Sebring 12 hour race in 1968

The short-tail Porsche 907 2.2 (start number 49) with which Joseph Siffert and Hans Herrmann drove to victory

The Sunoco-Penske-Racing-Chevrolet Camaro with the original start number 15; Mark Donohue and Craig Fisher drove this car to third place in the overall standings in 1968 and to victory in the Trans-Am race

Howmet TX

The 16th 12 Hours of Sebring also 12 Hours of Endurance For The Alitalia Airlines Trophy, Sebring , took place on 23 March 1968 at the Sebring International Raceway place and was the second championship round of the World Sportscar Championship and on trans Series of this year.

The race

What became apparent after the end of the motorsport season in 1967 became reality in the winter of 1967/68. Startled by the record distance of the victorious Ford GT40 Mk.IV , driven by Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt at the 24-hour race of Le Mans in 1967 , and the 24-hour average of 218.038 km / h, the CSI gave for 1968 known a drastic change in the regulations. The most significant component was the reduction of the displacement to three liters, which resulted in the withdrawal of the Ford and Ferrari factory teams from the world championship of sports cars. Ferrari could no longer use the 330P4 and soon had no new racing vehicle available. The GT40 models with the 5 and 7 liter engines also disappeared from the racetracks.

While the first race of the world championship, the 24-hour race in Daytona , has always suffered from a lack of spectator interest, only just under 30,000 people interested in racing came to Sebring this year; it was the lowest audience attendance since the early 1950s. Since the organizers feared too few reports, the race was also announced as a championship run for the Trans-Am series . The Trans-Am vehicles, which made up almost a third of the starters, made it into the overall standings, had their own racing class, but also drove a race in the race.

Porsche had a suitable racing car, the Porsche 907 , which was brought to Sebring as a short-tail version in 1968. The positive experience gained with the 910 Bergspyder in the 1967 European Hill Climb Championship was partially implemented by Porsche in the 907 hatchback. As with the Bergspyder, the tubular space frame was made of aluminum instead of steel in order to save weight. The outer skin was similar to that of the 910. However, like the 907 long tail built in 1967, the cockpit was narrow and, with its flat windshield, more streamlined than the 910. The raised side windows that reached into the roof allowed a good all-round view. In contrast to the long tail, the engine was not covered by a transparent plastic hood. A plastic plate painted in the same color as the car in the rear had air inlet openings for the cooling fan and the air funnel for the fuel injection. As with the 910, the cockpit roof ended with a spoiler lip. The rear-opening rear had a fixed spoiler. It was powered by a 2.2-liter, 8-cylinder boxer engine . Porsche reported the drivers Joseph Siffert , Hans Herrmann , Vic Elford , Jochen Neerpasch , Gerhard Mitter , Rolf Stommelen , Ludovico Scarfiotti and Joe Buzzetta for the four works cars . In a short time, Siffert had risen to become one of the fastest drivers in the sports car scene. The courageous Swiss always pushed the limits and, with his uncompromising driving style, often put an extreme strain on racing technology. In Sebring, he was joined by Hans Herrmann, who was already 40 years old at the time, who made his debut with partner Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips in Sebring in 1956 with a class win for Porsche.

The big attraction of the race was the Howmet TX , a racing car that was powered by a gas turbine . The turbines for the two Howmet TX were leased from Continental Aviation & Engineerin . The TS325-1 gas turbines were prototypes from the company's tender application for a military helicopter, for which Continental had no other use at the time.

