senor honda

Fangio and Moss win Sebring 1957

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzegAlq92V0
Telephone poles, no guard rails, no roll bars, shorty helmets and t-shirts......

Motorpsorts came back with a bang after World War II and the cars got faster and drivers quickly adapted to the increased speeds and improved handling. Two of the standouts in this era, bridged the the pre and post War worlds, Juan Manuel Fangio was the veteran and a young Stirling Moss was rising to the top.

The Maserati team soared to victory at Sebring in 1957 with Moss #20 Maserati coming in second and Fangio and co-driver Jean Behra in the #19 Maserati taking first.

Chris Carter
I saw this race live! I was sixteen, and a friend and I rode our motorcycles up from Lake Worth, Fl. where we lived. We spent most of our time at the "hairpin" turn and the "esses" just before the hairpin as I remember. We each had a few dollars for food and drinks, and bedrolls for sleeping between the bikes after the race (happy it didn't rain), then left the next morning for home. It was FANTASTIC to actually see the drivers we knew were legends then and are now, and to see and hear the sounds of those fantastic race cars of that period...!!! We both came back again in 1958 for more of the same... WOW, life is good when you're young and free....

One of most interesting visual sights was to see the brake drums and a very few brake disks, glowing bright red and all the way to bright yellow as the cars ran by after dark...! Most of the cars had wire wheels and it was easy to see the brakes.

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To some people this may be a treasure if you close your eyes and visualize.
The actual sounds and interviews were put together and condensed into about 1 1/2 hours.
Sadly, there is no video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JTN56U0ark

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1966 Sebring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pObRIh8-rO4

This is tech inspection in downtown Sebring in 1966. In order for a car to qualify as a sports car it had to have a trunk sufficient in size to accommodate at least one piece of luggage as well as a spare tire. Tech inspectors created a wood suitcase that had to fit in the luggage compartment. If it didn't fit, you got put into another class or were not allowed to enter the race. More than one team worked long hours cutting sufficient space for that wood suitcase. Dave Friedman photos.

At one point the "suitcase" became a wooden crate that CocaCola bottles had once been in.-Bob

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A grid steward walks by the street licensed 2-liter, 6-cyl. AC Ace of Bob Mazzi and Frank Schroeder as it leaves the pits at Sebring in 1960. The car failed to finish because it lost a left rear wheel. Hopefully the car was towed to Sebring for the race and not driven from New Jersey. Please note the placement of the roll bar. Think that would pass Tech today? One more thing, this was the last year the track could mandate the use of AMOCO gas in all cars. The FIA banned the practice after factory Porsche and factory Ferrari boycotted the race in 1960. Al Bochroch photo.

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If your were a corner marshal or steward at Sebring in 1965 you ended up the race soaked to the skin. Even the folks in T&S were soaked with sweat from the humid conditions in the timing shack. That is either Al Rogers or George Waltman at the wheel of the 1.5 liter Turner Sprint Special at Sebring in 1965. The picture was taken toward the end of a record rain deluge that left up to eight inches of water standing on the track. The big cars like the GT40's, Cobra Daytona Coupes, and Chaparrals were at times relegated to speeds as low as 30 mph because any faster and their wide tires would begin to aquaplane. Cars like this AH Sprint Special, Triumph TR4's, Sebring Sprites, small Porsches and others with narrow tires flew by the larger cars and would lap them several times. Some of the big cars were running 10 minute laps when 3 minutes or less was common under dry conditions. One more thing. What is George Waltman best known for in his racing career? Stan Rosenthall photo.

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1992 Sebring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vk9MgXYzuI

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It is interesting who you will meet at the races when you are a CFR race worker. This is a photo of Bruce "Caitlyn" Jenner at the Sebring vintage race in 1980.

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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

Taken when I could still get as close as I wanted to the track. Corner marshal credentials were magic back in the day. The Nanni Galli, Rolf Stommelen Alfa Romeo T33/3 leads the Gulf Porsche 917K of Jo Siffert and Derek Bell coming into Turn 11 (Sunset Bend) at Sebring in 1971. The 3-liter Alfa would finish second but first in class and only three laps behind the winning 5-liter Martini Porsche 917K. The Gulf Porsche in the photo would finish 5th and 16 laps behind the winner.

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By Louis Galanos
Not sure if you are old enough to remember the great rain deluge at Sebring in 1965 but this will give you an idea of what it was like. That is the great CFR Chief Steward Ben Hammond on the right with his trademark hat and wearing shorts under that rain slicker. Up to eight inches of rain flooded the pits with tires floating away and tools disappearing in the flood. No red flags that day. An era when brave drivers raced regardless of the conditions and even braver stewards and corner marshals braved the elements.

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By Louis Galanos
This is where we used to camp out when working the Sebring races. Note that just a few steps away was the back straight and that is Mario Andretti in his Ferrari 512S at the 1970 Sebring race. That part of the track is now the paddock and the racing surface has been moved further toward the top of the photo. One advantage of what it was like back then was that you could see the front straight and back straight by just turning your head.