(单词翻译:单击)
Once upon a time on the island of Sicily, there was a race that ran right through your village.
从前,西西里岛有一项比赛会直接在村民们的家门口上演 。
It was glorious. It was beautiful. It was clearly planned before safety was a consideration.
这项比赛壮丽非凡,漂亮非凡,而且明显没有把安全考虑进去 。
The Targa Florio was founded in Sicily by a speed loving fellow named Vincenzo Florio in 1906.
1906年,一位名叫文森佐·弗洛里奥的极速爱好者在西西里创建了塔格·佛罗热大赛 。
And it enthralled the racing world for decades to come.
在接下来的几十年里,这项比赛一直吸引着赛车界的无数健儿 。
But this was no ordinary race.
然而,塔格·佛罗热大赛并不是一项普通的汽车赛 。
It took place in the mountains outside of Palermo.
这项赛事的赛道在巴勒莫周边的群山上 。
Racers encountered bandits, wolves, 500-plus hairpin turns on roads that hadn't changed since togas were in fashion.
赛车手在公路上会遇到土匪、狼、500多个急转弯,从古罗马时期至今,那些赛道就一直没变过 。
The course went straight through towns and villages with no barricades or warnings.
这条赛道从城镇和村庄中径直穿过,既没有路障,也没有警示牌 。
The first year a driver named Alessandro Cagno won.
比赛第一年,夺冠的是一位名叫亚历山德罗·卡格诺的车手 。
It took him nine hours and his average speed was 30 miles an hour.
他平均速度30英里/小时(约50公里/小时),一共跑了9个小时才跑完全程 。
The Targa Florio ran for 71 years.
塔格·佛罗热大赛已经举办了71年 。
Titans of the car world like Mario Andretti competed,
马里奥·安德烈蒂之辈的赛车行业巨头们也曾在这项比赛上露脸,
but a growing realization that the race was crazy dangerous led to it being shut down in 1977.
然而,随着越来越多的人觉得这场比赛疯狂而危险,这项赛事已经于1977年取消了 。
It was the longest running car race in the world at the time.
曾经,塔格·佛罗热大赛是世界上赛程最远的比赛 。
Today, the grandstand outside Palermo sits empty,
如今,巴勒莫外的看台早已空空荡荡,
but evidence of the race is everywhere, peaking out in the beautiful landscape.
但比赛的迹象依旧随处可见,散落在美丽的风景之中 。
The Targa Florio became synonymous with a long and grueling race.
如今,塔格·佛罗热大赛已经成了漫长而艰苦的比赛的代名词 。
In the years after its end, tribute Targas have popped up across the world, but true racing enthusiasts know it all began here.
在它结束后的几年里,世界各地都涌现出了各种各样的纪念赛,但真正的赛车爱好者知道,它们的源头还是这里 。