Ferrari 250 GTO chassis 3451GT (startnummer 86) in de 1962 Targa Florio
The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973. While the first races consisted of a whole tour of the island, the track length in the race’s last decades was limited to the 72 kilometres (45 mi) of the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, which was lapped 11 times.
Chassis: 3451GT
The fifth 250 GTO built by Ferrari, chassis 3451GT was sold to Italian gentleman racer Pietro Ferraro. Together with Giorgio Scarlatti, he promptly drove his new acquisition to a class win in the Targa Florio. During the following years, it was only occasionally raced until it was acquired by Frenchman Guy Rivillon in October of 1965. He fielded the car with considerable success in local events until the summer of 1967. Following a lengthy spell in the collection of Jean-Claude Bajol, it was purchased by the current, Canadian owner in 1997. In 2012, it was repainted in its original configuration of Maroon with a white roof and certified by Ferrari.
Verslag van de race van chassis 3451GT op de site van CMC-Modelcars:
Shortly after its incipient racing appearances, the 250 GTO sent shockwaves through the motorsports scene. The car seemed to be at home on every kind of track and was able to deliver extraordinary performances whether on a race circuit or windy mountain road.
Such was the case at the 46th Targa Florio on May 6, 1962. The Italian driver-team Giorgio Scarletti and Pietro Ferraro joined the endurance race in their two-tone-finish 250 GTO with starting number 86. The race comprised 10 laps of the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie that stretched 72 km long, so a distance of 720 km was to be covered in total. The circuit ran along public mountain roads in the Greater Palermo area, with its start and finish line set in the village Cerda. It had approximately 900 curves, thus demanding hours of highest concentration and driving skills from the pilots. Crowds, frequently dangerous roadsides, rock formations, trees and deep chasms added to the difficulties for drivers trying to race to victory on the tracks already bumpy and dusty enough. The racecars started off individually every 20 seconds, as a simultaneous start was impossible because of the narrow streets. Even overtaking from behind was extremely difficult. For an experienced driver, it was possible to complete a lap in less than 40 minutes, which corresponded to an average speed of about 100 km/h.
The GTO-team Scarlatti/Ferraro coped with the ordeal well by finishing the race for 7h: 22m: 8.100s and became the winner in the GT-class. It led them to an honorable 4th place in overall standing. This was one more indication that the Ferrari 250 GTO was going to be a serial winner with few rivals to pose a serious threat to its domination.
De volledige uitslag van de 1962 Targa Florio:
Interview met Phil Hill over de 250 GTO:
Geschiedenis van de Targa Florio:
