The 43° Targa Florio was a motor race for sportscars held on 24 May 1959 on the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, Sicily, Italy. It was the second round of the 1959 F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship and the 43rd running of the Targa Florio. Early that year, the event founder, Vincenzo Florio died and his nephew Vincent Paladion promised to keep alive Florio's Targa. “The Targa must continue... Promise me!..”

After the five main cars of Ferrari and Porsche failed in a race of attrition, it was won by Edgar Barth and Wolfgang Seidel driving a Porsche 718 RSK, ahead of three more cars entered by Porsche KG. The 1-2-3-4 triumph was the first ever World Sports Car Championship race win for Porsche, and the fifth Targa victory for Stuttgart after 1922, 1924 and 1955 wins for Mercedes(-Benz). Umberto Maglioli and Fritz Huschke von Hanstein had won the 1956 Targa Florio for Porsche, but the Targa was not part of the World Championship that year. After 1955 as a one-off replacement, the Targa was a WSC event from 1958 to 1973. Porsche would not only win 11 Targa Florios in total, but also named their open top Porsche 911 after it.

Report

Entry

The event attracted fewer cars than in previous years, with 59 racing cars registered for this event, instead of the 81 in 1958. Of the 59 cars registered, 58 arrived for practice with 52 qualifying for and starting the race.

Reigning champions, Ferrari had entered three of their latest 250 TR 59 for their squad of drivers; Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Tony Brooks, Olivier Gendebien, Jean Behra and Cliff Allison. Aston Martin had sent only one car to Sebring, but elected to miss the 1959 Sicily event after taking part in 1958, yet won all three remaining 1959 championship races and the World Championship. Maserati was not participating which large cars, thus there were no other entrants in the S3.0 class. The main opposition was expected to come from the smaller S2.0 class, with two aging Maserati A6GCS/53, two 4-cylinder Ferrari 500 TRC and a (Ferrari) Dino 196 S with the V6 engine.

Porsche mainly used the Porsche 547/3 quad-cam "Fuhrmann" engine in the small Porsche 718 RSK sportscar and in the Porsche 356 GT, either as basic 1.5-litre for the S1.5 class, or enlarged to 1.6-litre for the S2.0 and GT2.6 classes. Thus, the two main works Porsche 718 RSK given to Formula One drivers Jo Bonnier/Wolfgang von Trips and Hans Herrmann/Umberto Maglioli had small engines far away from the capacity limit of their S2.0 class.

A third 718 with regular engine for the S1.5 class was given to Germans Edgar Barth and Wolfgang Seidel to compete against two OSCA MT4 and two older private Porsche 550.

Race

The 1959 Targa was meant to be a Ferrari in-house battle, but it was not to be. The nimble Porsche No. 130 of Bonnier was leading, setting fastest lap with 43:11.6 and 100.0150 km/h (62.147 mph) average, and the Ferraris had to be driven hard. Gendebien/Hill were out already after lap 1 with a transmission problem that later affected also Gurney/Allison. All the big Ferraris retired due to mechanical problems, with the initial mechanical problem of the Jean Behra car being a crash with rollover that left Behra uninjured while the battered car was put back on the road by spectators. Behra made it to the pits where Tony Brooks declined to pilot the wreck. Being reminded of the terms in his contract, he drove it until the axle broke.

This left Porsche alone to command the race, taking the top four places despite the loss of the two main S2.0 Porsche 718 RSK cars driven by F1 pilots. The leading Porsche 718 of Jo Bonnier and Wolfgang von Trips was forced to withdraw on the last lap, leaving victory to the supporting S1.5 718 RSK driven by lesser known Germans, with three other Porsche completing a 1-2-3-4 triumph for Zuffenhausen.

Championship and Legacy As the 1956 Targa was not part of the 1956 World Sportscar Championship, due to 1955 being a one-off replacement for the cancelled Carrera Panamericana and the Mille Miglia being the Italian round until cancelled after 1957, it was the 1959 Targa that saw the first Porsche win in the World Sportscar Championship, with the pairing of Edgar Barth/Seidel. They took an impressive victory, with their Porsche 718 RSK completing 14 laps, covering 626.343 miles in just over 11 hours of racing, averaging a speed of 56.737 mph. Second place went to Stuttgart locals Eberhard Mahle, Paul-Ernst Strähle and Herbert Linge in an older private works-supported Porsche 550 RS, albeit 20 mins adrift. The podium was completed by another works Porsche, this time a GT-class 356A Carrera of Antonio Pucci and Huschke von Hanstein who were further 9 mins behind, the first GT car to finish. Surprisingly, the fourth car home, a private works-supported 356 further 4+ minutes behind, was driven by the same three-man crew that finished second.

