Sebring 12 hour race in 1987

Price Cobb and Vern Schuppan's Dyson Racing Porsche 962 (start number 16) , which retired after an accident after driving 123 laps

Cockpit of a Porsche 962

Spice SE86CL Pontiac Fiero GTP

The 35th Sebring 12 Hours of Sebring , also called 12 Hours of Sebring Grand Prix of Endurance, The 35th Running of America's Premier Road Race, Sebring International Raceway , took place on March 21, 1987 at Sebring International Raceway and was the third Race of the IMSA-GTP series this year.

Before the race

As in previous years, the IMSA GTP series began in 1987 with the Daytona 24-hour race . The race was won by Chip Robinson , Derek Bell and Al Unser junior in a Porsche 962 . In the second round of the season, the 3-hour race in Miami , Elliot Forbes-Robinson and Geoff Brabham were victorious in a Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo .

The race

In the period between the 1986 and 1987 races , the largest reconstruction work to date was carried out on the racetrack. The north-south runway was left out and replaced by a new piece of asphalt with the so-called carousel, so that the length was reduced to 6.6 kilometers. Under the direction of Charles Earwood, a lot of money was also invested in new security measures and improved spectator areas.

In 1987, GTP racing cars had established themselves in the IMSA GTP series. However, the development, acquisition and use of these prototypes were cost-intensive, so that many teams preferred the sprint races of the series to the elaborate long-distance races. Therefore, only nine GTP cars were at the start in Sebring. This car class was led by the Porsche 962 . For a long time in the race it looked as if Al Holbert (partner Chip Robinson ) would be able to celebrate his third overall Sebring victory. Two hours before the end of the race, however, a turbocharger had to be changed at Porsche . The pit crew made the swap in nine minutes, but the win was lost. Bobby Rahal and Jochen Mass won by a margin of two rounds.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	GTP	86	Bayside Disposal Racing	Jochen Mass Bobby Rahal	Porsche 962	298
2	GTP	14th	Holbert Racing	Chip Robinson Al Holbert	Porsche 962	296
3	GTP	8th	Primus Motorsport	Brian Redman Chris Kneifel Elliot Forbes-Robinson	Porsche 962	293
4th	GTP	0	Joest Racing	Sarel van der Merwe Louis Krages Danny Ongais	Porsche 962	281
5	GTO	28	Protofab Racing	Greg Pickett Tommy Riggins	Chevrolet Camaro	281
6th	GTP	5	Bob Akin Motor Racing	James Weaver Bob Akin Steve Shelton	Porsche 962	280
7th	GTP	67	Busby Racing	Bob Wollek Darin Brassfield Wally Dallenbach	Porsche 962	275
8th	GTO	22nd	Roush Racing	Bruce Jenner Bobby Akin	Ford Mustang	274
9	GTO	98	All-American Racers	Chris Cord Juan Manuel Fangio II	Toyota Celica Turbo	267
10	Lights	42	MMG White Allen	John Higgins Charles Monk Howard Cherry	Fabcar CL	265
11	Lights	05	RM Racing	Charles Morgan Jim Rothbarth	Royale RP40	261
12	Lights	09	Ball Bros. Racing	Steve Durst Mike Brockman Tony Belcher	Spice SE86CL Pontiac Fiero GTP	261
13	GTO	65	Gray Eagle Racing	Jerry Clinton Morris Clement Stanton Barrett	Ford Mustang	256
14th	Lights	63	Jim Downing	Jim Downing John Maffucci John O'Steen	Argo JM19	253
15th	GTO	74	Whitehall Rocketsports	Paul Gentilozzi Irv Hoerr Tom Winters	Oldsmobile Toronado	251
16	GTU	17th	Al Bacon Racing	Al Bacon Bob Reed	Mazda RX-7	245
17th	GTU	54	SP Racing	Gary Auberlen Bill Auberlen Karl Durkheimer	Porsche 911	244
18th	GTU	89	901 Racing	Peter Uria Larry Figaro Kyle Rathbun Jack Refenning	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	243
19th	GTO	87	Morrison-Cook Motorsport	Tommy Morrison Stu Hayner Don Knowles Bob McConnell	Chevrolet Corvette	241
20th	GTO	30th	Skoal Bandit Racing	Buz McCall Walt Drilling Paul Dallenbach	Chevrolet Camaro	241
21st	Lights	43	MMG White Allen	Tim McAdam Scott Overby Chip Mead	Fabcar CL	238
22nd	GTU	75	Clayton Cunningham Racing	Tom Kendall Bart Kendall Max Jones	Mazda RX-7	236
23	Lights	35	Diman Racing	Mandy Gonzalez Manuel Villa Luis Gordillo	Royale RP40	235
24	Lights	61	Performance Technology	Brent O'Neill John Lloyd	Argo JM19	230
25th	GTU	84	Guy Church	Guy Church Tom Hunt EJ Generotti	Mazda RX-7	226
26th	GTU	82	Dick Greer Racing	Dick Greer Mike Mees John Finger	Mazda RX-7	225
27	GTU	46	Turbo Concepts	Miguel Morejon Herman Galeano	Porsche 911	224
28	GTU	71	Team highball	Amos Johnson Dennis Shaw	Mazda RX-7	217
29	GTO	11	Roush Racing	Lyn St. James Tom Gloy	Ford Mustang	213
30th	GTO	85	Highlands Racing	William Boyer Steve Roberts	Pontiac Firebird	211
31	GTU	00	S Squared Engineering	Charles Slater Dave Duttinger Rudy Bartling	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	209
