Sebring 12 hour race in 1962

The 1962 winners; Joakim Bonnier and ...

... Lucien Bianchi

The eleventh 12 Hours of Sebring , also known as the 12 Hours of Sebring, Sebring , took place on March 24, 1962 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the third round of the sports car world championship of that year.

The race

In 1962 , the number of races that were part of the sports car world championship tripled. In 1961 there were still five races, the next season comprised 15. Before the 12-hour race, two races had already been driven, including a second event in Sebring. The Daytona 3 Hour Race ended with Dan Gurney's success in the Lotus 19 . The subsequent 3-hour race at Sebring , which took place the day before the 12-hour race, was won by Bruce McLaren in a Fiat-Abarth 1000 Bialbero .

Before the race, it was announced that Bill France senior , the owner of the Daytona International Speedway , would host another sports car world championship there from 1964, which became a 24-hour race from 1966 . Alec Ulmann , the promoter and organizer of the race in Sebring, had long resisted a second endurance race in the United States , but ultimately had to accept France's influence and assertiveness in US motorsport. Up to the present day the 24-hour race in Daytona did not arouse nearly the same interest among the spectators as the event in Sebring. While there are often more than 100,000 people interested in racing at Sebring, usually only a few thousand spectators visit the 167,785 people Daytona Raceway for the race there.