After finishing 3rd in the 1959 12 Hours of Sebring, the Targa result meant Porsche took the lead in the 1959 World Sportscar Championship standing, with 12 points, over 8 for Sebring-winner Ferrari. This was the first time Ferrari had not topped the standings since March 1957.Peter Higham, The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing, 1995, page 266 After a 2nd place at the 1959 RAC Tourist Trophy in a season in which only the best 3 of 5 results were counted, Porsche was tied in points with Ferrari despite running only half the engine size, and not 12 but only 4 cylinders.

Official Classification Class Winners are in Bold text. All cars had to complete the full distance of 14 laps of 72km each for 1008km in total.

Pos No Class Driver Entrant Chassis Time Reason Out 1 112 S1.5 Edgar Barth Wolfgang Seidel Porsche KG Porsche 718 RSK 11hr 02:21.8, 14 2 118 S1.5 Eberhard Mahle Herbert Linge Paul Ernst Strähle Porsche KG Porsche 550 RS 11hr 22:20.8, 14 3 102 GT2.6 Huschke von Hanstein Antonio Pucci Porsche KG Porsche 356A Carrera 11hr 31:44.4, 14 4 96 GT2.6 Paul Ernst Strähle Eberhard Mahle Herbert Linge Porsche KG Porsche 356A Carrera 11hr 36:10.0, 14 5 134 S2.0 Mennato Boffa Piero Drogo Centro-Sud Maserati A6GCS/53 11hr 41:20.0, 14 6 38 GT1.3 “Dario Sepe” Mario Sannino Colin Davis Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato 12hr 02:30.0, 14 7 84 S1.1 Umberto Bini Luciano Mantovani Scuderia Sant’Ambroeus Osca S1100 12hr 10:52.3, 14 8 132 S2.0 Mario Cammarata Domenico Tramontana Mario Cammarata Ferrari 500 TRC 12hr 14:45.4, 14 9 120 GT2.6+ Salvatore La Pira Francesco Siracusa Nissena Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta 12hr 24:15.0, 14 10 138 S2.0 Giuseppe Allotta Nino Vaccarella Giuseppe Allotta Maserati A6 GCS 12hr 35:47.4, 14 11 72 S1.1 Domenico Rotolo Gaspere Cavaliere Monte Pellegrino Osca MT4 1100 12hr 39:40.0 12 30 GT1.3 Antonio Picone Sergio Mantia Franco Tagliavia Monte Pellegrino Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider 12hr 41:31.0, 14 13 46 GT1.3 Vito Coco Vito Sabbia Nissena Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce 12hr 46.16.0, 14 14 8 GT750 Enrico Carini Ernesto Prinoth Janua Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato 12hr 53:39.0. 14 15 24 GT1.3 Amedeo Bartoccelli Salvatore Panepinto Giuseppe Parla Nissena Fiat 1200 Boano 13hr 00:27.0, 14 16 20 GT1.3 Pietor Laureati “Pompei”” Pietro Laureati Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce 162 17 50 S750 Sesto Leonardi Alfredo Tinazzo Settecoli Osca S750 13hr 13:46.1, 14 18 70 S1.1 Tommy Wisdom Bernard Cahier Tommy Wisdom Austin-Healey Sprite 13hr 22:05.0, 14 19 60 S750 Gustavo Laureati Giuseppe Celani Montegrappa Osca S750 13hr 22:05.4, 14 20 56 S750 Giancarlo Rigamonti Anna Maria Peduzzi Scuderia Sant Ambroeus Osca S750 13hr 39:23.2, 14 21 28 GT1.3 José Rosinski Claude Bobrowski Paris Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato 13hr 44:11.4, 14 NC 76 S1.1 Enrico Manzini Attilio Brandi Clemente Biondetti Ermini-Fiat 1100 14:18:59 Over time limit NC 6 GT750 Carmelo Giugno Salvatore Giuffrida Nissena Fiat 500 14 ... Over time limit NC 92 GT2.6 Giovanni Giordano Carlo Fulci San Rizzo Fiat 8V Zagato 14 Over time limit DNF 136 S2.0 Umberto Maglioli Hans Herrmann Porsche KG Porsche 718 RSK Transmission DNF 150 S3.0 Jean Behra Tony Brooks Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59 Rear axle DNF 154 S3.0 Dan Gurney Cliff Allison Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59 Transmission DNF 4 GT750 Gérard Laureau François Jaeger Automobiles Deutsch et Bonnet D.B.