1982 Sebring 12 hour race

Lola T600 ......

..... and Ferrari 512BB / LM; GTP prototypes in Sebring

The 30th Sebring 12-hour race , also the 30th Anniversary Coca-Cola Twelve Hours of Sebring Camel GT, Sebring Airport , took place on March 20, 1982 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the second round of the IMSA GTP series this year.

The race

1982 was the second season of the IMSA-GTP series , and slowly the change in the starting field began. Up to now, only GT vehicles of different classes were allowed to compete in the races of the International Motor Sports Association , but in 1981 the opening for GTP racing cars took place. The first prototypes were the Chevron GTP and the Lola T600 . The development of the T600 goes back on the one hand to this new regulation and on the other hand to the British racing driver Brian Redman . Redman and the owners of the American racing team Cooke-Woods Racing were looking for a racing car for the newly created series. Redman reached out to Eric Broadley , the owner of Lola Cars. The original idea of equipping a Lola T70 chassis with a new body was discarded and a completely new racing car was developed instead. The French racing car designer Max Sardou constructed a ground-effect vehicle that was clad with an aluminum body. The two rear wheels were completely covered. When changing tires, a flap had to be removed first to get to the tires. A V8 6-liter unit from Chevrolet was intended as the engine for the IMSA-GTP variant . There were also the March 82G and the Ferrari 512BB / LM in the GTP class .

There was a noticeable trend towards more internationality among the drivers. From the mid-1970s onwards, North and Central American pilots were the main drivers, but in 1982 more Europeans found their way into US sports car racing. In general, at the beginning of the 1980s, the race found its way back to a much-noticed sports car event every year. In 1982, 63,000 spectators came to the track on race day, and US television stations broadcast the race live again. Al Holbert (born 1946 ), then one of the best-known and most popular North American sports car drivers, recalled in an interview how he had followed the broadcast on the radio in the 1950s and heard about the successes of his father, Bob .

The best training time was achieved by Bobby Rahal , who broke the 200 km / h barrier in March 82G with a time of 2: 27.067 minutes. This time corresponded to an average speed of 204.853 km / h. He was 3 km / h faster than the Swiss Joseph Siffert , who drove the fastest qualifying lap to date in a Porsche 917 in 1971 . During training, the actor James Brolin , who drove with the professional drivers Jim Busby and Doc Bundy , had an accident in which he destroyed the Porsche 924 Carrera . To make amends, he had to serve the team's grill the night before the race .

The 1982 race was one of the worst of this Sebring phase. After four hours of racing, more than a third of the field was out. One of the first was John Fitzpatrick , who had an accident after just seven laps. With the exception of the winner, every team that was in the lead ran into difficulties and either had to give up or fall behind. The winning car, the Porsche 935 JLP-3 owned by John Paul and his son , also had problems with a cylinder in the end, but won the race by more than a minute over the March by Rahal, Mauricio de Narváez and Jim Trueman .

