Sebring 12 hour race in 1956

Ferrari 860 Monza

The fifth Sebring 12-hour race , also known as the 12-hour Sebring Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance powered by Amoco, Sebring , took place on March 24, 1956 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the second round of the sports car world championship of that year.

The race

Before the race

After four events - the first race was held in 1952 - the Sebring 12-hour race had developed into the most important sports car race in the USA. The number of viewers increased continuously and in 1956 reached the 30,000 visitor limit. For the US sports journalists, the race was the second most important individual race after the Indianapolis 500 mile race . The importance of the race was also evident from the entry list. Factory teams from Italy, Great Britain, France, Germany and the USA came to Florida . At Ferrari , Juan Manuel Fangio , Eugenio Castellotti , Luigi Musso and Harry Schell drove the factory 860 Monza . Maserati reported two 300S that were driven by Jean Behra , Piero Taruffi , Cesare Perdisa and Carlos Menditéguy .

Jaguar reported the D-Types to the company's representation in New York, with Mike Hawthorn and Desmond Titterington's car being equipped with gasoline injection. Porsche entered the sports car class with a displacement of up to 1.5 liters with the 550 Spyder .

The first time Chevrolet competed in a major sports car race was of great interest . The Corvettes were convertibles that were used by Raceway Enterprises with great support from Detroit.

