Sebring 12 hour race 1983

Nimrod NRA / C2; this racing car model was driven by Reggie Smith , Lyn St. James and Drake Olson in fifth place overall

Bill Adam in the Jaguar XJR-5 at the IMSA GTP race in Sears Point 1983. With Bob Tullius as a partner, Adams retired in the same car after 95 laps after an engine failure

The 31st Sebring 12 Hours of Sebring , also 2 Hours of Sebring, The Coca-Cola Classic, Sebring International Raceway , took place on March 19, 1983 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the third race of the IMSA GTP series this year.

The race

The 1983 IMSA GTP series began on February 6 with the Daytona 24-hour race , which ended with the overall victory of Bob Wollek , Claude Ballot-Léna , Preston Henn and AJ Foyt in a Porsche 935L . The second race, the Miami Grand Prix , was won by Al Holbert on a March 83G .

While the event had an international starting field last year , this year the race for the teams and drivers was again an All-American race. In 1982, Charles Mendez's time as organizer of the race, who was replaced by officials from Sebring Regional Airport from 1983 , also ended. A major innovation was the first route reconstruction since 1967 . One of the two runway passages was replaced by a completely new section of the track, which shortened the total length of the racetrack by approx. 700 meters to 7.644 km. Alec Ulmann , the founder and longtime promoter of the race, returned to the event in 1983 as race director.

84 vehicles entered the race on race day; the largest field in Sebring so far. Even for a long-distance race with a driving time of over 12 hours , this number of starters was enormous. The field was led by the GTP prototypes approved since 1981 , such as the Jaguar XJR-5 , the Lola T600 , the March 82G and 83G and the Nimrod NRA / C2 . There was also an abundance of GTU and GTO sports cars, including different models from the Porsche brand .

The fastest lap time in qualifying was not achieved by a driver in a GTP prototype, but by last year's winner John Paul junior in a Porsche 935L. Paul drove a time of 2: 23.965 minutes (average 191.156 km / h) and was 1.5 seconds faster than Bob Tullius in the Jaguar XJR-5. Tullius and his team partner Bill Adam led in the early stages of the race. The leadership changed several times in the first three hours. Among others, Hurley Haywood , Al Holbert , Bob Akin and Dale Whittington were in the lead with their vehicles. Due to the large number of starters, there were considerable problems with refueling. Sometimes teams had to share a box, and after the first refueling stops, some tank systems ran out of fuel. After three hours of racing, the race had to be neutralized by yellow flags across the entire course in order to enable tank trucks to transport fuel over the racetrack to the pit facilities. After the failure of the Jaguar and John Paul’s Porsche, which is now in the lead, one of the most spectacular and varied Sebring races in history began. A wide variety of vehicles and teams were at the top. Skeeter McKitterick and Milt Minter were leading in Grid Plaza S1 , as was Pete Halmser and Rick Knoop in the Mazda RX-7 , which failed after a suspension failure.

