Targa Florio Circuit

This is where the word 'targa' comes from. The Targa Florio was run over public roads in the Madonie mountains of Sicily from 1906, and from 1932 until the last World Championship race in 1973 it used the 72 km Piccolo Circuito delle Madonie. The roads are still there, still public, and the old pits and grandstands at Floriopoli still stand beside the SS120 outside Cerda.

The drive

Start at Floriopoli and drive it anticlockwise, as the race ran: up through Cerda, across the hills to Caltavuturo, on to Scillato and Collesano, then down to the coast at Campofelice di Roccella for the long Buonfornello straight back towards the start. There are several hundred corners in a lap.

The towns are part of it. Collesano has a small Targa Florio museum, and faded race graffiti is still painted on walls along the route.

In your Lotus

Lotus history here is thin on wins but the roads could have been drawn for the cars: short, light and nimble was always the right answer on the Madonie. Go for the history and the setting, not for a fast lap. The surface is poor in places, with subsidence, patches and loose gravel, so keep some ride height in hand.