1965 SEBRING PROGRAM

The winning Chaparral 2A of Jim Hall & Hap Sharp was so superior they qualified 9 seconds a lap faster than the GT-40.

It would not be long before Hall & his men created more than this rear spoiler. The wing was but a year away with the 2E.

Even in the rain, Hall & Sharp managed to keep running and leading. The two Texas cars ran together during some of the storm moving the water out of their path.

Texas friend Ronnie Hissom and Porsche specialist Bruce Jennings were picked to drive #4. Hissom was one of the original partners in Chaparral Cars.

The #4 Chaparral had to pit for repairs but returned as the rain was slowing to finish 22nd.

The 396 cubic inch Corvette Grand Sport of Delmo Johnson and Dave Morgan led the first lap and went all 12 hours, with a few problems, to finish 137 laps.

George Wintersteen took ownership of this Corvette Grand Sport and shared it with Peter Goetz & Ed Diehl - both of whom were more noted for small displacement racers. They had no trouble finishing 14th behind two of the Daytona Cobras.

This more usual Corvette #5 of George Robertson Dick Boo won the over 5 liter GT class. But only Corvettes were in that class as the Cobras were all 289’s and under 5 liters.

BARC member Don Yenko’s Corvette shared with John Bushell lost a wheel and was a DNF.

Yenko drags the wheel-less RR back to the pits. The suspension was ruined and the car retired. Yenko lamented “If I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have no luck”

The Iso Grifo A3C Chevrolet entered by Bizzarini driven bybSilvio Moser crashed on lap 16 and co driver Mario Casoni never got in.

The #9 Iso Grifo was crashed hard into the Mercedes bridge by Mike Gammino and cut in half. Charlie Rainville was his co driver and the car doing well. Despite being in two pieces it was classified 39th.

The Ford GT-40 program had gone to Shelby and #10 was driven by Phil Hill and Richie Ginther. The car wheel problems early on and finally called it quits with suspension problems.

The #11 Ford GT of Ken Miles and Bruce McLaren were 2nd overall 4 laps behind the Chaparral. Shelby was thrilled to finish such a hard race and beating all the Ferrari’s,

Four Daytona coupes were entered. #12 had big problems at the start, stalling and getting hit, then catching fire and having a door that kept popping open. But Ed Leslie and Allan Grant never stopped and beat the first Grand Sport Corvette at the end.

Bob Johnson and Tom Payne took the #14 to 7th overall and 2nd in GT 5.0. The rain slowed the big cars allowing two of the 904’s to finish ahead.

The Bob Bondurant and Joe Schlessler #15 Cobra Coupe ran without a hitch to finish 4th overall and first of all GT cars.

Lew Spencer had to stop overcome with the early day intense heat and was replaced later by Phil Hill whose GT-40 had quit. Jim Adams handled much of the driving.

The #17 Cobra of Graham Shaw and Dick Thompson carried a full roll cage and ran strong to 19th overall.

Ed Lowther & Bob Nagel had mechanical issues late in the day. Here whoever is driving has his head out the side to see where the car is going. At times cars strayed off the course, often one following the other.

The heavily driving lighted #20 Corbra. Dan Gerber is driving. His co driver was George Reed who would be involved in a horrific accident later in the day.

BARC drivers Sherm Decker and Oscar Koveleski brought this Cooper Ford. Decker had done well with it in SCCA the year previous. The car lasted 70 laps.

The prototype or P regulations allowed sports racers like this Lola T-70 from John Mecom to compete. Canadian John Cannon and Jack Saunders were drivers. The car, not designed for endurance racing, was quick but never finished.

The very unusual Lotus 19 highly modified by Dan Gurney, with a Ford GT V8 in back was very quick. Shelby hoped Gurney could set a blistering pace and make the Chaparrals chase. It didn’t work.

Bob Grossman in his #26 Scuderia Bear 330 P Ferrari. Skip Hudson was Bob’s co-driver and they were doing fine until the differential packed up.

