Sebring 12 hour race in 1966

Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant's Ford GT40 MK.II, which was disqualified after the end of the race

The Charles-Vögele-Porsche 906 with Joseph Siffert at the wheel three months after the Sebring race in the 1000 km race on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring . With the same car, Siffert and Vögele finished the race in sixth place overall

Chaparral 2D

The route in 1966 with the Webster Turn

The 15th 12 Hours of Sebring , including Sebring 12 Hours of Endurance for The Alitalia Trophy, Sebring , took place on 26 March 1966 at the Sebring International Raceway place and was the second championship round of the World Sportscar Championship this year.

The race

After the absence in 1965 , when a conflict over the division of the racing classes with the organizers could not be finally resolved, Scuderia Ferrari returned to Sebring as a works team. The racing team from Maranello reported two cars, a Dino 206S and a 330P3 . The Dino 206S, developed in spring 1966, was the successor to the 206P from 1965. It was often referred to as the “smaller” 330P3, as the bodies, which were both built by Piero Drogo , were very similar. As sports car 1960 Dino all had the type of car a 2-liter V6 - mid-engine . The car was driven by the two Italians Ludovico Scarfiotti and Lorenzo Bandini . The 330P3 was the further development of the P2 . Since increasing displacement was not part of Ferrari's philosophy - some of the Ford GT40s had 7-liter V8 engines - better performance could only be achieved through reduced weight and improved aerodynamics. This improved P-model was piloted by Mike Parkes and Bob Bondurant . The North American Racing Team reported a 365P2 for Pedro Rodríguez and Mario Andretti , the variant of the P models intended for private teams .

In addition to the GT40s, the Ford teams already brought the MK.-II models to Sebring. There was also an X1 Roadster reported by Carroll Shelby and driven by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby . This car was a one-off, equipped with a Spyder body, and should not be confused with the later Targa roof variant of the GT40. Last year's winner Jim Hall reported two Chaparral 2Ds and Roger Penske two Chevrolet Corvettes .

Porsche came to Sebring with four works cars, two 906 and two 904 GTS . In the smaller classes there were works engagements from Autodelta for Alfa Romeo , the British Motor Corporation , the Donald Healey Motor Company and from Triumph

Fatal accidents

In qualifying, Dan Gurney had achieved the fastest lap time in the GT40 Mk. II with 2: 54,600 minutes and an average of 172.554 km / h and started from pole position . When the starting flag fell, Gurney was unable to start the car in time and only started driving when the leader, Walt Hansgen, returned to the start and finish in another Mk. II. What followed was one of the greatest chases in the history of the race, and after 24 laps Gurney was in the lead. In the fourth hour of the race, Gurney and his racing partner Jerry Grant were comfortably in front of the works Ferrari from Parkes / Bondurant and the X1 Roadster from Miles and Ruby when the Canadian Jean Ouellet pits in his GT40 to change drivers. Ouellet, born in Rimouski , drove one of the two privately registered GT40s from his home country and passed the wheel to his colleague Bob McLean , who was the fastest of the four drivers in practice. The second car was driven by Eppie Wietzes and Craig Fisher . McLean left the pits with a full tank of fuel and four new tires when he lost a tire in front of the hairpin. The car went off the track, rolled over several times, rammed a telephone pole, and went up in flames. Any help came too late for the pilot. After the fatal outcome became known, the team withdrew the second car.

A second accident occurred a little later, this time with far-reaching consequences. There were different explanations for the collision between Don Webster , who drove a Porsche 906, and Mario Andretti in a Ferrari 356P2 after the race. The result of this incident was four dead spectators. Webster, seriously injured in the accident, told the journalists present in the hospital that he had been hit by Andretti's Ferrari spinning in front of him and pushed into the damp grass of the Webster corner, where he lost control of the car. Andretti, on the other hand, stated that although he turned, he did not touch Webster's car. In the Ferrari, the gearbox jammed when downshifting; instead of fourth to fifth, Andretti shifted into first gear. The car jerked out of the way and turned several times on its own axis. Webster's Porsche crashed into an old airport building, killing four people who were standing there in an area forbidden to spectators. Among the dead was Patricia Heacock, the wife of a businessman who was also an official of the race.

