Sebring 12 hour race in 1969

Ferrari 312P with Chris Amon at the wheel in June 1969 at the 1000 km race on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring . With the same car model but a different chassis, Amon and Mario Andretti finished the Sebring 12-hour race in second place in the overall standings.

Lola T70 Mk.IIIB GT

The 17th 12 Hours of Sebring also Sebring 12 Hours of Endurance for the Alitalia airline Trophy, Sebring , took place on 22 March 1969 at the Sebring International Raceway place and was the second championship round of the World Sportscar Championship this year.

The race

After the disaster race in 1966 , the events in 1967 and 1968 suffered from a massive drop in spectators on race day. The Scuderia Ferrari came to different disputes with the organizer after years of absence with a factory car to Sebring. A new prototype, the 312P , was built in Maranello for the 1969 season . The 312P with its 60 ° V12 3-liter engine was based on the Ferrari 312F1 from Formula 1 . Ferrari introduced the designation 312 for racing vehicles in 1966 with the start of the 3-liter formula in Formula 1 and used it until 1979. The number 3 stood for the displacement of 3 liters, the number 12 for the respective 12-cylinder engines . The P stood for prototype, in contrast to S for the Ferrari 512S sports car, which was built in 25 copies . The racing car model made its racing debut at Sebring with Chris Amon and Mario Andretti at the wheel. Last year's winner, Porsche , registered five Porsche 908/02 and just by the number of vehicles showed how important the team took the endurance race in Florida . Autodelta competed with the Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 as well as the Lola T70 Mk.IIIB GT from Roger Penske's racing team , which had won the season opening race in Daytona with this car . The aging Ford GT40 from John Wyer were given little chance of overall victory .

The pole position held Chris Amon in the Ferrari. The early phase of the race was dominated by the Porsche 908/02 from Joseph Siffert and Brian Redman . The Alfa Romeos all dropped out in the first hour of the race, and up to the point of mechanical failure, the Penske-Lola T70 of Ronnie Bucknam and Mark Donohue fought a spectacular duel with the Siffert / Redman Porsche. However, as the race progressed, all Porsches ran into technical problems, and two hours before the end of the race four different brands were in the first positions. In the end there was a dramatic duel between the Ferrari and the Ford GT40 of Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver . The engine of the GT40, which started from twelfth place on the grid, had to be changed after qualifying. John Wyer did not believe in a possible finish, but Ickx and Oliver came forward through the difficulties of the faster competition. Because the Ferrari had to drive slower due to an overheated engine, the Ford took the lead. When the race seemed already decided, Ickx came to the pits because of a puncture. As a result, the Ferrari came within 30 seconds of the opponent. When Andretti caught up against Ickx, his Ferrari ran out of fuel and was just about to get the car to the pits for refueling. He lost a whole lap and the race was decided. The winning team broke the 2000-kilometer distance mark for the first time with 2000.093 kilometers.