One of many Ferrari sports racers entered. This 330P of John “Buck” Fulp and Charlie Kolb did not finish.

Another John Mecom entry, thie 250LM Ferrari, driven by Walt Hansgen and his protege Mark Donohue were 11th overall and second P 4 liters.

The unusual pairing of Graham Hill and Pedro Rodriguez in this Mecom 330P Ferrari were in the hunt until the clutch let them down on lap 133. The car was a full on factory entry complete with mechanics, but their participation was never mentioned.

David Piper’s 250LM Ferrari finished 3rd overall co-driven by F1 driver Tony Maggs. Piper still owns and had vintage raced it.

Ed Hugus, Charley Hayes and Paul Richards drove this 275P Ferrari to 12th overall and 3rd in Prototype under 4 liters.

The Umberto Maglioli & Giancarlo Baghetti 275P Ferrari leads Jean Rolland’s Afla. The Ferrari finished 8th the Alfa 16th and 1st in GT 1.6 liters

Peter Clarke’s 250 GTO Ferrari was partnered by Skip Scott. The car, by now, was 3 years old and simply not competitive with the Cobras.

Gerhard Mitter & Herbert Linge drove the #38 factory 904 to 8th overall. Porsche 904’s had 4 cars in the top 10.

Ben Pon and Joe Buzzeta took the #39 Porsche 904 through the storm and up into 6th overall.

Two 904’s in the Webster turns. #40 driven by Lake Underwood & Günther Klass leads Joe Buzzeta’s car.

Great action photo of the privately entered 904 of Davey Jordon and Scooter Patrick. Only two of the factory 2 liter 904’s beat them. Note the passenger window is slid open to circulate air.

Another 904, Cunningham #44 of Briggs Cunningham, John Fitch and Bill Benker (whoever he was) did well at 20th overall and 4th in 2 liter GT. Benker owned a 904 and was a salesman at Brundage Porsche, later Brumos.

MGB #48 leads the winning Chaparral before the rains came. Brad Picard and Al Pease took this car to 32nd overall.

Driving hard as the #49 MGB lifts a wheel chasing the Ferrari. Frank Morrill & Merle Brennan piloted this BMC entry. The plane in the background was a usual site at Sebring for years. Bring them back.

The Riley P-1800 shows it damaged front from the collision with Leslie’s Cobra at the start but is in much better shape than a few hours later. Read about it in the next photo.

Remains of the Volvo P-1800 after a horrific accident. Nick Cone was under the car after it had blown its engine. George Reed’s Cobra slid off the road and creamed the Volvo with Cone beneath the car. Read this great account. http://www.vclassics.com/sebring1.htm

Beach Mk8 Ford #53 did not finish but was a beautiful car driven by Ray Cuomo and John Bentley

A 356SC Porsche coupe, #54 driven by Dave McClain & Leland Dieas ran all 12 and complete 158 laps.

The #56 Alfa Giulia TZ has its ignition swamped as a soaked corner worker in water up to his ankles stand guard. Roberto Bussinello & Andrea de Adamich would get it started and finish 2nd in GT 1.6 liters

Andrea de Adamich is high sided on the hairpin sand bank. This car was stopped with ignition failur during the rain storm, had to get dug out of the sand bank but still finished well.

The #57 Alfa Romeo and an Austin Healey fight during the storm. The Healey would finish 17th, this Alfa in 27th driven by the Italian duo of Bruno Deserti & Teodoro Zeccoli.

Blurred by the pouring rain the #61 Sprite finished an astounding 15th overall but 2nd in 2 liter sports behind the factory 904/8 factory Porsche. Clive Baker and rallye genius Rauno Aaltonen were drivers.

The second factory Sprite was equally quick finishing 18th overall piloted by rallye racers Paddy Hopkirk & Timo Mäkinen.

Art Riley understeers past the sand bank beached #64 Lotus Elite.of John Norris & Roger Heftler.

The factory Triumph Spitfire GT #65 dropped out after an accident on the 5th lap with Peter Bolton driving.

