The oldest sports car racing event in the world!
If you want to relive the excitement of driving the oldest circuit rally in the world you “must” head from Palermo to the mountains of Madonie (Palermo province) where the famous open road endurance automobile “Targa Florio” has been held since 1906. The race was created in 1906 by the wealthy pioneer race driver and automobile enthusiast, Vincenzo Florio, who had started the Coppa Florio race in Brescia and Lombardy in 1900. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973.
By the mid-1920s, the Targa Florio had become one of Europe’s most important races, as neither the 24 Hours of Le Mans nor the Mille Miglia had been established yet. Grand Prix races were still isolated events, not a series like today’s F1.
Over the years, the greats of Grand Prix racing and Formula One such as Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio, Belgium’s Olivier Gendebien and Britain’s Stirling Moss came to challenge Italian champions Tazio Nuvolari, Alfieri Maserati, Achille Varzi and others, like local hero Nino Vaccarella.