STORY OF THE DAY: A Private 250 LM Completes the Targa Florio

On 9 May 1965, Antonio Nicodemi and Francesco Lessona finished 14th in the Targa Florio with the number 136 Ferrari 250 LM. Completing the Sicilian contest gave the private entry a creditable result on a course where attrition was as decisive as outright speed.

The Piccolo Circuito delle Madonie threaded through villages and across narrow, uneven mountain roads lined by walls and unforgiving scenery. Nicodemi and Lessona reconciled the 250 LM’s considerable performance with the restraint necessary to survive blind corners, rough surfaces and continuous elevation changes.

Despite its name, most 250 LMs used a 3.3-litre V12 mounted behind the cockpit in a tubular chassis. Pininfarina designed the closed body and Scaglietti constructed it. The car combined compact dimensions with excellent balance, although homologation difficulties prevented it from occupying Ferrari’s intended GT category.

Nicodemi and Lessona were Italian privateer competitors whose careers centered on domestic sports-car and endurance racing. Nicodemi entered the Ferrari, and both men shared the demanding driving assignment. Their finish illustrated the value of familiarity, judgment and mechanical sympathy in the Targa Florio.