Sebring 12 hour race 1970
The 19th Sebring 12-hour race , also known as the Sebring 12 Hours of Endurance for the Alitalia Airline Trophy, Sebring , took place on March 21, 1970 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the second round of the sports car world championship of that year.
The race
Before the race
The 1970 Sports Car World Championship began on February 1, 1970 with the Daytona 24-hour race . The event ended with a one-two win for John Wyer's team . Pedro Rodríguez , Leo Kinnunen and Brian Redman won ahead of the second Porsche 917K, which was driven by the Swiss Joseph Siffert alongside Redman . On the third point, the placed factory - Ferrari 512 of Mario Andretti , ARTURO MERZARIO and Jacky Ickx .
The appearance in Sebring was of particular importance for the Scuderia. The Italian racing team had not won at the Sebring airfield since 1964 (back then, Mike Parkes and Umberto Maglioli won in a Ferrari 275P ). Since the success of Chris Amon and Lorenzo Bandini in February 1967 at the Daytona 24-hour race , the Scuderia had not won any races in the World Sports Car Championship; a circumstance that caused a bad mood among the management in Maranello. Since the last few years were also marked by failures in the Formula 1 World Championship , the pressure on the works team was great. Last year , Amon and Andretti finished second overall in the 312P , but the fact that Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver's winning car , a Ford GT40 prepared by John Wyer , was already four years old, was perceived as humiliating at the Ferrari factory. There were now four 512S at the start. Three of them had the Spyder hardtop roof. The Scuderia reported three vehicles and the North American Racing Team took the fourth to the start. The team of Luigi Chinetti appointed a 312P.
Ferrari's strongest competition grew out of Porsche's commitment . There were four 917K at the start ; two of them, driven by Pedro Rodríguez, Leo Kinnunen, Brian Redman and Joseph Siffert, were by JW Automotive Engineering Ltd. used, the other two reported by the Porsche-Audi general importer, but looked after and maintained by the Porsche works team. These prototypes were piloted by Vic Elford , Hans Herrmann , Rudi Lins and Kurt Ahrens . However, the works team had a total of seven racing cars at the start. In addition to the 917 models, there were two 908 / 03s and a Porsche 906 . Another Porsche 908 attracted particular public attention: the car with the number 48 was driven by Peter Revson and American actor Steve McQueen .
Also Matra and Alfa Romeo in motorsport were represented at Sebring with vehicles. The Matra MS650 were driven by Henri Pescarolo , Johnny Servoz-Gavin , Dan Gurney and the young François Cevert . Toine Hezemans , Masten Gregory and Rolf Stommelen , among others, were employed at Alfa Romeo .
New start procedure
The Le Mans start , introduced in 1925 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans , had also been common at Sebring since 1952 . After John Woolfe's fatal accident in Le Mans in 1969 , this starting process came under heavy criticism. The protests of the drivers, who walk across the street to their stationary vehicles and only then have to start the engine, increased. The main criticism was that the drivers could not seat their seat belt properly and some of them drove to the first pit stop of the race without wearing the seat belt.
In Sebring, the tradition was abandoned from 1970 and the Indianapolis start was adopted, in which the vehicles cover the introductory lap behind the pace car and are sent into the race at full speed as they cross the starting line.
The course of the race
Looking back, the 1970 Sebring race is the most exciting in the long history of this event and one of the tightest long-distance races ever. The fastest in training was Arturo Merzario in the factory Ferrari 512S, who needed a time of 2,33,500 minutes for the 8.369 km long distance. This time corresponded to an average speed of 196.266 km / h. Behind them were the two Porsche 917s from Siffert / Redman / Kinnunen and Elford / Ahrens.
After the Indianapolis start, Mario Andretti took the lead in a Ferrari in front of the two Porsches of Jo Siffert and Vic Elford. From midfield onwards, the first corners were chaotic. As the vehicles jammed behind the pace car, which was moving far too slowly, on the introductory lap, there were too many cars in a confined space on the track on the first lap, which led to many evasive maneuvers outside the track. The two Lola T70s from Bob Brown and Mike De Udy collided immediately ; Both cars were able to continue, although de Udy, who shared the cockpit with Mike Hailwood , had to retire on the first lap due to a brake defect.
The Andretti / Merzario-Ferrari dominated almost the entire race, involved in tough duels with the two Wyer-Porsches. In the meantime, the Scuderia works car was already 1½ laps ahead. Then Merzario pitted with transmission problems and had to retire; The Wyer-Porsche with the number 15 took the lead, with the Swiss Joseph Siffert at the wheel. 30 minutes before the end of the race, Ferrari team manager Mauro Forghieri decided to put Andretti behind the wheel of the Ferrari with the number 21. However, the car was one lap behind the Wyer-Porsche. The American pilot began a daring catch-up and rounded back. A few laps before the end, Siffert had to pit with engine problems and fell back. With that, Peter Revson led ahead of Andretti. On the Revson / McQueen-Porsche 908, neither tires nor brake pads were changed during the entire race. The time saved during the pit stops brought the car into a top position. With four laps to go, Andretti overtook his compatriot and took the lead, but had to pit for a short stop two laps before the end because the 512S ran out of fuel. Refueled, he stormed out of the pit, overtook Revson on the last lap just before the finish line and secured Ferrari a much-acclaimed victory.