IN 1965 tech inspection was held in town. This retired shuffleboard player pays no attention to the #66& #67 factory Triumph Spitfires. Yes they were Spitfires, not the GT6 and carried 1200 cc engines.

This little Alpine A110 Renault #69 kept motoring all day in the hands of Frank Manley & Ken Sellers to 40th.

NorthEast SCCA stalwart Howard Hanna in his René Bonnet Djet Renault. Hanna drove DB’s successfully for many years.

A late entry, hence its #81, was driven by Willy Mairesse and Mauro Bianchi to an eventful 23rd overall. The car was entered by FONG (Ferrari Owners Racing Assoc)

At the start #42 Ginetta gets away cleanly. Behind the #40 Porsche Ed Leslie has stalled the Cobra and is about to be hit by Art Riley in the P-1800.

The coupe rolls to the side, Ed Leslie is opening the door. Scooter Patrick is stuck behind the Cobra and cannot get past. Note the #16 Daytona Coupe has not started.

Leslie opens the door and is getting out. Scooter Patrick, now with some room, is turning hard to get around.

Stopped on the wall, the Shelby crew responds quickly with extinguishers. Poor #16 is still vapor locked and will not start.

The crew has put out the fire and opened the hood. Fireworks and balloons mark the start of the race. Leslie comes around the back of the car ready to get in and go. #16 has finally started its race.

No nice garages in 1965. Teams found garages in town. Here the Mecom team gets the Ferrari 250LM and Lola T-70 ready.

Spare engine for Shelby with a note to be careful when starting, be very careful.

Shelby checks pyrometer tire temps on two of his cars. The numbers tell a story.

One of the Brit boys taking care of the David Piper Ferrari gets dressed and shows us his 6 pak abs and bikini briefs. His mates have a laugh.

Work goes on getting the Lola ready. Men over and under the car. But where are the jackstands?

An artful glance through the air outlet of the #14 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe.

It’s near the end of the night and one mechanic is fitting the rear bodywork back on the #22 Lola T-70.

A mechanic spends his Friday night making sure his car will finish.

FIA races always had pre race medicals. The Doc checks out Sherm Decker as Oscar wonders what is going on outside.

Now it is Oscar’s turn to do his vision test. Because Oscar could not read, Decker fed him the answers.

The BARC Cooper-Ford arrices from Connecticut. A truly low budget operation, it was towed by a Willys Woody Jeep on a two wheel open trailer. Bob Poupard walks toward the car.

The intrepid crew of the #10 GT-40 MkII pushes their race car out of scrutineering. To truly appreciate the photo, compare the grocery prices to today.

The #18 Cobra has passed its ground clearance test over the cleverly engineered FIA official “box”. Some Ferrari’s did not pass and were put in the sports racing class

Wouldn’t it be great if today the great sports cars had to drive around town. People marvel at the Ford GT’s headed to the 5¢ store.

The barely recognizable Lotus 19 of Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant. Despite its custom build, it was not nearly as fast as the Chaparrals.

The Goodyear Blimp Mayflower cruised overhead until the storm appeared. They landed and tethered but the huge inflatable was blown nearly vertical by the 50 mph winds.

A south american woman photographer got creative taking photos so we got creative taking ours. The police in back don’t seem concerned.

The aftermath of the Cobra-Volvo collision. Amazing that driver Nick Cone, laying under the Volvo when the Cobra hit, was uninjured.

The GT-40 team of Ken Miles and Bruce McLaren go overnotes during practice. They would finish 2nd overall.

Phil Hill stresses something to the crew. Richie Ginther listens intently and big Jerry Grant seems amused.

Richie Ginther gets a laugh out of something. Ginther was such a great driver and engineer in F1 and sports cars. In my opinion, he was never appreciated for all he did for Ferrari and later, Honda and Porsche.

Graham Shaw, on the left, has said something that the mechanic seems not to like and Doc Dick Thompson wonders about.

What is Pedro Rodriguez telling Graham Hill.

