Seidel. Opposition would no longer come from Maserati, but from Porsche and Aston Martin.

David Brown sent just one Aston Martin DBR1 over from England for Stirling Moss/Tony Brooks, while Porsche arrived with three different cars, a 356A Carrera, a 550 RS and a 718 RSK, for their squad of drivers led by Jean Behra and Giorgio Scarlatti. They were joined by a fleet of privateer drivers in their Alfa Romeos, Oscas and other mainline sportscars.

### Qualifying

Prior to the race, there was no formal practice held, but Sergio Der Stephanian was killed in a pre-race accident, following a collision with a sand-laden lorry. He died shortly after in hospital.

### Race

With each lap 45 miles in length, the race covered a total of 14 laps, or 630 miles, the Targa Florio is unlike any other sports car race. Littered with switchback turns, blind corners and a straight nearly four miles longer than Circuit de la Sarthe’s Mulsanne, the Targa was a fearsome thing to behold.

Day of the race would be sunny and warm, with the first of the cars leaving the small village of Cerda, one-by-one, at 40 second intervals. It was clear right at the start that something was amiss for most of the competitors, as more than a few would be off the pace, while others would be off the road, in verges trying to repair their cars and get back into the race. Jean Behra would spin his Porsche 718 RSK. Moss would damage a wheel when he went off the road. Meanwhile, von Trips damaged his Ferrari heavily and returned to the pits dragging a bit of his car along the ground. It seemed that everyone was struggling over the mountain roads, except one, Musso.

Musso was setting an incredible pace. He started last of the big works entrants, but at the end of the first lap, he would be first. Being in the lead, he set about performing an error-free drive. Moss would be on the hunt in his Aston, ever-impressive sliding around the corners, kicking up gravel everywhere and carrying on without any trouble whatsoever, following that earlier incident. He would break the lap record, lapping more than a minute faster than Musso. But the Italian had already done all of his headwork. He led and held steady before handing the car over to Gendebien.

With Gendebien now the car, Moss would take his Aston even faster, but it came at a price. After five laps, the gearbox gave up and Moss was out of the race, before Brooks had a chance to race. Despite the retirement of the sole Aston Martin, the circuit maintained the pressure on the factory efforts. Hill would end up in a ditch, losing valuable time trying to get out and back on his way. As for the Belgian, he was driving smartly, keeping the car on the road, and in the lead. He was just a few laps before returning the car back to Musso. This was the only Ferrari not under heavy pressure from Behra. The nimble little RSK was providing its self on the winding roads, and joining the battle for a spot in the top three.

Musso held a commanding lead, despite the advances of Behra. But Musso was not immune to trouble. Only three laps from the end, there was trouble. He appeared to be off the pace, lapping four minutes slower than previously. He was happy to make it back to the pits, as the brake fluid had leaked out of its reservoir. He had no brakes. It was reported that he completed the descent out of the mountains by staying in low gear. In any other race, this would have spelled the end, however, Musso and Gendebien had controlled the race right from the start. Such was their lead, the Ferrari mechanics repaired the car, Gendebien got back in the car for the remaining laps, still with a three-minute lead.

Now the leaders were out of trouble, their teammates von Trips and Hawthorn were not. They were in second place, but with Behra back in the Porsche and absolutely flying. Following a pit stop, the margin between the Ferrari and Porsche would be practically nothing. There was no stopping Behra, and he continued to up his pace and Hawthorn could not respond. Starting the 14th and last lap, Behra’s pace had meant he was now ahead.

Out in front, Gendebien brought the 250 TR home, to record a brilliant victory. Though Moss had set a new lap record in his Aston, the race had been dominated from the very beginning by Musso. Car number 106, took an impressive victory, winning in a time 10hr 37:58.1, averaging a speed of 59.251 mph. Second place went to the Porsche of Behra and Giorgio Scarlatti, albeit over 5½ minutes adrift. The podium was complete by second Scuderia Ferrari of von Trips and Hawthorn, who were 54 secs behind in third.