Hans Herrmann achieved the fastest training time in the factory Porsche 907 2.2 with a time of 2: 49,400 minutes and an average of 177.845 km / h. He was followed by Jacky Ickx in the John Wyer- Ford GT40 and Dick Thompson in the amazingly fast Howmet TX. As expected, the works Porsche shaped the history of the race. Two dropped out in the course of the race, the other two finished safely in the lead. The Porsches came closest to the holding of the actor James Garner located Lola T70 of Scooter Patrick and Dave Jordan , which turned out after 103 laps by a cylinder damage, and the Ford GT40 of David Hobbs and Paul Hawkins , the collision with the AMC Javelin from Janet Guthrie had.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	P 3.0	49	Porsche Automobile Co.	Joseph Siffert Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907 2.2	227
2	P 3.0	51	Porsche Automobile Co.	Vic Elford Jochen Neerpasch	Porsche 907 2.2	226
3	TA 5.0	15th	Roger Penske Racing	Mark Donohue Craig Fisher	Chevrolet Camaro	221
4th	TA 5.0	16	Roger Penske Racing	Craig Fisher Joe Welch Bob Johnson	Chevrolet Camaro	217
5	TA 5.0	31	Shelby Racing	Jerry Titus Ronnie Bucknum	Ford Mustang	217
6th	GT + 5.0	3	Sunray DX Oil Company	Hap Sharp Dave Morgan	Chevrolet Corvette	208
7th	GT 2.0	59	Don Burns VW	Robert Kirby Alan Johnson	Porsche 911S	208
8th	GT 2.0	60	Gregg Loomis	Pete Harrison Gregg Loomis Jack Ryan	Porsche 911S	204
9	GT 2.0	61	Jacques Duval	Jacques Duval Horst Kroll	Porsche 911S	203
10	P 3.0	44	British Motor Company	Paddy Hopkirk Andrew Hedges	MGC	195
11	TA 5.0	33	John McComb	John McComb Paul Richards	Ford Mustang	195
12	TA 5.0	24	Javelin Racing Team	Peter Revson Skip Scott	AMC Javelin	193
13	GT 2.0	62	Jean-Pierre Hanrioud	Jean-Pierre Hanrioud Sylvain Garant	Porsche 911S	190
14th	P 2.0	72	HF Squadra Algar Enterprises	Raffaele Pinto Luigi Taramazzo Claudio Maglioli	Lancia Fulvia HF	187
15th	S 1.6	64	Donald Healey Motor Co. LTD.	Jerry Truitt Randy Canfield	MG Midget	185
16	S 5.0	30th	Edward Nelson Racing	David Piper Edward Nelson	Ford GT40	184
17th	TA 5.0	38	Gagnon Spring Inc.	François Favreau Marius Amyot Andre Samson	Ford Mustang	184
18th	GT 2.0	66	British Motor Company	Gary Rodriguez Richard McDaniel William Brack	MGB GT	183
19th	GT + 5.0	80	William Laughlin	Dan Torpy Dale Keenan	Chevrolet Corvette	171
20th	P 2.0	58	Squadra Tartaruga	Rico Steinemann Dieter Spoerry	Porsche 910	168
21st	TA 5.0	19th	HRH Corporation	Jim Murphy John Moore	Chevrolet Camaro	168
22nd	GT 2.0	52	Richard Cline	Richard Cline Michael Pickering	Triumph GT6	168
Not classified
23	TA 5.0	20th	Padrick Chevrolet	David McClain Dick Boo	Chevrolet Camaro	164
24	GT 5.0	84	Coquina Motors	Rajah Rodgers Richard Robson	Jaguar E-Type	161
25th	TA 5.0	18th	James Corwin	James Corwin Fred Pipin	Chevrolet Camaro	161
26th	TA 5.0	23	Squadra Course Verona	Bruce Jennings Charlie Rainville	Mercury Cougar	159
27	GT + 5.0	7th	Slaton Chevrolet	Or Costanzo William Harris Dave Heinz	Chevrolet Corvette	158
28	TA 5.0	17th	Joie Chitwood	Joie Chitwood junior Dave Horchler Richard Hoffman	Chevrolet Camaro	158
29	S 5.0	29	JW Engineering	Paul Hawkins David Hobbs	Ford GT40	157
30th	S 2.0	64	B. & B. Motors	Bob Bailey Jim Locke	Porsche 906	157
31	GT 2.0	67	Waldron Motors	Jim Gammon Chris Waldron Ben Scott	MGB	148