Richie Ginther is enjoying his ride in the Ford GT-40.

Bruce McLaren drove for Ford. A brilliant engineer, designer, driver and organizer. The world lost Bruce in 1970 but the McLaren name still lives. Nobody had a bad word for Bruce McLaren.

Phil Hill. A great driver, a gentleman and our first F1 World Champion. Nothing more needs to be said.

Pedro Rodriguez has a word with a factory Ferrari mechanic who just happened to be vacationing in Sebring and volunteered to handle the Ferrari’s who accidentally were there.

If you knew about the Mecom team, here is what John Mecom looked like at the races. He was different with his beloved New Orleans Saints.

Briggs Cunningham at 58 years old, looking the cosmopolitan man of the world we so loved. Briggs & old pal John Fitch would pilot a 904 Porsche to 20th overall. Bet they loved being in a coupe.

Big Bill Spear makes an appearance. Spear co drove with Cunningham and Phil Hill and I am sure everyone enjoyed seeing him. Hill & Ginther on the left are enjoying Bill saying he’d never fit in a GT-40.

The line up for tech inspection or scrutineering. The Mustang was entered in the 3 Hour International Production Sedan race driven by David Tallakson and Robert McQueen. The Corvair behind the Cobra belonged to Don Eichstaedt out of Hazel Park, Michigan. He won his class.

Traffic jam leaving the airport. Ford GT, 356 Porsche,Lola T-70. They all had to drive back to town.

Even the spectators are amazed at the highly sophisticated method of checking ground clearance.

Hmm. The #15 Daytona coupe passes over the FIA clearance box. Is the mechanic in back tilting the front up a bit?

A very stock Jaguar XKE was driven by Dave Hull & Bob Kingham. Note they kept the top on the car. They completed only 59 laps because they took a long lunch.

A Ferrari passes the Cobra-Volvo-Alfa accident with a course marshall slowing everyone down. The Cobra is still tangled with the Volvo as hundreds look on

Poor #12 stalled at the start, got rear ended, caught on fire but still soldiered on, here creating a huge rooster tail for the car following.

Pedro Rodriguez in the Ferrari took his belts off so he could sit up and look over the windscreen.

An idea of how deep the standing water was on parts of the course.

The Shelby crew checks out the #15 Daytona coupe. They did a great job as this car finished 4th overall and first GT car.

Shelby looks over as he chats with what appear to be sponsors. They sure are not crew. Could they be from Ford?

Phil Hill looks askance at the photographer. Ginther is woried and Phil Remington is concerned. About what?

An interested Sheriff jokes with a Chaparral crewmen as they push the winning car to its starting position. Note Roger Penske is assisting on the right. Penske would later drive a Chaparral.

The BARCboys loved Sebring as every year the high school sent their cheerleaders out. They stand at parade rest watching the Chaparral go past.

Organizer Alec Ulmann, always in his blue blazer, addresses the crowd at the drivers meeting.

Still a few minutes to the start. Richie Ginther, who was not a big man, chats it up with 6’2” west coast buddy Dan Gurney.

Chaparral driver Ronnie Hissom listens intently as Jim Hall tells him to be fast but careful. The two cars pulled away from the pack easily.

Only a few second to go. Gurney tells Ginther his shoe is untied and Ginther is checking. Pedro Rodriguez (hands on hips) is wondering what is with these Americans?

The gun goes off. Gurney trips inhis huge sneakers. John Cannon, next to Gurney, makes a great start as does Rodriguez.

Clouds appear as Cannon’s Lola leads on the 2nd lap. Hall and Hissom are closing in and would take the lead on lap 3.

The race is going on and the Goodyear crew looks inside their truck to see how many more tires they have. Goodyear and Firestone both had teams in 1965. Not quite like the tire trucks today.

There was even an AAMRR-FIM Motorcycle race as one of the support races.

Here a rider negotiates what is now turn 17 passing both the Shell and Sinclair fuel trucks.

Our BARC hero Sherm Decker in the Cooper. A signed photo we’ve kept for many a year.