## Official Classification

Class Winners are in Bold text.

| Pos | No | Class | Driver | Driver | Entrant | Chassis | Laps | Reason Out |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1st | 106 | S3.0 | Luigi Musso | Olivier Gendebien | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 250 TR 58 | 10hr 37:58.1, 14 | |
| 2nd | 68 | S1.5 | Jean Behra | Giorgio Scarlatti | Porsche KG | Porsche 718 RSK | 10hr 43:37.9, 14 | |
| 3rd | 102 | S3.0 | Wolfgang von Trips | Mike Hawthorn | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 250 TR 58 | 10hr 44:29.3, 14 | |
| 4th | 98 | S3.0 | Peter Collins | Phil Hill | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 250 TR 58 | 11hr 10:01.4, 14 | |
| 5th | 72 | S1.5 | Giulio Cabianca | Franco Bordoni | | Osca S1500 TN | 11hr 25:35.7, 14 | |
| 6th | 26 | GT1.6 | Antonio Pucci | Huschke von Hanstein | Porsche KG | Porsche 356A Carrera 1500 GS | 11hr 54:04.6, 14 | |
| 7th | 90 | S2.0 | Gaetano Starrabba | Franco Cortese | | Ferrari 500 TRC | 12hr 04:20.8, 14 | |
| 8th | 24 | GT1.3 | Nini Todaro | “Nessuno” | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce | 12hr 08:39.4, 14 | |
| 9th | 8 | GT1.3 | Carlo Maria Abate | Gianni Balzarini | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | 12hr 10:02.5, 14 | |
| 10th | 96 | S2.0 | Bernardo Cammarota | Domenico Tramontana | | Ferrari 500 TRC | 12hr 33:18.0, 14 | |
| 11th | 58 | S1.1 | Antonio di Salvo | Domenico Minneci | | Raor-Fiat 1100 Special | 12hr 36:42.4, 14 | |
| 12th | 6 | GT1.3 | Casimiro Toselli | Armando Filippa | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | 12hr 42:32.9, 14 | |
| 13th | 42 | GT2.6 | Rosario Montalbano | Gaspare Bologna | | Fiat 8V | 12hr 57:20.9, 14 | |
| 14th | 60 | S1.1 | Gaspare Cavaliere | Salvatore Sirchia | | Fiat 1100/103 TV | 14 | |
| 15th | 14 | GT1.3 | Ada Pace | Carlo Peroglio | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | 14 | |
| DNF | 40 | GT2.6 | Raimondo Gangitano | Gianfernando Tomaselli | | Lancia Aurelia | 13 | did not finish |
| DNF | 80 | S1.5 | Giorgio Scarlatti | Edgar Barth | Porsche KG | Porsche 550 RS | 13 | did not finish |
| DNF | 104 | S3.0 | Gino Munaron | Wolfgang Seidel | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 250 TR 58 | 13 | Off course |
| DNF | 16 | GT1.3 | Vincenzo Arena Luigi Arena | Diego Pagano | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | 12 | did not finish |
| DNF | 28 | GT2.6 | Franco Dari | Giuseppe Cucchiarelli | | Fiat 8V | 12 | did not finish |
| DNF | 2 | GT1.3 | Sergio Mantia | Giuseppe Ramirez | | Fiat 1100/103 TV | | did not finish |
| DNF | 4 | GT1.3 | Baldassare Taormina | Pasquale Tacci | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | | did not finish |
| DNF | 12 | GT1.3 | Ettore Marconi | Piero Frescobaldi | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | | did not finish |
| DNF | 18 | GT1.3 | Domenico Lo Coco | Roberto Gugielmini | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | | did not finish |
| DNF | 20 | GT1.3 | Sergio Bettoja | P. Feroldi | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | | did not finish |
| DNF | 30 | GT2.6 | Nino Vaccarella | Enrico Giaccone | | Lancia Aurelia B20 | | did not finish |
| DNF | 34 | GT2.6 | Giuseppe Parla | Umberto Lo Pinto | | Lancia Aurelia B20 | | did not finish |
| DNF | 38 | GT2.6 | Alfonso Vella | Pietro Termini | | Fiat 8V | | did not finish |
| DNF | 48 | GT3.0 | Guido Cestelli-Guidi | Giuseppe Musso | | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL | | did not finish |
