Divo’s charge set up a
dramatic finish before
fate intervenedsections on foot, drew annotated diagrams and placed coded signals
by the roadside. She even asked the race’s founder Vincenzo Florio
to have faded numbers on marker stones repainted; a task that
was completed overnight. The men – bar perhaps Count Caberto
Conelli – had neither the time, nor patience, nor forethought, to
complete so thorough a preparation. No one knew the course as well
as she did. But her progress in the race – now at the wheel of a new
GP car, painted yellow – would be a huge surprise. Even to her.
Fourth at the end of the fi rst lap – 17 seconds behind the leading
works two-litre T35C of Louis Chiron, but a half-minute ahead of
the soon-to-retire privateer version of Tazio Nuvolari – she took
the lead on the second, her cornering noticeably smooth and
effi cient. Chiron, in contrast, had slid wide, punctured and lost fi ve
minutes. Cars had been fl agged away at two-minute intervals, and
so Junek was left to her own devices rather than be jostled and
blocked by shamefaced males. This was a pure test of speed
and skill, as she charged into the dust raised by Divo.
Divo had inherited his seat just days before, in the aftermath of
Pietro Bordino’s fatal accident at Alessandria. Third after two laps,
he slipped a place next time around when the frontrunners made
planned stops for fuel and tyres. At which point Giuseppe Campari,
who had started 40 minutes before the battling T35Bs – cars had
been released in ascending order of engine capacity – and so was
driving ‘blind’, surged into the lead.
The burly Italian was at the wheel of a supercharged 1.5-litre
6C Alfa Romeo, the type he had used to win the Mille Miglia the
month before. It had, however, been stripped of tail and cockpit
sides for the Targa, battery and an extra oil tank now occupying
its passenger seat; soloing participants had to carry 70kg of ballast.
It was also carrying a single spare tyre, Alfa Corse preferring to
dot depots around the course than carry a pair. Campari’s less
thirsty car led Junek’s by 2m15s after three laps.
Whereupon Alfa’s strategy caught it out, Campari choosing
to run six miles on a rim to the next depot rather than stop to
change a puncture. Defi cit thus reduced to a single minute, Junek
was confi dent that she could jump that gap on the last lap.
Divo, however, was coming on strongly. He had completed
only three laps in a Delage back in 1926, and so was relearning
the circuit as he went along. Its surface was cutting up, and yet
now he was cutting a dash, closing to within 11s of Junek, who
in turn was benefi ting from the resultant improved visibility.
Campari was the fi rst to reach the fi nish, situated near Garda
railway station, and there he awaited the cannon shots that
foretold of rivals’ arrivals. He had suff ered another puncture
and was relieved, therefore, when Conelli, in a supercharged
1.5-litre T37A, failed by 17s to overhaul him. Divo, meanwhile,
was uncoiling his fastest lap – 3s faster than his opener, when
the circuit had been at its best. Junek would have to match this
feat if she wanted to win. Could she withstand the pace?
It was luck and car that let her down. Stones in the road
punctured a rear tyre as she entered the long coastal straight
approaching the fi nish, and a failing water pump had her riding
mechanic dashing to a house seeking replenishment. Nine
minutes – and a likely second place to Divo – were lost.
Junek fi nished fi fth, never to return.
The death of Cenek during July’s German GP, again run to
sportscar regulations, persuaded Elisabeth to concentrate on her
fi rst love: travelling the world – in a Bugatti, more often than not.“No one knew the course as well as
she did. But her progress in the race
would be a huge surprise. Even to her”
22 AUGUST 2019 AUTOSPORT.COM 431928 TARGA FLORIO