32	TA 5.0	26th	G. & H. Engineering	Janet Guthrie Liane Engemann	AMC Javelin	144
33	P 2.0	95	Arthur Cohn	Arthur Cohn Don Pickett Tony Lilly	Beach prototype	140
34	P 3.0	85	Best Sports Cars	Donna Mae Mims Michael Summers	Yenko Stinger	130
35	P 2.0	73	Donald Healey Motor Co. LTD.	Clive Baker Mike Garton	Austin-Healey Sprite	125
36	GT 5.0	27	Port of Entry Motors	Hugh Kleinpeter Bruce Hollander Ray Mummery	Shelby GT350	98
Failed
37	TA 5.0	14th	Mar Shipping	Norberto Mastandrea Ralph Noseda	Chevrolet Camaro	132
38	P 3.0	76	Howmet Corporation	Dick Thompson Ed Lowther Ray Heppenstall	Howmet TX Continental	125
39	S 5.0	9	American International	Scooter Patrick Dave Jordan	Lola T70 Mk.III GT	103
40	TA 5.0	25th	Javelin Racing Team	George Follmer Jerry Grant Skip Scott	AMC Javelin	90
41	S 1.6	68	Dyno racing	Earl Sylvia Dave Domizi Robert Fogle	Lotus 47	81
42	S 1.6	68	Richard Cline	Richard Kondracki Fred Andrews	Triumph Spitfire	72
43	P 2.0	71	HF Squadra Algar Enterprises	Claudio Maglioli Bert Everett Ove Andersson	Lancia Fulvia HF Zagato Proto	67
44	TA 5.0	32	Shelby Racing	Allan Moffat Horst Kaul	Ford Mustang	63
45	S 5.0	11	Mike De Udy	Mike De Udy Hugh Dibley	Lola T70 Mk.III GT	61
46	GT 3.0	86	John Cameron	John Witt Milo Vega John Cameron	Triumph TR4A	59
47	TA 5.0	21st	Bill Boyé Racing	Billy Yuma Bill Boyé	Chevrolet Camaro	55
48	P 3.0	47	Leyland Motor Company	Jim Dittemore Bob Tullius	TriumphTR250K	49
49	GT + 5.0	4th	Sunray DX Oil Company	Jerry Thompson Tony DeLorenzo	Chevrolet Corvette	48
50	P 3.0	48	Porsche Automobile Co.	Gerhard Mitter Rolf Stommelen	Porsche 907 2.2	46
51	GT 2.0	63	Joseph Greger	Joseph Greger Malte Huth	Porsche 911S	46
52	TA 5.0	81	Samadco Ltd.	Al our Lloyd Ruby	Chevrolet Camaro	43
53	GT + 5.0	2	Sunray DX Oil Company	Pedro Rodríguez Donald Yenko	Chevrolet Corvette	43
54	TA 5.0	37	Rigid Racing	George Wintersteen Malcolm Starr	Ford Mustang	43
55	TA 5.0	12	Wilton Jowett	Wilton Jowett Claude Cardwell	Chevrolet Camaro	40
56	S 5.0	10	Ecurie Bonnier	Joakim Bonnier Sten Axelsson	Lola T70 Mk.III GT	40
57	P 3.0	42	Societé Alpine	Mauro Bianchi Henri Grandsire	Alpine A211	39
58	P 3.0	42	JW Engineering	Jacky Ickx Brian Redman	Ford GT40	36
59	P 2.0	55	Raceco	Armando Capriles Alfredo Atencio	Porsche 906E	35
60	P 2.0	55	Raceco	Fausto Merello Guillermo Ortega John Gunn	Ferrari 250LM	33
61	TA 5.0	36	Dos Caballos Racing	Ruben Novoa Fred van Beuren	Ford Mustang	25th
62	P 2.0	56	Valvoline Oil Company	Karl Foitek Rudi Lins	Porsche 910	16
63	TA 5.0	34	Mathews Racing Team	Sam Posey Milt Minter	Ford Mustang	16
64	S 5.0	8th	American International	Lothar Motschenbacher Ed Leslie Dick Guldstrand	Lola T70 Mk.III GT	12
65	TA 5.0	35	Randy's Auto Body	Bob Grossman Bob Dini	Ford Mustang	11
66	TA 5.0	22nd	Billy Hagan	Billy Hagan John McVeigh Francis Gillebard	Mercury Cougar	10
67	P 3.0	50	Porsche Automobile Co.	Ludovico Scarfiotti Joe Buzzetta	Porsche 907 2.2	7th
68	S 2.0	93	Arthur Mollin Racing	Arthur Mollin Art Riley Nick Con	TVR Grantura 1800S	6th
Not started
69	P 2.0	57	HRH engineering	Jim McDaniel Glen Sullivan	Porsche 911R	1
70	P 2.0	69	Elsco BMW	Ed Hugus Chuck Dietrich	Lotus 47	2
71	P 2.0	70	Elsco BMW	Eugene Nearburg Paul Jett	Lotus 47	3
72	GT 2.0	90	William Bencker	William Bencker Wilbur Pickett Roger Newman	Porsche 911	4th
73	GT 2.0	91	Dieter Oest	Dieter Oest Sam Feinstein Roger Newman	Porsche 356 Carrera 2	5

