1972 Sebring 12 hour race

Ferrari 312PB

The Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 with the original start number 33; here at a racing event in Silverstone 2007. With this car Nino Vaccarella and Toine Hezemans finished third in the overall standings at Sebring

Datsun 240Z; the Americans Craig Ross and Jacques Groleau drove a 240Z in the race, but were not classified due to insufficient distance

The 21st Sebring 12-hour race , also The Florida International 12-Hours of Endurance Sebring, Sebring , took place on March 25, 1972 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the third round of the World Sports Car Championship of that year.

The race

The end of an era

At the organizers' annual press conference before the race, founder and promoter Alec Ulmann announced the end of the Sebring 12-hour race with this year's race event. In the years before that, Ulmann kept talking about not wanting to hold the race any longer for various reasons. The constant search for sponsorship money and the pressure from the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile had hit the race organizer. At the beginning of the Sports Car World Championship in 1972 , FISA announced that it would remove the 12-hour race from the racing calendar of the World Championship from the 1973 season . Constant points of conflict were the lack of safety equipment at the Sebring International Raceway and the lack of infrastructure around the track.

Every year around 100,000 people - spectators and racing staff - came to the small town of Sebring , which had just under 10,000 inhabitants, on the race weekend . Over the years, the race , which had been held since 1952, had developed into the most important sports car race in North America. No other race for sports cars and GT cars in the United States and Canada attracted as many spectators as the Sebring event. The lack of accommodation in Sebring was no problem for many teams. The Florida cities of Orlando and Tampa are only 130 and 140 km from Sebring, respectively. Getting to Orlando International Airport was relatively easy for many team members coming from Europe. In contrast to Sebring, the second well-known international American sports car race, the Daytona 24-hour race launched in 1966 by Bill France senior, never established itself as a crowd-puller. To this day, Daytona suffers from the lack of racing fans in great numbers.

Ulmann gave up the organization of the event in 1972; However, the 12-hour race that he had predicted did not stop. In 1973 the International Motor Sports Association took over the racing organization. The status as a sports car world championship race was lost for a few years, but this race is still the most popular sports car race in the United States.

The course of the race

Sebring was the third round of the world championship this year. Both previous events, the 1000 km race in Buenos Aires and the 6-hour race in Daytona , ended with overall victories for Scuderia Ferrari . Ronnie Peterson and Tim Schenken won the Autódromo Juan y Oscar Alfredo Gálvez ; at Daytona International Speedway were Mario Andretti and Jacky Ickx successful. Both times a Ferrari 312PB was the emergency vehicle. In Sebring, too, the works Ferraris were favorites. The biggest competition for Ferrari came from Alfa Romeo . The Alfa Romeo T33 / 3 suffered from many technical problems. Only one company car made it to the finish line; However, Nino Vaccarella and Toine Hezemans were 22 laps behind the victorious Ferrari of Andretti and Ickx in the final classification.

