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Testing cars on Bayshore Blvd in Tampa was part of Sebring history
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/auto-x-road-racing/648975-colin-chapman-my-house.html
See post 12

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Lotus at Sebring, Lemans, etc
Race Success

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Links tying some racing history together:
see last page for other racing histories and tracks

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Mark Dononue's Trans Am Race Cars

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By Louis Galanos
The #4 Penske prepared Corvette Sting Ray of George Wintersteen and Joe Welch begins to go through the esses at Sebring in 1967. Note how close the flag marshals were stationed for this section of the circuit. It was at this spot in 1957 that the Arnolt Bolide of Bob Goldich drifted to the right and hit one of the many 55-gallon steel drums lining the circuit. He flipped the car several times causing a broken neck and fractured skull which was fatal. This was the very first driver death at the Sebring 12-Hour event.

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Sebring 1969

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1956: Haybales and no guardrail...no wall.....no fire suits....shorty helmets....



Throwback Thursday: Ferrari scores first victory at Sebring

Thursday, 10 March 2016

Sixty years ago, Ferrari took the overall victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring, scoring its first major international victory in the United States.

Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio joined Eugenio Castellotti in a Ferrari 860 Monza, giving Ferrari its first of 12 overall victories in the Sebring enduro.


Didier Theys, now a Driver Advisor at IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races, has been involved with Ferrari over the past three decades and was the marque’s most recent overall winner at Sebring.
“Any victory is important for Ferrari, but especially one at one of the classic races at Sebring, Daytona and Le Mans,” said Theys. “In those days, Ferrari was going at it on both fronts – sportscars and Formula 1. Ferrari has enjoyed great success over the years, and I was proud to be part of it from time to time.”


The fifth running of Sebring’s 12-hour classic in 1956 attracted the world’s top teams. Headlining Sebring’s 59-car field was the Scuderia Ferrari team led by drivers Fangio, Castellotti, Luigi Musso and Harry Schell in a pair of factory prepared Ferrari 860 Monza entries. Factory teams from Maserati and Aston Martin were also at the front of the grid, but Ferrari’s biggest competition came from a fleet of nine D-type Jaguars.
From the start, the race became a duel between the leading D-type Jaguar entry driven by 1955 winner Mike Hawthorn and Desmond Titterington, and the Fangio/Castellotti Ferrari. When the Jaguar retired with brake problems, Ferrari cruised to a 1-2 finish, with the Fangio/Castellotti Ferrari two laps ahead of Musso and Schell in the other team entry.
Fangio returned the following year and won in a Maserati. Ferrari then dominated by winning overall in six of the next seven races from 1958 through 1964. Phil Hill was a three-time winner, with Dan Gurney, Olivier Gendebien, Jo Bonnier and John Surtees also winning for Ferrari during that span.
Ferrari’s next Sebring victories were in 1970 and 1972, with Mario Andretti at the helm both times. Andy Evans and Fermin Velez won with the Ferrari 333SP in 1995 and 1997. The last overall victory for the Prancing Horse was in 1998, with Theys joining Gianpiero Moretti and Mauro Baldi in the Rolex 24 At Daytona-winning Momo Ferrari 333SP.



“Sebring has always been very interesting – I enjoy the layout,” Theys said. “In those days, the track was quite different. It had a very wide back straight that had about 10 different lines. The first time I went there was in 1995 with the Ferrari 333SP. I was a little bit lost on the back straight during the night practice – it was pretty dark!”


While celebrating the 60th anniversary of its first Sebring victory, Ferrari will be looking to continue its proud heritage with a pair of contenders in both GT categories, looking to add to its 20 class wins and nine poles in the event. In GT Le Mans (GTLM), Risi Competizione and Scuderia Corsa each field a Ferrari 488 GTE. Scuderia Corsa will race its brand-new Ferrari 488 GT3 at Sebring in the GT Daytona (GTD) class, while Spirit of Race will have a Ferrari 458.

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By Sports Car Digest Maserati at 1957 Sebring (sorry this has disappeared)

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By Sports Car Digest


[h=1]New Historic Car Race – Classic 12 Hours Sebring[/h] December 7, 2015 by Sports Car Digest Leave a Comment
Following the success of the Classic 24 Hours at Daytona, Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) announced a new 12-hour endurance race for historic race cars at Sebring International Raceway in Florida. Scheduled for December 2016, the new ‘Classic 12 Hours of Sebring, Pistons and Props’ will celebrate the venerable 12 Hours of Sebring and nearby historic Hendricks Field.
The HSR Classic 12 Hours of Sebring, Pistons and Props, Presented by Alan Jay Automotive Network will follow the same concept as HSR’s Classic 24 Hour at Daytona, which ran for the second time at Daytona International Speedway in November 2015. The popularity of the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona provided the inspiration behind the similar event on the iconic grounds of Sebring International Raceway. While the 24 Hour at Daytona is America’s premier 24-hour race, the Twelve Hours of Sebring has gained equally legendary status as the oldest major sports car race in the United States.
An entirely unique aspect of the Classic 12 Hours of Sebring, Pistons and Props, however, will be the simultaneous celebration of Sebring’s rich military and civil aviation history that is as much a part of the 12 Hours of Sebring as the race itself.
HSR President David Hinton commented, “We met with Wayne Estes (Sebring International Raceway President and General Manager) during the recent Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA and decided even before the final checkered flags flew that we had to do a similar event at Sebring International Raceway. Wayne and his team here at Sebring then had the amazing idea to make this not only a celebration of the 12 Hours but also the rich aviation history and heritage of the very facility on which we race each year. We look forward to what will certainly be a unique and exciting event.”
The on-track activity for the Classic 12 Hours of Sebring, Pistons and Props, will be similar to the format of the Classic 24 Hour, with run groups of period correct race cars from the last 50 to 60 years competing on the same circuit used each March for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.




Preliminary plans for the aviation celebration call for a vintage aircraft “fly in” on Friday and airplane and facility tours throughout the weekend. The lasting connection between historic race cars and aviation will also come to life again with sports cars and classic airplanes parked next to each other on the ground of Sebring’s Hendricks Field.
A United States Army Air Force base, Hendricks Field officially operated from January 1942 until December 31, 1945. During its operation the base trained hundreds of combat crews, primarily in B-17 “Flying Fortress” bombers.
Originally called the Sebring Basic Flying School, the base was renamed Hendricks Field in honor of Lt. Laird W. Hendricks, Jr., a Floridian and West Point Graduate who was killed in England while training Royal Air Force pilots prior to the United States entering World War II.
Sebring‘s motorsports heritage began with the running of the Sam Collier Six Hour Memorial Grand Prix on December 31, 1950. Founder and Promoter Alec Ulmann then established the first 12 Hours of Sebring in 1952. The race quickly evolved into America’s most important international road racing event.
Sebring International Raceway’s 3.74-mile road course still utilizes portions of the original Hendricks Field concrete taxiways and runways. In addition to the annual 12-hour classic, the road course is utilized over 300 days per year for club events, testing, racing schools and other activities.

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Historical photos are being supplied by Louis Galanos.
Some of them have already gone away electronically.
I knew him many years ago and one day when he is no longer with us
It is my hope that some of his pictures and comments will still survive.
Thanks, Louis.-Bob

ByLouis Galanos
This is from the very first 12-Hours of Sebring in 1952 and show the team of Easton/Scully driving their Mercury stock car with a very brave flag marshal just feet from the racing surface. They have the distinction of being the very first DNF at that historic event. They were credited with one lap. SIR photo.

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Corvette at Sebring 1957
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5_Af2q1vo