Three quarters of an hour before the end of the race, Hurley Haywood and Al Holbert were in the lead and looked like the sure winners when the power went out in the Bayside Porsche 935. The electrics no longer worked properly, which meant that the light on the Porsche went out. Since it was not possible to drive at night without lights, the Porsche had to pit and lost half an hour in the subsequent repair. A few minutes before the end, the Porsche 934 with starting number 9 was suddenly in front. The car was driven by Wayne Baker , who shared the cockpit with Jim Mullen and Kees Nierop . Baker had handling problems and almost ran out of gas. Also, he had no idea he was in the lead as the pit crew didn't tell him. There they were of the opinion that the car only drove in the GTO class. As a result, Baker, who was only driving slowly around the course, was almost overtaken by Bob Akin in the end. After the checkered flag fell, the uninformed Baker did not drive into Victory Lane, but directly into the paddock, where minutes later he learned that he had won the overall standings as well as the class.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	GTO	9	Personalized car dealership	Wayne Baker Jim Mullen Kees Nierop	Porsche 934	231
2	GTP	5	Bob Akin Motor Racing	Bob Akin Dale Whittington John O'Steen	Porsche 935K3 / 80	231
3	GTP	86	Bayside Disposal Racing	Hurley Haywood Al Holbert	Porsche 935/80	229
4th	GTO	61	Vista Racing	Don Courtney Luis Sereix Brent O'Neill	Chevrolet Monza	227
5	GTP	22nd	Nimrod Racing	Reggie Smith Lyn St. James Drake Olson	Nimrod NRA / C2	224
6th	GTU	66	Mike Meyer Racing	Jack Dunham Jeff Kline Jon Compton	Mazda RX-7	224
7th	GTO	65	Manuel Villa	Luis Gordillo Manuel Villa Chiqui Soldevilla	Porsche Carrera RSR	224
8th	GTU	82	Trinity Racing	Joe Varde Jack Baldwin John Casey	Mazda RX-7	223
9	GTO	01	Marketing Corporation of America	John Morton Tom Klausler	Ford Mustang	222
10	GTO	35	Pegasus Racing	Al Leon Paul Gilgan Wayne Pickering	Porsche Carrera RSR	222
11	GTP	12	Henn's Swap Shop Racing	Don Whittington Bill Whittington	Porsche 935K3	218
12	GTP	3	Grid Motor Racing	Skeeter McKitterick Milt Minter	Grid Plaza S1	216
13	GTU	37	Burdsall Welter	Peter Welter Tom Burdsall Nort Northam	Mazda RX-7	216
14th	GTU	23	Roe Selby	Tim Selby Earl Roe	Porsche 911	210
15th	GTO	83	R & H Racing	Rainer Brezinka Rudy Bartling Roger Schramm	Porsche Carrera RSR	204
16	GTU	92	Kent Racing	Lee Mueller Terry Visger	Mazda RX-7	204
17th	GTU	63	RGP 500 Racing	Jim Downing John Maffucci Chuck Ulinski	Mazda RX-7	204
18th	GTU	11	Paul Goral	Paul Goral Larry Figaro Peter Uria	Porsche 911	202
19th	GTO	69	Hiram Cruz Racing	Mandy Gonzalez Hiram Cruz	Porsche 934	201
20th	GTU	90	901 shop	Mike Schaefer Doug Zitza Jack Refenning	Porsche 911	198
21st	GTO	06	Juan Lopez	Juan Lopez Luis Mendez	Porsche Carrera	192
22nd	GTO	89	Taca El Salvador	Enrique Molins Eduardo Barrientos Eduardo Galdamez	Porsche Carrera RSR	188
23	GTU	27	Scuderia Rosso	Jim Fowell's Ray Mummery Steve Potter	Mazda RX-7	187
24	GTO	14th	Oftedahl Racing	Carl Shafer Carlos Ramirez Mike Meldeau	Pontiac Firebird	185
25th	GTU	68	Jack Rynerson	Jack Rynerson Van McDonald Chris Wilder	Porsche 911	183
26th	GTO	57	Dave Heinz Racing	Dave Heinz Jerry Thompson Paul Gentilozzi	Chevrolet Camaro	181
27	GTO	03	Bob's Speed ​​Products	Bob Lee Timothy Lee Gary Myers	Ford Maverick	180
28	GTU	91	Bryant & Graham Racing	Charles Bryant Alex Priest Mike Guido	BMW 2002	178
29	GTU	30th	Case Racing	Ron Case Craig Case Dave Pannacione	Porsche 911	173
30th	GTU	51	Red Roof Inns	Doug Carmean Don Herman	Mazda RX-7	167
31	GTO	58	Brumos Racing	Deborah Gregg Kathy Rude Bonnie Henn	Porsche 924 Carrera	165
32	GTO	96	Weld fixturing	Phil Byrd Freddy Baker Robert Kirby	Porsche Carrera RSR	162
33	GTU	42	Gary Wonzer	Gary Wonzer Bill Bean Buzz Cason	Porsche 911	162
34	GTO	4th	Stratagraph	Billy Hagan Gene Felton Sam Moses Lloyd Frink	Chevrolet Camaro	153
35	GTU	04	Di Lella Racing	Vince DiLella Manuel Cueto	Porsche 911	152
36	GTO	79	Whitehall PhD	Tom Winters Bob Bergstrom Peter Dawe	Porsche 924 Carrera GTR	148
