The brainchild of Count Vincenzo Florio, the Targa Florio was first run in Sicily in 1906. When the suggestion of staging a race on the mountainous island had initially been put to the Count, his response was that there were no roads. Undeterred by this minor obstacle, the organisers found a tortuous 90 mile (145km) loop which proved more than a match for man and machine. Following a 12-year absence, the race was revived in 1919 over the 67 mile (108km) Madonie circuit. This may have been of a lesser distance than the original but the mountain twists ensured that there was no shortage of hazards. Among the 25 starters were a number of interesting names. Enzo Ferrari was making his racing debut at the wheel of a CMN; graduating from hill climbs, Antonio Ascari, the new hope of Italy, was driving a Fiat; André Boillot, younger brother of Georges who had been killed in the First World War, was in a 2.5-litre Peugeot; and René Thomas was driving an Indianapolis Ballot car which had been entered so late that Thomas had been obliged to drive it all the way from Paris to Naples. At one point on the journey through Italy Thomas had to wait while scaffolding was erected to replace a stretch of road that had been washed away by torrential rain. Most of the starters were Italian, including the Alfa Romeos of Giuseppe Campari and Nino Franchini and the pair of 1914 Grand Prix Fiats driven by Ascari and Count Giulio Masetti.
Thomas may have been forgiven for thinking that he had seen off the worst of the weather in Italy but on the eve of the race a raging storm deposited a 2in (5.1cm) covering of snow on the mountain section. The following morning at 7a.m. Enzo Ferrari was first away, followed by Ascari, in a devilish combination of snow and high winds, swiftly followed by rain, hail, sleet and sun, although not always in that order. To cope with the conditions, the drivers wore gauze masks but discarded their goggles because of the snow. The principal casualty on the first lap was Ascari, whose Fiat skidded on the treacherous road, plunged down a 30-foot ravine and was not found until halfway through the race! André Boillot was proving a worthy successor to his illustrious brother and an opening lap of 1hr 54min 36sec gave him a lead of nearly four minutes over Thomas, with Domenico Gambino third in a Diatto and Count Masetti’s Fiat in fourth. But starting the second lap Boillot’s Peugeot skidded, struck a bank, leapt 3ft (0.9m) in the air, dropped on two wheels and was only prevented from plunging 200ft (61m) over a precipice by a handily placed pile of stones. A lesser driver might have been unnerved by this experience but Boillot pushed on regardless, maintaining a healthy lead over Thomas despite having a car which boasted just half of his rival’s cubic capacity.
When Thomas came in for fuel at the start of the final lap, having driven flat out, he discovered to his horror that he was still seven minutes behind. Boillot’s carefree approach to this treacherous circuit had seen him leave the road on no fewer than six occasions but between accidents he was by far the quickest driver in the race. He didn’t even bother to stop for fuel when beginning the last lap. Instead his equally manic mechanic grabbed a can from the pits and refuelled on the move. Thomas pressed on boldly but couldn’t hope to compete with such daredevil tactics and in the end he pushed too hard and crashed, leaving Boillot with a lead of around half an hour.
Others might have been content to coast home but the Frenchman continued to drive like a madman right to the finish. It very nearly proved his undoing. For as news reached the crowd in the stands of Boillot’s impending arrival, knots of spectators began to trickle excitedly on to the circuit. Boillot came roaring round the final corner and suddenly saw hordes of people in front of him. He jammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid the clusters of well-wishers but merely succeeded in spinning into the grandstand … just 10 yards (9.1m) from the finish. Perhaps feeling guilty at their part in the proceedings (although three of their number were injured in the collision), the spectators started to push Boillot’s car back on to the track until a journalist helpfully pointed out that Boillot would be disqualified unless he and his mechanic did the pushing. Although in the latter stages of exhaustion, the pair succeeded in dragging the battered Peugeot back on to the road, from where Boillot rolled across the finish line backwards. But that wasn’t the end of it. Ernest Ballot reminded them that reversing over the finish line was also illegal so they were lifted back into the car, drove down the road, turned round and this time crossed the line facing the right way. A yard or so over the line, Boillot collapsed over the wheel, muttering gloriously, ‘C’est pour la France!’
His average speed of 34⅕mph (55km/h) had spread-eagled the field. Antonio Moriondo’s Itala finished second, half an hour adrift, and Gamboni was a further 12 minutes back in third. Enzo Ferrari completed the race (no mean achievement in itself) but was well down the field. On the day nobody could cope with the new Boillot.