Syracuse had always been an important city in the history of the region. Whether the ancient Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans or more modern protagonists, Syracuse has often been in the center of it all the strife and historical moments of the region’s history. Of course, its location right in the heart of the Mediterranean would give ample reason for its place in European history. But when it came to motor racing, Syracuse would be somewhat left out of the story. Its only claim to fame would be its Syracuse Grand Prix, and even that would not have the tradition that either the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio or other races would have.
Still, many teams and drivers would consider the race as one not to be missed. And as Scarlatti arrived to prepare for the upcoming 60 lap, 208 mile, race, he would find a number of mostly privateer entries present as well.
The only factory entry in the field would belong to Luigi Musso. He would arrive with one of Scuderia Ferrari’s new Dino 246s and was certainly a favorite to win from the moment he arrived. Musso had finished 2nd to Peter Collins the year before and certainly had the pace to win, even though he may have arrived all by himself.
Having Fangio’s famous 250F at his disposal, Scarlatti would also be a favorite heading into the race. And, after practice set the grid, his confidence and belief in his ability to bring home a top result had to be further boosted.
Musso would end up the fastest around the 3.47 mile circuit. His best lap time would be 1:58.4. As it would turn out, he would be the only one that would manage to break the two minute barrier around the circuit. Obviously, he would start on pole.
Even though he was not known for outright speed, Scarlatti would be impressive in practice easily powering his way around the circuit up towards the top of the timesheet. As it would turn out he would post a best lap of 2:01.7. This would end up being two-tenths of a second faster than Jo Bonnier and would result in Scarlatti starting the race from the front row of the grid. He would start from the middle of the front row, 2nd place. It would be a remarkable starting spot. He just needed to convert that strong starting spot into a strong finish.
The new Dino 246 was an obvious step forward for Ferrari and it would show during the race as Musso would lead the way right from the very beginning. Having been the only one to break the two minute barrier, Musso likely knew he had the pace in hand to fend off any challengers. Therefore, he could push, and yet, save the car to ensure it would make it to the end without incident.
That doesn’t mean Musso didn’t drive the car on its limits. The fact he would set a fastest lap time just seven-tenths of a second slower than his best effort in practice would make that clear. However, because his fastest lap time of 1:59.1 was under the two minute mark, a mark no other car in the field broke in practice, Musso pulled away at the head of the field with ease. In fact, he would destroy the competition over the course of the 60 lap race.
The field was full of Maserati 250Fs and they looked absolutely hopeless when compared to the Dino 246 at the beckon call of Musso. A number of them would fail to finish. Wolfgang Seidel would retire after 18 laps due to fuel issues. Antonio Creus would retire as a result of a crash.
Then there was Scarlatti. He had been the second-fastest man around the circuit in practice. He had reason to be confident of a top result. Even if the victory seemed out of reach there was no reason why he could not end up on the podium. But there would be one very good reason why he wouldn’t—unreliability.
Though he would prove himself to be one of the fastest cars over a single lap, finishing the race meant maintaining that speed over 60 laps. Unfortunately, his Maserati would only manage to make it half distance before magneto problems sidelined it for the remainder of the race. So much promise and fizzled so quickly.
Scarlatti’s hopes fizzled as quickly as the attacks against Musso for the lead. Musso and the Dino 246 would be in a league of their own on this day. Averaging just over 100mph over the course of the race, Luigi cruised to a very easy victory crossing the finish line more than a lap ahead of 2nd place finisher Jo Bonnier. Francesco Godia-Sales would end up 3rd finishing more than two laps behind Musso.
Scarlatti could have been right in the mix had the car not let him down. It seemed incomprehensible that the very car that delivered victory for Fangio in Germany the year before could be sidelined with problems in Syracuse. But that was the case, and Giorgio needed to recover from it.
The first race of the season had offered Scarlatti a lot of promise. Unfortunately, neither he nor the car could deliver on that promise. He would hope he could turn things around with the second race of his 1958 season. For this race he would have to travel a good distance away from home. He would have to cross the English Channel to England. Upon arriving he would make his way to what would be the sight of the British Grand Prix that year—Silverstone.
It was May and Silverstone. That meant it must have been time for the BRDC International Trophy race. Held on the 3rd of May, the non-championship event would return to its more-usual date in May. The year before the race had been held the week after the Italian Grand Prix in September as a result of the Suez Crisis. With the crisis averted and calmed, events, such as the International Trophy race, could return to some kind of normalcy.
The format of the race would also return to a bit of normalcy. The year before the race had reverted back to its two heats and final format it had long held until after the 1954 running. However, the format of the race would change again in 1958 and would go back to a simple single-race format.
