I heard the news towards the end of 1966 - "We're in for the Targa again next year!" - and once more felt the familiar surge of excitement and anticipation at the prospect of taking part in the 51st Targa Florio, the greatest road-race left in the world. It would, I knew, cost me a fair packet, and mean much burning of the midnight oil during the weeks of preparation on our little 1355cc Austin Healey Sebring Sprite. Then there was the long haul down to Sicily, and in the race itself, the near certainty of being completely out-classed by the works cars - possibly of not even finishing at all. But this was, after all the Targa Florio, a challenge to both car and driver and one which I thought was well worth some personal sacrifice to accept.
The history of the Targa goes back to 1906. In that year the late Count Vincenzo Florio, a wealthy landowner from Northern Sicily and an enthusiast for the new sport of motor racing organised an event which ran halfway around the island. Since that year, when it was won by the Italian Cagno in an Itala, a further 50 races have been run and the circuit has been progressively shrunk to a mere 72 kilometres, centred around the mountains of the Madonie between Messina and Palermo.
In those early days, the Targa was just one of many such races, but one by one the others have been dropped - mainly through opposition by government officials against the dangers (or so-called dangers) of road racing. The last to go was the famous Mille Miglia, after a disaster which cost the lives of the Marquis de Portago, his co-driver and several spectators. The Le Mans tragedy of 1955 didn't help matters either, so that by the '60s, only the great Targa Florio was left. It is probably thanks to the Sicilians' spirit of independence that the Targa has survived: in northern Sicily the race is almost a legend and close to every Sicilian's heart.
Our preparation began around Christmas, and was based on the store of knowledge we had obtained from our 1966 visit. In last year's race Jack Wheeler, my co-driver, had crashed the car in practice a few miles from the start when a brake grabbed and sent him sliding into a wall. The car turned over and the roof was badly damaged. Although it might have been possible to repair in time for the race, we thought it wiser to withdraw in case of hidden chassis damage.
The Targa road surface seems to deteriorate year by year, most sections of the course being at least 50% worse than the poorest British "B" road. Most of our preparation was therefore concentrated on the suspension department. It was completely rebuilt, then checked and double checked for flaws, while extra bump stops were fitted. The standard Austin Healey Sprite gearbox was then replaced by an MGB one with overdrive, thereby giving us an extra gear which was needed on the single six-kilometre straight where speeds of up to 132 m.p.h. could be achieved with our 1355cc. Sebring Sprite. The engine has been stripped and rebuilt; it had originally been a 1275 Cooper "S" type and the capacity had been increased to bring it into what we thought (wrongly as it turned out) was the most suitable class for the car. The old fuel tank was replaced with a 15 gallon long-range one which would last us at least 3 laps (216 kilometres) before refuelling. We even fitted a dual braking system so that if, say, the rear packed up altogether, we had at least the immediate use of the front ones, and vica-versa.
Although an average of some 60 m.p.h. is an achievement on this circuit, brakes and transmission are at a premium throughout, since apart from the 6 kilometre straight the driver must brake and change gear literally every 5 or 10 seconds in a lap which for us lasted about three quarters of an hour! Just how many corners there are it is impossible to tell, but the circuit never stops twisting and turning as it works its way gradually up from the start at Cefalu, through the high Mafia-ridden villages of the Madonie and down the other side to sea level again.
To tow the Sprite on its trailer we used Jack's faithful old 1500 Cortina Estate, an ideal car for us, as it combines enough power to pull fairly rapidly over long distances with enough space to carry all the spares and personal effects needed to be away racing for upwards of ten days. As we learned to our cost last year, the actual race is only half the exercise!
In 1966 we at least ten minor breakdowns during our journey south to Sicily. This time we kept them down to two I am glad to say. After the delays caused by these, the Wheeler equippe finally arrived in time for Friday's practice.
With our over-bored 1355cc. Sprite, we found ourselves entered in just about the hottest class in the race. Our competition was more than formidable, with factory cars from Porsche, Ferrari, and Alfa-Romeo, all ranged against our poor little eight-year old. However, undeterred, the car recorded a practice lap of about (everything is 'about' in the Targa Florio) 44 minutes, which at one stage was even faster than the works entered Sprite of Clive Barker and Rauno Aaltonen (the Finnish rally expert).
For us, the story of the race was one of just keep-going. I took the first turn at the wheel because my practice time had been faster than Jack's. Almost from the start I felt the rear suspension begin to go, and as the first lap progressed it got worse and worse, until finally, unable to control the tail I spun it right around. For the remainder of my first three laps at the wheel I tried to concentrate on keeping the car (a) pointing in the right direction and (b) lapping in under 45 minutes.
By the time Jack took over, the shock absorbers had completely gone and the car was "bottoming" viciously all around the circuit. Although terrified of the car's (by now) completely unpredictable handling, Jack managed to keep it going well for another three laps - surprisingly without a single spin - before handing it over to me again for the final three laps.
At speed, by now it was almost uncontrollable. I spun it at least a further three times, on each occasion the rear end "whipping" just a little more. I found, however, that to try to correct the car when it wanted to spin was asking for even more trouble, so I just had to let it take its own course.
Compared with some, our problems seemed very minor. Our big rivals - the official Sprite team - had great drama when Baker left the road and hit a spectator who was ambling around in the road. Spectators were everywhere in the Targa; they sit on banks, in gutters, and along the walls of numerous lemon groves. Families in their hundreds congregate on rood tops, and in trees, while others walk up and down the track from vantage point to vantage point, stepping back only when they hear the exhaust note of an oncoming car. It was a "perambulating" type whom Baker hit - though fortunately without serious injury. In true Sicilian fashion, the incident ended with Baker being thrown into jail! Still, compared with the early Targas, when a driver was once known to be kidnapped and held to ransom by Sicilian bandits, even Baker'' experience seemed rather tame.
Finally, after six hours and ten laps racing, the chequered flag came out to welcome home the winners, Paul Hawkins (Australia) and Rolf Stommelen (Germany) in their Porsche. We completed only 9 laps, but were delighted to be tenth overall and fifth in our class, of the seventeen cars which finished. However, our joy was shortlived when we learned that as we had not finished within 10% of our class winner's time, we could not be classified overall. A bitter dissappointment this, as we had finished ahead of several far more powerful cars.
Nevertheless, at least we had finished in the 51st Targa Florio - a feat which previously we had hardly dared think possible. We had also proved to ourselves that even in 1967, when motor racing for most is more a technical development than a sport, two private individuals with nothing but enthusiasm can still race their own car with considerable success against factory prepared opposition.
It had been a memorable race - and we had finished. Next year will see us back in the Targa Florio again, for truly there is no event quite like it.
(Condensed from an article by Martin Davidson in "She" and reprinted in Goblins' Gazette, April 1968)
The full results for the 1967 Targa Florio are available on the web site http://user.tninet.se/~aiq291w/Targa67.htm (broken link - March 14 2005). The Jack Wheeler / Martin Davidson Sebring Sprite was officially classified as a 23rd place. The Baker Sprite was classified as 63rd place. While they did return in 1968, they DNF'd, out early in the event. In 1969, they retired with head gasket problems early in the event. In 1970, they entered in a Jerboa SP but crashed out on the first lap, in the same car they retired after 7 laps in 1971. In 1972, in a Daren Mk 3, they retired with ignition problems after 5 laps. Finally they finished the event for the 2nd time (this time in the Daren Mk 3) in 1973, finshing in 29th place. This was the last of the Targa Florio races until the modern revival