The attempt to combine the race with a European racing series failed. The event was also part of the French Circuit Championship , but not a single French team was at the start.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	S 5.0	22nd	JW Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Jacky Ickx Jackie Oliver	Ford GT40	239
2	P 3.0	25th	Scuderia Ferrari	Chris Amon Mario Andretti	Ferrari 312P	238
3	P 3.0	27	Porsche System Engineering Ltd.	Rolf Stommelen Joe Buzzetta Kurt Ahrens	Porsche 908/02	235
4th	P 3.0	44	Escuderia Nacional SC	Àlex Soler-Roig Rudi Lins	Porsche 907 2.2	233
5	P 3.0	29	Porsche System Engineering Ltd.	Gerhard Mitter Udo Schütz	Porsche 908/02	232
6th	S 5.0	11	American International Racing Inc.	Lothar Motschenbacher Ed Leslie	Lola T70 Mk.III GT	229
7th	P 3.0	30th	Porsche System Engineering Ltd.	Vic Elford Richard Attwood	Porsche 908/02	228
8th	P 2.0	45	Smothers Brothers Racing Team	Fred Baker Dick Smothers	Porsche 906E	215
9	P 2.0	37	NART	Ricardo Rodríguez-Cavazos Charlie Kolb	Ferrari Dino 206S	215
10	GT + 5.0	5	Best Photo Service	Donald Yenko Bob Grossman	Chevrolet Camaro Z / 28	209
11	P 2.0	46	Escuderia Manana	Armando Capriles Alfredo Atencio	Porsche 906E	203
12	GT 2.0	52	Wicky Racing Team	Gérard Larrousse André Wicky Jean Sage	Porsche 911T	201
13	GT 2.0	47	PART	Bob Bailey Jim Locke	Porsche 911T	199
14th	GT + 5.0	2	Troy Promotions Inc.	Dick Lang Give Hufstaeder	Chevrolet Corvette	196
15th	P 3.0	55	British Leyland Motor Corporation	Andrew Hedges Paddy Hopkirk	MGC GT	195
16	GT 2.0	90	PART	Jim Netterstrom Bruce Jennings Mike Downs	Porsche 911	195
17th	T 2.0	63	Wilbur Pickett	Wilbur Pickett Peter Gregg	Porsche 911	192
18th	P 2.0	65	Algar Enterprises Inc.	Claudio Maglioli Raffaele Pinto	Lancia Fulvia HF Zagato	191
19th	T 5.0	94	Norberto Mastandrea	Robin Ormes Norberto Mastandrea	Chevrolet Camaro	189
20th	P 2.0	71	Ring Free Oil Racing Team	Jim Baker Paul Richards Clive Baker	Austin-Healey Sprite	184
21st	GT + 5.0	4th	Or Costanzo	Or Costanzo Dave Heinz	Chevrolet Corvette	184
22nd	T 5.0	17th	Bruce Behrens Racing Enterprises	Vince Gimondo John Tremblay	Chevrolet Camaro	182
23	P 2.0	72	Ring Free Oil Racing Team	Janet Guthrie Donna Mae Mim's Liane Engemann	Austin-Healey Sprite	182
24	GT + 5.0	1	Troy Promotions Inc.	Tony DeLorenzo Jerry Thompson	Chevrolet Corvette	181
25th	T 5.0	16	Richard Stevens	Richard Stevens Robert Barg	Chevrolet Camaro	180
26th	T 2.0	59	Elsco Corporation	Smokey Drolet Rosemary Smith	BMW 2002	179
27	P 2.0	66	Algar Enterprises Inc.	Innes Ireland Mike Tillson Howard Hanna	Lancia Fulvia HF Zagato	179
28	GT 2.0	62	British Leyland Motor Corporation	Logan Blackburn Jerry Truitt	MGB GT	178
29	T 2.0	84	Harold Williamson	George Drolsom Harold Williamson	Porsche 911	175
30th	T 5.0	93	Todco Racing Canada Ltd.	Craig Fisher Serge Adams	Chevrolet Camaro	174
31	T 5.0	20th	David McClain	David McClain Don Kerney	Chevrolet Camaro	174
32	T 2.0	99T	Gerry Racing Enterprise Inc.	John Colgate Don Parks	MGB	172
33	P 2.0	73	Arthur Tuckerman	Gregg Cameron Ralph Kemmerer	Austin-Healey Sprite	170
34	P 3.0	36	British Leyland Motor Corporation	William Brack Craig Hill	MGC	169
35	T 2.0	41	Escuderia Manana	Armando DeAmbadgio Sergio Trevale	Alfa Romeo GTA junior	167
36	P 2.0	38	NART	Sam Posey Bob Dini	Ferrari Dino 206GT	166
37	P 3.0	26th	NART	Pedro Rodríguez Chuck Parsons	Ferrari 250P	163
38	S 3.0	49	Merv Rosen	Merv Rosen Dave Morrell	Porsche 906	162
39	GT 2.0	64	Waldron Motors	Chris Waldron Ben Scott Dean Donley	MGB	155
40	T 2.0	85	Richard Crebs	Richard Crebs Ronald Strickler Robert Whitaker	Alfa Romeo GTA	153
41	T 2.0	60	Jim Cooke Buick & Opel	Walter Brown Buzz Marcus	Opel rally	152
42	S 5.0	24	Auto Enterprizes	Francis Grant Dieter Oest	Ford GT40	148
43	S 3.0	57	Raceco	Umberto Maglioli Hugh Kleinpeter Bob Beatty	Chevron B8	143
44	P 2.0	43	LeHigh Acres	Ray Heppenstall Howard Brown	Heppenstall Special	142
45	T 5.0	18th	Wilton Jowett	Wilton Jowett Bob Tullius	Chevrolet Camaro	140
46	GT 2.0	69	John Howard	Reggie Smith Tony Lilly Don Pickett	Lotus Europe	130
47	T 2.0	98	George Sanderson	Ron Polimeni Robert Theall	Volvo PV544	128
Disqualified
48	GT + 5.0	3	Robert Esseks	Ed Lowther Robert Essek's Frank Dominianni	Chevrolet Corvette	55
49	T 5.0	6th	Herbert Madray	Garry Davis Herbert Madray Don Madray	Ford Mustang	26th
Failed
50	GT 5.0	63	Waldron Motors	Jim Gammon Ray Mummery Roger Houghton	MGB	150
51	P 3.0	31	Porsche System Engineering Ltd.	Joseph Siffert Brian Redman	Porsche 908/02	133
52	GT 2.0	51	RBM Motors	Gregg Loomis Pete Harrison Jack Ryan	Porsche 911S	130
53	S 5.0	23	JW Automotive Engineering Ltd.	David Hobbs Mike Hailwood	Ford GT40	99
54	P 3.0	28	Porsche System Engineering Ltd.	Hans Herrmann Kurt Ahrens Rolf Stommelen	Porsche 908/02	97
55	S 5.0	9	Roger Penske Racing Enterprises	Ronnie Bucknum Mark Donohue	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB GT	96
56	T 5.0	19th	Maurice Carter Chevrolet	Maurice Carter Nat Adams	Chevrolet Camaro	85
57	GT 2.0	50	Grand Prix Motor Oil	Jacques Duval George Nicholas	Porsche 911T	62
58	T 5.0	21st	Larry Drover	Larry Dent Larry Bock	Chevrolet Camaro	62
59	T 5.0	7th	Argento Racing Organization	Charlie Rainville Paul Pettey	Ford Mustang	57
60	T 2.0	54	Fred Opert	Paul Sanford Fred Opert	Porsche 911	53
61	T 5.0	14th	Sportscars Switzerland	Ulf Norinder Joakim Bonnier	Lola T70 Mk.IIIB GT	49
62	GT 5.0	88	Don Cummings	Randy Blessing Don Cummings Warren Stumes	Shelby GT350	45
63	T 2.0	88	Elsco Corporation	Ed Hugus Chuck Dietrich Eugene Nearburg	BMW 2002	36
64	S 3.0	48	Nationwide of Chicago Food Brothers Inc.	Mike Rahal Bill Straw Hugh Wise	Porsche 906	31
65	P 3.0	33	Autodelta SPA	Nino Vaccarella Lucien Bianchi	Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	17th
66	P 3.0	32	Autodelta SPA	Mario Casoni Andrea de Adamich	Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	15th
67	S 5.0	10	American International Racing Inc.	Scooter Patrick Dave Jordan	Lola T70 Mk.III GT	15th
68	P 2.0	68	HRH Corp.	Bill Scott Jim McDaniel Steve Pieper	Zinc VSR	13
69	P 2.0	67	Competition Components	Bill Boye Russ Shirey	Beach 4B	6th
70	P 3.0	34	Autodelta SPA	Nanni Galli Ignazio Giunti	Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	2
Not started
71	T 5.0	8th	Fred Van Beuren	Fred Van Beuren Raul Perez Gama Ruben Novoa	Pontiac Firebird	1
72	P 2.0	61	Gerry Racing Enterprise Inc.	Robert Samm Don Parks John Colgate	Lotus 47	2
73	P 3.0	31T	Porsche System Engineering	Gérard Larrousse Umberto Maglioli	Porsche 908/02	3

