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 registered for this event, instead of the 78 in 1960. 57 of the 64 arrived for practice. Of these, 54 qualified for, and started the race.
Ferrari never had won a Formula One Constructor Championship, losing to British cars since it was introduced in 1958, but once again was the reigning World Sportscar Champion - barely, though. In the 1960 World Sportscar Championship Maranello had won only 2 of 5 events, one of them Le Mans which requires strong engines, while the small capacity Porsche won also two events and a second place, with the tie breaker having been the amount of third places. Of the four proper Targa races from 1956 (Non-Championship) to 1960, Ferrari had won only in 1958 with the 3-liter V12 Testa Rossa mounted in the front, with the nimble mid-rear engine 1500cc Porsche 550 and 718 winning three. Having lost in 1959, Ferrari in 1960 entered the lighter V6-powered Dino 246S with 2.4 liter engine size, but Porsche had upgraded its flat-4 DOHC Type 547 Fuhrmann engine to 1.6 liter and took a third win.
For 1961, Ferrari finally adopted the mid-engine layout, putting a Dino-V6 behind (Posteriore) the driver both in F1 and in some sportscars, which were designated SP. Ferrari entered two of their 2.4 litre mid-V6 Ferrari 246 SP and a traditional 3-liter front-V12 250 TRI 61 for their squad of drivers; Willy Mairesse, Ricardo Rodríguez, Wolfgang von Trips, Olivier Gendebien, Phil Hill and Richie Ginther. As in 1960, there were no other factory entrants in the S3.0 class. The main opposition would come once again from the works Porsche 718 RS 61s of Hans Herrmann & Edgar Barth, Jo Bonnier & Dan Gurney, Graham Hill and Stirling Moss. Despite the fact that these were smaller engined cars and less powerful, they had beaten Ferrari in the last two Targa Florios. This time, Porsche enlarged the engine some more, conservative 1700cc for the No. 132 car of the German drivers, and nearly the maximum of the S2.0 class with 1966cc in the two other 718.https://www.racingsportscars.com/entry/data/Targa_Florio-1961-04-30.html
Race
At the start, Moss in the No. 136 Porsche took an immediate lead, which would eventually build up to around 90 seconds, with his team-mate Bonnier in second place. The leading Ferrari was No. 162 of von Trips, it seemed the Ferrari 246 SP just couldn’t match the overall performance of the nimble Porsches The other V6 Ferrari of Phil Hill and Ginther suffered an accident on the very first lap, and was one of 24 cars that didn’t reach half distance. The V12 works Ferrari was also out early.
After a few laps, Moss would have to hand the car over to Graham Hill. Despite having finished 5th in 1960, and Porsche testing a lot before Targas like Mercedes did in 1955, Hill’s inexperience of the event was coming into play. While he stayed out of trouble and had a decent pace, it wasn't fast enough. 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 completed a couple of laps and handed the car back to the 1955 winner Moss for the remainder of the race.
Moss picked up the pace quite dramatically and was soon right back up with the leading Ferrari which also was the last remaining one, with three works Porsche in the hunt. Thus, Moss wasn’t going to be stopped and was soon 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. 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 from victory, but the enlarged engine and his pace was too much for the drivetrain.
The 2.4 liter 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. Second and third place went to the other works Porsche 718 RS 61. The 2.0 liter of Bonnier and Gurney finished second, albeit over 4½ mins adrift. The podium was completed by the smaller 1.7 liter works Porsche of Herrmann and Barth who were a further 12 mins behind.
Official Classification
Class Winners are in Bold text.
Pos No ClassDriver 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 CattiniFiat-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)
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
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
Further reading
Ed Heivink. Targa Florio: 1955-1973. Reinhard Klein.