The

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

was a

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motor race Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

held on the 108km Medio Circuito Madonie in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on 25 April 1926. There were two separate races held simultaneously, one for up to 1100cc

Cyclecars A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the car. A key ...

held over 3 laps for a total distance of 324km, and the main race for

Formula Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppor ...

cars over 5 laps for a total distance of 540km. The longer race also featured the 1926

Coppa Florio The Coppa Florio (or Florio Cup) was a motorsport race for automobiles first held in Italy in 1900. It was renamed in 1905 when Vincenzo Florio offered the initial 50,000 Lira prize money and a cup designed by Polak of Paris. The cup was to be awa ...

which was open only to factory entered cars. The Cyclecar race was won by

Baconin Borzacchini Baconin Borzacchini (Terni 28 September 1898 – Monza 10 September 1933) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver often referred to as Mario Umberto Borzacchini. Biography Born Baconino Francesco Domenico Borzacchini in Terni in the Umbria ...

driving a

Salmson Salmson is a French engineering company. Initially a pump manufacturer, it turned to automobile and aeroplane manufacturing in the 20th century, returning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s, and re-expanded to a number of products and services ...

, while the longer race and Coppa Florio were won by

Meo Costantini Bartolomeo "Meo" Costantini (14 February 1889 in Vittorio Veneto – 19 July 1941 in Milan) was an Italian aviator and racing car driver, known for being the sporting manager of the Bugatti car manufacturer. Military service He joined the Italo ...

in his factory entered

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...

Report

Competitors were divided into four classes based on engine capacity. Class I were the up to 1100cc

cyclecars A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the car. A key ...

, Class II was for cars up to 1500cc, Class III for cars up to 2000cc, and Class IV for cars over 2000cc. Cars started the race individually in order of race number, with a three minute interval between each car starting with class II, then class III, class IV and finally the class I competitors who only needed to complete 3 laps. During his first lap, 2-time Targa Florio winner

Giulio Masetti Giulio Masetti (1895 – 25 April 1926) was an Italian nobleman and racing driver, known as "the lion of Madonie" from his dominating the Targa Florio in the early 1920s. Born in Vinci, he was the older brother of the racing driver Conte Car ...

's Delage overturned, severely injuring him. He died shortly afterwards. The main race was dominated by

's Bugatti, who lead from the start and never lost the lead, setting a fastest lap of 1 hour and 26 minutes on his fifth and final lap. Behind him, fellow factory Bugatti driver

Ferdinando Minoia Ferdinando "Nando" Minoia (2 June 1884 – 28 June 1940) was an Italian racing driver with an exceptionally long, distinguished and varied career. In 1907, he won the Coppa Florio driving an Isotta Fraschini. In 1923, he drove the world’s ...

drove to a mostly unchallenged second place. Behind them the race was much closer. After the first lap, third to eighth place were separated by less than two minutes, with

Emilio Materassi Emilio Materassi (October 30, 1894 – September 9, 1928) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver. Early life Born in Borgo San Lorenzo, near Florence, Italy, Emilio began working in a bicycle shop, learning the basics of applied mechani ...

's Itala Special in third followed by Wagner, Dubonnet, Divo, Goux and Maserati. Dubonnet and Goux charged up the order on the second lap, moving up to third and fourth places respectively, making it a Bugatti 1-2-3-4, while Materassi dropped to sixth due to a pit stop. By the end of lap three, Materassi had pushed back up to third place, while Dubonnet had dropped to seventh as he made a pitstop. Factory Delage drivers Divo and Benoist would then retire, mourning the loss of teammate Masetti. Goux was able to pass Materassi on the fourth lap, giving the Bugatti factory team a 1-2-3 which they would hold until the end, with Materassi finishing fourth, while Dubonnet was fifth, and first in Class II. After setbacks which dropped him as low as 12th, Maserati finished 8th and won Class III.

Results

1100cc Class

Targa Florio

''Entrants who competed for the Coppa Florio shown in bold.''

Sources

{{Grand Prix race report , Name_of_race =

, Year_of_race = 1926 , Previous_year's_race = 1925 Targa Florio , Next_year's_race = 1927 Targa Florio

Targa Florio