Results
Final ranking
Item | class | No. | team | driver | vehicle | Round | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | S 5.0 | 21st | Ferrari SPA SEFAC |
Ignazio Giunti Nino Vaccarella Mario Andretti |
Ferrari 512S | 248 | ||
2 | P 3.0 | 48 | Solar Productions Inc. |
Steve McQueen Peter Revson |
Porsche 908/02 | 248 | ||
3 | P 3.0 | 33 | Autodelta SPA |
Toine Hezemans Masten Gregory |
Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 | 247 | ||
4th | S 5.0 | 15th | JW Automotive Engineering Ltd. |
Pedro Rodríguez Leo Kinnunen Joseph Siffert |
Porsche 917K | 244 | ||
5 | P 3.0 | 34 | Equipe Matra-Elf |
Henri Pescarolo Johnny Servoz-Gavin |
Matra-Simca MS650 | 242 | ||
6th | P 3.0 | 22nd | NART |
Mike Parkes Chuck Parsons |
Ferrari 312P Coupe | 240 | ||
7th | P 3.0 | 46 | International Martini Racing Team |
Gerhard Koch Gérard Larrousse Richard Attwood |
Porsche 908/02 | 236 | ||
8th | P 3.0 | 31 | Autodelta SPA |
Piers Courage Andrea de Adamich |
Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 | 231 | ||
9 | P 3.0 | 32 | Autodelta SPA |
Rolf Stommelen Nanni Galli |
Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 | 230 | ||
10 | GT + 5.0 | 1 | Troy Promotions Inc. |
Tony DeLorenzo Dick Lang
|
Chevrolet Corvette | 219 | ||
11 | GT + 5.0 | 3 | Doug Bergen Racing |
Bob Johnson Robert Johnson Jim Greendyke
|
Chevrolet Corvette | 214 | ||
12 | P 3.0 | 35 | Equipe Matra-Elf |
Dan Gurney François Cevert |
Matra-Simca MS650 | 213 | ||
13 | GT 2.0 | 53 | Brumos Porsche Audi Corp. |
Peter Gregg Pete Harrison
|
Porsche 911T | 205 | ||
14th | T 5.0 | 40 | Takondo Racing |
Vince Gimondo Chuck Dietrich
|
Chevrolet Camaro | 205 | ||
15th | GT 2.0 | 52 | Jacques Duval |
Jacques Duval Bob Bailey George Nicholas
|
Porsche 911T | 201 | ||
16 | T 5.0 | 39 | Bob Mitchell |
Charlie Kemp Bob Mitchell
|
Chevrolet Camaro | 191 | ||
17th | GT + 5.0 | 9 | Marlbank Racing Team |
Bob Grossman Donald Yenko |
Chevrolet Camaro | 189 | ||
18th | T 5.0 | 43 | Bruce Behens Racing |
John Tremblay Bill McDill
|
Chevrolet Camaro | 187 | ||
19th | P 2.0 | 73 | Ring Free Oil Racing Team Baker Motor Co. |
Janet Guthrie Rosemary Smith Judy Kondratiff
|
Austin-Healey Sprite | 187 | ||
20th | GT + 5.0 | 2 | Troy Promotions Inc. |
Jerry Thompson John Mahler
|
Chevrolet Corvette | 187 | ||
21st | T 5.0 | 9 | Flem-Cor Enterprises |
Jim Corwin Donna Mae Mims
|
Chevrolet Camaro | 184 | ||
22nd | T 5.0 | 92 | Preston Hood Chevrolet Inc. John Elliott |
Don Gwynne John Elliott
|
Chevrolet Camaro | 182 | ||
23 | S 3.0 | 50 | Nationwide Food Brokers Racing Team |
Mike Rahal Hugh Wise Werner Frank
|
Porsche 906 | 181 | ||
24 | T 5.0 | 37 | Collins-Wilson Racing |
Vincent Collins Larry Wilson
|
Ford Mustang | 175 | ||
25th | GT 2.0 | 57 | Waldron Enterprises Inc. |
John Belperche Jim Gammon Ray Mummery
|
MGB | 175 | ||
26th | GT 2.0 | 58 | Waldron Enterprises Inc. |
Ben Scott Dave Houser Lowell Lanier
|
MGB | 169 | ||
27 | T 5.0 | 18th | Paul Pettey |
Paul Pettey Roy Hallquist
|
Ford Mustang | 162 | ||
28 | T 2.0 | 80 | Texas Speed Museum |
Rod Kennedy Mike Tillson Robert Samm
