1920 GRAND PRIX SEASON -

4 Guido Meregalli
G. Meregalli
Nazzaro 1914 GP

14 Enzo Ferrari
SA Italiana Ing. N. Romeo & C
Alfa Romeo 1914 GP

13 Luigi Lopez
L. Lopez
Darracq 1906 GP

TARGA FLORIO

Medio Circuito Madonie - Palermo (I), 24 October 1920.
Targa Florio: 4 laps x 108 km (67.1 mi) = 432 km (268.4 mi)

No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine

	Category 1 - up to 1400 cc
	No competitors

	Category 2 - 1401 to 2000 cc
1	Enrico Restelli	E. Restelli	Restelli	Type R	1.5	S-4
3	Giuseppe Piro	G. Piro	Fiat	501	1.5	S-4

	Category 3 - 2001 to 2500 cc
	No competitors

	Category 4 - 2501 to 3000 cc
5	Guido Peyron	G. Peyron	Diatto	4-DC	2.8	S-4
6	Pietro Di Paola	P. Di Paola	Diatto	4-DC	2.8	S-4
10	Guido Airoldi	G. Airoldi	Itala	Tipo 50 25/35 HP	2.8	S-4
18	Paolo Tasca	Baron P. Tasca	Itala	Tipo 50 25/35 HP	2.8	S-4
19	James Tagliavia	J. Tagliavia	Itala	Tipo 50 25/35 HP	2.8	S-4

	Category 5 - 3001 to 4000 cc
	No competitors

	Category 6 - 4001 to 5000 cc
2	Giuseppe Campari	SA Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo & C	Alfa Romeo	GP 1914	4.5	S-4
4	Guido Meregalli	G. Meregalli	Nazzaro	1914 GP	4.4	S-4
7	Pio Maravigna	P. Maravigna	Fiat	unknown
8	Augusto Tarabusi	A. Tarabusi	SCAT	25/35 hp	4.7	S-4
12	Maria A. Avanzo	M. A. Avanzo	Buick	Six	3.9	S-6
17	Giuseppe Baldoni	G. Baldoni	Nazzaro	1914 GP	4.4	S-4

	Category7 - over 5000 cc
13	Luigi Lopez	L. Lopez	Darracq	1906 Spcl. 35 HP		S-4
14	Enzo Ferrari	SA Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo & C	Alfa Romeo	40/60	6.1	S-4
16	Mario Veronesi	M. Veronesi	Isotta-Fraschini	unknown

Meregalli wins the Targa Florio with a Nazzaro car

by Hans Etzrodt

The 1920 Targa Florio, a free formula race, was the third important event in the calendar. The 16 cars from 10 different makes were divided into four categories, driving four laps around the 108 km twisting mountain course with 1500 turns per lap. Although Campari (Alfa Romeo) was the favorite, Airoldi (Itala) led after the first lap in corrected time, nine seconds ahead of Meregalli (Nazzaro), followed by Maravigna (Fiat), Lopez (Darracq), then Ferrari and Campari in Alfa Romeos. The driving was difficult after prolonged and severe rain storms had softened the roads and turned many parts into muddy sections. After lap two Meregalli had taken the lead, Ferrari was second ahead of Airoldi, Piro (Fiat), Lopez's Darracq and Campari was sixth. After three laps the order was Meregalli, Ferrari, Lopez, Piro, Airoldi and Maravigna. Campari retired with six other cars. After the last lap the order of the first four remained the same although Maravigna passed Airoldi for fifth place. Tagliava (Itala) completed four laps but exceeded the maximum time and was not classified.

