Sebring 12 hour race in 1977

The Vasek Polak Interscope Racing- Porsche 934/5, with which Danny Ongais , Ted Field and Hurley Haywood finished fifth overall

The 25th Sebring 12-hour race , also Sebring 77, the 25th Running of The 12 Hours Endurance, Sebring Grand Prix Course , took place on March 19, 1977 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the second IMSA-GT race Series of this year.

The race

The 25th edition of the Sebring 12-hour race was supposed to be the big anniversary edition; In retrospect, however, this race was the one with the lowest participation of established professional racers and teams and the event where the circuit was in the worst shape in its history. As in 1971 Alec Ulmann , this time promoter John Greenwood announced the construction of a new race track including an oval course a few kilometers away from the airport circuit . As in 1971, the announcement remained.

The starting field was dominated by vehicles from the Porsche brand , the race itself by the Porsche 934/5 of Jim Busby and Peter Gregg , who had already gained a lead of five laps when a tire damage damaged the rear suspension and the car needed a lengthy repair forced the boxes. After a race to catch up, the car came back to the top before another tire defect threw the team back in third place. This cleared the way for George Dyer and Brad Frisselle to win in the Porsche Carrera RSR .

Hollywood glamor was created by the two American actors Paul Newman and Bobby Carradine , who took part in the race as drivers.