The course of the race

John Fitch's lead in the Corvette only lasted up to the first corner , then the duel between Ferrari and Jaguar began. After 3 hours of racing, 17 vehicles had already retired, including the Aston Martin from Stirling Moss and Peter Collins and the works Jaguar from Ivor Bueb and Duncan Hamilton . From halfway through the race Mike Hawthorn could no longer follow the pace of the factory Ferrari and retired after 162 laps with a brake failure. In the end, the Scuderia celebrated their first overall success in Sebring with a double victory.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	S 5.0	17th	Scuderia Ferrari	Juan Manuel Fangio Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari 860 Monza	194
2	S 5.0	18th	Scuderia Ferrari	Luigi Musso Harry Schell	Ferrari 860 Monza	193
3	S 5.0	14th	Jack Ensley	Jack Ensley Bob Sweikert	Jaguar D-Type	188
4th	S 3.0	27	David Brown & Sons Ltd.	Roy Salvadori Carroll Shelby	Aston Martin DB3S	187
5	S 3.0	24	Offince Alfieri Maserati	Jean Behra Piero Taruffi Cesare Perdisa	Maserati 300S	186
6th	S 1.5	41	Porsche KG	Hans Herrmann Wolfgang von Trips	Porsche 550 Spyder	182
7th	S 1.5	43	John Edgar Enterprises	Jack McAfee Pete Lovely	Porsche 550 Spyder	179
8th	S 5.0	16	Alfonso Gomez-Mena	Alfonso Gómez-Mena Santiago Gonzales	Jaguar D-Type	176
9	S 8.0	1	Raceway Enterprises	John Fitch Walt Hansgen	Chevrolet Corvette Special	176
10	S 2.0	33	Porfirio Rubirosa	Porfirio Rubirosa James Pauley	Ferrari 500 Mondial	172
11	S 3.0	31	Ship & Share Motors	Phil Stiles George Huntoon	Austin Healey 100S	168
12	S 5.0	11	Briggs Cunningham	Briggs Cunningham John Gordon Bennett	Jaguar D-Type	168
13	S 2.0	39	SH Arnolt Co.	Bob Ballinger Phil Stewart	Arnolt Bolide	158
14th	S 1.5	66	Porsche KG	Mike Marshall Jan Brundage Fritz Huschke von Hanstein	Porsche 550	158
15th	S 5.0	6th	Raceway Enterprises	Max Goldman Raymond Crawford	Chevrolet Corvette	157
16	S 750	58	Ecurie Jeudy Bonnet	Paul Armagnac Guillaume Mercader	DB HBR5	155
17th	S 2.0	40	SH Arnolt Co.	JE Peterson Ted Boyton	Arnolt Bolide Bristol	154
18th	S 2.0	37	Joseph Hab Dressel	Joseph Hab Dressel William Woodbury	AC Ace	154
19th	S 1.5	50	Hambro Automotive Co.	William Kinchloe Stephen Spitler	MGA	154
20th	S 1.5	49	Hambro Automotive Co.	David Ash Gus Ehrman John van Driel	MGA	151
21st	S 1.1	55	Cooper Car Company	Leech Cracraft Red Byron	Cooper T39	147
22nd	S 1.5	51	Hambro Automotive Co.	Fred Allen Sid Blackman	MGA	139
23	S 5.0	3	Carl Beuhler III	Don Davis Robert Gatz	Chevrolet Corvette	136
24	S 1.1	54	John Wyllie	John Wyllie Margaret Wyllie	Lotus Mk9	99
Disqualified
25th	S 1.1	53	Joe Sheppard	Warren Smith Joe Sheppard	Lotus Mk9	60
Failed
26th	S 3.0	28	David Brown & Sons Ltd.	Reg Parnell Tony Brooks	Aston Martin DB3S	169
27	S 5.0	8th	Jaguar New York Inc.	Mike Hawthorn Desmond Titterington	Jaguar D-Type	162
28	S 5.0	19th	Scuderia Ferrari	Alfonso de Portago Jim Kimberly	Ferrari 857S	137
29	S 2.0	67	John Ryan	Jack Ryan	Arnolt Bolide	133
30th	S 3.0	22nd	Chester Flynn	Chester Flynn George Reed	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	127
31	S 5.0	10	Jaguar New York Inc.	Bill Spear Sherwood Johnston	Jaguar D-Type	126
32	S 5.0	12	Jake Kaplan	Jake Kaplan Russ Boss	Jaguar D-Type	120
33	S 1.1	56	Cooper Car Company	Ed Hugus John Bentley	Cooper T39	117
34	S 3.0	29	Donald Healey Motor Company	Lance Macklin Archie Scott-Brown	Austin-Healey 100S	110
35	S 1.5	42	Porsche KG	Ed Crawford Herbert Linge Fritz Huschke von Hanstein	Porsche 550	108
36	S 3.0	30th	Donald Healey Motor Company	Ray Jackson-Morre Elliot Forbes-Robinson	Austin-Healey 100S	90
37	S 2.0	35	Morgan Motors	Mike Rothschild George Hunt	Morgan Plus 4	87
38	S 3.0	32	William Grennspun	William Grennspun Bruce Kessler	Ferrari 250MM	82
39	S 1.5	47	Allen Guiberson	Robert Burns Norman Scott	Maserati 150S	77
40	S 2.0	38	SH Arnolt Co.	HH Arnolt Bob Goldich	Arnolt Bolide	77
41	S 5.0	15th	Albert R. Browne	Lou Brero Sam Weiss	Jaguar D-Type	68
42	S 5.0	9	Jaguar New York Inc.	Duncan Hamilton Ivor Bueb	Jaguar D-Type	63
43	S 5.0	20th	George Tilp	Phil Hill masts Gregory	Ferrari 857S	61
44	S 3.0	26th	David Brown & Sons Ltd.	Stirling Moss Peter Collins	Aston Martin DB3S	51
45	S 1.1	63	Ralph Miller	Ralp Miller Hal Fenner	Lotus Mk.9	49
46	S 5.0	2	Howard Hively	Troy Ruttman Howard Hively	Ferrari 375 Plus	48
47	S 3.0	25th	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Cesare Perdisa Carlos Menditéguy	Maserati 300S	39
48	S 5.0	62	Loyal to Katskee	Loyal Katskee Roger Wing	Jaguar D-Type	39
49	S 3.0	64	William Brewster	William Brewster Bill Rutan	Austin-Healey 100S	39
50	S 750	59	Brooks Stevens	Gérard Laureau Hal Ullrich	DB HBR	36
51	S 1.1	52	Robert Brown	Curtis Attaway Ralph Parkinson	Cooper T39	26th
52	S 750	60	Harry Kite	Harry Kite François Courzet	DB HBR	25th
53	S 5.0	7th	Ernie Erickson	Ernie Erickson Charles Hassan	Chevrolet Corvette	22nd
54	S 1.5	48	Alejandro de Tomaso	Alejandro de Tomaso Isabelle Haskell	Maserati 150S	15th
55	S 1.5	46	William E. Lloyd	Bill Lloyd Karl Brocken	Maserati 150S	13
56	S 1.1	57	Touring Club of Venezuela	Mauricio Marcotulli Ed Munoz	Osca MT4 1100	11
57	S 750	61	Ecurie Lafayette	Jean Lucas John Norwood	DB HBR	8th
58	S 2.0	35	Touring Club of Venezuela	Julio Pola Enrique Muro	Ferrari 500TR	8th
59	S 5.0	6th	Raceway Enterprises	Dale Duncan Allen Eager	Chevrolet Corvette	3
Not started
60	S 5.0		Lilian Sands	Fred Dagavar Al Garz	Jaguar XK 140	1
61	S 5.0	3	Jim Kimberly	Jim Kimberly Ed Lunken	Ferrari 121LM	2
62	S 3.0	21st	George Tilp	Dick Thompson Paul O'Shea	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	3
63	S 3.0	23	Jack Pry	Charles Wallace Duncan Black	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	4th
64	S 2.0	36	Morgan Motors	John Weitz Manuel Bos	Morgan Plus 4	5
65	S 1.5	44	Automobili Osca Spa	Rees Makins Frank Bott	Osca MT4	6th
66	S 1.5	45	Lotus Engineering Co.	Colin Chapman Len Bastrup	Lotus Eleven	7th
67	S 5.0	T	Briggs Cunningham	Briggs Cunningham Mike Hawthorn	Cunningham C6-R	8th
68	S 3.0	T	George Tilp	Paul O'Shea	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	9
69	S 3.0	T	George Tilp	Dick Thompson	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL	10