|
Lancia Fulvia HF | 157 | ||
Not classified | ||||||||
29 | P 2.0 | 54 | Automobiles of Italy Inc. |
Anatoly Arutunoff Bill Pryor
|
Abarth 2000SP | 166 | ||
30th | S 3.0 | 51 | Porsche Audi VWNC |
Stephen Behr Merv Rosen
|
Porsche 906 | 158 | ||
31 | S 3.0 | 63 | Carlos Fabre |
Carlos Fabre Pepe Aguilar
|
Chevron B8 | 143 | ||
32 | S 5.0 | 26th | Randy's Auto Body |
Bob Brown Gregg Young Robin Ormes
|
Lola T70 Mk.IIIB GT | 114 | ||
33 | T 2.0 | 97 | HCAS Inc. |
Walter Brown Buzz Marcus Jim Sandman
|
BMW 2002 | 105 | ||
Disqualified | ||||||||
34 | T 2.0 | 88 | Simone Fleming |
Paul Fleming Amos Johnson Bill Bowers
|
Fiat 124 Coupe | 47 | ||
35 | P 3.0 | 45 | International Martini Racing Team |
Richard Attwood Gérard Larrousse Gerhard Koch
|
Porsche 908/02 | 31 | ||
Failed | ||||||||
36 | P 3.0 | 47 | Racing Team AAW |
Hans Laine Gijs van Lennep |
Porsche 908/02 | 229 | ||
37 | S 5.0 | 19th | Ferrari SPA SEFAC |
Mario Andretti Arturo Merzario |
Ferrari 512S Spyder | 227 | ||
38 | S 5.0 | 14th | JW Automotive Engineering Ltd. |
Joseph Siffert Brian Redman Leo Kinnunen
|
Porsche 917K | 211 | ||
39 | GT + 5.0 | 8th | Or Costanzo |
Dave Heinz or Costanzo
|
Chevrolet Corvette | 191 | ||
40 | GT + 5.0 | 4th | John Greenwood |
John Greenwood Allan Barker
|
Chevrolet Corvette | 159 | ||
41 | S 5.0 | 20th | Ferrari SPA SEFAC |
Jacky Ickx Peter Schetty |
Ferrari 512S Spyder | 151 | ||
42 | GT 2.0 | 56 | British Leyland Motors Inc. |
Jon Woodner Dan O'Connor
|
MG Midget | 122 | ||
43 | S 5.0 | 29 | Auto Enterprises |
Ray Heppenstall Francis Grant
|
Ford GT40 | 117 | ||
44 | S 5.0 | 24 | NART |
Sam Posey Ronnie Bucknum Bert Everett
|
Ferrari 512S Spyder | 92 | ||
45 | GT 2.0 | 55 | British Leyland Motors Inc. |
Merle Brennan Logan Blackburn
|
MGB | 84 | ||
46 | T 2.0 | 82 | General Plastics |
Robert Clark Wayne Marsula
|
Lancia Fulvia HF | 78 | ||
47 | GT 2.0 | 77 | Bruce Jennings |
Bruce Jennings Bob Tullius |
Porsche 911T | 78 | ||
48 | GT 2.0 | 69 | Scuderia Spruell |
Paul Spruell Wilbur Pickett
|
Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider | 75 | ||
49 | P 2.0 | 61 | Ring Free Oil Racing Team Baker Motor Co. |
Jim Baker Clive Baker Paul Richards Bobby Rinzler
|
Chevron B16 | 70 | ||
50 | S 5.0 | 16 | Porsche Audi |
Vic Elford Kurt Ahrens |
Porsche 917K | 61 | ||
51 | P 3.0 | 23 | NART |
Tony Adamowicz Luigi Chinetti Jr. |
Ferrari 312P Coupe | 56 | ||
52 | P 2.0 | 67 | Sport Motors |
Jim Bandy Fred Stevenson
|
Lotus 47 | 48 | ||
53 | T 5.0 | 38 | David McClain |
Don Kearney Joie Chitwood Junior |
Chevrolet Camaro | 47 | ||
54 | T 5.0 | 41 | Laurel Racing Larry Drover |
Larry Bock Larry Dent
|
Chevrolet Camaro | 40 | ||
55 | P 2.0 | 62 | Chevron Cars |
Brian Robinson Hugh Kleinpeter
|
Chevron B16 | 38 | ||
56 | GT 2.0 | 74 | Ralph Meaney Inc. |
Ralph Meaney Bill Bean
|
Porsche 911T | 36 | ||
57 | GT + 5.0 | 5 | Bill Schumacher |
Bill Schumacher Bill Petree
|
Chevrolet Corvette | 34 | ||
58 | S 5.0 | 17th | Porsche Audi |
Hans Herrmann Rudi Lins |
Porsche 917K | 28 | ||
59 | T 2.0 | 87 | Robert Whitaker |