By the mid-1970s, audience behavior had also changed. This was mainly due to other groups that came to the race. At the beginning of 1952 , mainly young people and families with children came to Sebring and made the surroundings into a big family celebration, which caused almost no problems for the authorities. In the 1970s, more and more motorcycle gangs came to the track, and the idyll was over. The police had to intervene more and more often; there were excessive alcoholic drinks and rows of arrests. After the end of the race, Greenwood gave back the event rights and the race was back without a promoter.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	GTO	30th	George Dyer Racing	George Dyer Brad Frisselle	Porsche Carrera RSR	234
2	GTO	58	Diego Febles Racing	Diego Febles Hiram Cruz	Porsche Carrera RSR	229
3	GTO	61	Brumos Racing	Jim Busby Peter Gregg	Porsche 934/5	229
4th	GTO	09	Belcher Racing	John Gunn Gary Belcher	Porsche 934/5	228
5	GTO	0	Vasek Polak Interscope Racing	Danny Ongais Ted Field Hurley Haywood	Porsche 934/5	218
6th	GTO	9	Bytzek Automotive	Rudy Bartling Klaus Bytzek	Porsche Carrera RSR	217
7th	GTO	24	Executive Industries	Tom Frank Carl Shafer	Porsche Carrera RSR	214
8th	GTU	50	Motex car	Gerhard Hirsch Fritz Hochreuter Rainer Brezinka	Porsche 911S	203
9	GTU	27	Miami Auto Racing	Ray Mummery Jack Refenning Joseph Hamilton	Porsche 911S	203
10	GTO	07	Morrison's Inc.	Charles Mendez Dave Cowart	Porsche Carrera RSR	197
11	GTO	78		Phil Francis Eugenio Matienzo Tom Nowling	Chevrolet Camaro	196
12	GTO	39	Wiley Doran	Wiley Doran Jim Barnett Charles Fur	Chevrolet Corvette	194
13	GTU	11	Motoring enthusiasts	Gary Nylander Bobbee Nylander Michael Hammond	Porsche 911S	191
14th	GTU	70	Race car	Marion Speer Windle Turley	Porsche 911S	188
15th	GTU	60	R&R Racing	Rusty Bond Ren Tilton	Porsche 911S	187
16	GTO	72	Bill Arnold	Bill Arnold Billy Hagan	Chevrolet Corvette	185
17th	GTO	65	Modena Sports Cars	John Morton Bobby Carradine	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	184
18th	GTU	01	Sports Ltd. Racing	Bob Bergstrom Jim Cook	Porsche 911S	183
19th	GTU	06	Morrison's Inc.	Dave Panaccione Gary Mesnick Dana Roehrig	Porsche 911T	182
20th	GTU	7th	Hallet Motor Racing Circuit	Anatoly Arutunoff José Marina Brian Goellnot	Lancia Stratos	178
21st	GTO	49	Fillingham Racing	Sam Fillingham KP Jones Mike Williamson	Chevrolet Corvette	175
22nd	GTO	76	Mancuso Chevrolet	John Greenwood Burt Greenwood Rick Mancuso	Chevrolet Corvette	167
23	GTO	82	Tom Ross	Tom Ross Paul Tavilla	Ford Mustang	161
24	GTU	85	John Hulen	John Hulen Ron Coupland Dave Causey	Porsche 914/6	157
25th	GTU	2	Bill Freeman	Bill Freeman Paul Newman	Porsche 911S	150
26th	GTU	08	Busch Beer	Terry Wolters Lawrence Pleasants	Porsche 911S	144
27	GTO	44	Neil Potter	Neil Potter William Boyer	Ford Mustang	142
28	GTO	18th	Terry Wolters	Jack Swanson Wayne Miller	Chevrolet Camaro	138
29	GTU	03		Ron Oyler Carlos Muratti Martina's Smit	Renault R12	109
Failed
30th	GTO	05	Red Roof Inns Inc.	Jim Trueman Jerry Thompson Donald Yenko	Chevrolet Monza	172
31	GTU	51	Kirby-Hitchcock Racing	Robert Kirby John Hotchkis	Porsche 914/6	164
32	GTO	94	Tony Ansley	Tony Ansley Charles Gano Ron Connelly	Chevrolet Corvette	160
33	GTO	73	Howey Farms	Clark Howey Dale Chef David Crabtree	Chevrolet Corvette	157
34	GTO	64	Ramsey Ferrari of SF	Bob Bondurant Dick Smothers Milt Minter	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	151
35	GTO	10	Motex car	Hans Berner Willy Goebbels	Porsche Carrera	148
36	GTU	98	Conrad Racing	Juan Montalvo Tony Garcia Jorge DeCardenas	Porsche 911S	145
37	GTO	92	Mike Tillson Motor Racing	Mike Tillson David Olimpi	Porsche Carrera	135
38	GTO	46	Mauricio de Narváez	Mauricio de Narváez Albert Naon	Porsche Carrera RSR	130
39	AC	17th	Chitwood Racing	Tim Chitwood Vince Gimondo Joie Chitwood junior	Chevrolet Nova	128
40	GTO	15th	Javier Garcia	Javier Garcia Jack Baldwin George Garcia	Chevrolet Corvette	125
41	GTU	77	Bruce Jennings	Bruce Jennings Bill Bean	Porsche 911S	123
42	GTO	31	Kenneth LaGrow	Paul Bowden Jimmy Tumbleston Kenneth LaGrow	Chevrolet Camaro	122
43	GTU	22nd	Angel's Auto World	Bill King Jon Lehew	Datsun 240Z	120
44	GTO	80	Carmon Solomone	Fred Lang Carmon Solomone	Chevrolet Camaro	116
45	GTO	86	Hugh Kleinpeter	Hugh Kleinpeter Jef Stevens	De Tomaso Pantera	93
46	GTU	20th	Vince DiLella	Vince DiLella Manuel Cueto	Porsche 914/4	93
47	GTU	99	George Shafer Craig Shafer	George Shafer Craig Shafer Dick Scott	Datsun 240Z	89
48	GTO	4th	BR Racing	Mark Leuzinger David Redszus Mike Van der Werff	De Tomaso Pantera	89
49	GTU	54	Spirit Racing	Hal Sahlman Preston Henn Steve Cook	Porsche 914/6	81
50	GTU	71	The Foreign Exchange	Tom Bagley Chip Mead	Porsche 911S	77
51	GTO	8th	Bob Beasley	Bob Beasley George Stone	Porsche Carrera RSR	74
52	GTO	1	Harry Jones	Michael Keyser Harry Jones	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4	66
53	GTO	36	Motorcito Racing	Tico Almeida Rene Rodriguez Manuel Quintana	Chevrolet Camaro	62
54	GTO	48	Autodyne	John Carusso Luis Sereix Emory Donaldson	Chevrolet Corvette	59
55	GTO	68	Rick Hay	Phil Currin Rick Hay Rob Hoskins	Chevrolet Corvette	53
56	GTO	66	Ralph Noseda	Ralph Noseda Richard Small Jeff Loving	Chevrolet Camaro	49
57	GTU	67	Havatampa cigars	Dave White David McClain	Porsche 911S	48
58	GTU	29	Bonky Fernandez	Bonky Fernandez Manuel Godinez Tato Ferrer	Lotus Elan	47
59	GTO	55	Rick Thompkins	Jim Fitzgerald Rick Thompkins	Chevrolet Corvette	45
60	GTO	95	Robert Davis	Marty Hinze Robert Davis	Chevrolet Corvette	42
61	GTO	41	Jones Ind. Racing	Herb Jones Steve Lazy	Chevrolet Camaro	39
62	GTU	28	Paul Spruell	Gene Budd Walter Johnston Paul Spruell	Alfa Romeo Alfetta	38
63	GTO	40	Shulnburg Scrap Metal	Dave Heinz Robert Shulnburg John Brandt	Chevrolet Corvette	38
64	GTU	5	Pedro Vazquez	Pedro Vazquez Bill Wolfe Richard Weiss	Porsche 911S	35
65	GTO	37		Rollie Walriven Slim Helson	Chevrolet Camaro	35
66	GTU	52	Charles Kleinschmidt	Charles Kleinschmidt Guido Levetto	MGB GT	33
67	GTU	26th	Alfa Romeo South	Louis McAlpine Ernie Smith	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV	26th
68	GTU	88		Jim Borsos Dennis Aase	Porsche 911S	24
69	GTO	38	John Paul	John Paul Sr. John O'Steen John Graves Bob Hagestad	Porsche Carrera RSR	13
70	GTO	79		Don Nooe Jim Stricklin	Shelby GT350	10
71	GTO	19th	Richard Bostyan	Gene Felton Richard Bostyan Ray Kessler	Chevrolet Corvette	9
72	GTO	57	Starbrite	John Tunstall Chuck Wade	Porsche Carrera RSR	2
Not started
73	GTO	00	Interscope Racing	Danny Ongais Ted Field	Porsche 934	1
74	GTO	04	Bill Nelson Sr.	Dale Kreider Bob DeMarco	Pontiac Astre	2
75	GTO	75	Bob Christiansen	Bob Christiansen Ossie DeLay	Chevrolet Camaro	3
76	GTU	83	Bill Scott Racing	Les Delano John Barringer	Porsche 911S	4th
77	GTO	91	Fred Werl	Fred Werl Jay Miller Dan Slodowick	Ford Mustang	5
78	GTU	93	Ralph Tolman	Ralph Tolman Jim Fitzgerald Mike Brockman	Lotus Europe	6th

