Alberto Divo

Bugatti had won the Targa Florio three consecutive years from 1925 – 1927 by the time their new recruit, Albert Divo, was flagged away from the Cerda start of the 1928 Sicilian classic. And he didn’t disappoint: Divo not only won the island epic that year, he made it two years running by taking the win in 1929, too. That gave Bugatti five consecutive Targa wins, a record that was never broken in the 57 times the that the annual race took place.

Which is one hell of an achievement for a kid from a working class neighborhood like Belleville which, together with Montmartre, is the highest point in Paris. Albert was born there on January 24, 1895, and was an undistinguished pupil at school, wanting nothing more from life than to become a car mechanic. So he went to work at a local garage when he was just 12-years old as an apprentice and did his best.