It was the worst accident in the history of the race, and after the event there was heavy criticism of the lack of safety precautions. In between there was even an end of the race in the room or a relocation to another venue.

Drama at the end of the race

After the accidents, racing took a back seat, but there was a dramatic finale. Dan Gurney started the last lap of the race as the superior leader, in which the MK. II rolled out a few hundred meters from the finish line after an engine failure. Gurney tried to push the car over the finish line, but was overtaken by Miles just short of the line, who only led the last few yards of the race. To make matters worse, Gurney and Grant were subsequently disqualified because pushing was prohibited on the track. For Miles and second placed Walt Hansgen , Sebring was one of their last races in 1966. Both had a fatal accident a few months later during test drives.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	P + 5.0	1	Shelby American Inc.	Ken Miles Lloyd Ruby	Ford X1 Roadster	228
2	P + 5.0	3	Holman & Moody	Walt Hansgen Mark Donohue	Ford GT40 MK.II	216
3	S 5.0	19th	Essex Wire Corporation	Skip Scott Peter Revson	Ford GT40	213
4th	P 2.0	52	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann Joe Buzzetta	Porsche 906	209
5	P 2.0	46	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Ludovico Scarfiotti Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari Dino 206S	206
6th	P 2.0	49	Charles Vögele	Joseph Siffert Charles Vögele	Porsche 906	206
7th	S 2.0	54	Porsche Germany	George Follmer Peter Gregg	Porsche 904 GTS	205
8th	P 2.0	50	Ed Hugus	Lake Underwood Ed Hugus	Porsche 906	204
9	GT + 5.0	9	Roger Penske	George Wintersteen Ben Moore	Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray	201
10	S + 5.0	6th	Scuderia Bear	Bob Grossman Ed Lowther	Shelby Cobra Roadster	197
11	GT + 5.0	8th	Harold Whims	Donald Yenko Dave Morgan Harold Whims	Shelby Cobra Roadster	197
12	P + 4.0	4th	Holman & Moody	AJ Foyt Ronnie Bucknum	Ford GT40 Mk.II	192
13	S 5.0	23	Scuderia Bear	Bruce Jennings Richard Holquist	Ford GT40	189
14th	S 1.6	63	Autodelta SpA	Giacomo Russo Gaston Andrey	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2	189
15th	S 5.0	80	Tom Payne	Bob Said Ray Cuomo John Addison	Shelby Cobra	188
16	S 2.0	56	Jacques Duval	Jacques Duval Horst Kroll	Porsche 904 GTS	188
17th	GT 2.0	59	British Motor Co.	Roger Mac Peter Manton	MGB	178
18th	P 2.0	67	Donald Healey Motor Co.	Paul Hawkins Timo Mäkinen	Austin-Healey Sprite	175
19th	GT 2.5	41	Standard Triumph Motor Co.	Steve Froines Bill Pendleton	Triumph TR4A	172
20th	GT 2.0	51	RBM Motors	Jack Ryan Lin Coleman	Porsche 911	168
21st	S 1.3	65	Fred Baker	Fred Baker Bill Kirtley	Alpine A110	168
22nd	S + 5.0	7th	Space Science Service	John Bentley Art Latta Herb Byrne	Shelby Cobra 427	166
23	GT 2.5	40	Standard Triumph Motor Co.	Dick Gilmartin Mike Rothschild	Triumph TR4A	162
24	S 1.3	69	Capt. Kenneth Sellers	Kenneth Sellers Robert Shaw	Alpine A110	162
25th	S 2.0	58	Carl Haas Automobiles	William McKemie Fred Opert	Elva Courier Mk.IV	153
26th	GT 2.5	42	Standard Triumph Motor Co.	Ludwig Heimrath senior Craig Hill	Triumph TR4A	151
27	GT 2.5	92	John Kingham	Milo Vega Bob Kingham Herb Byrne	Triumph TR4A	131
28	P 2.0	66	Donald Healey Motor Co.	Rauno Aaltonen Clive Baker	Austin-Healey Sprite	121