-Panhard HBR4 did not finish DNF 26 GT1.3 Teodoro Zeccoli Roberto Rosignoli G.S. Savio Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce did not finish DNF 32 GT1.3 Giuseppe Ruggero Ciro Monaci Giuseppe Riggero Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato did not finish DNF 34 GT1.3 Jean-Pierre Hanrioud Beniatt Jean-Pierre Hanrioud D.B.-Panhard HBR5 did not finish DNF 36 GT1.3 Sergio Bettoja P. Feroldi Camidoglio Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato did not finish DNF 40 GT1.3 Ada Pace Carlo Peroglio Racing Club 19 Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato did not finish DNF 42 GT1.3 Enrico Giaccone Vincenzo Ribaudo Enrico Giaccone Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce did not finish DNF 44 GT1.3 Francesco de Leonibus Carlo Peroglio Racing Club 19 Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato did not finish DNF 52 S750 Amerigo Brachetti Elio Pandolfo Montegrappa Giaur 750 Sport did not finish DNF 58 S750 Giacomo Marino Salvatore Sirchia Monte Pellegrino Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato did not finish DNF 74 S1.1 Francesco La Mattina Francesco Soldana Armando dols Soldana Monte Pellegrino Osca MT4 1100 did not finish DNF 78 S1.1 Emanuele Trapani Bartolomeo Donato Monte Pellegrino Osca MT4 1100 did not finish DNF 80 S1.1 Antonio di Salvo Silvestre Semilia Falanga Roar-Fiat 1100 Special did not finish DNF 82 S1.1 Enzo Buzzetti Giuseppe Rossi Settecoli Osca MT4 1100 did not finish DNF 90 GT2.6 Rosario Montalbano Gaspare Bologna Giuseppe Bologna Fiat 8V did not finish DNF 94 GT2.6 Alfonso Vella Pietro Tremini Pietro Tremini Fiat 8V did not finish DNF 100 GT2.6 Rocco Finocchiaro Ignazio Consiglio Rocco Finocchiaro Fiat 8V did not finish DNF 104 GT2.6 Vincenzo Sorrentino Franco Pisano Sorrentino Lancia Flaminia did not finish DNF 114 S1.5 Edoardo Lualdi Ludovico Scarfiotti Scuderia Sant Ambroeus Osca MT4 1500 did not finish DNF 116 S1.5 Christian Goethals Christian Goethals Porsche 550 RS did not finish DNF 122 GT2.6+ Nino Todaro Gennaro Alterio Mediterranea Ferrari 250 GT did not finish DNF 140 S2.0 Gaetano Starrabba Domenico Lo Coco Gaetano Starrabba Ferrari 500 TRC did not finish DNF 142 S2.0 Giulio Cabianca Giorgio Scarlatti Scuderia Eugenio Castellotti Dino 196 S Out of fuel DNF 130 S2.0 Jo Bonnier Wolfgang von Trips Porsche KG Porsche 718 RSK 13 did not finish DNF 152 S3.0 Olivier Gendebien Phil Hill Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59 1 Pinion DNS 2 GT750 Elio Lenza Filippo Golia Elio Lenza Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato did not start DNS 10 GT750 Aldo Tine Matteo Sgarlata Gianni Carpinteri Aretusa Fiat-Abarth 750 did not start DNS 22 GT1.3 Francesco Gambi Francesco Gambi Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce did not start DNS 54 S750 Gaetano Spampinato Spampinato Fiat-Abarth 750 Sport did not start DNS 98 GT2.6 Sergio Mantia Giovanni Napoli Monte Pellegrino Lancia Aurelia B24 did not start DNS 110 S1.5 Henri Perrier Gilled Nebon Carle Binachon Henri Perrier / Binachon Osca MT4 1500 did not start

Fastest Lap: Jo Bonnier, 43:01.6secs 100.0150 km/h (62.147 mph)

Class Winners

Class Winners Sports 3000No finishers Sports 2000 134 Maserati A6GCS/53 Boffa / Drogo Sports 1500 112 Porsche 718 RSK Barth / Seidel Sports 1100 84 Osca S1100 Bini / Mantovani Sports 750 50 Osca S750 Leonardi / Tinazzo Grand Touring +2600 120 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta La Pira / Siracusa Grand Touring 2600 102 Porsche 356A Carrera von Hanstein / Pucci Grand Touring 1300 38 Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Veloce Zagato “Sepe” / Davis / Sannino Grand Touring 750 8 Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato Carini / Prinoth

Standings after the race Pos Championship Points 1 Porsche 12 2 Ferrari 8 3 Maserati 2 4 Alfa Romeo 1

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