The Targa Florio was named after its founder, Count Vincenzo Florio. 1920 was the 11th recurrence of the race held for regulations were only for cars with production chassis as was delivered per catalog to the public. The cars were divided by engine capacity into 7 categories, namely for cars with an engine capacity of 1400 cc, 2000 cc, 2500, 3000, 4000, 5000 and category over 5000 cc. Drivers and riding mechanics could be changed during the race, but had to be predetermined beforehand with changes only at the end of a lap in presence of an official.
The cars had to cover four laps of the 108 km Medium Madonie circuit, equal to 432 km. It was in use since 1919 and included approximately 1500 turns per lap through the mountainous Madonie region of Sicily. The narrow circuit with its steep gradients was a true measure of both driver and car. The start and finish was near Cerda train station just a few meters above sea level. The road led several miles up to Cerda village at 273 meters altitude. From here the course twisted uphill to Caltavuturo at 640 meters after which the tight, twisting road wound through the Madonie Mountains and turned back past a depot to refuel and change tires in the town of Polizzi, 917 meters above sea level. Tortuous hairpin bends followed next, snaking downhill through the mountain village of Collesano at 500 meters and then on to Campofelice, just 50 meters above sea level. From there it was downhill to the seven km fast coastal straight where it was possible to use top gear. Then the circuit turned inland to the finish near the Cerda train station.
The A. C. di Sicilia organized the event, with the skillful experience and great enthusiasm of Count Vincenzo Florio despite the country's economic problems, political disturbances, strikes, elections, and worsening transport conditions that required repeated postponement of the date. Eventually, the race took place on October 24. The bad road conditions made it impossible to complete the lap in less than two hours.

Entries:
From 20 entries only 16 cars made the start, split up into seven categories at the beginning of this report.
Category up to 2000 cc:
There were two entries for Giuseppe Piro in a 501 Fiat while Enrico Restelli drove a Restelli type R, both were 4-cylinder 1500 cc cars.
Category 2001 to 3000 cc:
Guido Peyron and Pietro Di Paola had Diatto 4DC types, these were the corsa and sports version of their 3-Liter cars with 4-cylinder (90 x 116 mm) 2952 cc engine, providing 105 hp at 3700 rpm. Guido Airoldi, Baron Paolo Tasca and James Tagliavia drove Itala cars type 50 25/50 hp with 2.8-L four-cylinder engine.
Category 4001 to 5000 cc:
There were six entries for Guido Meregalli and Giuseppe Baldoni both in 1914 GP Nazzaro types with 4-cylinder 4.4-liter engine. Giuseppe Campari drove a 1914 Grand Prix ALFA of which only one was made with a 4-cylinder (110 x 143 mm) 4490 cc engine, producing 102 hp at 3000 rpm in 1921 with a weight of 1050 kg. Augusto Tarabusi had a 25/35 hp SCAT with 4-cylinder 4.7-liter engine. Maria Antonietta Avanzo drove a Buick type six with 6-cyliner 3.9-liter engine. Piro Maravigna had a Fiat but the type was unknown.
Category over 5000 cc:
Enzo Ferrari drove a 40/60 Alfa Romeo that was based on a 1913 ALFA design with a 4-cylinder (110 x 160 mm) 6082 cc engine, producing 82 hp at 2400 rpm, capable of 150 km/h with a racing weight of 1100 kg. Luigi Lopez drove a Darracq, based on a modified 1906 model with 35HP chassis and 4-cylinder engine. Mario Veronesi raced an Isotta-Fraschini, but the type was unknown.

Practice:
Awful weather had been raging on Sicily for a few days, changing the roads of the circuit into bad condition. Despite the rain, practice on the difficult course continued intensively. Ferrario, Meregalli, Tarabusi and Restelli made daily practice runs. The times obtained were acceptable and gave hope to the faster drivers to beat Boillot's record. All participants had established their quarters at Termini Immerse.

Race:
At the finishing line in Cerda, the road in front of the new grandstand presented the roughest stretch for the drivers, but offered the public the best views. Rain had fallen at intervals throughout the night and compromised not only the race but also affected the spectators. The violent autumn rain fell in the morning and reduced the roads to ribbons of mud. Shortly after midday, the sun and wind would help improve road conditions, but drivers faced severe difficulties.
The starting order was decided by drawing lots. All cars started individually in order of race numbers at intervals of six minutes. The starting times were determined beforehand according to the race numbers. The start for the 16 cars began at 7:00 a.m. and the last driver left at 8:30.