1961 Targa Florio

The 45° Targa Florio took place on 30 April 1961, on the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, (Sicily, Italy). It was the second round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship, and third round of the FIA GT Cup.

Report

Entry

The event attracted fewer cars than in previous seasons, with 64 racing cars were registered for this event,^[1] instead of the 78 in 1960,^[2] of which 57 arrived for practice. Only these, 54 qualified for, and started the race.^[3]

Reigning World Champions, Ferrari had entered two of their Ferrari 246 SP and a 250 TRI 61 for their squad of drivers; Willy Mairesse, Ricardo Rodríguez, Wolfgang von Trips, Olivier Gendebien, Phil Hill and Richie Ginther. As like 1960, there was no other factory entrants in the S3.0 class, their main opposition would come from the works Porsche 718 RS 61s of Hans Herrmann, Edgar Barth, Jo Bonnier, Dan Gurney, Graham Hill and Stirling Moss, despite these were smaller engined cars and less powerful, the marque had won the last two Targa Florios.^[4]

Race

At the start, Moss would take an immediate lead, which would eventually build up to around 90 seconds, with his team-mate Bonnier in second place. The leading Ferrari was that of von Trips and he would be trailing along further behind, yet it seemed more than obvious the Ferrari 246 SP just couldn’t match the overall performance of the nimble Porsches ^[5] The Ferrari of Phil Hill and Ginther suffered an accident of the very first lap, and was one of 24 cars that didn’t reach half distance.^[6]

After a few laps, Moss would have to hand the car over to Graham Hill. Hill’s inexperience of the event was coming into play. While he would stay out of trouble and would have a decent pace, it wouldn’t be fast enough as the Ferrari of von Trips and Gendebien took the overall lead by nearly 80 seconds, while Bonnier/Gurney fell back to third. Still, Hill had done his job, he complete a couple of laps and would hand the car back to Moss for the remainder of the race.^[7]

Moss picked up the pace quite dramatically and was soon right back up with the leading Ferrari. He wasn’t going to be stop and he soon was back in the lead. In reply, von Trips set an amazing fastest lap, with an average speed of 67.019 mph. Still heading into the final lap, he followed Moss in the running order.^[8] Moss headed into the last lap with a lead of more than a minute over the Ferrari. By this point he had covered more than 440 miles, when the differential failed. He was just a few miles around from victory.

The Ferrari of von Trips/Gendebien inherited the lead, to take the victory, completing 10 laps, covering 447.388 miles in just under 7½ hours of racing, averaging a speed of 64.272 mph.^[9] Second place went to the works Porsche of Bonnier and Gurney in a Porsche 718 RS 61, albeit over 4½ mins adrift. The podium was complete by another works Porsche, of Herrmann and Barth who were further 12 mins behind.^[10][11]

Official Classification

Class Winners are in Bold text.

