1955 12 Hours of Sebring
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Sebring_International_Raceway_-_Historical_%281952%29.svg/275px-Sebring_International_Raceway_-_Historical_%281952%29.svg.png)
The 1955 Florida International Twelve Hour Grand Prix of Endurance took place on 13 March, on the Sebring International Raceway (Florida, United States). It was the second round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. For the fifth running of the event, the 5.2 mile course had been widened and smoothed with a new asphalt topping laid down. This was for safety and would allow the cars to achieve greater speed, especially in some of the corners.
Report
Entry
A massive total of 124 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 101 arrived for practice, trying to get among the 80 qualifiers for the race. Despite the size of the entry, the event was not supported by the major European teams, although there was one factory entry from England, for Donald Healey Motor Co., driven by Stirling Moss, who piloted an Osca to victory in 1954 with fellow Englishmen, Lance Macklin and two cars from France for Regie Renault Co., who include Robert Manzon amongst their squad. With no factory Ferrari entry to defend their championship lead, they were supported by the private entries of Allen Guiberson and Luigi Chinetti.[1]
Briggs Cunningham returned after winning in 1954, with five cars from five different manufacturers. One of those cars was a factory-supported Jaguar D-Type for Phil Walters and Mike Hawthorn. Cunningham himself was entered in a new Offenhauser-powered Cunningham C-6R with John Gordon Bennett.[citation needed]
There were a dozen different countries represented in the field, including the teams from Mexico and Venezuela. The later had Chester "Chet" Flynn leading their effort, while the Mexicans had a two car team with Fred T. Van Beuren and Carlos Braniff leading their charge. The race saw its first Hollywood movie star, as Jackie Cooper was listed to pilot an Austin-Healey 100S.[citation needed]
Miss Isabelle Haskell was to become the first woman to complete, not only in the 12 Hours of Sebring – but in any American Automobile Association sanctioned race. Although the AAA did not allow ladies drivers, Haskell discovered that there was no such restriction placed on 'foreign races'. By race day, another woman had signed up to drive in the race, Greta Oakes was listed to take the wheel with her husband, Sydney Oakes.[citation needed]
Race
The race was held over 12 hours on the 5.2 miles Sebring International Raceway. An estimated 20,000 spectators showed on a warm and sunny raceday. With the race starting promptly at 10am, 80 cars scrambled for positions. Meanwhile, six drivers who were unhappy at not being allowed to start, decided to go on the track at the start, they did one or two laps and then got off the track. Statistics show that the Hawthorn/Walter's Jaguar D-Type led all but one of the 182 completed laps, That single lap, a Ferrari 750 Monza of Piero Taruffi and Harry Schell were able take to the front for lap 32.[2][3]
As darkness fell on the former Hendricks Army Airfield, the race ended in confusion. At one point, the Ferrari of Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby were declared winners, then it was the D-Type. The Jag was called to the winner's circle, only to run out of fuel during the victory lap. The former Le Mans winner, Luigi Chinetti, the Ferrari representative from New York protested the result, which was counter-protected by the Jaguar owner, Briggs Cunningham. Cunningham insisted that the D-Type had passed the Ferrari. The owner of the Ferrari, Allen Guiberson demanded that the D-Type should be disqualified, as it passed the Ferrari under a yellow flag. Cunningham countered the Index of Performance Trophy should not have been handed to Hill/Shelby, when in fact it should have gone to the Osca driven by Bill Lloyd[4] and George Huntoon.[5][2]
The AAA contest board called a meeting on 21 March to make a final decision. They inspected the records of Cunningham and Guiberson, and that of race timekeeper, Joe Lane. The AAA declared the Jaguar had won by a margin of ten seconds. Although Cunningham had won the race, his protest was disallowed and Ferrari was ruled the handicap winners under the Index of Performance. This was due to an admission by Ferrari team chief, Nello Ugolini had forgotten to count a lap. As a result, Walters became the first driver to win the Grand Prix of Endurance twice – having co-driven a Cunningham-Chrysler C4-R to victory with John Fitch in the 1953 race.[2]
The winning D-Type covered 182 laps (946.4 miles), averaging a speed of 79.300 mph. The podium was complete by William Spear's Maserati 300S, which he co-drove with Sherwood Johnston albeit two laps adrift. Elsewhere, Cooper managed to finish the race in 41st, Haskell did not. She went out with an apparent engine problem. The Oakes' Austin-Healey also failed to finish, after being involved in an accident.