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	GTP	18th	JLP Racing	John Paul junior John Paul senior	Porsche 935 JLP-3	244
2	GTP	46	Garretson Development	Bobby Rahal Mauricio de Narváez Jim Trueman	March 82G	244
3	GTP	8th	JLP Racing	Marion Speer Terry Wolters Charles Mendez	Porsche 935 JLP-2	237
4th	GTO	50	Diego Febles Racing	Diego Febles Tato Ferrer Chiqui Soldevilla	Porsche Carrera RSR	235
5	GTP	86	Bayside Disposal Racing	Hurley Haywood Al Holbert Bruce Leven	Porsche 935/80	231
6th	GTU	38	Mandeville Racing Ent.	Roger Mandeville Jeff Kline Amos Johnson	Mazda RX-7	224
7th	GTP	9	Garretson Development	Ray Ratcliff Grady Clay Skeeter McKitterick	Porsche 935K3	224
8th	GTO	39	R & H Racing	Rainer Brezinka Rudy Bartling Fritz Hochreuter	Porsche Carrera RSR	221
9	GTO	01	Marketing Corporation	John Morton Tom Klausler	Ford Mustang	219
10	GTO	05	T&R Racing	Tico Almeida Ernesto Soto Rene Rodriguez	Porsche Carrera RSR	218
11	GTO	26th	Roe-Selby Racing	Earl Roe Tim Selby	Porsche Carrera RSR	212
12	GTP	5	Bob Akin Motor Racing	Derek Bell Craig Siebert Bob Akin	Porsche 935K3 / 80	212
13	GTU	63	Jim Downing	Jim Downing Tom Waugh John Maffucci	Mazda RX-7	209
14th	GTO	75	D&L performance	Doug Lutz Dave Panaccione	Porsche Carrera RSR	205
15th	GTO	02	Marketing Corporation	Milt Minter John Bauer	Ford Mustang	194
16	GTU	27	Scuderia Rosso	Jim Fowell's Ray Mummery John Carusso	Mazda RX-7	194
17th	GTU	61	Paul Goral	Paul Goral Nort Northam Jim Burt	Porsche 911	189
18th	GTO	21st	Creviér & Associates	Joe Crevier Paul Fassler Bob Zeigel	BMW M1	187
19th	GTU	77	Dudley Davis	Dudley Davis Henry Godfredson Charlie Lloyd	Porsche 911	184
20th	GTU	78	The Klaus house	Vicki Smith Klaus Bitter on Scott Flanders	Porsche 911	183
21st	GTO	58	Brumos Racing	Jim Busby Doc Bundy James Brolin	Porsche 924 Carrera	175
22nd	GTU	68	John Rynerson	Jack Rynerson Van McDonald Harvey McDonald	Porsche 911	168
23	GTO	88	Shafer Concrete	George Shafer Craig Shafer Al Crookston	Chevrolet Camaro	144
24	GTU	07	Road Runner Racing	Tom Buckley Peter Aschenbrenner Gene Rutherford	Porsche 914/6	142
25th	GTP	97	The Cummings Marque	Don Cummings Irwin Ayes	Chevrolet Monza	141
26th	GTO	94	Bard Boand	Bard Boand Richard Anderson Brian Utt	Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray	138
27	GTU	93	Uli Bieri	Uli Bieri Jean-Pierre Zingg Herman Lausberg	Porsche 911	127
28	GTP	81	Meldeau Tire World	Bill McDill Mike Meldeau Tom Juckette	Chevrolet Camaro	104
Failed
29	GTP	00	Interscope Racing	Ted Field Danny Ongais	Porsche 935K3 / 80	187
30th	GTP	7th	Cooke Racing	Ralph Kent-Cooke Jim Adams David Hobbs	Lola T600	184
31	GTU	42	Gary Wonzer	Gary Wonzer Bill Bean Chuck Grantham	Porsche 911	164
32	GTP	6th	North American Racing Team	Desiré Wilson Janet Guthrie Bonnie Henn	Ferrari 512BB / LM	163
33	GTP	16	T-Bird Swap Shop	Marty Hinze Bill Whittington Don Whittington	Porsche 935K3	151
34	GTP	09	T-Bird Swap Shop	Preston Henn Dale Whittington Randy Lanier	Porsche 935K3	146
35	GTO	4th	Oftedahl Racing	In it Brassfield Jerry Brassfield Bill Cooper	Pontiac Firebird	135
36	GTU	66	Dunham Trucking	Jack Dunham Luis Sereix	Mazda RX-7	124
37	GTO	34	Drolsom Racing	George Drolsom Bill Johnson Tom Davey	Porsche 924 Carrera	119
38	GTP	03	Angelo Pallavicini	Angelo Pallavicini Neil Crang John Sheldon	Porsche 935	119
39	GTU	96	Bon Temps Racing	Ron Reed Mike Langlinais	Datsun 240Z	119
40	GTO	39	Montura Racing	Tony Garcia Albert Naon Fred Stiff	BMW M1	116
41	GTU	51	Red Roof Inns	Ed Pimm Walt Drilling Doug Carmean	Mazda RX-7	103
42	GTP	20th	Fox Whitaker	Bruce Jernigan William Boyer	Chevrolet Camaro	90
43	GTO	84	Scorpio Racing	Enrique Molins Eduardo Barrientos	Porsche 934	77
44	GTP	25th	Red Lobster Racing	Dave Cowart Kenper Miller	March 82G	72
45	GTP	69	Kenneth LaGrow	Kenneth LaGrow William Boyer Jack Turner	Chevrolet Monza	68
46	GTO	44	Stratagraph Inc.	Billy Hagan Gene Felton	Chevrolet Camaro	63
47	GTU	30th	Case Racing	Ron Case Michael Harry Angelo Pizzagelli	Porsche 911	62
48	GTP	65	Prancing Horse Farm Racing	Carson Baird Tom Pumpelly Chip Mead	Ferrari 512BB / LM	59
49	GTP	74	Mark Wagoner	Del Russo Taylor Wayne Dassinger	Chevron GTP	57
50	GTO	40	Manuel Villa	Luis Gordillo Manuel Villa Mandy Gonzalez	Porsche Carrera RSR	56
51	GTO	79	ProMotion Whitehall	Tom Winters Robert Overby Bob Bergstrom	Porsche 924 Carrera GTR	55
52	GTO	10	Oftedahl Racing	Bob Robbery Tony Brassfield Carl Shafer	Pontiac Firebird	52
53	GTU	87	Ralph Sanchez Racing	Luis Mendez Ralph Sanchez Armando Ramirez	Mazda RX-7	50
54	GTP	23	Superior racing	Raul Garcia Armando Fernandez	Chevrolet Camaro	38
55	GTU	82	Trinity Racing	Jim Cook Jim Mullen	Mazda RX-7	38
56	GTU	15th	Timothy Lee	Timothy Lee Al White Craig Pearce	Mercury Capri	38
57	GTO	53	Fomfor Racing El Salvador	Francisco Miguel Guillermo Valiente Benjamin Gonzalez	BMW 3.0 CSL	27
58	GTP	48	Sanyo	Phil Currin John Carusso	Chevrolet Corvette	26th
59	GTU	3	Ned Skiff	Ned Skiff Jim Leo	Renault R12	26th
60	GTO	19th	Van Every Racing	Ash Tisdelle Lance Van Every	Porsche Carrera RSR	23
61	GTO	36	Herman-Miller PA	Paul Miller Pat Bedard Jürgen Barth	Porsche 924 Carrera	23
62	GTP	45	Stratagraph Inc.	Hershel McGriff Richard Brooks	Chevrolet Camaro	21st
63	GTO	60	Bob's Speed ​​Products	Bob Lee Brian Erikson Guy Church	AMC AMX	18th
64	GTO	71	Sunrise Auto Parts	Jeff Loving Edward Belin	Chevrolet Camaro	14th
65	GTP	2	John Fitzpatrick Racing	John Fitzpatrick David Hobbs	Porsche 935K3 / 80	7th
66	GTO	29	Oberdorfer Research	Hoyt Overbagh Peter Kirill Scott Smith	Oldsmobile Starfire	7th
67	GTO	11	Kendall Racing	Dennis Aase Chuck Kendall John Hotchkis	BMW M1	1
Not started
68	GTP	0	Interscope Racing	Ted Field Danny Ongais	Porsche 935K3 / 80	1
69	GTO	17th	Tim Chitwood	Tim Chitwood Joe Varde	Chevrolet Camaro	2
70	GTO	22nd	Toyota Village Inc.	Werner Frank Ken Marden	Porsche 934	3
71	GTO	28	McVey Racing Enterprises	Bill McVey David Deacon Scott Smith	Chevrolet Camaro	4th
72	GTU	31	Hallet Motor Racing Circuit	Anatoly Arutunoff José Marina	Lancia Stratos	5
73	GTP	47	Frank Rubino	Frank Rubino Tom Davis	Ferrari 512BB	6th

