1959 12 Hours of Sebring

The 1959 12-Hour Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance for the Amoco Trophy was a motor race for sportscars, staged on 21 March at the Sebring International Raceway, Florida, United States. It was the opening round of the 1959 World Sportscar Championship and was the eighth running of the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Sebring International Raceway in 1952-1966
Ferrari 250TR

The race was won by Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Chuck Daigh and Olivier Gendebien driving a Ferrari 250 TR 59 for Scuderia Ferrari.

Report

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Entry

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A massive total of 81 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 74 arrived for practice. Only these, 65 qualified for, and started the race. Reigning champions, Ferrari had eight of their new 250 TRs in Florida, of which three were works machines (1959 model) for their squad of drivers; Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Chuck Daigh, Olivier Gendebien, Jean Behra and Cliff Allison. Their main opposition would come from a single works Aston Martin.[1]

David Brown sent just one Aston Martin DBR1/300 over from England for Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori. Also on the entry list were some quick looking Lister-Jaguar entered by Briggs Cunningham with himself, Walt Hansgen and Stirling Moss amongst their squad. The work outfit also brought a car for Moss and paired him with Ivor Bueb.[1]

Qualifying

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Because there were no qualifying sessions to set the grid, the starting positions were decided according to engine size with the 3.0 litre Aston Martin DBR1 of Shelby and Salvadori being given first place.[1]

Race

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Most of the 40,000 spectators expected a battle for sole Aston Martin and the Ferrari. Although early on, there was a great scrap, the Aston retired after just 32 laps with gear lever problems. This meant it really was a Ferrari battle at the front of the field for almost all the race. The official result lists the winner as the no. 7 Ferrari of Gurney, Daigh, Hill and Gendebien, but that's not the whole story.[2][3]

For the opening four and half hours, the Ferrari of Hill and Gendebien led until suffering from a broken differential. That put the Gurney/Daigh car in front. Behra/Allison were in second, followed by Moss/Bueb. And then the heavy rain arrived and the race became intriguing. With cars sliding off all over the place, one of the most dramatic accidents come just after the six-hour mark when Robert Rollason’s Stanguellini 750 Sport collided with a pole that supported a bridge. The car hit the pole while sideways throwing it up into the air before splitting in half, and ending up on its roof. It required a number of track marshals to flip it back onto its wheels, so that Rollason could escape uninjured.[4][3][5]

The conditions made it difficult for even the very best to keep their cars under control. The works Lister-Jaguar with Moss behind the wheel, despite struggling for most of the race, came alive and moved up through the field passing both the Ferraris. After five hours, Moss led Behra and by now the little Porsche of Wolfgang von Trips and Jo Bonnier had moved into third. At this time, Scuderia Ferrari decided to call on the experience of Hill and Gendebien and added them the Gurney/Daigh car. Although the fans were not happy, this was a team event and Ferrari wanted to win. Then Moss was disqualified for illegal refuelling.[3][4]

With the better drivers now driving the no.7, Hill passed Behra for the lead and the car held on to first place until the flag dropped. After 12 hours of racing, the Scuderia Ferrari of Gurney, Daigh, Hill and Gendebien won ahead of their team-mates Behra and Allison. Car number 7, took an impressive victory, completing 188 laps, covering 977.6 miles after 12 hours of racing, averaging a speed of 81.181mph. Second place went to the second Ferrari, albeit one lap adrift. The podium was complete by works Porsche of von Trips and Bonnier who were four laps behind the winners.[6][4]

Official Classification

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Class Winners are in Bold text.