Official Classification
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Sebring_International_Raceway_-_Historical_%281952%29.svg/220px-Sebring_International_Raceway_-_Historical_%281952%29.svg.png)
Class Winners are in Bold text.
Pos | No | Class | Driver | Entrant | Chassis | Laps | Reason Out | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 19 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | B. S. Cunningham | Jaguar D-Type | 12hr 00:00.0, 182 | |
2nd | 25 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Allen Guiberson | Ferrari 750 Monza Spyder | 182 | |
3rd | 35 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | William C. Spear | Maserati 300S | 180 | |
4th | 36 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Maserati Co. & B. S. Cunningham | Maserati 300S | 178 | |
5th | 28 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Luigi Chinetti | Ferrari 750 Monza | 177 | |
6th | 44 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Donald Healey Motor Co. | Austin-Healey 100S | 176 | |
7th | 64 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | B. S. Cunningham | Osca MT4 1450 | 168 | |
8th | 68 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Porsche Co. & B. S. Cunningham | Porsche 550 Spyder | 166 | |
9th | 63 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Carlos Braniff Cornejo | Osca MT4 1500 | 166 | |
10th | 15 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Jack Pry | Jaguar XK140 | 163 | |
11th | 61 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Robert H. Davis | Porsche 550 Spyder | 163 | |
12th | 14 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Jacob Kaplan | Jaguar C-Type | 162 | |
13th | 5 | S8.0 | ![]() | Ray Crawford | Kurtis Kraft-Lincoln 500K | 161 | ||
14th | 70 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Fed Crawford | Porsche 550 Spyder | 161 | |
15th | 45 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Wm. Brewster | Austin-Healey 100S | 160 | |
16th | 40 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Hobart A. H. Cook | Austin-Healey 100S | 156 | |
17th | 12 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Loyal Katskee | Jaguar C-Type | 156 | |
18th | 60 | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | S. H. Arnolt | Arnolt Bolide Bristol | 154 | |
19th | 4 | S8.0 | ![]() | ![]() | B. Murphy | Kurtis Kraft-Buick 500K | 153 | |
20th | 17 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Dr. M. R. J. Wyllie | Jaguar XK140 | 152 | |
21st | 31 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Rees T. Makins & Herman Rutson | Mercedes-Benz 300SL | 152 | |
22nd | 38 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Joseph Giubardo | Austin-Healey 100M | 152 | |
23rd | 81 | S1.1 | ![]() | ![]() | Hoffmann Porsche Corp. | Porsche 550 | 152 | |
24th | 39 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Wm. Wellenberg, Jr. | Austin-Healey 100M | 151 | |
25th | 59 | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | S. H. Arnolt | Arnolt Bolide Bristol | 151 | |
DISQ | 79 | S1.1 | ![]() | ![]() | Frank Miller | Lotus-Climax Mark IX | 150 | pushed across the finish line |
26th | 18 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Dr. Dolph Vilardi | Jaguar XK140 | 149 | |
27th | 55 | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | M. G. Rothschild | Morgan-Triumph Plus 4 | 149 | |
28th | 48 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Brooks Stevens | Excalibur J Willys | 148 | |
29th | 58 | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | S. H. Arnolt | Arnolt Bolide Bristol | 148 | |
30th | 52 | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | John Weitz | Morgan-Triumph Plus 4 | 145 | |
31st | 84 | S1.1 | ![]() | ![]() | John S. Penn | Siata-Fiat 300BC | 145 | |
32nd | 43 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Jas, F. Fergusson | Austin-Healey 100S | 143 | |
33rd | 57 | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | John H. Horwood | Arnolt Bolide Bristol | 141 | |