The 1962 race was dominated by two Ferrari 250TRI cars , one from Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team and the other from Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia . The race was decided by a disqualification. Innes Ireland , driving in the North Amercia 250TRI with Stirling Moss , John Fulp and Fernand Tavano , was taken out of the race by black flag marshals on his 79th lap. At this point the car was leading by two laps. While Ireland furiously demanded information about the stop from the marshals, a heated argument broke out in the pits between Chinetti, Moss and the race management. Illegal refueling was given as the reason for disqualification. According to the regulations, the vehicles had to come to the pits after every 20 laps they had driven. After Ireland's Ferrari was refueled on its 78 lap and thus two laps too early, it was immediately disqualified. All the protests from Chinetti and his drivers did not help. The way was clear for Joakim Bonnier and Lucien Bianchi , with the record margin of ten laps on the Ferrari 250 GTO by Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien won the race.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	S 3.0	23	Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia	Joakim Bonnier Lucien Bianchi	Ferrari 250TRI / 61	206
2	GT 3.0	23	North American Racing Team	Phil Hill Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari 250 GTO	196
3	S 1.6	59	Porsche imports	Bill Wuesthoff Frank Rand Bruce Jennings	Porsche 718 RS 60	195
4th	GT 3.0	25th	North American Racing Team	Fabrizio Serena di Lapigio Sterling Hamill	Ferrari 250 GT SWB	190
5	S 3.0	21st	Briggs Cunningham	Bruce McLaren Roger Penske	Cooper T57 Monaco	190
6th	P 4.0	10	Chaparral Cars Inc.	Hap Sharp Ronnie Hissom Chuck Daigh Jim Hall	Chaparral 1	189
7th	GT 1.6	48	Porsche System Engineering	Bob Holbert Dan Gurney	Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth GTL	188
8th	GT 3.0	28	Scuderia Bear	Ed Hugus George Reed	Ferrari 250 GT SWB EXP	187
9	GT 1.6	49	Porsche System Engineering	Edgar Barth Paul-Ernst Straehle	Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth GTL	182
10	S 1.15	76	Abarth Corse	Alfonso Thiele Jean Guichet	Fiat-Abarth 850S	180
11	GT 1.3	63	Durant-Swanson	Art Swanson Ross Durant Bob Richardson	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	178
12	GT 1.3	60	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Massimo Leto di Priolo Carlo Facetti	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	178
13	S 3.0	36	North American Racing Team	Peter Ryan John Fulp	Ferrari Dino 248SP	176
14th	GT 4.0	14th	Briggs Cunningham	Briggs Cunningham John Fitch	Jaguar E-Type	176
15th	GT 1.6	41	Rootes Motors	Peter Procter Peter Harper	Sunbeam Alpine	173
16	GT 1.6	52	Ecurie Safety Fast	Jack Sears Andrew Hedges	MGA	172
17th	GT 1.6	51	Ecurie Safety Fast	Jim Parkinson Jack Flaherty	MGA	171
18th	GT + 4.0	2	Grady Davis	Duncan Black Malcolm Wyllie	Chevrolet Corvette	171
19th	GT + 4.0	1	Grady Davis	Donald Yenko Ed Lowther	Chevrolet Corvette	169
20th	GT 1.6	53	Ecurie Safety Fast	John Whitmore Bob Olthoff Frank Morrill	MGA	169
21st	GT + 4.0	4th	Johnson Chevrolet	Delmo Johnson Dave Morgan	Chevrolet Corvette	169
22nd	GT 1.3	61	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Harry Theodoracopulos Giancarlo Sala	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	168
23	S 850	79	Automobili Osca	John Gordon John Bentley	Osca S750	167
24	GT 1.6	83	Brumo's Porsche	Pat Corrigan Lin Coleman	Porsche 356B 1600	165
25th	GT 1.6	55	TVR Cars	Mark Donohue Jay Signore	TVR Grantura	163
26th	S 1.6	46	Eglinton Cal. Engine	Ludwig Heimrath senior Jerry Palivka	Porsche 718 RSK	158
27	S 850	80	Fran-Am Racing Team	Howard Hanna Richard Toland	DB HBR5	158
28	S 850	81	Fran-Am Racing Team	Frank Manley Tom Newcomer	DB HBR5	157
29	GT 1.3	68	Duchess car	Newton Davis Peter Pulver	Lotus Elite	155
30th	GT 3.0	37	George Waltmann	George Waltmann	Triumph TR4	154
31	GT + 4.0	7th	Fuller Murry Race Cars	Bill Fuller Harry Washburn	Chevrolet Corvette	153
32	GT 1.6	43	Rootes Motors	Joe Sheppard Tom Payne Lew Spencer	Sunbeam Alpine	151
33	GT 1.6	44	Rootes Motors	Filippo Theodoli Freddie Barrette	Sunbeam Alpine	150
34	GT 1.6	44	North American Racing Team	Charlie Hayes Carl Haas Chuck Dietrich	Ferrari 250 GT SWB	147
35	GT 2.0	39	Alton Rodgers	Alton Rodgers James Bailey	Morgan Plus 4SS	143
36	P 4.0	9	Holman Moody	Marvin Panch Jocko Maggiacomo	Ford Falcon Challenger	107
37	GT 1.3	62	Martini-Rossi Racing	Paul Richards Charlie Kolb	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ	101
Disqualified
38	S 3.0	26th	North American Racing Team	Innes Ireland Stirling Moss John Fulp Fernand Tavano	Ferrari 250 TRI / 61	128
Failed
39	S 3.0	35	North American Racing Team	Bob Grossman Alan Connell	Ferrari Dino 246S	168
40	GT + 4.0	5	Don Campbell	Pat Pigott Jerry Grant	Chevrolet Corvette	148
41	P 4.0	11	Chaparral Cars Inc.	Jim Hall Chuck Daigh	Chaparral 1	127
42	GT 3.0	22nd	Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia	Fernand Tavano Colin Davis	Ferrari 250 GT	119
43	S 1.15	73	Elva Cars Ltd.	Art Tweedale Ben Warren Alan Ross	Elva Mk.VI	114
44	S 1.6	45	Rennod Race Cars	Bob Donner Don Sesslar	Porsche 718 RSK	108
45	S 3.0	34	North American Racing Team	Pedro Rodríguez Ricardo Rodríguez	Ferrari Dino 246SP	97
46	GT 1.3	65	Jake Kaplan	Charlie Rainville Walter Ballard	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	96
47	S 1.15	72	Donald Healey Motor Co.	Steve McQueen John Colgate	Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite	71
48	GT + 4.0	3	Red Vogt	Johnny Allen George Robertson	Chevrolet Corvette	59
49	GT 1.3	69	Don Hulette	Don Hulette Burk Wiedner	Lotus Elite	59
50	GT 1.6	56	TVR Cars Ltd.	Ray Cuomo Fred Darling Jack Jacobs	TVR Grantura	56
51	GT 2.0	40	Richard Kingham	Dave Kingham Bob Kingham	AC Ace	52
52	GT 1.6	47	Elva Cars Ltd.	Everett Smith Harold Whims	Elva Courier	46
53	S 3.0	33	Enus Wilson	Enus Wilson Ernest Grimm	Maserati Tipo 61	45
54	S 3.0	20th	John Bunch	George Constantine Gaston Andrey	Ferrari 250TR59 / 60	40
55	S 1.15	74	Elva Cars Ltd.	Victor Merino Rafael Rosales	Elva Mk.VI	37
56	GT + 4.0	6th	Ronnie Kaplan	Rodger Ward Bob Johnson	Chevrolet Corvette	34
57	GT 1.6	58	North American Racing Team	Spencer Lichtie Robert Publicker	Osca 1600GT	33
58	S 3.0	32	Briggs Cunningham	Walt Hansgen Dick Thompson	Maserati Tipo 64	30th
59	GT 1.6	42	Rootes Motors	Ken Miles Lew Spencer	Sunbeam Alpine	25th
60	GT 1.6	54	TVR Cars Ltd.	Peter Bolton Mike Rothschild	TVR Grantura	23
61	P 4.0	15th	Scuderia Light Blue	John Todd Webster Todd	Warwick Special GT	20th
62	S 3.0	30th	Scuderia SSS Republica di Venezia	Nino Vaccarella Carlo-Maria Abate	Maserati Tipo 64	16
63	S 1.15	75	Oliver Schmidt	Kurt Gorstead Oliver Schmidt	De Tomaso	16
64	S 1.15	77	North American Racing Team	Denise McCluggage Allen Eager	Osca S1000	10
65	S 1.6	50	Continental Motors	Chuck Cassel David Lane	Porsche 356B 1600	4th
Not started
66	S 3.0	31	Sorocaima	Guido Lollobrigida Pilade Ronchieri	Maserati 200SI	1
67	GT 3.0	38	James Binford	James Binford Howard Cole	Triumph TR4	2
68	GT 1.6	57	Paul Lund	Paul Lund Jack Walsh	Porsche 356B 1600	3
69	GT 1.3	66	lotus	Tim Mayer Millard Ripley	Lotus Elite	4th
70	S 1.15	71	lotus	Sy Kaback Harvey Snow Tim Mayer	Lotus 23	5
71	S 850	78	Merrimac Racing	Mac Knight Burrel Becanson	Osca S850	6th

