This was the first staging of the new Eco Targa Florio, the first ever organized by the MAC Group – the people in charge of the Mille Miglia – from an initiative of the Fondazione Targa Florio in collaboration with the Automobile Club of Palermo.

Over one 100 crews from 19 countries (including Japan, Argentina and South Africa) drove the famous Circuito delle Madonie after having crossed the starting line in Floriopoli: the exact same spot where Vincenzo Florio decided to depart for a motor race in Sicily along a racetrack through the island’s Madonie mountains in 1906.

Then onward into an intense tour of Sicily, passing through Enna, Piazza Armerina, Ragusa, and Modica, followed by Noto, Siracusa, Catania, Taormina, and Cefalù. Along an endlessly demanding course, the cars climbed the hills of the Madonie, Mount Etna, and the Nebrodi.

Three races for just one event: the Eco Targa Florio Green Prix, restricted to alternative energy vehicles; the Eco Targa Florio Classic, a regularity competition for vintage cars where some of the cars entered used alternative fuels; finally the Ferrari Tribute to Targa Florio – with cars of the Maranello manufacturer built between 1948 and the present day.

Important and valuable models ran: as for the pre-war period, a 1933 MG J2 and a 1938 SS100: also a 1954 Porsche 500-1500 RS and a 1973 911 RS Carrera and thanks to the collaboration of the Porsche Museum of Stuttgart, a 911 S 2.2 Targa. Three Ferrari 250 GTs deserve a special mention: the 1957 Berlinetta, the 1959 Coupé, and the 1962 Cabriolet. The legend of the Cavallino was further reported by a 1970 Ferrari 365 GTB4, a 1975 Dino 208 GT4, a 1990 F40, and the most recent Ferrari GTO registered in 2011.

'It’s always a pleasure to come back to Sicily: I was just a boy when I came with my motorbike to admire champions like Merzario or Vaccarella race on the Circuito delle Madonie,' said aside the prize-giving ceremony Giulio Massara, winner of the Eco Targa Florio Classic in a 1966 Lancia Fulvia HF 1.2, 'There were difficulties along the way and many trials were technical and complex, but the amazing views and challenge was definitely worth the effort'.

'I’m pleased with the success the event achieved in its first commemorative staging' explained Sandro Binelli, President of MAC Group; 'I’m proud to have had Porsche and Alfa Romeo as joint presenting sponsors already this year, and I hope to strengthen increasingly significant partnerships with them, to continue to build this event and give it the international visibility it deserves'.

The Eco Targa Florio runs concurrently with a forum dedicated to new eco-sustainable solutions: the prelude to the event was indeed an opening debate at the 6th Annual Eco Mobility International Forum, where representatives from the sector’s institutions, entrepreneurial activities, and research centres met to exchange views on the theme ‘Focus on New Automotive Eco Solutions: which sustainable car?’.

An important topic that nowadays must be taken into consideration and analyzed for the future of the automotive sector, perhaps while waiting for the organizers to set the dates for next year’s Eco Targa Florio.