Achille Varzi was known as the ice-man of Italian motor racing. Whereas fellow countryman and fierce rival, Tazio Nuvolari, typified the explosive Latin temperament, Varzi remained cool and calculating. This approach had brought Varzi a number of victories in minor races but he had yet to establish himself in the very top flight of world drivers. At the 1930 Mille Miglia the flamboyant Nuvolari had revelled in emphasising his superiority. Well ahead on time as dawn was about to break on the second day, he spotted Varzi ahead of him on the road. Switching off his lights, he crept up on Varzi unawares, then flashed them on again as he swept past on his way to victory. For Varzi it had been a humiliating experience. Nuvolari was the top dog … and both men knew it.
Three weeks later the pair met again in the Targa Florio, run over five laps of the intimidating Madonie circuit. The Alfa Romeo team was managed by Enzo Ferrari, who had cars for Nuvolari, Giuseppe Campari and Varzi. The last-named had driven a modified Alfa P2 to victory in the Bordino Prize at Alessandria but, with a top speed of 140mph (225.3km/h), it was considered unsuited to the twisting Madonie course. Ferrari certainly thought so and warned Varzi that the car was too dangerous for the Targa Florio, but Varzi put his foot down. Campari and Nuvolari were not exactly renowned for erring on the side of caution but even they steered clear of the P2 for this race, preferring instead to drive two of the new 1,750cc sports cars. Bugatti sent a strong four-man team, led by Louis Chiron and Albert Divo, and there was also stiff opposition from the Maseratis of Luigi Arcangeli, Baconin Borzacchini and Ernesto Maserati, but this was to be the day that Achille Varzi came of age.
He announced his intentions from the off, putting in a blistering opening lap to break the track record and lead the way from Nuvolari and Campari in the other Alfas and the Bugatti trio of Chiron, Divo and Count Carlo Alberto Conelli. Chiron upped the tempo to overtake Nuvolari and Campari on elapsed time but, at the end of the second lap, was still losing ground to the seemingly unstoppable Varzi. On the third lap, however, Varzi suffered a fuel leak which allowed Chiron to close the gap to less than two minutes, and when the Italian came into the pits for a wheel change at the end of lap four, he was actually half a minute behind. Having started 12 minutes behind Chiron, he was unaware of the problems that the Monegasque driver was encountering out on the circuit, for Chiron had skidded on some loose stones on a downhill section and had been forced to change two wheels. But for Varzi back in the pits every second counted. There was no time for a longer stop to take on fuel so his riding mechanic snatched the can and proceeded to pour the fuel into the tank as the car sped off along the road. In doing so, he spilt some on to the exhaust. Within an instant, flames were licking around Varzi’s neck but he had come too close to victory to be denied now and, keeping his legendary cool, he drove on defiantly while the mechanic valiantly tried to beat down the flames with a seat cushion. Somehow they negotiated that final lap safely and speedily, and took the chequered flag to wild cheers from the patriotic Sicilian crowd. Chiron was nearly two minutes back in second with Conelli third, Campari fourth and Nuvolari only fifth. Varzi had well and truly proved his point. Both he and the car had been up to the task. He was now able to join the world’s racing élite.