The inglorious climax of the race was an incident involving Alfa Romeo works driver Peter Revson . Revson had passed under the yellow flag, making obscene gestures at the marshals. The American was then disqualified and excluded from the rest of the race. The car, whose cockpit he shared with Rolf Stommelen , broke down a little later after a clutch failure.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	S 3.0	2	Ferrari	Mario Andretti Jacky Ickx	Ferrari 312PB	259
2	S 3.0	3	Ferrari	Ronnie Peterson Tim Schenken	Ferrari 312PB	257
3	P 3.0	33	Autodelta SPA	Nino Vaccarella Toine Hezemans	Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	233
4th	GT + 2.5	57	Dana English	Dave Heinz Robert Johnson	Chevrolet Corvette	221
5	GT 2.5	59	Brumos Porsche Audi Corp.	Peter Gregg Hurley Haywood	Porsche 911S	215
6th	S 3.0	12	Ecurie Bonnier	Gérard Larrousse Joakim Bonnier Reine Wisell	Lola T280	213
7th	S 3.0	39	Roland Brezinka	Roman Pechmann Rudy Bartling Milt Minter	Porsche 910	213
8th	GT + 2.5	22nd	NART	Luigi Chinetti Jr. Bob Grossman	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	210
9	GT 2.5	78	Daniel Muniz	Daniel Muniz José Luis Ruben Novoa	Porsche 914/6	207
10	T 5.0	17th	Takondo Racing	Vince Gimondo Billy Dingman	Chevrolet Camaro	205
11	GT 2.5	77	Bruce Jennings	Bruce Jennings Bob Beasley	Porsche 911S	202
12	GT 2.5	28	Porsche Kremer Racing Team	Erwin Kremer Juan Carlos Bolaños	Porsche 911S	201
13	GT + 2.5	21st	NART	Tony Adamowicz Sam Posey	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	199
14th	GT 2.5	41	Kirill Racing	Peter Kirill Russ Norburn	Porsche 911S	196
15th	GT 2.5	27	Bozzani Porsche Audi Inc.	Robert Kirby John Hotchkis	Porsche 914/6	189
16	GT 2.5	69	Holbert's Porsche-Audi Inc.	Dieter Oest Mike Tillson Al Holbert	Porsche 911T	186
17th	GT + 2.5	47	Sebring Racing Inc.	Bob Gray Terry Keller	Chevrolet Corvette	181
18th	S 2.0	38	Hobby Car Enterprises	Bob Fisher Bruce Ponder	Chevron B16	176
19th	GT + 2.5	18th	Ring Free Oil Racing Team	Harry Ingle Charles Reynolds	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	175
20th	S 2.0	25th	Fred Opert	Nick Craw Bill Barber	Chevron B19	173
21st	S 2.0	74	Carousel Porsche Audi Inc.	Merv Rosen Jerry Schaub	Porsche 906	172
22nd	S 2.0	56	Promotional Advertising Corp.	Tom Waugh Bob Beatty	Lola T212	167
23	T 5.0	94	Bolus & Snopes Ltd.	Bob Mitchell Bob Christiansen	Chevrolet Camaro	166
24	GT + 2.5	50	John Greenwood Racing	Donald Yenko John Cordts	Chevrolet Corvette	163
25th	GT 2.5	58	Brumos Porsche Audi Corp.	Hector Rebaque senior Guillermo Rojas	Porsche 914/6	152
26th	T 5.0	10	CC Canada Lumber Co. Inc.	John Tremblay David Ellis-Brown	Chevrolet Camaro	146
27	GT 2.5	68	H&S Imports Racing	Robert Stoddard Joe Hines Frank Harmstad	Porsche 914/6	146
28	T 2.5	24	Libra International Racing	John Buffum John Fitzpatrick	Ford Escort RS1600	97
Not classified
29	GT 2.5	73	Ross Racing Ltd.	Craig Ross Jacques Groleau	Datsun 240Z	121
Failed
30th	S 3.0	4th	Ferrari	Clay Regazzoni Brian Redman	Ferrari 312PB	215
31	GT + 2.5	48	John Greenwood Racing	John Greenwood Dick Smothers	Chevrolet Corvette	179
32	T 5.0	9	Endurance Promotions Inc.	Michael Summers Bob McClure	Chevrolet Camaro	145
33	T 5.0	44	Larrauri Racing	Manuel Garcia Robert Cao	Chevrolet Nova	137
34	T 5.0	46	Sebring Racing Inc.	Neil Potter Oran Ansley Bill Hood	Ford Mustang	130
35	S 3.0	32	Autodelta SpA	Vic Elford Helmut Marko	Alfa Romeo T33 / TT / 3	128
36	S 3.0	31	Autodelta SpA	Rolf Stommelen Peter Revson	Alfa Romeo T33 / TT / 3	117
37	T 5.0	11	Troy Promotions Inc.	Tony DeLorenzo Jerry Thompson	Ford Mustang	116
38	GT 2.5	16	Toad Hall Racing	Michael Keyser Jürgen Barth	Porsche 911S	102
39	T 5.0	42	Garcia Racing	Ralph Noseda Jorge Garcia Mark Livingston	Chevrolet Camaro	92
40	T 5.0	89	Rinzler Motoracing Inc.	Houghton Smith Bert Gafford	Chevrolet Camaro	91
41	S 2.0	52	Promotional Advertising Corp.	Hugh Kleinpeter Tony Belcher	Chevron B21	85
42	T 5.0	37	Gary Belcher	Gary Belcher Jef Stevens	Chevrolet Camaro	84
43	S 2.0	26th	Fred Opert	Rodolfo Junco Fred van Beuren	Chevron B19	76
44	T 5.0	35	Vincent Collins	Vincent Collins Roberto Gonzalez Jack Beall	Chevrolet Camaro	76
45	GT 2.5	76	Silverstone Racing Team	George Stone Russ Poole	Porsche 911T	64
46	S 2.0	54	Automobiles International Inc.	Anatoly Arutunoff Brian Goellnot	Abarth 2000SP	57
47	GT + 2.5	1	Kirk F. White Motor Racing Inc.	David Hobbs Skip Scott	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	53
48	GT 2.5	19th	David McClain	David McClain Dave White	Porsche 914/6	51
49	T 5.0	80	Preston Hood Chevrolet Inc.	John Elliott Bill McDill	Chevrolet Camaro	50
50	S 3.0	7th	Gulf Research Racing Company	Derek Bell Gijs van Lennep	Mirage M6	48
51	S 3.0	34	Autodelta SpA	Andrea de Adamich Nanni Galli	Alfa Romeo T33 / TT / 3	37
52	GT + 2.5	30th	Florida Tire Co. Inc.	Manuel Quintana John Belperche	Shelby GT350	33
53	T 5.0	8th	Automotive Engineering Enterprises	Tom Nehl Jim Fitzgerald	Chevrolet Camaro	31
54	GT 2.5	61	Jim Locke	Jim Locke Bob Bailey	Porsche 911S	23
55	GT 2.5	70	Lee McDonald-Algar Porsche Audi Inc.	Lee McDonald Bert Everett	Porsche 914/6	22nd
56	GT + 2.5	23	Rinzler Motoracing Inc. Holiday Anns of America	Charlie Kemp Oscar Koveleski	Chevrolet Corvette	21st
57	T 5.0	97	Roberto Quintanilla	Roberto Quintanilla Jose Martinez	Chevrolet Camaro	20th
58	T 5.0	43	Garcia Racing	Luis Sereix Javier Garcia	Chevrolet Camaro	15th
59	S 2.0	63	Joseph Greger	Joseph Greger Arthur Blank	Porsche 910	10
60	S 2.0	55	Roger McCaig Racing	Roger McCaig Maurice McCaig	Lola T212	7th
61	GT 2.5	15th	Toad Hall Racing	Bill Bean Levon Pentecost	Porsche 911S	5
Not started
62	GT + 2.5	29	Iroquois Racing Associates	Ken Schumacher Bob Kiefer	Chevrolet Corvette	1
63	GT + 2.5	45	TC Racing	Brad West John Tunstall	Shelby GT350	2
64	T 2.5	51	Richard Crebs	Richard Crebs Bill Jobe	Alfa Romeo GTV	3
65	GT + 2.5	63	Central New York Endurance Racing	Bob Baechle Roger Burdick	Chevrolet Corvette	4th
66	S 3.0		Autodelta SpA		Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	5
67	S 3.0	32T	Autodelta SpA		Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	6th
68	S 2.0	53	Don Baumgartner	Don Baumgartner Don Herman Reed Andrews	Chevron B8	7th
Not qualified
69	T 5.0	60	Robert Fordyce	Robert Fordyce Richard Small	Chevrolet Camaro	8th
70	T 2.5	67	Frossman Racing Service	Bob Armstrong Rod Bremner	Mazda R100	9
71	T 2.5	75	Clearwater Datsun	Bobby Clark Ray Kessler	Datsun 510	10
72	GT + 2.5	79	Arrow Racing Team	Eddie Johnson Clay Young	Chevrolet Camaro	11
73	T 2.5	84	Chem Air Spray Inc.	Juan Montalvo John Pauley	BMW 2002	12