32	Lights	23	Motion Promotions	George Petrilak Dave Rosenberg Bruce MacInnes	Argo JM19	201
33	GTU	68	Chambers Racing	Dennis Chambers Chaunce Wallace	Mazda RX-7	201
34	GTU	08	Simms Romano Enterprise	Paul Romano Vance Swift's John Drew	Mazda RX-7	188
35	Lights	52	Wonzer Racing	Ron Case Bruce Dewey Buzz Cason Nort Northam	Lola T616	186
36	GTP	4th	Roush Racing	Scott Pruett Pete Halsmer	Ford Mustang GTX Special	179
37	GTO	24	CAR Enterprises	Craig Rubright Garrett Jenkins Roy Newsome	Chevrolet Corvette	165
38	GTO	50	Henry Brosnaham	Henry Brosnaham Glen Cross Jim Johnson	Chevrolet Camaro	158
Failed
39	Lights	19th	S&L Racing	Scott Schubot Linda Ludemann Lance Jones	Tiga GT285	252
40	GTO	76	Peerless Hendrick	Jack Baldwin Eppie Wietzes	Chevrolet Camaro	243
41	GTO	81	Sentry Bank Equipment	Ken Bupp Guy Church Del Russo Taylor	Chevrolet Camaro	205
42	Lights	80	Gaston Andrey Racing	Martino Finotto Ruggero Melgrati Pietro Silva	Alba AR6	177
43	GTO	90	Bob's Speed ​​Products	Bob Lee Gary Myers Timothy Lee	Buick Skyhawk	161
44	Lights	25th	Gaston Andrey Racing	David Loring Roger Andrey Willy Lewis	Tiga GT286	145
45	GTU	44	Goral Racing	Paul Goral Rusty Bond Larry Figaro	Porsche 911	140
46	GTO	49	Catters Racing Team	Carlos Munoz Carlos Catter Joe Gonzalez	Pontiac Firebird	136
47	GTP	16	Dyson Racing	Price Cobb Vern Schuppan	Porsche 962	123
48	GTU	60	Damage racing	Steve DePoyster Bob Schader Jim Kurz Mike Jocelyn	Mazda RX-7	114
49	Lights	31	Gebhardt Racing USA	Greg Hobbs Gary Robinson David Hobbs Alf Gebhardt	Gebhardt JC853	110
50	Lights	96	Hessert Racing	Eduardo Dibos Keith Rinzler Tom Hessert	Tiga GT286	93
51	GTU	47	Cumberland Valley Racing	Doug Mills Richard Oakley	Mazda RX-7	90
52	GTO	56	Bill Wink Racing	Bill Wink Bill Martin Don Erickson Tim Evans	Chevrolet Camaro	87
53	Lights	79	Whitehall Rocketsports	Skeeter McKitterick Ted Boady Paul Lewis	Alba AR5	86
54	GTO	99	All-American Racers	Willy T. Ribbs Jerrill Rice	Toyota Celica Turbo	84
55	Lights	40	Bieri Racing	Uli Bieri Angelo Pallavicini David Murry	Alba AR2	76
56	GTO	83	Shafer Racing	Craig Shafer Joe Maloy George Shafer	Chevrolet Camaro	76
57	GTO	51	Quality Motorsports	Dave Heinz Bob Young	Chevrolet Corvette	75
58	GTP	1	AJ Foyt Enterprises	AJ Foyt Danny Sullivan Hurley Haywood	Porsche 962	73
59	GTU	13	Altman Bros Motor Racing	Mark Altman Gary Altman Tim Selby	Porsche 914/6	68
60	Lights	9	Finco Racing	Fin Tomlinson Terry Loebel Richard Morgan	Tiga GT285	57
61	GTO	38	Mandeville Auto Tech	Roger Mandeville Kelly Marsh Don Marsh	Mazda RX-7	56
62	Lights	36	Erie Scientific Racing	Frank Jellinek John Grooms Tom Bagley	Royale RP40	54
63	GTO	26th	Bob's Speed ​​Products	Del Russo Taylor Mark Montgomery David Fuller	Pontiac Firebird	45
64	GTO	91	Lucas Truck Service	Scott Gaylord Luis Albiza Kent Stover	Oldsmobile Calais	38
65	GTO	12	Centurion AutoTransport	Harold Shafer Tom Nehl Robert Peters	Buick Somerset	36
66	Lights	01	Spice engineering	Jeff Kline Don Bell	Spice Pontiac Fiero GTP	31
67	GTO	77	Brooks Racing	Robert Lappalainen Kenper Miller	Chevrolet Camaro	25th
68	GTO	72	Sunrise Racing	Jeff Loving Richard Small Jan Goodman	Chevrolet Camaro	23
69	GTU	15th	Murray Racing	Dick Murray Terry Visger	Pontiac Fiero	20th
70	GTO	70	Hi-tech coating	Tom Juckette Richard McDill Bill McDill	Chevrolet Camaro	19th
71	GTO	21st	OMR engines	Gene Felton Lee Perkinson Matt Mnich	Chevrolet Camaro	10
72	GTO	88	Morrison-Cook Motorsport	John Heinricy Bob McConnell Bobby Carradine	Chevrolet Camaro	9
73	Lights	29	Ares Sports	Steve Phillips Ron Canizares Howard Katz	Tiga GT286	8th
74	GTO	04	Dave White Racing	Arthur Pilla Dave White George Drolsom	Porsche 944	7th
Not started
75	GTO	92	Lance Van Every	Ash Tisdelle Lance Van Every	Chevrolet Camaro	1
76	GTP	86T	Bayside Disposal Racing		Porsche 962	2
Not qualified
77	GTO	06	Art Cross	Art Cross Gary Smith Bob Lee	Chevrolet Monte Carlo	3
78	GTO	3	Vince Gimondo	Vince Gimondo Ken Grostic Terry Wolters	Oldsmobile Calais	4th
79	GTO	10	Don Nooe	Jim Stricklin Don Nooe Tim Stringfellow	Chevrolet Corvette	5
80	Lights	18th	Jeff Bietzel	Tim Evans Andy Pilgrim Doug Goad Terry McKenna	PAS	6th
81	GTO	39	Gary English	Frank Del Vecchio Chris Thompson Kurt Mathewson	Chevrolet Camaro	7th
82	GTU	41	B&G Racing	Mike Graham Richard Burr Charles Bryant	BMW 325	8th
83	GTU	45	Carlos Pedrera	Carlos Pedrera Dennis Dobkin	Mazda RX-7	9
84	GTU	48	Gary Wonzer Racing	Gary Wonzer Ron Case Brian Cameron Tom Cripe	Porsche 911	10
85	GTO	69	Tom Clark	Kenneth LaGrow	Ford Mustang	11
86	GTU	78	Fritz Hochreuter	Rudy Bartling Fritz Hochreuter Werner Frank	Porsche 911	12

