# 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, instead of the 78 in 1960, of which 57 arrived for practice. Only these, 54 qualified for, and started the race.
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.

### 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 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.
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.
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. 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. 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.

## Official Classification

Class Winners are in Bold text.
| Pos | No | Class | Driver | 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)

### 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 | No classified finisher | 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.