¹ accident during training ² engine damage during training ³ training cars

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	T 2.0		Joseph Greger	Joseph Greger	Porsche 911
75	S 3.0		Hugh Kleinpeter	Bob Beatty	Chevron B8
76	GT + 5.0		Robert Johnson	Robert Johnson	Chevrolet Corvette
77	P 2.0		Unipower	Roger Enever Piers Forester	Unipower GT
78	T 2.0		Fine grinding	Bert Everett Alan Johnson	Porsche 911
79	GT 2.0	T	British Leyland Motor Corporation		MGC
80	S 3.0	40T	Autodelta SPA	Mario Casoni	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2
81	GT 2.0	83	Kline Porsche Inc.	Jim Osborne Erwin Dollinger	Porsche 911
82	T 5.0	87	William Lowell	William Lowell Charles Pittenger Dave Dralle	Ford Mustang
83	GT 2.0	89	Bill Herrington	Jerry Walsh Robert Kilpatrick Rick Mansfield	MGB
84	P 2.0	91	Anatoly Arutunoff	Anatoly Arutunoff Dick Irish Bill Pryor	Abarth 2000SP
85	T 5.0	92	Haliff Racing Enterprises	Ed Hinchcliff Bill Clauson	Ford Mustang
86	T 2.0	95	Aztec Racing Ltd.	Ali Lugo Bruce Goldman	NSU Prince
87	GT 2.0	96	Herb Wetanson	Herb Wetanson Tony Adamowicz Ray Cuomo	Porsche 911
88	T 5.0	97	Roger Penske Racing Enterprises	Mark Donohue Ronnie Bucknum	Chevrolet Camaro

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
S 5.0	Jacky Ickx	Jackie Oliver		Ford GT40	Overall victory
S 3.0	Merv Rosen	Dave Morrell		Porsche 906	Rank 38
P 3.0	Chris Amon	Mario Andretti		Ferrari 312P	Rank 2
P 2.0	Fred Baker	Dick Smothers		Porsche 906E	Rank 8
GT + 5.0	Donald Yenko	Bob Grossman		Chevrolet Camaro Z / 28	Rank 10
GT 2.0	Gérard Larrousse	André Wicky	Jean Sage	Porsche 911T	Rank 12
T 5.0	Robin Ormes	Norberto Mastandrea		Chevrolet Camaro	Rank 19
T 2.0	Wilbur Pickett	Peter Gregg		Porsche 911	Rank 17

Racing data

• Registered: 88
• Started: 70
• Rated: 47
• Race classes: 8
• Spectators: 120000
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 8.369 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:01:24, 121 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 239
• Total distance of the winning team: 2000.093 km
• Winner's average: 166.347 km / h
• Pole position: Mario Andretti - Ferrari 312P (# 25) - 2: 40.140 = 188.129 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Chris Amon - Ferrari 312P (# 25) 2: 41,880 = 186.106 km / h
• Racing series: 2nd round of the 1969 sports car world championship
• Racing series: 1st round of the 1969 French Circuit 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

Previous race of the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona

Sports car world championship

Successor to the 6-hour race at Brands Hatch in 1969