1959 Targa Florio

The 43° Targa Florio was a motor race for sportscars held on 24 May 1959 on the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, Sicily, Italy.

[2] 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.

As Aston Martin elected to miss the event, there was no other entrants in the S3.0 class, therefore their main opposition would come from the works Porsches of Jo Bonnier, Wolfgang von Trips, Edgar Barth and Wolfgang Seidel, but these were smaller engined cars and less powerful.

They took an impressive victory, with their 718 RSK completing 14 laps, covering 626.343 miles in just over 11 hours of racing, averaging a speed of 56.737 mph.

The podium was complete by another works Porsche, this time a 356A Carrera of Antonio Pucci and Huschke von Hanstein who were further 9 mins behind, the first GT car to finish.

The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa of Brooks/Behra, with Brooks driving. The car did not finish the race.
The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa of Brooks/Behra during the race, with Brooks driving.
Edgar Barth and Wolfgang Seidel won the race driving a Porsche 718 RSK similar to the example pictured above.
The Ferrari 250 GT of La Pira and Siracusa, winner of the GT +2600 class
The Ferrari 250 GT of La Pira and Siracusa during the race. Winner of the GT +2600 class.