37	GTO	18th	Diehl Hi-Pro	Carmen Lista David Marks Roy Newsome Bobby Diehl	Chevrolet Camaro	140
38	GTU	76	Hi Fi Hospital	Timothy Lee Al White Irwin Ayes	Ford Capri	140
39	GTO	15th	DL performance engineering	Doug Lutz Mike Brummer Larry Connor	Porsche Carrera RSR	139
40	GTU	87	Donald Flores	Robert Gottfried Tom Turner Donald Flores	Porsche 911	131
41	GTO	33	Karl Keck	Karl Keck Bill McDill Robert Whitaker	Chevrolet Corvette	128
42	GTU	75	Bryant & Graham Racing	Cameron Worth Alan Crouch Janis Taylor	Ford Pinto	127
43	GTU	52	TFC Racing	Dick Gauthier Tom Cripe Ron Collins Bill McVey	Porsche 911	67
Failed
44	GTP	10	Cooke Racing	Ralph Kent-Cooke Jim Adams Josele Garza	Lola T600	221
45	GTO	7th	Racing beat	Pete Halsmer Rick Knoop	Mazda RX-7	199
46	GTU	93	Foreign Exchange	John Higgins James King Chip Mead	Porsche 911	175
47	GTU	60	Team Morrison	Jim Cook Steve Dietrich Al Bacon	Mazda RX-7	168
48	GTU	95	Ned Skiff	Ned Skiff Jim Leo	Renault R12	159
49	GTO	19th	Van Every Racing	Lance Van Every Ash Tisdelle	Porsche Carrera RSR	153
50	GTO	02	Marketing Corporation of America	Ronnie Bucknum John Bright	Ford Mustang	153
51	GTP	24	Pegasus III Racing	Marion Speer Ken Madren Ray Ratcliff	Porsche 935 JLP-2	145
52	GTO	49	OMR engines	Hoyt Overbagh Peter Kirill Paul Romano	Chevrolet Monza	145
53	GTO	13	Oftedahl Racing	Paul Fassler Steve Pope Carl Shafer	Pontiac Firebird	142
54	GTO	36	Herman + Miller P + A	Paul Miller Jim Busby Ron Grable	Porsche 924 Carrera	132
55	GTP	16	Hinze fencing	Marty Hinze Randy Lanier Terry Wolters	March 82G	128
56	GTO	28	Overby's	Robert Overby Don Bell Chris Doyle	Chevrolet Camaro	127
57	GTP	09	Henn's Swap Shop Racing	Derek Bell Michael Andretti John Paul Junior	Porsche 935L	125
58	GTP	8th	Shelton Ferrari	Steve Shelton Tom Shelton	Ferrari 512BB	120
59	GTP	44	Group 44	Bob Tullius Bill Adam	Jaguar XJR-5	95
60	GTO	34	Drolsom Racing	George Drolsom Steve Cohen William Gelles	Porsche 924 Carrera	94
61	GTO	26th	Centurion Leasing	Tom Nehl Nelson Silcox Patty Moise	Chevrolet Camaro	92
62	GTP	21st	Nimrod Racing	Victor Gonzalez Drake Olson	Nimrod NRA / C2	85
63	GTP	05	T&R Racing	Tico Almeida Ernesto Soto	Porsche 935M16	82
64	GTO	99	Londoño Bridge Racing	Gustavo Londoño Carlos Munoz Hugo Gralia	Porsche Carrera RSR	81
65	GTO	20th	Paul Canary Racing	Paul Canary Jim Sanborn	Pontiac Firebird	78
66	GTP	77	Z & W Enterprises	Pierre Honegger Walt Drilling	Mazda GTP	61
67	GTO	64	Marcus Opie	Marcus Opie Tim Morgan Grant Bradley	Chevrolet Corvette	59
68	GTU	78	The Klaus house	Klaus Bitterauf Vicki Smith Scott Flanders	Porsche 911	59
69	GTO	28	Air Florida	Francisco Miguel Arnoldo Kreysa Albert Naon	BMW M1	58
70	GTU	38	Mandeville Auto Tech	Roger Mandeville Amos Johnson Danny Smith	Mazda RX-7	56
71	GTO	54	Daniel Vilarchao	Reynaldo Fernandez Daniel Vilarchao	Chevrolet Camaro	56
72	GTO	6th	Shafer Motor Racing	Craig Shafer George Shafer Joe Maloy	Chevrolet Camaro	55
73	GTP	74	Mark Wagoner	Del Russo Taylor Larry Figaro	Chevron GTP	53
74	GTP	12	The Cummings Marque	Don Cummings Craig Rubright Charles Gano	Chevrolet Monza	50
75	GTP	25th	Red Lobster Racing	Dave Cowart Kenper Miller Mauricio de Narváez	March 82G	46
76	GTU	31	Pegasus Racing	Jack Griffin John Zouzelka	Porsche 914/4	38
77	GTO	50	Latino Racing	Kikos Fonseca Tato Ferrer Diego Febles	Porsche Carrera RSR	36
78	GTU	08	Diehl Hi Pro Enterprises	Bobby Diehl Roy Newsome	Mazda RX-7	29
79	GTP	39	Holly Racing	John Gunn Ricardo Londoño	Phoenix JG1	26th
80	GTO	40	Bieri Racing	Uli Bieri Matt Gysler Duff Hubbard	BMW M1	21st
81	GTO	07	Londoño Bridge Racing	Fred Flaquer Gustavo Londoño Ricardo Londoño Rene Rodriguez	Porsche Carrera RSR	21st
82	GTP	17th	Dingman Bros. Racing	Billy Dingman Roger Bighouse	Chevrolet Corvette	11
83	GTP	47	Dingman Bros. Racing	Bill Whittington Pepe Romero Doc Bundy	March 83G	8th
84	GTO	62	Bill Nelson	Bill Nelson Dale Kreider Lojza Vosta	Pontiac Firebird	1
Not started
85	GTP	2	Hinze fencing	Marty Hinze Randy Lanier Terry Wolters	Porsche 935	1
86	GTO	63	Superior Racing Team	Raul Garcia Eugenio Matienzo	Chevrolet Camaro	2
87	GTU	80	Hallet Motor Racing Circuit	Anatoly Arutunoff José Marina	Lancia Stratos	3