34th | 69 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Guy Atkins | Porsche 356 1300 Coupe | 141 | |
35th | 32 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Chester Fkynn | Mercedes-Benz 300SL | 139 | |
36th | 75 | S1.5 | ![]() ![]() | ![]() | H. L. Brundage | Porsche 356 1300 Coupe | 139 | |
37th | 9 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Fred G. Scherer | Ford Thunderbird | 138 | |
DISQ | 80 | S1.1 | ![]() | ![]() | John Bentley | Abarth 207A Spyder | 150 | refuelling on track |
38th | 76 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | David Ash | MG TF | 137 | |
39th | 77 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | John E. Ryan | MG | 135 | |
40th | 8 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Fred T. VanBeuren | Van Bueren-Chrysler Special | 131 | |
41st | 42 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Jack Cooper | Austin-Healey 100S | 131 | |
42nd | 67 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Howard Hanna | Porsche 550 Spyder | 130 | |
DNF | 54 | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | T.A. Fredmann | Maserati 300 AG | 129 | Gearbox |
43rd | 50 | S2.0 | ![]() ![]() | ![]() | Ecurie Yankee | Ferrari 500 Mondial | 124 | |
44th | 88 | S750 | ![]() | ![]() | Int. Auto Sales Co. | Renault 1063 | 124 | |
DNF | 87 | S750 | ![]() ![]() | ![]() | Regie Renault Co. | Renault 1063 | 121 | Engine |
DNF | 72 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Norman Christianson | Porsche 550 Spyder | 119 | Brakes |
DNF | 82 | S1.1 | ![]() | ![]() | Austin L. Conley | Siata-Fiat 300BC | 112 | unknown |
DNF | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | John F. Ellwood | Triumph TR2 | 111 | Head gasket | |
DNF | S1.1 | ![]() | ![]() | Bobbie Burns & Norman J. Scott, Jr. | Lotus-Climax Mark IX | 109 | Accident | |
45th | 3 | S8.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Walter Gray | Allard-Chrysler J2X | 104 | |
DNF | 24 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Wm. H. Doheny | Ferrari 750 Monza | 99 | unknown |
DNF | 100 | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | James E. Pauley | Siata 208 CS Balbo | 96 | Transmission |
DNF | 29 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Manfredo Lippmann | Ferrari 750 Monza | 88 | Engine |
DNF | 73 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Speedcraft Enterprises | Osca MT4 1450 | 83 | Unknown |
46th | 16 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Fred Dagavar | Jaguar XK120 | 73 | |
DNF | 83 | S1.1 | ![]() | ![]() | Isabelle Haskell | Bandini Fiat | 67 | Engine |
DNF | 71 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Richard H. R. Toland | Denzel-Volkswagen 1300 Super | 61 | Unknown |
DNF | 41 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Bill Milliken | Austin-Healey 100 | 60 | Engine |
DNF | 74 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | George E. Tilp | Osca MT4 1350 | 58 | Rear Axle |
DNF | 37 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | B. S. Cunningham | Cunningham C-6R | 54 | Gearbox |
DNF | 26 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Marquis de Portago | Ferrari 750 Monza | 53 | Gearbox |
DNF | 47 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Brooks Stevens | Excalibur J Willys | 50 | Engine |
DNF | 46 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Fred F. Allen | Austin-Healey 100S | 47 | Oil leak |
DNF | 49 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Sir Sydney Oakes | Austin-Healey 100M | 44 | Accident |
DNF | 89 | S750 | ![]() | ![]() | Sandy MacArthur | Bandini-Mercury Outboard | 34 | Engine |
DNF | 66 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Philip B. Stewart | Osca MT4 1500 | 33 | Accident damage |
DNF | 65 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Harry A. Chapman | Osca MT4 1500 | 18 | Unknown |
DNF | 7 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | James Kimberly | Ferrari 375 Plus | 18 | Rear axle |
DNF | 33 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Pancho P. Croquer | Mercedes-Benz 300SL | 17 | Out of fuel |