¹ Replacement car ² withdrawn ³ withdrawn ⁴ withdrawn ⁵ not started ⁶ not started

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
79	GTO	6th	Levi's team highball	Amos Johnson Dennis Shaw Steve Anderson	AMC Gremlin
80	GTO	13	University of Pittsburgh	Bob Fryer Donald Yenko Ed Lowther	AMC Javelin
81	GTO	14th	Dickinson Holbert	Al Holbert Michael Keyser	Chevrolet Monza
82	GTO	21st		Dale Kreider Jack Baldwin	Chevrolet Corvette
83	GTO	25th	Stephen Bond	Stephen Bond Dale Kreider	Chevrolet Monza
84	GTU	28	Richard Weiss	Raymond Gage Bill Alsup Richard Weiss	Porsche 911S
85	GTU	34	George Drolsom	George Drolsom Tom Bagley	Porsche 911S
86	GTO	36	Bill Boye	Bill Boye Peter Marinelli	AMC Gremlin
87	GTO	40	Robert LaMay	Robert LaMay	Ford Mustang
88	GTU	42	Bob Hindson	Bob Hindson Frank Carney Dick Davenport	Porsche 911S
89	GTU	45	Carlos Moran	Carlos Moran Enrique Molins	Porsche Carrera RSR
90	GTO	47	KWM Racing	Kenper Miller Paul Miller David Hobbs	BMW 3.0 CSL
91	GTU	57	Team Loon Racing	John Poulos Lee Wiese Jerry Walsh	Ford Pinto
92	GTU	62	Alfred Cosentino	Bill Bean John Kelly	Fiat X1 / 9
93	GTO	78	Babe's garage	Babe Headley Sam Feinstein Skip Panzarella	Chevrolet Corvette
94	GTO	79	Michael Callas	Michael Callas Adrian Gang	Porsche Carrera
95	GTO	89		Cliff Gottlob Dick Guldstrand Kirke Gottlob	Chevrolet Corvette
96	GTU	91	Joe Jones	Steve Jones Pete Levine	Ford Pinto
97	GTO	96	Clay Young	Gene Felton Buzz Cason James Reeve	Chevrolet Camaro

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
GTO	George Dyer	Brad Frisselle		Porsche Carrera RSR	Overall victory
GTU	Gerhard Hirsch	Fritz Hochreuter	Rainer Brezinka	Porsche 911S	Rank 8
AC	no participant in the finish

Racing data

• Registered: 97
• Started: 72
• Rated: 29
• Race classes: 3
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 8.369 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:00: 33.182 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 234
• Total distance of the winning team: 1958.250 km
• Winner's average: 163.062 km / h
• Pole position: Peter Gregg - Porsche 934/5 (# 61) - 2: 47.003 - 180.398 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Peter Gregg - Porsche 934/5 (# 61) - 2: 47.444 - 179.923 km / h
• Racing series: 2nd round of the IMSA GT series 1977

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 Racing Sports Cars

Previous race 24 Hours of Daytona 1977

IMSA GT Championship

Succession race 100-mile race at Road Atlanta in 1977, the first race