Pos No Class Driver Entrant Chassis Laps Reason Out
1st 7 S3.0   Dan Gurney
  Phil Hill
  Chuck Daigh
  Olivier Gendebien
Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59 12hr 02:31.8, 188
2nd 9 S3.0   Jean Behra   Cliff Allison Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59 187
3rd 31 S2.0   Wolfgang von Trips   Jo Bonnier Porsche Auto Co. Porsche 718 RSK 184
4th 34 S1.5   Bob Holbert   Don Sesslar Cyrus L. Fulton Porsche 718 RSK 182
5th 32 S1.5   John Fitch   Edgar Barth Porsche Auto Co. Porsche 718 RSK 181
6th 12 S3.0   E.D. Martin   Lance Reventlow Edwin D. Martin Ferrari 250 TR 58 174
7th 14 S3.0   Ed Lunken
  Gaston Andrey
  Augie Pabst James Johnston Ferrari 250 TR 58 174
8th 35 S1.5   Jack McAfee   Ken Miles Precision Motors Porsche 718 RSK 173
9th 70 GT3.5   Howard Hively   Richie Ginther Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 GT California 171
10th 37 S1.5   Ray “Ernie” Erickson   Ed Hugus Chester J. Flynn Porsche 7118 RSK 170
11th 33 GT1.6   Huschke von Hanstein   Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche Auto Co. Porsche 356A Carrera GT 164
12th 3 S3.0   Walt Hansgen   Dick Thompson B.S. Cunningham Lister-Jaguar 164
13th 19T S2.0   Lloyd Casner
  Dan Collins
  Jim Hunt North American Racing Team Ferrari 500 TRC 164
14th 25 GT2.0   Bobby Burns
  James Cook
  Roy Jackson-Moore A.C. Cars, Ltd. AC Ace 164
15th 4 S3.0   Briggs Cunningham
  Russ Boss
  Lake Underwood
  Stirling Moss
B.S. Cunningham Lister-Jaguar 164
16th 44 GT1.3   Jake Kaplan   Charlie Rainville Jake Kaplan Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce 162
17th 59 S750   Gérard Laureau   Paul Armagnac Deutsch & Bonnet DB-Panhard HBR4 162
18th 60 S750   Alejandro de Tomaso
  Isabel Haskell
  Denise McCluggage
  Ricardo Rodríguez
Alejandro de Tomaso Osca S750 161
19th 48 S1.1   Frank Baptista
  Art Tweedale
  Charles Wallace Elva Engineering Co. Elva-Climax Mk IV 160
20th 15 GT3.5   Alfonso Gomez-Mena   Juan Montalvo Auto Sport Club, Havana Ferrari 250 GT LWB 160
21st 45 GT1.3   Pete Lovely
  Sam Weiss
  Jay Chamberlain Team Lotus Lotus Elite 160
22nd 24 GT2.0   Arch Means
  Ross Wees
  Charles Kurtz A. C. Car Ltd AC Ace 159
23rd 49 S1.1   Burdette Martin
  Chuck Dietrich
  William Jordan Elva Engineering Co. Elva-Climax Mk IV 158
24th 23T GT2.0   Lonnie Rix   Ed Rahal A. C. Car Ltd AC Ace 158
25th 26 GT2.0   Max Goldman
  Sydney H. Arnolt
  Ralph Durbin S. H. Arnolt Arnolt Boldie 155
26th 22 GT2.0   Mike Rothschild   Arch McNeill Fergus Motors (Morgan M.) Morgan Plus 4 155
27th 28 GT1.6   Ray Saidel   Gus Ehrman Hambro Auto Corp. MG A Twin Cam 155
28th 64 GT750   Bill Rutan
  Paul Richards
  Ray Cuomo Roosevelt Auto Co. Inc. Fiat-Abarth 750 Record Monza 152
29th 62 GT750   Lanzo Cussini   Remo Cattini Roosevelt Auto Co. Inc. Fiat-Abarth 750 Record Monza 150
30th 65 GT750   Bob Kuhn   Jim Jeffords George F. Schrafft Fiat-Abarth 750 Record Monza 149
31st 54 GT1.0   Phil Stiles   Hugh Sutherland Hambro Auto Corp. Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite 149
32nd 63 GT750   Mario Poltonieri   Alfonso Thiele Roosevelt Auto Co. Inc. Fiat-Abarth 750 Record Monza 147
33rd 40 S1.5   Charles Moran, Jr.   George Rand Charles Moran, Jr. Lotus-Climax Eleven 145
34th 29 GT1.6   John Dalton   Jim Parkinson Hambro Auto Corp. MG A Twin Cam 145
35th 51 GT1.3   Harry Blanchard   Skip Callanan Harry C. Blanchard Lancia Appia Zagato 144
36th 53 GT1.0   Ed Leavens   Harold Kunz Hambro Auto Corp. Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite 142
37th 58 S750   Henri Perrier   Bill Wood Deutsch & Bonnet DB-Panhard HBR4 141
38th 55 GT1.0   Fred Hayes
  John Colgate
  John Christy Hambro Auto Corp. Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite 141
39th 43 GT1.3   Bob Pfaff
  Wynn Kramarsky
  Louis Comito
  Tom O'Brien
Louis Comito Alfa Romeo Giuletta Veloce 140
40th 52 GT1.3   Peter Baumberger
  Walter Cronkite
  Warren Rohlfs Charles Kreisler Lancia Appia Zagato 140
41st 18 S2.0   Jim Hall   Hap Sharp Carroll Shelby Sports Cars Maserati 250S 138
42nd 42 GT1.3   Bob Rubin
  Louis Comito
  Bob Grossman Robert Grossman Alfa Romeo Giuletta Veloce 134
DNF 10 S3.0   Rod Carveth   Gilbert Geitner North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 TR 58 130 Collision
DNF 21 GT2.0   Charles Kolb
  Gene Hobbs
  Fred Moore Standard Triumph Motor Co. Triumph TR3 128 Valve
NC 80 GT1.0   Fred Lieb   Smokey Drolet Turner Sports Cars, Ltd. Turner 750 Sport 128
DNF 27 S2.0   Harry Entwistle   Bob Hanna Autosport, Ltd. Lotus-Climax 15 126 Electrics
NC 47 S1.1   Tom Fleming
  Harry Dager
  Bill Schade Team Lotus Lotus-Climax Eleven 123
NC 30 GT1.6   Ray Pickering
  Sherman Decker
  Jack Flaherty Hambro Auto Corp. MG A Twin Cam 121
DNF 38 S1.5   Carl Haas
  Jay Middleton
  Frank Campbell Automobile OSCA Osca S1500 115 Wet ignition
NC 16 GT3.5   George Reed
  George Arents
  Don O'Dell RRR Enterprises Ferrari 250 GT LWB 110
NC 56 S1.1   Ricardo Rodríguez   Frank Bott Automobile OSCA Osca S950 106
DISQ 2 S3.0   Ivor Bueb   Stirling Moss The Lister Corp. Lister-Jaguar 98 Illegal refuelling
NC 20 GT2.0   Robert Samm
  Fred Moore
  John Bentley Standard Triumph Motor Co. Triumph TR3 98
DNF 66 S750   Robert Rollason   Sandy MacArthur Sandy MacArthur Stanguelliin S750 Bialbero 97 Accident
DNF 57 GT1.0   Howard Hanna   Richard Toland Deutsch & Bonnet DB-Panhard HBR4 82 Engine
DNF 61 S750   Alan Markelson   Rees Makins Automobile OSCA Osca S750 82 Electrics
DNF 8 S3.0   Olivier Gendebien   Phil Hill Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59 77 Differential
DNF 11 S3.0   Pedro Rodríguez   Paul O'Shea Mexican National Auto Club Ferrari 250 TR 58 66 Engine
DNF 46 GT1.3   Jay Chamberlain   Sam Weiss Team Lotus Lotus Elite 65 Engine
DNF 36 S1.5   Roberto Mieres
  Pedro von Döry
  Anton von Döry Count von Döry Porsche 718 RSK 34 Camshaft
DNF 50 S1.1   M.R.J. Wyllie
  Margaret Wyllie
  Skip Lange M.R.J. Wyllie Elva-Climax Mk. IV 34 Suspension
DNF 1 S3.0   Roy Salvadori   Carroll Shelby David Brown-Aston Martin Aston Martin DBR1/300 32 Gear lever
DNF 41 GT1.3   Fred van Beuren
  Mario Mercader
  Javier Velásquez Fred T. van Beuren Alfa Romeo Giuletta Veloce 31 Accident
DNF 39 S1.5   Jean Lucas   Jean-François Malle Los Amigos Cooper-Climax Monaco T49 20 Oil loss
DNF 17 GT3.5   Duncan Forlong
  David Schiff
  Joe Sheppard Joe Sheppard-David Schiff Aston Martin DB2/4 11 Piston
DNS 5 S3.0   Ed Lawrence
  Ralph Durbin
  James Cook Rallye Motors Maserati 300S Fatal accident
(Lawrence)
DNS 19 S3.0   Lloyd Casner   Jim Hunt North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 TR
DNS 23 GT2.0   Lonnie Rix
  George Avent
  Ed Rahal A. C. Car Ltd AC Ace practiced only
(Road accident)