| DNF | 52 | GT3.0 | Pietro Ferraro | Paolo Ferraro | | Ferrari 250 GT LWB | | did not finish |
| DNF | 54 | S1.1 | Guido Garufi | Lorenzo Melarosa | | Osca MT4 1100 | | did not finish |
| DNF | 64 | S1.1 | Giuseppe Rossi | Enzo Buzzetti | | Osca MT4 1100 | | did not finish |
| DNF | 66 | S1.1 | Domenico Rotolo | Luigi di Pasquale | | Osca S1100 | | did not finish |
| DNF | 70 | S1.5 | Colin Davis | Alejandro de Tomaso | Automobili Osca | Osca S1500 TN | 2 | Accident damage |
| DNF | 74 | S1.5 | Luciano Mantovani | Ludovico Scarfiotti | Automobili Osca | Osca S1500 TN | 2/3 | Gearbox/Accident damage |
| DNF | 84 | S2.0 | Mennaro Boffa | Odoardo Govoni | Maserati | Maserati 200S I | 0 | Clutch (at start) |
| DNF | 88 | S2.0 | Anna Maria Peduzzi | Francesco Siracusa | | Ferrari 500 TR | | did not finish |
| DNF | 100 | S3.0 | Stirling Moss | Tony Brooks | David Brown Racing Department | Aston Martin DBR1/300 | 4 | Gearbox |
| DNS | 10 | GT1.3 | Nicoly | | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | | did not start |
| DNS | 22 | GT1.3 | Giuseppe Pizzo | Emanuele Trapani | | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | | did not start |
| DNS | 32 | GT2.6 | Giuseppe Conigliaro | Mario Conigliaro | | Lancia Aurelia B24 | | did not start |
| DNS | 36 | GT2.6 | Carol Fabi | Gianfranco Fabbri | | Fiat 8V | | did not start |
| DNS | 44 | GT3.0 | Armando Zampiero | Zampiero Villotti | | Ferrari 250 GT | | did not start |
| DNS | 46 | GT3.0 | Arnaldo Bongiasca | Mario Bongiasca | | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL | | did not start |
| DNS | 50 | GT3.0 | Sergio Der Stephanian | Adolfo Macchieraldo | | Ferrari 250 GT LWB | | did not start (Fatal accident in practice – Stephanian) |
| DNS | 56 | S1.1 | Francesco La Mattina | | | Osca MT4 1100 | | did not start |
| DNS | 62 | S1.1 | Francesco Paolo D’Agostino Vincenzo Sorrentino | Silvio Boffa | | Osca MT4 1100 | | did not start |
| DNS | 76 | S1.5 | Alfonso Thiele | | | Porsche 356 Carrera | | did not start |
| DNS | 82 | S2.0 | Guido Perrella | Giuliano Giovanardi | | Maserati 200S I | | did not start |
| DNS | 86 | S2.0 | Elio Pandolfo Mario Pandolfo | Claudio Faranda | | Ferrari 500 TR | | did not start |
| DNS | 92 | S2.0 | Giuseppe Alotta | | | Maserati A6GCS/53 | | did not start |
| DNS | 94 | S2.0 | Enzo Lopez | Mario Bornigia | | Maserati 200S I | | did not start |

* Fastest Lap: Stirling Moss, 42:17.5secs (63.842 mph)

### Class Winners

| Class | Winners | | |
| - | - | - | - |
| Sports 3000 | 106 | Ferrari 250 TR 58 | Musso / Gendebien |
| Sports 2000 | 90 | Ferrari 500 TRC | Starrabba / Cortesse |
| Sports 1500 | 68 | Porsche 718 RSK | Behra / Scarlatti |
| Sports 1100 | 58 | Raor-Fiat 1100 Special | di Salvo / Minneci |
| Grand Touring 3000 | | no classified finishers | |
| Grand Touring 2600 | 42 | Fiat 8V | Montalbano / Bologna |
| Grand Touring 1600 | 26 | Porsche 356A Carrera 1500 GS | Pucci / von Hanstein |
| Grand Touring 1300 | 24 | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce | Todaro / “Nessuno” |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Championship | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Ferrari | 24 |
| 2 | Porsche | 14 |
| 3 | Lotus | 3 |
| 4 | Osca | 2 |

Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1, excepting the RAC Tourist Trophy, for which points were awarded 4-3-2-1 for the first four places. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 4 results out of the 6 races could be retained by each manufacturer.

