Regarded as one of the most beautiful races that were once held in the world, the race first took place back in 1906, and it is the Targa Florio. It was a famous and infamous race because of its beauty and its dangers, respectively.
Freddie Dobbs will take you on a trip through his video from start to finish of the Targa Florio’s course atop his Triumph Bonneville.
First, we get a little look at the grandstands of the Targa Florio. Big names used to race through the course like Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and more, but now the course is used for historic rallies instead. There’s more yet on Dobbs’ journey, as there is even a museum dedicated to the Targa Florio which is actually a ways away from the location of the actual course, twenty minutes to be exact.
In the museum, Dobbs got to see and film several historic rally cars and bask in authentic race memorabilia. There are tons of things to see which include many race cars as well as a 1926 Gilera motorcycle with a sidecar.
After getting up to speed with the history of the race, it was time to saddle up on the Triumph with Freddie. Now, granted, he plied through parts of the course with a rather modern bike, on modern rubber, and on paved roads, unlike the racers back in the day that used to go all out on dirt tracks.
The first-ever race of the Targa Florio was not between cars and not between motorcycles, but it was actually between a trike and a horse, and guess who won? At the time, technology didn’t progress enough to overcome the force of nature that is one horsepower, but that’s history right there for you. From 1920 to 1930, motorcycles were able to race and long-time brands like Harley-Davidson, Indian, Moto Guzzi, and BMW, among plenty of others. For the motorcycle course, the Targa Florio has three laps with each spanning 108 kilometers or about 67 miles.
It wasn’t all breathtaking views along this mountainous countryside course, however. The race was canceled and never to be run again until several fatalities caused its demise, sadly against Vincenzo Florio’s wishes for it to never die.
As usual, the Italian roads that Dobbs goes through are breathtakingly beautiful. There are tons of sights to see in the video and tons of facts researched and presented by Dobbs himself. Perhaps this video could inspire a little trip for you to Italy to see it for yourself.
