1968 Daytona 24 hour race

Alfa Romeo T33 / 2

Ford GT40

The Howmet TX Continental made its racing debut at Daytona

The third 24-hour race of Daytona , also Seventh Annual 24 Hours of Daytona, International Road Race, Daytona International Speedway , took place on February 3 and 4, 1968 at Daytona International Speedway and was the first race of the sports car world championship this year.

Before the race

For the 1968 season , new technical regulations came into force in the world championship. The main content was the reduction of the engine displacement of the prototypes to a maximum of 3 liters. The upper limit for sports cars was 5 liters. During the 1967 World Cup , there had been more and more discussions among CSI officials about the top speed of the most powerful sports car prototypes. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans , Bruce McLaren drove an average of 236.082 km / h in practice in the Ford GT40 Mk.IV. In the race, Denis Hulme and Mario Andretti were one kilometer per hour faster in their MK.IV. The winner section of Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt was 218.038 km / h. 1968 allowed the Mk.IV that a 7-liter Ford - V engine had, are no longer used. The Chaparral 2F and the Lola T70 with their 7-liter Chevrolet engines were also affected by the change announced at very short notice . However, the new regulations hit Scuderia Ferrari particularly hard . The 330P4 had 4.4-liter V12 engines, but were homologated as prototypes and not as sports cars. The reigning world champion in 1968 was thus without a car.

The race

The change in the regulations did not cause Porsche any problems. The 907 with the long-tail body used in Daytona had 2.2-liter six - cylinder boxer engines . Four 907 were registered for the race, with a chassis having to be rebuilt at the turn of the year after Jochen Neerpasch had a serious accident during test drives in the autumn. In addition to Neerpasch, the driver team included Jo Siffert , Hans Herrmann , Vic Elford , Gerhard Mitter , Joe Buzzetta , Rolf Stommelen and Jo Schlesser . Also Alfa Romeo came with the factory team to the event. Autodelta reported five vehicles; the Alfa Romeo T33 / 2 were driven by Udo Schütz , Nino Vaccarella , Mario Andretti, Lucien Bianchi , Mario Casoni , Giampiero Biscaldi , Teodoro Zeccoli , Ignazio Giunti and Nanni Galli . Only four cars entered the race because the Giunti / Galli T33 / 2 could not be repaired in time after an accident during the preliminary tests.

With his team's GT40, John Wyer used the original configuration and thus the 4.7-liter Ford V8 engines. A completely new vehicle was built for Jacky Ickx and Brian Redman . Paul Hawkins and David Hobbs received a Mirage M1 that had been dismantled to GT40 specifications . The speed reduction requested by the CSI did not have any effect on the GT40s. Jacky Ickx drove a pole position time of 1: 54.910 minutes and was thus faster than Dan Gurney in the Mk.II the year before . Next to him in the front row was his teammate David Hobbs. The two GT40s also set the pace in the early stages of the race, but Hawkins had to drive into the pits with his GT40 due to misfiring on lap three and lost a complete lap to replace an ignition cable. At the end of the first hour, the two Wyer GT40s were in first and sixth place in the overall classification, with the four Porsches in between.

When night fell, David Hobbs, who had taken over the car from Hawkins, had driven the GT40 to second position and took the lead when teammate Redman had to park the second GT40 on the track due to a gearbox failure. Hobbs and Hawkins held the lead until midnight, when a series of technical problems began that set the car far behind and resulted in failure on Sunday.