¹ not started ² training car ³ not qualified ⁴ not qualified ⁵ not qualified ⁶ not qualified ⁷ not qualified 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
87	GTU	20th	Gary Wonzer Racing	John Hofstra Mick Robinson Ron Robinson	Porsche 914
88	Lights	27	MSB Racing	Jim Fowell's Dave Cowart	Argo JM19
89	GTO	32	Karl Keck	Karl Keck Mark Kennedy David Fuller Mark Montgomery	Chevrolet Corvette
90	Lights	53	Gary Wonzer Racing	Ron Case Vicki Smith Peter Uria Art Cross	Lola T616
91	GTU	57	Cryderacing	Reed Kryder Barry Kassel Paul Thomas Corky Prep	Nissan 300ZX
92	GTO	58	Diego Febles	Diego Febles Basilio Davila	Ford Mustang
93	GTO	66	Gary English	Gary English Jerry Thompson	Chevrolet Camaro

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
GTP	Bobby Rahal	Jochen Mass		Porsche 962	Overall victory
Lights	John Higgins	Charles Monk	Howard Cherry	Fabcar CL	Rank 10
GTO	Greg Pickett	Tommy Riggins		Chevrolet Camaro	Rank 5
GTU	Al Bacon	Bob Reed		Mazda RX-7	Rank 16

Racing data

• Registered: 93
• Started: 74
• Rated: 38
• Race classes: 4
• Spectators: 40,000
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 6.614 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12: 01: 27.197 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 298
• Total distance of the winning team: 1971.092 km
• Winner's average: 163.926 km / h
• Pole position: Chip Robinson - Porsche 962 (# 14) - 2: 02.961 - 193.654 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Chip Robinson - Porsche 962 (# 14) - 2: 05,000 - 190,495 km / h
• Racing series: 3rd round of the IMSA GTP series 1987

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 3 Hours of Miami 1987

IMSA-GTP series

Follow -up race 500 km from Road Atlanta 1987