Touring The Targa Florio And Sicily

OK, this is a Porsche Boxster infomercial.  But it gives a bit of a feel for what a 44-mile lap of the Targa Florio was like.  The scenery shots of Sicily are nice too.  The video runs 16 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GhBdssNZcE

As for the Targa: one lap is four times the length of the Tail of the Dragon, but with longer straights, more braking, and nearly as many curves (from the looks of those switchbacks).  One hard pass on the Dragon leaves me ready for a short break.  One lap of the Targa would wring me out.  The Targa usually lasted 10 laps, with the primary driver doing 6 of them.

The Presenter says the Targa makes the Nurburgring's Nordschleife "look like child's play."  Not so.  Nothing makes the Nordschleife look like child's play.  In the 1955 Targa, Peter Collins severely bent the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR he was co-driving with Stirling Moss.  "I hit a wall," he said, "but it wasn't a very good wall--it crumbled."  Three years later, Collins was killed on the Nordschleife when he ran wide in the Pflanzgarten.

Below are some pix of Porsche 908/2-018 in the 1969 Targa Florio, which also give a feel for the race and the roads.  Driven by Umberto Maglioli and Vic Elford, it came second to a sister car driven by Gerhard Mitter and Udo Schutz.

Power-on countersteer nearing the apex; spectators lining the road at the exit.  This is why the Targa no longer exists.