This cleared the way to victory for the Porsche. For a long time, Siffert and Herrmann led safely until a bracket on the brake pedal broke and the team lost 22 minutes due to the necessary repairs to the pits. Race director Fritz Huschke von Hanstein intervened and, in accordance with the regulations, allowed Siffert and Herrmann to drive five laps each in Neerpasch and Elford's cars. Rolf Stommelen, who after an accident with Gerhard Mitter (who was the only Porsche driver not on the podium of the top three), also drove five laps in the winning car, so that five Porsche drivers won the race. Absurdly, Siffert and Herrmann were both first and second on the podium.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	P	54	Porsche Works Team	Vic Elford Jochen Neerpasch Rolf Stommelen Jo Siffert Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907 LH 2.2	673
2	P	52	Porsche Works Team	Jo Siffert Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907 LH 2.2	659
3	P	51	Porsche Works Team	Jo Schlesser Joe Buzzetta	Porsche 907 LH 2.2	659
4th	TA + 2.0	1	Shelby Racing	Jerry Titus Ronnie Bucknum	Ford Mustang	629
5	P	20th	Autodelta Spa	Udo Schütz Nino Vaccarella	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	617
6th	P	23	Autodelta Spa	Mario Andretti Lucien Bianchi	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	609
7th	P	22nd	Autodelta Spa	Mario Casoni Giampiero Biscaldi Teodoro Zeccoli	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	594
8th	S.	34	Raceco Miami	John Gunn Guillermo Ortega Fausto Merello	Ferrari 250LM	592
9	TA 2.0	69	Brumo's Porsche	Peter Gregg Sten Axelsson	Porsche 911	589
10	GT	31	DX Sunray Oil Co	Jerry Grant Dave Morgan	Chevrolet Corvette	586
11	T 2.0	77	Lewis Williams	Robert Stoddard George Drolsom Marty Gifford Lewis Williams	Porsche 911	575
12	T + 2.0	6th	Roger Penske Racing Ent.	Mark Donohue Bob Johnson Craig Fisher	Chevrolet Camaro	565
13	T 2.0	56	Ship Sharpe Maintenance	Jim Netterstrom John Kelly John Sabel	Porsche 911	565
14th	P	3	HRH Corp.	Jim McDaniel Glen Sullivan	Porsche 911R	562
15th	TA 2.0	36	Wilbur Pickett	Wilbur Pickett Bill Bean Bill Bencker	Porsche 911	545
16	TA + 2.0	68	Bill Boye	Bill Boye Billy Yuma	Chevrolet Camaro	540
17th	TA + 2.0	71	Joie Chitwood Thrill Show	Joie Chitwood junior Buzz Barton Richard Hoffman	Chevrolet Camaro	536
18th	GT	61	Jean-Pierre Hanrioud	Jean-Pierre Hanrioud Sylvain Garant	Porsche 911S	534
19th	TA 2.0	64	Myers Construction	Del Russo Taylor Bob Pratt Bruce Myers Brad Brooker	Alfa Romeo GTA	533
20th	TA 2.0	24	Autodelta Spa	Leo Cella Teodoro Zeccoli Giampiero Biscaldi	Alfa Romeo GTA	529
21st	TA + 2.0	78		Sam Posey Jim Kauffman	Ford Mustang	523
22nd	GT	28	Corvette Racing Associates	Ed Ross Craig Pelouze	Chevrolet Corvette Roadster	515
23	TA + 2.0	15th	Randy's Auto Body	Bob Grossman Bob Dini	Ford Mustang	514
24	P	10	Nomad Cars	Tony Lanfranchi Mark Konig	Nomad MK.1	506
25th	GT	29	DX Sunray Oil Co.	Peter Revson Don Yenko	Chevrolet Corvette Roadster	496
26th	TA 2.0	73	Valvoline Opert Racing	Fred Opert Joe Grimaldi	Porsche 911	471
27	GT	30th	DX Sunray Oil Co.	Jerry Thompson Tony DeLorenzo	Chevrolet Corvette Roadster	470
28	TA 2.0	32	RBM Motors	Jack Ryan Pete Harrison	Porsche 911	393
29	GT	44	American International Racing	Dick Guldstrand Ed Leslie Scooter Patrick Dave Jordan	Chevrolet Corvette	373
30th	GT	35	Aztec Motor Racing	George Waltman	Morgan Plus 4	338
Disqualified
31	GT	48	Doyle Poole	Doyle Poole Stott Bruce Morehead	Triumph TR4A	179
Failed
32	GT	67	Port of Entry Motors	Hugh Kleinpeter Ray Mummery Bruce Hollander	Shelby GT350	510
34	S.	18th	Edward Nelson Racing	Edward Nelson Mike Hailwood	Ford GT40	507
35	S.	9	JW Automotive Eng.	Paul Hawkins David Hobbs	Ford GT40	430
36	P	12	Paul Vestey Racing	Paul Vestey Roy Pike Paul Ridgway	Ferrari 250LM	264
37	GT	45	American International Racing	Scooter Patrick Dave Jordan Herb Caplan	Chevrolet Corvette	262
38	TA 2.0	25th	Autodelta Spa	Enrico Pinto Spartaco Dini	Alfa Romeo GTA	235
39	GT	41	Thomas Harris	James Rushin Thomas Harris Chris Waldron	MGB	226
40	TA 2.0	49	Ike Maxwell	Ike Maxwell William Martin	Volvo 122S	188
41	P	27	Algar Enterprises	Carlo Facetti Giancarlo Baghetti Ove Andersson	Lancia Fulvia HF	180
42	TA + 2.0	2	Shelby Racing	Allan Moffat Horst Kendung George Follmer	Ford Mustang	176
43	GT	43	Cannons Auto Service	Carl Schwenker Ara Dube Dana Kelder	Triumph TR4A	166
44	GT	57	Rick cline	Rick Cline Michael Pickering	Triumph GT6	120
45	TA + 2.0	7th	Billy Hagan	Billy Hagan John McVeigh Francis Gillebard	Mercury Cougar	119
46	P	11	Chevron Cars	Digby Martland Brian Classic	Chevron B6	118
47	GT	58	Rick cline	Fred Andrews Richard Kondracki	Triumph Spitfire	106
48	P	53	Porsche Works Team	Gerhard Mitter Rolf Stommelen	Porsche 907 LH 2.2	104
49	S.	81	NART-Harrah Racing	David Piper Masten Gregory	Ferrari 250LM	101
50	P	55	Squadra Tartaruga	Rico Steinemann Dieter Spoerry	Porsche 907 LH	100
51	GT	47	John Cameron	Milo Vega John Witt	Triumph TR4A	96
52	T + 2.0	65	Rigid Racing	George Wintersteen Malcolm Starr	Ford Mustang	90
53	GT	17th	Arthur Mollin Racing Ent.	Arthur Mollin Nick Cone	TVR Mk.IV	86
54	T 2.0	72	Davidson Enterprises	Paul Richards Tony Adamowicz Marvin Davidson	Porsche 911T	71
55	S.	8th	JW Automotive Eng.	Jacky Ickx Brian Redman	Ford GT40	58
56	GT	46	WROD radio	Steven Payne-Herbert Grant Miller Roger Walton	Porsche 356B Carrera 2	46
57	P	80	NART-Harrah Racing	Pedro Rodríguez Charlie Kolb	Ferrari Dino 206S	45
58	GT	42	Coquina Motors	Rajah Rodgers Richard Robson Bill Buchman	Jaguar XKE	43
59	S.	37	William Wonder Inc.	William Wonder Ray Cuomo	Ford GT40	42
60	TA + 2.0	4th	HRH Corp.	John Moore Jim Murphy	Chevrolet Camaro	34
61	P	76	Howmet Corp.	Ray Heppenstall Ed Lowther Dick Thompson	Howmet TX Continental	34
62	TA + 2.0	5	Bud Sherk Auto Fair	Bud Sherk Billy Diehl	Dodge darts	20th
63	P	26th	Algar Enterprises	Claudio Maglioli Ove Andersson Giancarlo Baghetti	Lancia Fulvia Zagato	6th
64	TA 2.0	14th	Bob Holbert's Garages	Bert Everett Bruce Jennings Bob Bailey	Porsche 911S	3
Not started
65	TA + 2.0	13	Samato Ltd. Smokey Yunick	Bruce McLaren Jim Hall	Chevrolet Camaro	1
66	S.	19th	DK Racing	Dale Keenan Dan Torpy James Sutter	Chevrolet Corvette	2
67	P	21st	Autodelta Spa	Nanni Galli Ignazio Giunti	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	3
68	GT	96	Vince Gimondo	John Tremblay Billy Dingman Vince Gimondo	Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray	4th
69	P	22T	Autodelta Spa	Mario Casoni	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	5
70	EXP	76T	Howmet Corp.	Ray Heppenstall Ed Lowther Dick Thompson	Howmet TX Continental	6th