[6][7]

Class Winners

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Class Winners
Sports 3000 – Class D 7 Ferrari 250 TR 59 Gurney / Daigh / Hill / Gendebien
Sports 2000 – Class E 31 Porsche 718 RSK von Trips / Bonnier
Sports 1500 – Class F 34 Porsche 718 RSK Holbert / Sessiar
Sports 1100 – Class G 48 Elva-Climax Mk IV Baptista / Wallace / Tweedale
Sports 750 – Class H 59 D.B.-Panhard HBR4 Laureau / Armagnac
Grand Touring 3500 – Class 9 70 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder Hively / Ginther
Grand Touring 2000 – Class 7 25 AC Ace Burns / Jackson-Moore / Cook
Grand Touring 1600 – Class 6 33 Porsche 356A Carrera GT von Hanstein / de Beaufort
Grand Touring 1300 – Class 5 44 Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce Kaplan / Rainville
Grand Touring 1000 – Class 4 54 Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite Stiles / Sutherland
Grand Touring 750 – Class 3 64 Fiat-Abarth 750 Record Monza Rutan / Cuomo / Richards

[8]

Standings after the race

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Pos Championship Points
1   Ferrari 8
2   Porsche 4
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included in this set of standings.

Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 3 results out of the 5 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sebring 12 Hours 1959 - Entry List". Racing Sports Cars.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". www.conceptcarz.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ a b c http://www.ferrariexperts.com/SCCA%20results%201959.html#seb[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b c "1959 12 Hours of Sebring: 12 Hours to Success".
  5. ^ http://www.teamdan.com/archive/wsc/1959/1959seb.html[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ a b c "1959 Sebring 12 Hrs". Team DAN. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  7. ^ "Sebring 12 Hours 1959 - Race Results". Racing Sports Cars.
  8. ^ a b "Sebring 12 Hours 1959". Racing Sports Cars.

Further reading

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  • Alec Ulmann. The Sebring Story. Chilton Book Company. ASIN B0006CUAP2.


World Sportscar Championship
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1958 RAC Tourist Trophy
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