Pos	No	Class	Driver		Entrant	Chassis	Laps	Reason Out
1st	162	S3.0	Wolfgang von Trips	Olivier Gendebien	SEFAC Ferrari	Ferrari 246 SP	6hr 57:39.4, 10
2nd	134	S2.0	Jo Bonnier	Dan Gurney	Porsche KG	Porsche 718 RS 61	7hr 02:03.5, 10
3rd	132	S2.0	Hans Herrmann	Edgar Barth	Porsche KG	Porsche 718 RS 61	7hr 14:14.0, 10
4th	152	S3.0	Nino Vaccarella	Maurice Trintignant	Scuderia Serenissima	Maserati Tipo 63	7hr 28:49.3, 10
5th	158	S3.0	Umberto Maglioli	Giorgio Scarlatti	Scuderia Serenissima	Maserati Tipo 63	7hr 40:04.2, 10
6th	92	GT2.5	Paul-Ernst Strähle	Antonio Pucci	Porsche KG	Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth GTL	7hr 48:25.8, 10
7th	96	GT2.5	Herbert Linge	Huschke von Hanstein	Porsche KG	Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth GTL	7hr 50:53.5, 10
8th	38	GT1.3	José Rosinki	Bernard Consten	José Rosinki	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	7hr 59:08.0, 10
9th	4	GT1.3	Vito Coco	Sand	Scuderia Etna	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	8hr 06:14.0, 10
10th	30	GT1.3	“Kim”	“Tom”	Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	8hr 13:54.0, 10
11th	10	GT1.3	Baldassare Taormina	Pasquale Tacci	Baldassare Taormina	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	8hr 06:48.0, 10
12th	18	GT1.3	Hans Bauer	Roberto Sgorbati	Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	10
13th	26	GT1.3	Emanuele Trapani	Bartolomeo Donato	Balarm	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale	10
14th	34	GT1.3	Enzo Buzzetti	Renzo Sinibaldi	Montegrappa	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	10
15th	70	S1.0	Umberto Bini	Giancarlo Riagmonti	Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus	Osca S1000	10
16th	12	GT1.3	Giuseppe Grasso	Vito Sabbia	Scuderia Etna	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	10
17th	92	GT2.5	Giulio Cabianca	Elio Zagato	Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus	Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato	10
18th	98	GT2.5	Franco Lisitano	Benedetto Catano	San Rizzo	Fiat 8V	10
19th	56	S1.0	Massimo Natili	Giuseppe Cucchiarelli	Alto Lazio	Giaur Giannini 1000	10
NC	16	GT1.3	Pietro Laureati	Domenico Santoleri	Pescara	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	10	over time limit
NC	138	S2.0	Paolo Samona	Giuseppe de Sarzana	Paolo Samona	Maserati A6GCS/53	10	over time limit
NC	154	S3.0	Pietro Ferraro	Armando Zampiero	San Marco	Ferrari 250 GT SWB	10	over time limit
NC	156	S3.0	Giuseppe Gasso	Giovanni Giordano	Scuderia Etna	Ferrari 250 GT LWB	10	over time limit
DNF	120	S1.6	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Colin Davis	Osca	Osca S1500 SF392	9	did not finish
DNF	136	S2.0	Stirling Moss	Graham Hill	Porsche KG	Porsche 718 RS 61	9	Differential
DNF	28	GT1.3	Ivanhoe Avorio	Carlo Facetti	Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce	7	did not finish
DNF	74	S1.0	Gregorio Filippone	Francesco Patané	Scuderia Etna	Osca MT4 1000	7	did not finish
DNF	40	GT1.3	Gianni Bulgari	Maurizio Grana	Campidoglio	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	6	did not finish
DNF	60	S1.0	Marcello de Luca di Lizzano	Attilio Brandi	Bardahl Italy	Osca S1000	6	did not finish
DNF	66	S1.0	Massiom Leto di Priolo	Ottavio Prandoni	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Fiat-Abarth 1000	6	did not finish
DNF	72	S1.0	Mario Raimondo	Aldebaran	Balarm	Osca MT4 1000	6	did not finish
DNF	6	GT1.3	Antonio Accardi	Alessandro Federico	Antonio Accardi	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	5	did not finish
DNF	14	GT1.3	Guido Garufi	Franco Tagliavia	Guido Garufi	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	5	did not finish
DNF	20	GT1.3	Ermete Bosco	Bruno Bevilacqua	Pescara	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale	5	Accident
DNF	22	GT1.3	Mario Tropia	Giuseppe Parla	Nissena	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider	5	did not finish
DNF	24	GT1.3	Michele Allegrini	Clemente Avventurieri	Sila	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	5	did not finish
DNF	54	S1.0	Gérard Laureau	François Jaeger	Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet	D.B.-Panhard HBR5	5	Gearbox
DNF	64	S1.0	Domenico Rotolo	Salvatore Sirchia	Monte Pellegrino	Osca MT4 1000	5	did not finish
DNF	100	GT2.5	Sergio Mantia	Giovanni Napoli	Monte Pellegrino	Fiat 8V Zagato	5	did not finish
DNF	106	GT2.5	Gian Carlo Carfi	Comar	Scuderia Etna	Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato	5	did not finish
DNF	112	S1.6	William Schuldt	Pat Garret	William Schuldt	Stanguellini-Climax 1100	5	did not finish
DNF	78	S1.0	Francesco de Leonibus	Gino Munaron	Virgilio Conrero	Lotus-Climax Eleven	4	Gearbox
DNF	114	S1.6	Pietro Termini	Rosario Montalbano	Balarm	Ermini-Alfa Romeo 1500	4	Accident
DNF	142	S2.0	Mennato Boffa	Nino Todaro	Scuderia Serenissima	Maserati Tipo 60	4	Oil pipe
DNF	8	GT1.3	Salvatore Leto di Priolo	Corrado Manfredini	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	3	did not finish
DNF	62	S1.0	Carlo Maria Abate	Gianni Balzarini	Scuderia Serenissima	Fiat-Abarth 1000 S	3	Oil pump
DNF	160	S3.0	Ricardo Rodríguez	Willy Mairesse	SEFAC Ferrari	Ferrari 250 TRI/61	3	Fuel tank
DNF	102	GT2.5	Joseph Thomas	Siegfried Günther	Joseph Thomas	Porsche 356B Super 90	2	did not finish
DNF	2	GT1.3	Salvatore Russo	Giulio Pernice	Scuderia Etna	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce	1	Accident
DNF	108	GT2.5	Francesco di Benedetto	Giuseppe D’Amico	Balarm	Alfa Romeo 2500	1	did not finish
DNF	144	S2.0	Giuseppe Allotta	Silvestre Semilia	Giuseppe Allotta	Maserati A6GCS/53	1	Accident
DNF	104	GT2.5	Marino Guarnieri	Brian Whitehouse	Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus	Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato	0	did not finish
DNF	140	S2.0	Vincenzo Riolo	Franco Bernabei	Centro-Sud	Maserati 200S I	0	did not finish
DNF	164	S3.0	Phil Hill	Richie Ginther	SEFAC Ferrari	Ferrari 246 SP	0	Accident
DNS	32	GT1.3	”Kim”	Tommaso Carletti	Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato		did not start
DNS	36	GT1.3	Luciano Conti	Giancarlo Venturi	Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato		did not start
DNS	52	S1.0	Camillo Giuliani	Angelo Rizzo	Sila	Fiat Ciolino		did not start
DNS	58	S1.0	Giuseppe D’Amico	U. Fichera	Scuderia Etna	Fiat Ciolino		did not start
DNS	68	S1.0	Remo Cattini	Giuseppe Bonomo	Remo Cattini	Fiat-Abarth 1000 S		did not start
DNS	76	S1.0	Alfonso Vella	Giuseppe Virgilio	Alfonso Vella	Fiat Ciolino		did not start
DNS	80	S1.0	Michele Paratore	Seire	Michele Paratore	Fiat-Abarth 1000 S		did not start
DNS	116	S1.6	Ada Pace	Gianfranco Stanga	Osca	Osca S1100		did not start
DNS	118	S1.6	Gaspare Cavaliere	Gaetano Starrabba	Segesta	Porsche 718 RSK		did not start
DNS	T	S2.0	Dan Gurney		Porsche KG	Porsche 718 RS 61		Practiced only (Accident)