¹ not started ² reserve ³ reserve ⁴ not started ^{5 appeared} too late to start ⁶ reserve

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
72	GT		Frank Nichels	AJ Foyt	Pontiac Tempest
73	P 4.0		Briggs Cunningham	John Fitch Peter Ryan Briggs Cunningham	Cooper T57 Monaco
74	GT			Ada Pace Nino Todaro	Maserati
75	GT		Frank Nichels	Duncan Black Bob Moute	Pontiac Tempest
76	GT		Frank Nichels	Paul Goldsmith	Pontiac Tempest
77	GT 1.3		Roda Racing	Fred Van Beuren Hector Rebaque senior	Alfa Romeo Giulietta
78	GT		Frank Nichels	Pierre Mion	Pontiac Tempes
79	GT + 4.0	8th	John Mecom	Rob Schroeder	Chevrolet Corvette
80	GT 3.0	29	RRR Motors	Chuck Dietrich John Baxter Charlie Hayes	Ferrari 250 GTE
81	GT 1.3	67	lotus		Lotus Elite
82	S 1.15	70	lotus	RJ Henry Ernie Harris Bill Stone	Lotus 23
83	S 1.15	70	Frank Mabry	Frank Mabry	Austin-Healey Sprite

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
P 4.0	Hap Sharp	Ronnie Hissom	Chuck Daigh	Chaparral 1	Rank 6
S 3.0	Joakim Bonnier	Lucien Bianchi		Ferrari 250TRI / 61	Overall victory
S 1.6	Bill Wuesthoff	Frank Rand	Bruce Jennings	Porsche 718 RS 60	Rank 3
S 1.15	Alfonso Thiele	Jean Guichet		Fiat-Abarth 850S	Rank 10
S 850	John Gordon	John Bentley		Osca S750	Rank 23
GT + 4.0	Duncan Black	Malcolm Wyllie		Chevrolet Corvette	Rank 18
GT 4.0	Briggs Cunningham	John Fitch		Jaguar E-Type	Rank 14
GT 3.0	Phil Hill	Olivier Gendebien		Ferrari 250 GTO	Rank 2
GT 1.6	Bob Holbert	Dan Gurney		Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth GTL	Rank 7
GT 1.3	Kind Swanson	Ross Durant	Bob Richardson	Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV	Rank 11

Racing data

• Registered: 83
• Started: 65
• Rated: 37
• Race classes: 10
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: warm and cloudy
• Route length: 8.369 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:01: 59,400 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 206
• Total distance of the winning team: 1723.929 km
• Winner's average: 143.265 km / h
• Pole position: Phil Hill - Ferrari 250 GTO (# 24)
• Fastest race lap: Pedro Rodríguez - Ferrari Dino 246SP (# 34) - 3: 12.400 = 156.584 km / h
• Racing series: 3rd round of the sports car world championship in 1962

literature

• Ken Breslauer: Sebring. The official History of America's Great Sports Car Race. David Bull, Cambridge MA 1995, ISBN 0-9649722-0-4 .
• Peter Higham: The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing. A complete Reference from Formula 1 to Touring Car. Guinness Publishing Ltd., London 1995, ISBN 0-85112-642-1 .

Web links

• Results at Racing Sports Cars

Individual evidence

1. ^ 3 Hours of Daytona 1962
2. ↑ 3-hour race at Sebring 1962

Previous race, the 3-hour race at Sebring, 1962

Sports car world championship

Succession race Coppa Maifredi 1962