¹ disqualified before the race ² not started ³ accident during the pre-test ⁴ not started ⁵ replacement car ⁶ turbine damage during the pre-test

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
71	TA + 2.0	16	Roger Penske Racing Ent.	Craig Fisher	Chevrolet Camaro
72	P	50	Hrubon	Johnny Rives Philippe Marchesi	Hrubon
73	P	51	Marcos	Jean-Pierre Jabouille Jean-Claude Guenard	Marcos Mini GT
74	TA + 2.0	60	Earle Canavan	Earle Canavan Bill Kane Ray Sitterly	AMC Javelin
75	TA + 2.0	75	Mastandrea Mar Shipping	Norberto Mastandrea Ralph Noseda	Chevrolet Camaro
76	S.	82	NART-Harrah Racing		Ferrari 275 GTB / 2

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
P	Vic Elford	Jochen Neerpasch	Rolf Stommelen	Jo Siffert	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907 LH 2.2	Overall victory
S.	John Gunn	Guillermo Ortega	Fausto Merello			Ferrari 250LM	Rank 8
GT	Jerry Grant	Dave Morgan				Chevrolet Corvette	Rank 10
TA + 2.0	Jerry Titus	Ronnie Bucknum				Ford Mustang	Rank 4
TA 2.0	Peter Gregg	Sten Axelsson				Porsche 911	Rank 9
EXP	no participant in the finish

Racing data

• Registered: 76
• Started: 64
• Rated: 30
• Race classes: 6
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: cool and dry
• Route length: 6.132 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24:02:04,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 673
• Total distance of the winning team: 4126.567 km
• Winner's average: 171.695 km / h
• Pole position: Jacky Ickx - Ford GT40 (# 8) - 1: 54.910 = 192.096 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Jacky Ickx - Ford GT40 (# 8) - 1: 56.860 = 188.890 km / h
• Racing series: 1st round of the 1968 World Sports Car Championship

Web links

• Race report
• Race results

Previous race 500 km race on the Nürburgring in 1967

Sports car world championship

Successor to the 12-hour race at Sebring in 1968