DNF | 53 | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Porfirio Rubirosa | Ferrari 500 Mondial | 14 | Accident |
DNF | 2 | S8.0 | ![]() | ![]() | A. Rosenberger | Nash-Healey Le Mans | 14 | Gearbox |
DNF | 85 | S1.1 | ![]() | ![]() | Dr. Raymond Osborne | Kieft-Fiat Sport | 10 | Engine |
DNF | 11 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Tony Parravano | Ferrari 375 MM | 5 | Fuel fire |
DNF | 1 | S8.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Jack Ensley | Kurits Kraft-Cadillac 500 | 3 | Engine |
DNF | 27 | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Ecurie Yankee | Ferrari 750 Monza | 3 | Collision with ambulance |
DNF | 86 | S750 | ![]() | ![]() | Regie Renault Co. | Renault 1063 | 2 | Accident |
DNF | 86 | S750 | ![]() | ![]() | J. W. Shakespeare | Ferrari 375 MM | 0 | Electrics |
DNS | 6 | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | John B. Mull | Jaguar XK120 | Reserve | |
DNS | 12A | S5.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Chester J. Flynn | Ferrari 340 America | Accident in practice | |
DNS | 21P | S1.5 | ![]() | Art Bunker | Porsche 500 Spyder | |||
DNS | 29T | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Manfredo Lippmann | Ferrari 250 Monza | Engine | |
DNS | 41 | S3.0 | ![]() ![]() | ![]() | Robt. H. Fergus | Austin-Healey 100S | Accident in practice | |
DNS | 62 | S1.5 | ![]() | ![]() | Ed. W. Crawford | Porsche 550 Spyder | ||
DISQ | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Howard Hanna | Swallow Doretti-Triumph | started illegally – flagged off | ||
DISQ | S1.1 | ![]() | ![]() | Joe Sheppard | Lotus-Climax Mark IX | started illegally – flagged off | ||
DISQ | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Billy J. Dantone | Austin-Healey 100 | started illegally – flagged off | ||
DISQ | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Phil Stiles | Austin-Healey 100 | started illegally – flagged off | ||
DISQ | S3.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Emil Bulck | Austin-Healey 100 | started illegally – flagged off | ||
DISQ | S2.0 | ![]() | ![]() | Fred L. Losee | Veritas Comet RS | started illegally – flagged off |
[6][7][8]
- Fastest Lap: Sherwood Johnston, 3:38.8secs (85.558 mph) [6][7]
Class Winners
Class | Winners | ||
---|---|---|---|
Class B - Sports 8000 | 5 | Kurtis Kraft-Lincoln 500K | Crawford |
Class C - Sports 5000 | 19 | Jaguar D-type | Hawthorn / Walters |
Class D - Sports 3000 | 25 | Ferrari 750 Monza Spyder | Hill / Shelby |
Class E- Sports 2000 | 60 | Arnolt Bolide Bristol | Panks / Erickson |
Class F - Sports 1500 | 64 | Osca MT4 1450 | Lloyd / Huntoon |
Class G - Sports 1100 | 81 | Porsche 550 Spyder | O'Shea / Koster |
Class H - Sports 750 | 88 | Renault 1063 | Miller / Attaway |
[9]
Standings after the race
Pos | Championship | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 14 |
2= | ![]() | 8 |
2= | ![]() | 8 |
4 | ![]() | 3 |
5 | ![]() | 2 |
- 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 4 results out of the 6 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
- ^ "World Sports Racing Prototypes - World Championship 1955". Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Sebring 1955", archive.vn, January 21, 2015, archived from the original on January 21, 2015, retrieved June 12, 2020
- ^ "Sebring Urban Legends: Fact or Fiction? – Sebring Raceway".
- ^ "Bill Lloyd (USA) - Racing Sports Cars", Racingsportscars.com, retrieved June 12, 2020
- ^ "George Huntoon (USA) - Racing Sports Cars", Racingsportscars.com, retrieved June 12, 2020
- ^ a b "1955 Sebring 12 HRS". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ^ a b "World Sports Racing Prototypes - World Championship 1955". Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ^ "Sebring 12 Hours 1955 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars".
- ^ "Sebring 12 Hours 1955 - Racing Sports Cars".
Further reading
- Alec Ulmann. The Sebring Story. Chilton Book Company. ASIN B0006CUAP2.
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