• Fastest Lap: Wolfgang von Trips, 40:03.2secs (67.019 mph) ^[12][13][14]

Class Winners

Class	Winners
Sports 3000	162	Ferrari 246 SP	von Trips / Gendebien
Sports 2000	134	Porsche 718 RS 61	Bonnier / Gurney
Sports 1600	No classified finisher
Sports 1000	70	Osca S100	Bini / Rigamonti
Grand Touring 2500	9	Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth GTL	Strähle / Pucci
Grand Touring 1300	38	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato	Rosinski / Consten

^[15]

Standings after the race

Pos	Championship	Points
1	Ferrari	16
2	Porsche	8
3	Maserati	3

• Note: Only the top five positions are included in this set of standings.

Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 3 results out of the 5 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.

References

1. "Targa Florio 1961 - Racing Sports Cars".
2. "Targa Florio 1960 - Racing Sports Cars".
3. "Targa Florio 1961 - Racing Sports Cars".
4. "Leauto".
5. "45^ TARGA FLORIO 30 aprile 1961".
6. . Archived from the original on 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
7. "45^ TARGA FLORIO 30 aprile 1961".
8. "45^ TARGA FLORIO 30 aprile 1961".
9. . Archived from the original on 2005-02-24. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
10. "Targa Florio 1961 - Racing Sports Cars".
11. "F2 Register - Index".
12. . Archived from the original on 2005-02-24. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
13. "Reference at www.racingsportscars.com".^{[permanent dead link]}
14. "F2 Register - Index".
15. "Targa Florio 1961 - Racing Sports Cars".

Further reading

• Ed Heivink. Targa Florio: 1955-1973. Reinhard Klein. ISBN 978-3927458666

World Sportscar Championship
Previous race: 12 Hours of Sebring	1961 season	Next race: 1000km Nürburgring

FIA GT Cup
Previous race: 12 Hours of Sebring	1961 season	Next race: Coppa Ascari