¹ Replacement car ² not started ³ 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
88	GTP	0	Interscope Racing	Danny Ongais Ted Field	Lola T600
89	GTP	00	Interscope Racing	Danny Ongais Ted Field	Lola T600
90	GTU	32	Alderman Datsun	George Alderman Carson Baird	Datsun 280ZX
91	GTO	41	Capricorn Motor Racing	William Wessel Charles Gano Mike Williamson	Chevrolet Corvette
92	GTO	43	AVO Racing Cars	Vincent Collins Lojza Vosta	Chevrolet Corvette
93	GTO	55	B. de T. Racing	Diego Montoya Albert Naon Tony Garcia	BMW M1
94	GTU	71	Morgan Performance Group	Charles Morgan Bill Johnson	Datsun 280ZX
95	GTU	73	GO Racing	Ken Grostic Keith Lawhorn	Porsche 914
96	GTO	84	Motorsport Marketing	Ken Murray Emory Donaldson	Chevrolet Camaro
97	GTO	97	Vince Gimondo	Vince Gimondo John Hood	Chevrolet Camaro
98	GTO	98	Sesana Racing	Alfredo Sesana Jorge Cortes	Chevrolet Monza

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
GTP	Bob Akin	Dale Whittington	John O'Steen	Porsche 935K3 / 80	Rank 2
GTO	Wayne Baker	Jim Mullen	Kees Nierop	Porsche 934	Overall victory
GTU	Jack Dunham	Jeff Kline	Jon Compton	Mazda RX-7	Rank 6

Racing data

• Registered: 98
• Started: 84
• Rated: 43
• Race classes: 3
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 7.644 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:01: 17.745 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 231
• Total distance of the winning team: 1765.853 km
• Winner's average: 146.890 km / h
• Pole position: John Paul junior - Porsche 935L (# 09) - 2: 23.965 - 191.156 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Dale Whittington - March 83G (# 47) - 2: 22.750 - 192.783 km / h
• Racing series: 3rd round of the IMSA GTP series 1983

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 1983 Miami Grand Prix

IMSA-GTP series

Follow -up race 500 km from Road Atlanta 1983