1925 GRAND PRIX SEASON -

8 Meo Costantini
Automobiles Ettore Bugatti
Bugatti T35

3 Louis Wagner
SA des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot
Peugeot 174S

4 André Boillot
SA des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot
Peugeot 174S

TARGA FLORIO

Medio Circuito Madonie - Palermo (I), 3 May 1925.
5 laps x 108 km (67.1 mi) = 540 km (335.6 mi)
1100 and 1500cc: 3 laps x 108 km (67.111 mi) = 324 km (201.334 mi)
Coppa Florio: 4 laps x 108 km (67.111 mi) = 432 km (268.445 mi)

No.	Driver	Entrant	Car	Type	Engine

1	Christian Dauvergne	SA des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot	Peugeot	174 S	4.0	S-4
2	Louis Rigal	SA des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot	Peugeot	174 S	4.0	S-4
3	Louis Wagner	SA des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot	Peugeot	174 S	4.0	S-4
4	André Boillot	SA des Automobiles et Cycles Peugeot	Peugeot	174 S	4.0	S-4
5	Fritz Hückel	F. Hückel	Tatra	11	1.1	S-4
6	Karl Sponer	K. Sponer	Tatra	11	1.1	S-4
7	Luigi Platè	L. Platè	Chiribiri	Monza S	1.5	S-4
8	Meo Costantini	Automobiles Ettore Bugatti	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8
9	Pierre de Vizcaya	Automobiles Ettore Bugatti	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8
10	Fernand de Vizcaya	Automobiles Ettore Bugatti	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8
11	Luigi Lopez	SA Automobile e Velocipedi E. Bianchi	Bianchi	18	1.5	S-4	DNA - did not arrive
12	Caruso	SA Automobile e Velocipedi E. Bianchi	Bianchi	18	1.5	S-4	DNA - did not arrive
13	Renato Balestrero	R. Balestrero	OM	665	2.0	S-6
14	Domenico Antonelli	D. Antonelli	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8	DNA - did not arrive
15	Giulio Masetti	C. Masetti	Bugatti	T35	2.0	S-8	DNS - did not start
16	Salvatore Casano	S. Casano	Alfa Romeo	RLTF24	3.0	S-6	DNA - did not arrive
16B	Silvio De Vitis	S. De Vitis	Itala	Special	3.0	S-4
18	Guido Ginaldi	G.Ginaldi	Alfa Romeo	RLTF24	3.0	S-6
19	Fritz Cockerell	Cockerell Fahrzeugwerke	Cockerell	2-stroke	0.9	S-4	DNA - did not arrive
20	Giuseppe Piro	G. Piro	Fiat	501 S	1.5	S-4	DNA - did not arrive

Costantini wins the Targa Florio, Boillot with Peugeot the Coppa Florio

by Hans Etzrodt

The Targa and Coppa Florio ran simultaneously, yet at the Coppa only the Peugeot team could participate while the Targa was also open to the Bugatti team and independent drivers. During the first lap the Peugeots of Boillot, Wagner and Dauvergne held the lead ahead of Costantini's Bugatti followed by Rigal, the de Vizcaya brothers, Balestero, Ginaldi, Hückel, Sponer, Platè and De Vitis. The same group of 13 cars completed the second lap but in a different order. Dauvergne crashed on lap three, when Costantini took the lead ahead of Boillot and Wagner. Pierre de Vizcaya was far behind with no chance of a leading position. On the fourth lap the Coppa Florio was decided in Boillot's favor but Costantini still maintained a small lead ahead of the two Peugeots. After Rigal crashed the field had shrunk to eight cars. The three smaller cars of Hückel, Sponer and Platè ended their race after three laps. The fifth lap was exciting with a closely matched battle for the Targa between the leading trio and was finally won by Costantini and his mechanic Solderini ahead of Wagner and Boillot.

The Targa and Coppa Florio were named after their founder, Count Vincenzo Florio. The 1925 race was the 16th Targa Florio and was staged to free formula regulations. The entries were split into four: Category I for cars up to 1100 cc, which had to do only three laps or 324 km. The same distance had to be covered by category II cars from 1101 cc to 1500 cc. Category III from1501 cc to 2000 cc and category IV over 2000cc had to complete five laps of the 108 km circuit equal to 540 km. The maximum time allowed was 10 hours.
The Coppa Florio was awarded to the competitor who spent the shortest time completing the four laps of the Circuito delle Madonie (432 km). Only competitors registered by a factory or works team could compete. The Coppa Florio was retained for a year at the winning factory after the deposit of L. 30,000. This year it was to be decided who would win the Coppa in perpetuity. According to the regulations eight makes qualified for this final battle, Peugeot, Fiat, Itala, Ballot, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Nazzaro and Isotta-Fraschini. Nazzaro had stopped production and Itala had not entered races for a long time while none of the other companies had placed entries except Peugeot. Mercedes made it known that they would not race this year and Alfa Romeo placed no entries because they prepared for the European Grand Prix in Spa.
The Reale Automobile Club d'Italia and the Automobile Club di Sicilia offered the overall winner 50,000 lire, the 1925 variant of the Targa Florio trophy in bronze, a gold medal donated by the King and a large gold medal from the A.C. di Sicilia. The second placed driver received a large gold medal, the third placed driver a small gold medal and there was a large silver medal for the fourth.
Five laps around the Medium Madonie Circuit totaled 540 km. In use since 1919, it included approximately 1400 corners per lap through the mountainous Madonie region of Sicily, making the Targa Florio a race of over 7000 corners. The narrow circuit with its steep gradients was a true measure of both driver and machine. The start and finish took place near the 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. From this village the tight, twisting roads 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 and pass other cars. Finally, the circuit turned inland going back to the finish near the Cerda train station.
The roads of the circuit had been improved and higher speeds were expected. The Puricella Company which had built the Monza Autodrom and the Automobile roads near Milan had improved the circuit over more than three months. The AC di Sicilia had spent 50,000 Lire to spray the entire course with a special oil preparation to prevent any dust.