¹ Engine damage during training ² not started ³ withdrawn ⁴ not started ⁵ training car ⁶ training car ⁷ excluded from training due to illegal fuel ⁸ not qualified ⁹ not qualified ¹⁰ not qualified ¹¹ not qualified ¹² not qualified

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 2.5	36	Willie Braillard	Willie Braillard Teddy Pilette	Porsche 911S
75	GT + 2.5	40	Larry Class	Larry Class Bob Clemens John Geist	Chevrolet Corvette
76	GT 2.5	40	Jean Sage	Jean Sage Claude Haldi	Porsche 911S
77	T 5.0	88	Rinzler Motoracing Inc.	Wilbur Pickett Ed McIntyre	Chevrolet Camaro

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
S 3.0	Mario Andretti	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari 312PB	Overall victory
S 2.0	Bob Fisher	Bruce Ponder	Chevron B16	Rank 16
GT + 2.5	Dave Heinz	Robert Johnson	Chevrolet Corvette	Rank 4
GT 2.5	Peter Gregg	Hurley Haywood	Porsche 911S	Rank 5
T 5.0	Vince Gimondo	Billy Dingman	Chevrolet Camaro	Rank 10
T 2.5	John Buffum	John Fitzpatrick	Ford Escort RS1600	Rank 27

Racing data

• Registered: 77
• Started: 61
• Rated: 28
• Race classes: 6
• Spectators: 55,000
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 8.369 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:04: 41.006 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 259
• Total distance of the winning team: 2167.465 km
• Winner's average: 179.455 km / h
• Pole position: Mario Andretti - Ferrari 312PB (# 2) - 2,31,440 - 198.936 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Ronnie Peterson - Ferrari 312PB (# 3) - 2.33.800 - 195.885 km / h
• Racing series: 3rd round of the 1972 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

• Race results at Wsrp

Individual evidence

1. ^ Obituary for the death of Alec Ulmann in 1986 (English)
2. ↑ Alec Ulmann in the middle in front of the microphone

Previous race 6 Hours of Daytona 1972

Sports car world championship

Successor race of the Brands Hatch 1000 km race in 1972