29	GT 5.0	32	Richard Robson	Rajah Rodgers Bill Buchman Richard Robson	Jaguar XKE	121
Disqualified
30th	P + 5.0	2	Shelby American Inc.	Dan Gurney Jerry Grant	Ford GT40 MK.II	227
31	S 5.0	22nd	William Wonder	William Wonder Bob Brown	Ford GT40	100
32	P 3.0	43	Fergus Import Motors	Ben Hall Al Costner	Morgan Plus 4SS	35
33	P 3.0	36	Ross MacGrotty Chevrolet	Russ MacGrotty Art Riley Ed Myers	Yenko Stinger	25th
Failed
34	P 5.0	26th	North American Racing Team	Pedro Rodríguez Mario Andretti	Ferrari 365P2	188
35	P 2.0	48	Otto Zipper	Don Wester Scooter Patrick	Porsche 906	182
36	P 5.0	27	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Mike Parkes Bob Bondurant	Ferrari 330P3	172
37	P 3.0	44	British Motor Co.	Paddy Hopkirk Andrew Hedges	MGB	157
38	S 1.3	68	Howard Hanna	Howard Hanna Morrow Decker	Matra Djet MB8S	148
39	S 2.0	47	Briggs Cunningham	Briggs Cunningham Dave Jordan John Fitch	Porsche 904 GTS	148
40	S 5.0	25th	Alan Mann Racing	John Whitmore Frank Gardner	Ford GT40	146
41	S 5.0	24	Alan Mann Racing	Graham Hill Jackie Stewart	Ford GT40	142
42	GT 2.0	85	Continental Cars Ltd.	Albert Ackerly Arch McNeill	MGB	137
43	P 2.0	53	Porsche System Engineering	Gerhard Mitter Günter Klass	Porsche 906	120
44	P 2.0	55	Porsche System Engineering	Udo Schütz Dieter Glemser	Porsche 904 GTS	114
45	S 5.0	17th	Comstock Racing Team	Eppie Wietzes Craig Fisher	Ford GT40	96
46	S 2.0	57	Wetanson & Ripley	Millard Ripley Herb Wetanson	Porsche 904 GTS	94
47	P 2.0	87	Keymo Motors Corporation	Charlie Kolb John Fulp	Porsche 904/8 Bergspyder	87
48	S 5.0	18th	Comstock Racing Team	Bob McLean Jean Ouellet	Ford GT40	83
49	GT 5.0	82	Terry Kohler	Jerry Kohler Michael Reina Walt Biddle	Shelby GT350	71
50	S 5.0	33	Kind Swanson	Art Swanson Robert Ennis	Ferrari 250LM	70
51	P + 5.0	10	Roger Penske	Dick Thompson Dick Guldstrand	Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport	65
52	S 1.6	62	Autodelta SpA	Lucien Bianchi Bernard Consten	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2	61
53	S 3.0	35	Jack slot day	Jack Slottag Larry Perkins	Ferrari 250 GTO	61
54	P 3.0	39	Standard Triumph Motor Co.	Bob Tullius Charlie Gates	Triumph TR4A	47
55	S 5.0	21st	Peter Sutcliffe	Innes Ireland Peter Sutcliffe	Ford GT40	47
56	P + 5.0	11	Chaparral Cars Inc.	Hap Sharp Jim Hall	Chaparral 2D	35
57	S 5.0	20th	Essex Wire Corporation	Masts Gregory Augie Pabst	Ford GT40	30th
58	P + 5.0	12	Chaparral Cars Inc.	Joakim Bonnier Phil Hill	Chaparral 2D	27
59	GT 1.6	60	Autolab imports	Bob Colombosian John Todd	Lotus Elan	25th
60	S 1.6	60	Autodelta SpA	Teodoro Zeccoli Giacomo Russo	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2	22nd
61	S 1.6	64	Filippo Theodoli	Sam Posey Harry Theodoracopulos	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2	16
62	S 1.3	89	Sherman Smith	Edgar Schantz Sherman Smith	Abarth-Simca 1300 Bialbero	13
63	GT 2.0	84	Roger West	Roger West Tommy Charles	MGB	7th
64	P 3.0	37	McMillan Ring Free Oil Co.	Donna Mae Mims John Luke	Yenko Stinger	1
Not started
65	P 5.0	30th	Francis Gillebard	Skip Hudson Francis Gillebard	Ferrari 330P	1
66	GT 5.0	31	Jaguar Cars of Winter Haven	Dave Hull Bob Kingham	Jaguar XKE	2
67	P 5.0	34	Don Fong	Tom O'Brien George Parsons	Ferrari 275P	3
68	GT 2.5	38	Anatoly Arutunoff	Anatoly Arutunoff Bryan Crow	Lancia Flaminia Zagato	4th

