1961: Master Aston Martin mechanic Rex Woodgate is trying valiantly to loosen the wheel on one of the DB4 GTs. The cars were sent with Borrani wire wheels to take wider tires but were so tight both cars went out with broken hubs due to overheating.
1961. Ricardo Rodriguez chats with his mechanic prior to the formula junior race. Ricardo drove this OSCA to 12th place Charlie Kolb won in a Gemini. Pedro drove a Cooper to 5th place.
1961: Denise McCluggage is preparing her Ferrari Berlinetta. Co-Driver Alan Eager, head down, is visualizing. In a stunning race, the duo won the GT class over stout competition and drove the Ferrari back to New York on Monday.
1961: Go Kart champion Bobby Allen wins at Sebring. With him is Red Crise the man behind the Nassau Speed weeks. Bobby went on to be a Sprint car legend but never made it to Indy. His teams won hundreds of races and Bobby lived a long life.
1962: Jo Bonnier discusses something in the cockpit of his Serenissima Ferrari TRI/61 during practice. A great year for the Swede as he won overall. From a Swedish publishing family, Bonnier was easily the most sophisticated GP driver.
1962: Every year the Sebring high school marching band would perform just before the start. As young men from the frozen north we simply had to take photos of cute baton twirlers.
1962: One of the more famous barcboys photos. Denise McCluggage tells Stirling how slow the OSCA is compared to her 1961 GT winning Berlinetta. Moss, always tanned and fit, listens intently. Nobody knew Moss had just a month left in his racing c
1962: Mrs. Alec Ulman poses with publisher Gregor Grant. Grant was an annual visitor to Sebring as the head of the huge British journal “Autosport”.
1962: How to get from the paddock to the spectator area? The best was always the Mercedes sponsored bridge. Most anyone with a camera stalled on the steps up and down to snap a few photos. A couple more adventurous souls are climbing the TV towe
1963: Early on the leaderboard shows the Rodriguez boys leading in #18 with the eventual 1st and 2nd place Ferrari’s behind. At this point Dan Gurney is leading GT in a Cobra with the Ferrari GTO of Roger Penske and Augie Pabst second. The Cobra
1963: Crews are preparing an overhead refueling system. By now crews had figured out it was much faster to use a huge tank and gravity to refuel. It took several years before they figured out how to stop the gas from gushing out when over filled.
1963: Shelby was out in force with his Cobra’s. The crew decked themselves out in striped bib overalls as a tribute to Shel who wore overalls in his early racing days. Yep, Ol’ Shel wore a pair himself.
1963: There was always a crowd around the prototypes and this gathering is looking at the business end of the Mairesse, Vacarella and Bandini 250P Ferrari.
1964: Why are Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Colin Chapman and Dan Gurney in deep conversation? Chapman is telling Hill he best get on the Indy program. Clark and Gurney have already done it and Chapman thinks Hill can win it. And he did 2 years later.
1964: All his life Stirling Moss was recognized and adored. In the paddock loading his rental car, Moss is stopped by spectators and has his pen ready for the always sought autograph of the great man.
1964: The Cobra Daytona Coupe wins Sebring for their first big International win. Dave Mc Donald and Bob Holbert (right) were 4th overall and won GT
1964: Sebring was growing faster than anyone expected. An aerial view shows part of the 60,000 that attended. The fences at the esses are wall-to-wall packed. You can clearly see the outlines of the old barracks foundations.
1964: Yes, the 12 hour Press HQ was smack next to the infamous Circle Bar. Back before the squeaky clean driver revolution, everybody made it to the Circle Bar at one time. It is perfectly justifiable to have a Press HQ next to a bar.
1965: What’s the sense of working so hard if you can’t have a little fun? The Ford crew needed to identify this spare motor and did so with style.
1965: The rains were epic. You can see this Alfa driver is ankle deep while standing on the track ! The current in the pits was so strong it literally floated spare wheels and tires away. Somehow all the MGB’s continued to run despite Lucas elec
1965: The track was flooded but unlike today, the race carried on. And it created the possibility of some great photos. A factory MGB looks more like a speedboat as it runs with lights blazing.
1965: Unbelievable world class talent in this photo. L-R Carroll Smith, Phil Hill, Richie Ginther and Phil Remington. How many wins, how many cars, how many genius ideas were accomplished by this quartet?
1965: Some parts of Sebring simply accepted the race and went on with their daily lives. Retired folks and shuffleboard were very popular. Note the perfect Olympic form of the woman who is ready to push off.
1965: From the start, some of the hardest working people at Sebring were the tire guys. Behind the scenes with the Goodyear Truck. This year heat and torrential rain never stopped them.
1965: The FIA required checkups on drivers. Oscar Koveleski is reading an eye chart while Sherm Decker laughs. Oscar, no doubt, is telling the doctor that he can only read Polish.
1966: The Florida Governor, Haydon Burns, opens the ceremonies with longtime announcer Ross Stone in his “raceday” sports coat.
1966: Back in the day even the world class Chaparral team were housed in off track barns or shops. Jim Hall is pointing out something on the 2d coupe to Phil Hill. Chaparral won in 1965 and entered 2 cars for 66. Neither car made it past 35 laps.
1966: Tech inspection was still held in town and was always a fun time for locals and race crews. At this time everything from a Mini to a Ford GT to a couple U2.5 sedans are waiting.
1966: Despite being a big overweight, the Penske Grand Sport was doing well with Dick Thompson and Dick Guildstrand driving. Lapping a slower car the Vette went off and suffered terminal suspension damage. The tow truck waits.
1966: The very first TransAm is held as the 4 hr race at Sebring. A Goodyeartech checks tires during practice. Bob Tullius is in the car as Co Driver Tony Adamowicz (white shirt sunglasses) looks on. They would finish 2nd overall to Rindt’s Alfa
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