Sebring 12 hour race in 1968
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
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
Individual evidence
Previous race of the 1968 Daytona 24 Hours |
Sports car world championship |
Successor to the 6 Hours of Brands Hatch 1968 |