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Targa Florio 1972

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Dare:
Vic Elford talks about The Targa Florio in
which our own joknbull competed




http://youtube.com/watch?v=5wnZq9KBBfc

johnbull:
Thanks for the memories mate.

While at it I also watched the vid of the 65 Targa. It was the first one we attended. We went every year after that till it stopped being a World championship event in 73, and of course I did it in 72.

Myth and folklore have it that Leo Kinnunen, although he had the official lap record for the 47 mile circuit, actually bettered it on the Thursday prior to the event - on the open road with the works 908 T.

The first pic of Elford at the dinner table was taken at the Hotel Santa Lucia in Cefalu, which used to be the Porsche teram HQ. The Santa Lucia is still there today, and still very much as it was then.

I visited the Targa on my motorcycle with my wife last November and again last May with a couple of friends who we used to go with every year. There are a couple of very good Targa Florio museums, one in Cerda and one in Collesano. The Cerda museum actually had a pic of my car which the owner promptly asked me to sign. On my return in May I took a few more pics with me to give the guy. He was delighted and I am sure they are now there with his many wonderful exhibits.

Oh there are so many stories, I could write a book about it.

Wife and I will be holidaying in Sicily again late September, again with the bike, and I will no doubt do another obligatory lap. What fun. I can't wait.

Thanks for the lovely memories. I'll put some pics in here tomorrow morning when I get to the office.

Dare:
My pleasure johnbull.Maybe you could
give us others members some stories
on some of the drivers you met and know :D

johnbull:
There weren't many people around at the Targa that could speak both English and Italian fluently, so we were always very welcome with the British contingent there.  We became very pally with Targa regulars Martin Davidson and Jack Wheeler. They used to do the trip down to Sicily every year, racing a Sprite originally but later it was rebodied and called a Gerboa. We became very pally with them as well as most of the other Brits and Finns.

I got married in 73 and missed the Targa trip but my brother and other friends went. They met up with Rauno Aaltonen and Tony Fall who it turned out were planning a couple of days in Malta after the event, so i met them at the airport and they joined me to dinner one evening.

One year John Chatham came down with his MGC. The italian scrutineer refused to let him take part, saying the car should have a 4 cylinder engine and not a 6. He was obviously thinking MGB. Eventually we discussed the matter with the race officials on John's behalf and came to a compromise which at least allowed him to race. They accepted him in the 3 litre Prototype class - up with the works Porsche 908Ts, Ferrari 312s and Alfa 33s. But at least he took part.

The Targa had a 47 mile lap. Most of it was mountains, but towards the end of the lap, as you dropped from Collesano, down to Campo Felice and then down along the coast you got on to the 6 kilometre Bonfornello straight. Now this was an absolute killer because how on earth with a 4 speed gearbox, do you gear for both the mountains and the Bonfornello. The simple answer is YOU CAN'T. You have to compromise. That Bonfornello was actually my undoing. Through the main road at Campo Felice I noticed I was catching an Italian driving an Alpine. Out of the village and down the mountain I got closer and closer. We got onto the Bonfornello straight nose to tail and I tucked in right behind him. Unfortunately i got carried away. He obviously had a higher top speed (5 speed box). About 3/4 of the way down the straight I cooked the engine and had to retire with a holed piston.

There are so many other lovely stories but it's past my bedtime (midnight here) so I'll leave them for another day.

Good night all.

Steven Roy:
Facinating tosee the deifferent attitude compared to now.  Elford mentions he crashed into a local's car during a practise lap like it was nothing.  Can't imagine anything like that now. 

He looks so exposed in that car but I guess it only looks scary in hindsight.

One of the links next to the film was for a compilation of Senna's first F1 tests.  Very interesting even if he does speak Portuguese and the sub-titles appear to be Greek.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=w2wYoKsdtj0&mode=related&search=

The top link was for film of Jo Bonnier's fatal crash.  I don't know how he died but I can't watch the film.

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