¹ not started ² clogged oil filter ³ not started ⁴ electrical damage

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
69	S 1.6		Autolab imports	John Todd	Lotus Elan
70	S 2.0		Kind Riley		Volvo P1800
71	S 2.0		Brumo's Porsche	Peter Gregg George Barber	Porsche 904 GTS
72	P + 5.0	5	Kar strength	Bruce McLaren	Ford GTJ
73	P 5.0	14th	Frank Arciero	Bud Tingelstad Roger McCluskey	Arciero Mk2
74	P 5.0	15th	de Tomaso Automobili	Pierre Noblet Franco Bernabei Umberto Maglioli	De Tomaso Sport 5000
75	GT 5.0	16	Ben Warren	John Scott Ben Warren CC Canada Donald Russell	Shelby GT350
76	P 5.0	28	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Nino Vaccarella Jean Guichet	Ferrari 330P3
77	P 5.0	29	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Jean Guichet Lorenzo Bandini Bob Bondruant	Ferrari 330P3
78	P 2.0	45	Ferrari SEFAC Spa	Giampiero Biscaldi Mario Casoni	Ferrari Dino 206S
79	S + 5.0	81	Archway Ford	Harold Keck Gary Morgan	Shelby Cobra
80	GT 5.0	83	Michael Reina	Don Kearney Michael Reina	Shelby GT350
81	GT 2.0	86	Kenneth Chambliss	Ernie Croucher Pete Glenn	MGB
82	S 1.6	90	Eduardo Dibós Chappuis	Eduardo Dibós Chappuis Mario Colabattisti	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
P + 5.0	Ken Miles	Lloyd Ruby	Ford X1 Roadster	Overall victory
P 2.0	Hans Herrmann	Joe Buzzetta	Porsche 906	Rank 4
S + 5.0	Bob Grossman	Ed Lowther	Shelby Cobra Roadster	Rank 10
S 5.0	Skip Scott	Peter Revson	Ford GT40	Rank 3
S 2.0	George Follmer	Peter Gregg	Porsche 904 GTS	Rank 7
S 1.6	Giacomo Russo	Gaston Andrey	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2	Rank 14
S 1.3	Fred Baker	Bill Kirtley	Alpine A110	Rank 21
GT + 5.0	George Wintersteen	Ben Moore	Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray	Rank 9
GT 2.5	Steve Froines	Bill Pendleton	Triumph TR4A	Rank 19
GT 2.0	Roger Mac	Peter Manton	MGB	Rank 17

Racing data

• Registered: 82
• Started: 64
• Rated: 29
• Race classes: 10
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 8.369 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:01: 14,800 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 228
• Total distance of the winning team: 1908.038 km
• Winner's average: 158.728 km / h
• Pole position: Dan Gurney - Ford GT40 MK.II (# 2) - 2: 54.600 = 172.554 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Jerry Grant - Ford GT40 MK.II (# 2) - 2: 54.800 = 172.351 km / h
• Racing series: 2nd round of the 1966 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 .
• 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. ^ Ford X1 Roadster
2. ↑ On the fatal accidents in 1966

Previous race of the 1966 Daytona 24 Hours

Sports car world championship

Successor to the 1000 km Monza race in 1966