Entries:
Mercedes, who won the Targa and Coppa Florio the year before with Christian Werner, announced that they would not take part this year. Also missing was the entire Italian industry, since the Italian cars in the race were all independent entries. Cavaliere Florio had visited Mercedes in Untertürkheim and factories in his own country to encourage participation but it was of no avail. As a result, there was a small field of only twenty entries.
Peugeot, a French team, brought their 3,990cc 4-cylinder sleeve valve race cars for their French drivers Dauvergne, Rigal, Wagner and Boillot. The latter had won the race in 1919 with the EX5 Peugeot.
This was to be the first Targa Florio for the Bugatti works team and they arrived with unsupercharged 8-cylinder 2000 T35s. The drivers were Meo Costantini and the brothers Pierre and Fernand de Vizcaya. A fourth car was made available for Giulio Masetti, who won the 1921 and 1922 races.
The two new Tatra cars were independently entered by the Industrialist Fritz Hückel and Karl Sponer, both members of the Morovia-Silesia AC in Czechoslovakia. The small yellow painted Tatra 11 cars had an air-cooled flat 2-cylinder 1056 cc OHV engine, producing just 12 hp with a top speed of 70 km/h.
Balestrero's OM was works-assisted but privately entered. He was the OM Agent in Lucca, so racecars were provided to him under this arrangement.
A 3.0 -Liter Alfa Romeo RLTF24 was independently entered by Ginaldi, who raced it only during 1925. At the preceding Rome Grand Prix he had finished in third place. Silvio De Vitis entered a 3.0-Liter Itala Special, based on a 512 sports car. Michael Müller informed us that De Vitis was not happy with the unlucky number 17 assigned to his car and was allowed to use number 16B. This change took place just in the last moment before the race and there are photographs of his car displaying the number, one photo even in the Rapiditas publication.
The Gockerell prototype had a 4-cylinder 2-stroke engine of 905 cc which was built by the designer Fritz Gockerell in his motorcycle factory in Munich, Bavaria.
The final twist was about Giulio Masetti at the wheel of the fourth Bugatti. First Carlo Masetti, winner of the 1925 Royal Rome Grand Prix, was reported to be driving this car but when Carlo was indisposed, his brother Giulio, the winner of the Targa 1921 and 1922, and the idol of the Cerda crowds, was offered the drive in the Bugatti. La Stampa reported that when Masetti enthusiasm runs, it can be a moment of hysteria. Therefore, it was natural that the Targa crowd was so numerous, they had come to admire their idol. But Masetti was not in the race on Sunday. As the grandstands filled and the cars began to rumble, the news that Giulio Masetti would not run started to spread. Nobody wanted to believe it, but Masetti himself immediately confirmed the news. Bugatti was firmly opposed to entrusting him with the car, the rationale being that Masetti was used to success on the Madonie Circuit. If for one reason or another Masetti failed to come first, the public would undoubtedly blame the car. This logical reasoning by Bugatti was considered illogical by the public who were deprived of their hero and greatly disappointed.

Race:
In the first hours of Sunday morning an enormous pilgrimage of local enthusiasts arrived by special trains, car and on foot. They came to take possession of the best viewpoints around the entire circuit before these places were overcrowded. The cloudless morning was beautiful with a light fresh breeze. The race was well organized, and the spectators were informed of the latest developments through loudspeakers.
The final entry list was not decided until very late in the evening before the race. The start on the following morning was therefore of special interest and indeed a considerable number of changes took place. From the twenty entries only thirteen cars appeared at the start. Amongst the non-starters was the only German, Engineer Cockerell who had to stop near Naples with an engine defect. Both Bianchi entries of Lopez and Caruso failed to appear at the start. The AAZ reported that Giulio Masetti, who wanted to replace his indisposed brother Carlo at the wheel of a Bugatti, arrived too late to prepare himself sufficiently for this difficult race. Eventually, Peugeot was the only contestant for the Coppa Florio and had the privilege of starting first, while the remaining entries were decided by drawing lots. The cars started individually in order of their race numbers at intervals of four minutes beginning at 7:00 in the morning.