¹ not started ² damage to power transmission ³ oil leak ⁴ engine damage ⁵ accident during training ⁶ withdrawn ⁷ accident during training ⁸ engine damage ⁹ oil leak ¹⁰ training car

Only in the entry list

Here you will find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race but did not take part for a variety of reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis
70	S 5.0		Officine Alfieri Maserati	Jean Behra Antonio Petruzzi	Maserati 300S
71	S 3.0		Luigi Chinetti	Gleb Derujinsky Tony Palmer-Morewood	Ferrari
72	S 8.0	1	Raymond Crawford	Raymond Crawford	Kurtis 500K
73	S 2.0	32	Luigi Chinetti	Gleb Derujinsky Tony Palmer-Morewood William Helburn Luigi Chinetti	Ferrari 500TR
74	S 1.5	52	Chas fog	Umberto Maglioli Consalvo Sanesi	Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
Sports car up to 8000 cm³	John Fitch	Walt Hansgen	Chevrolet Corvette Special	Rank 9
Sports car up to 5000 cm³	Juan Manuel Fangio	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari 860 Monza	Overall victory
Sports car up to 3000 cm³	Roy Salvadori	Carroll Shelby	Aston Martin DB3S	Rank 4
Sports car up to 2000 cm³	Porfirio Rubirosa	Jim Pauley	Ferrari 500 Mondial	Rank 10
Sports car up to 1500 cm³	Hans Herrmann	Wolfgang von Trips	Porsche 550 Spyder	Rank 6
Sports car up to 1100 cm³	Leech Cracraft	Red Byron	Cooper T39	Rank 21
Sports car up to 750 cm³	Paul Armagnac	Guillaume Mercader	DB HBR5	Rank 16

Racing data

• Registered: 74
• Started: 59
• Valued: 24
• Race classes: 7
• Spectators: 30,000
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 8.369 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:00: 31.198 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 198
• Total distance of the winning team: 1623.506 km
• Winner's average: 135.195 km / h
• Pole position: unknown
• Fastest race lap: Mike Hawthorn - Jaguar D-Type (# 8) - 3: 29.700 = 143.666 km / h
• Racing series: 4th round of the 1956 World Sports Car Championship

literature

• Ken Breslauer: Sebring. The official History of America's Great Sports Car Race. David Bull, Cambridge MA 1995, ISBN 0-9649722-0-4 .

Previous race 1000 km race of Buenos Aires 1956

Sports car world championship

Successor race Mille Miglia 1956