¹ not started ² engine failure in training ³ engine failure in training ⁴ vehicle disqualified ⁵ engine failure in training

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
74	GT + 5.0		Bud Gates	Bud Gates Bill Fuller	Chevrolet Corvette
75	S 5.0		William Wonder	William Wonder Ray Cuomo	Ford GT40
76	S 1.6		William Morton	William Morton	Lotus Elan
77	GT 2.0		Bob Holbert	Bert Everett	Porsche 911S
78	P 3.0		Howmet Corporation	Ray Heppenstall	Howmet TX Continental
79	P 2.0		North American Racing Team		Ferrari Dino 206S
80	P 3.0		Edward Alvarez	Edward Alvarez Ed Wilson	Ferrari Dino 206S
81	TA 5.0		Jim Downing	Jim Downing	Ford Mustang
82	P 3.0		Charles Vögele	Charles Vögele Silvio Moser	Porsche 910
83	GT + 5.0		American International Racing Corp.	Herb Caplan	Chevrolet Corvette
84	S 5.0	45	G. Wooley	Jacques Couture Max Nerriere	Ferrari 250LM
85	P 2.0	58	Squadra Tartaruga	Rico Steinemann Dieter Spoerry	Porsche 907
86	P 2.0	87	Fred Baker	Fred Baker	Porsche 906
87	P 2.0	88	Werner Frank	Werner Frank Ralph Trieschmann	Porsche 906

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
P 3.0	Joseph Siffert	Hans Herrmann		Porsche 907 2.2	Overall victory
P 2.0	Raffaele Pinto	Luigi Taramazzo	Claudio Maglioli	Lancia Fulvia HF	Rank 14
S 5.0	David Piper	Edward Nelson		Ford GT40	Rank 16
S 2.0	no participant in the finish
S 1.6	Jerry Truitt	Randy Canfield		MG Midget	Rank 15
GT + 5.0	Hap Sharp	Dave Morgan		Chevrolet Corvette	Rank 6
GT 2.0	Robert Kirby	Alan Johnson		Porsche 911S	Rank 7
TA 5.0	Mark Donohue	Craig Fisher		Chevrolet Camaro	Rank 3

Racing data

• Registered: 87
• Started: 68
• Valued: 22
• Race classes: 8
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 8.369 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:01: 19.225 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 227
• Total distance of the winning team: 1983.356 km
• Winner's average: 164.977 km / h
• Pole position: Hans Herrmann - Porsche 907 2.2 (# 49) - 2: 49.400 = 177.845 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Scooter Patrick - Lola T70 MK.III GT (# 9) - 2: 49,000 - 178.265 km / h
• Racing series: 2nd round of the 1968 World Sports Car Championship
• Racing series: 2nd round of the Trans-Am series in 1968

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. ↑ Qualification times

Previous race of the 1968 Daytona 24 Hours

Sports car world championship

Successor to the 6 Hours of Brands Hatch 1968