Robert Whitaker Harvey Eckoff Jack Slottag
|
Volvo 122S | 25th | ||
60 | S 5.0 | 30th | Trevor Graham |
Piers Forester Andrew Hedges |
Ford GT40 | 22nd | ||
61 | S 3.0 | 49 | Joseph Greger |
Joseph Greger Andreas Schmalbach
|
Porsche 910 | 22nd | ||
62 | T 5.0 | 36 | Ray Cuomo Racing |
Ray Cuomo Bernard Gimbel George Lisberg
|
Ford Mustang | 16 | ||
63 | T 2.0 | 86 | Sandy's Spares |
Ron Polimeni Robert Theall
|
Volvo 122S | 8th | ||
64 | GT + 5.0 | 7th | Bruce Morehead Racing |
Bruce Morehead Milo Vega
|
AMC AMX | 8th | ||
65 | GT 2.0 | 60 | Herrington Motors |
Robert Kilpatrick Don Goodrich
|
MGB | 7th | ||
66 | P 2.0 | 59 | Waldron Motors |
Reggie Smith Dean Donley Omar Buttari
|
MG Midget | 2 | ||
67 | T 2.0 | 79 | Del Taylor |
Del Russo Taylor Buzz Dyer Hank Sheldon
|
Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 2 | ||
68 | S 5.0 | 27 | Grand Bahama Racing Car Co. Ltd. |
Mike De Udy Mike Hailwood |
Lola T70 Mk.IIIB GT | 1 | ||
Not started | ||||||||
69 | T 5.0 | 12 | BRM Inc. |
Dave Roethel John Bentley
|
Ford Mustang Boss 302 | 1 | ||
70 | GT 5.0 | 26th | Harley Cluxton |
Harley Cluxton Wilbur Pickett
|
Ferrari 365 GTB / 4 | 2 | ||
71 | T 2.0 | 85 | HCAS Inc. |
William Cooper Norm Mosher
|
Opel rally | 3 | ||
72 | P 2.0 | 99 | William Harris |
William Harris Robert Lewis Howard LeVasseur
|
Austin-Healey Sprite | 4th | ||
73 | S 5.0 | T | JW Automotive Engineering Ltd. |
Joseph Siffert Brian Redman
|
Porsche 917K | 5 | ||
74 | T 2.0 | 81 | Texas Speed Museum |
Rod Kennedy Robert Samm Mike Tillson
|
Lancia Fulvia HF | 6th |
1 withdrawn 2 withdrawn 3 withdrawn 4 withdrawn 5 training car 6 training car
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
75 | T + 5.0 | 10 | Jim Hall |
Jim Hall Hap Sharp |
Chevrolet Camaro |
76 | T + 5.0 | 11 | Jim Hall |
Ed Leslie Tom Dutton
|
Chevrolet Camaro |
77 | P 3.0 | 26th | North American Racing Team | Ferrari 312P | |
78 | T 5.0 | 42 | Troy Promotions Inc. | Chevrolet Camaro | |
79 | GT 5.0 | 44 | Jean Sage |
Jean Sage Claude Haldi |
Porsche 911S |
80 | T 2.0 | 83 | Dieter Oest |
Dieter Oest Barry Batchin
|
Lancia Fulvia |
81 | GT + 5.0 | 89 | Cliff thank god |
Cliff Thank God Dave Doole
|
Chevrolet Corvette |
82 | S 5.0 | 89 | Joe Randazzo | Bob Brown | Lola T70 Mk.IIIB |
83 | T 5.0 | 93 | Ed Matthews |
Don Sesslar Ed Matthews
|
Ford Mustang |
Class winner
Racing data
- Registered: 83
- Started: 68
- Rated: 28
- Race classes: 9
- Spectators: 60,000
- Race day weather: warm and dry
- Route length: 8.369 km
- Driving time of the winning team: 12:01: 11,300 hours
- Total laps of the winning team: 248
- Total distance of the winning team: 2075.410 km
- Winner's average: 172.667 km / h
- Pole position: Arturo Merzario - Ferrari 512S Spyder (# 19) - 2: 33.500 = 196.266 km / h
- Fastest race lap: Leo Kinnunen - Porsche 917K (# 14) - 2: 32.770 = 197.204 km / h
- Racing series: 2nd round of the 1970 sports car world 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
Individual evidence
Previous race of the 24 Hours of Daytona 1970 |
Sports car world championship |
Follow -up race 1000 km at Brands Hatch 1970 |