1923 – Targa Florio – Ugo Sivocci – RL TF
Le Madonie – a fiery track for a legendary and terrible race. The cars display their strength, the drivers their courage. The RL is born as an elegant Grand Tourer, but its "Corsa" version, driven by Ugo Sivocci, dominates the race, recording the marque's first international victory. The car was to be named the RL Targa Florio, while the Quadrifoglio Cloverleaf, painted on the bonnet as a good luck charm, became a true logo, the symbol of Alfa Romeo's sporting heart.
1924 – GP of Europa – Giuseppe Campari – GP Tipo P2
Lyons. A white road through the French hills: stones, dust and sharp wooden fences either side of the track. 400,000 people crowded around to watch a race "worth a World Championship". Alfa Romeo is making its debut, but is already a fearsome competitor: car, drivers, organization and passion. Everything was in place. Giuseppe Campari brought the first win for the P2, Vittorio Jano's masterpiece: robust, very fast and unbeatable.
1930 – Mille Miglia – Tazio Nuvolari – 6C 1750 GS
The "world's greatest race". 1,600 km of corners, rain, dust and speed, traversing much of Italy with no stops and no respite. Tazio Nuvolari, the "Flying Mantuan", in one of the races that ensured his legendary status, and a car, the 6C 1750, that was to mark an era as well as its adversaries, first and foremost Nuvolari's great rival Varzi. The records fell and the 100 km/h average speed barrier was broken. An immortal victory.
1932 – Le Mans 24 Hours – Raymond Sommer-Luigi Chinetti – 8C 2300 Le Mans
The longest ever straight, unpredictable weather conditions, the crowds, the expectations, the unparalleled endurance racing legend. And more. The Alfa Romeo invasion was planned, designed and put into motion: there were to be four consecutive victories for the 8C 2300, as unbeatable on the road as it was on track. The names were those of the great, from Nuvolari to Sommer, from Chinetti to Birkin.
1935 – German GP – Tazio Nuvolari – GP Tipo B
The Tipo B had by now reached the end of its career, the adversaries were ever stronger and the infinite curves of the "Green Inferno" appeared to have already elected a victor. But Tazio Nuvolari, in a crazy, thrilling race, overturned every prediction, silenced the crowd and stunned the organizers, already convinced of the latest German triumph. They did not even have a record with the Italian anthem, but a page in history had been written.
936 – Vanderbilt Cup – Tazio Nuvolari – GP Tipo C 12 C
The noisy crowd around the oval, a race between Europea and America, two opposing automotive worlds. The red Tipo C's with the insignia of the Scuderia Ferrari crossed the ocean on the transatlantic liner Rex to light up the event with their performance in the hands of a devilish little man who was to lay claim to the great trophy and the affections of the spectators. A memorable day with Alfa Romeo on top of the world.
1950 – British GP – Nino Farina – GP Tipo 158 "Alfetta"
A new world: the Alfettas, which had been stunning on the pre-war debut, had survived, been developed, had won again and had improved. In 1950 there was a new challenge: the new Formula 1 World Championship. The first race was at Silverstone, with the circuit on an old RAF airfield still delimited with straw bales. The "Three Effes", Farina, Fagioli and Fangio, were unrivalled. The first demonstration of a crushing superiority.
1971 – Targa Florio – Nino Vaccarella-Toine Hezemans – Tipo 33/3
Asphalt had replaced the stones, but the challenge was still the same: the quality of the cars, the courage of the drivers were put to the test by an infernal circuit that snaked between the mountains and the seas, caressing walls and dodging the donkeys that still invaded the track. All this with cars capable of 300 km/h. Half a century on from Sivocci's triumph, the fans on the Madonie are all behind Nino Vaccarella, the "Flying Headmaster".
974 – Monza 1000 Km – Arturo Merzario-Mario Andretti – Tipo 33 TT12
Three Alfa Romeos out in front. The 33, born in 1967, had a career rich in success, disappointment and great feats. However, it was on its home track that it began the charge that would place it on top of the world in 1975. A one-two-three in front of is own crowd: Andretti and Merzario flew four laps ahead of the field, then came their teammates Ickx-Stommelen and Facetti-De Adamich. The others were also-rans.
1993 – Nürburgring – Nicola Larini – 155 V6 TI
The 155 had proved to be the car to beat in the highly competitive DTM series. But to earn its legendary status there were still 98 curves, those of the 25.3 kilometres of the "Green Inferno". It is said that a whole career is not enough to learn them all but for Larini just a few practice laps were sufficient. The following day he recorded a crushing victory and set new records, thrilling the crowd and silencing his rivals: it was the decisive step on his way to the title.
