Story and photos by Robert Little
(Read Part 1)
(Read Part 2)
(Read Part 3)
(Read Part 4)
(Read Part 6)
(Read Part 7)
Treasures in the Dumpsters and on to the Targa
“Welcome back to “Inside the Walls” Part Five. I hope you have been enjoying it as much as I have delighted in sharing it with all of you. Now it is starting to get even more interesting.
The year 1972 became the most exciting period of my entire automobile racing life…travelling to Autodelta and a short time later witnessing and participating in several of the great moments in modern day Alfa Romeo racing history; the Targa Florio – where we lost by a mere 17 seconds over about 490 miles of twisting, circuitous Sicilian countryside; the epic struggle to capture the 24 Hours of Le Mans; the secret preparation of the new 33TT12 at Balocco; the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Six Hours of Daytona and the 500 Kilometers of Imola at the Circuit Dino Ferrari. Whew! What a year!
But for now, let’s take a short and final look at another area of Autodelta…the customer vehicle area and prepare ourselves for the long drive from Milano to the shores of Sicily where the Autodelta team had already established itself in the tiny village of Cerda for early testing.
And next week you will be given a front row seat for the Targa Florio and Le Mans.”
“Alfa Romeo. Racing Since 1911”.
Andiamo!
Archive parts storage area and customer GTA and GTV Rally preparation area. Chiti's white Berlina and Ing. Garbarino's Berlina are pictured in this area where new vehicles were delivered from Arese for disassembly, all non-essential parts being removed here. Lots of interesting items in rafter storage - including sets of Firestone tires made outmoded by new Goodyear contractual obligations - but retained for eventual historical reconstitution of early cars at some later date. Some early T-33 chassis are seen stored away in the upper left corner of the photograph.