¹ Training vehicle ² not started ³ not started ⁴ not started ⁵ not started ⁶ gearbox damage during 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	GTO	04	Almeida Rodriguez	Fred Flaquer Joe Gonzalez Lee Myers	Porsche Carrera RSR
75	GTO	13	T&R Racing	Rene Rodriguez Tico Almeida John Greenwood	Chevrolet Corvette
76	GTO	35	Wolters spear	Marion Speer Terry Wolters Ray Ratcliff	Porsche Carrera RSR
77	GTO	56	Rick Borlase	Rick Borlase Michael Hammond	Porsche Carrera
78	GTO	57	Capricorn Motor Racing	Mike Williamson Charles Gano	Chevrolet Corvette
79	GTU	73	Vincent Collins	Vincent Collins Lojza Vosta	Chevrolet Vega
80	GTU	92	Rick knoop	Rick Knoop Lee Mueller Kathy Rude	Mazda RX-7

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
GTP	John Paul	John Paul Junior		Porsche 935 JLP-3	Overall victory
GTO	Diego Febles	Tato Ferrer	Chiqui Soldevilla	Porsche Carrera RSR	Rank 4
GTU	Roger Mandeville	Jeff Kline	Amos Johnson	Mazda RX-7	Rank 6

Racing data

• Registered: 80
• Started: 67
• Rated: 28
• Race classes: 3
• Spectators: 63,000
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 8.369 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:02: 16.072 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 244
• Total distance of the winning team: 2041.936 km
• Winner's average: 169.627 km / h
• Pole position: Bobby Rahal - March 82G (# 46) - 2: 27.067 - 204.853 km / h
• Fastest race lap: John Fitzpatrick - Porsche 935K3 / 80 (# 2) - 2.34.490 - 195.009 km / h
• Racing series: 2nd round of the IMSA GTP series 1982

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 of the 1982 Daytona 24 Hours

IMSA-GTP series

Successor race 150 Mile Race of Road Atlanta 1982