1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Race Profile

1966 Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance – Ford Triumphs Amid Tragedy

By Louis Galanos | Photos as credited

During the third week of March 1966 the annual pilgrimage of sports car aficionados was taking place in South Central Florida as fans of the Sebring 12-hour race descended on the aging 5.2 mile road course that was laid out over the runways and access roads of an old World War ll bomber base.

Many of the die-hard fans of America’s premier sports car endurance race had planned for months in anticipation of the event and some were already arriving at the airport facility several days prior to the race to find and secure coveted viewing spots.

When they arrived they found that things had changed somewhat. A new vehicle bridge was in place across a part of the track called the “Big Bend.” This opened the adjacent area known as Green Park to spectators thus almost doubling the size of the spectator enclosure. Also, hundreds of feet of new chain link (hurricane) fencing was in place to replace some of the snow fencing that was common in previous Sebring races and that provided little protection to the spectators who were injured in 1965 when a Bizzarini Iso Grifo lost its brakes and plunged into the crowd.

To the disappointment of some, fans carrying scaffolding materials in their vehicles were told that viewing scaffolds would not be permitted this year. It seems that when the big storm and deluge that struck the track the previous year several of these viewing scaffolds were blown over with people still in them. Fortunately there were no serious injuries.

Following the end of World War II the Sebring facility became a functioning civilian airport as well as an industrial park with private businesses ensconced in the numerous World War II-era warehouses and hangers. As a result the access roads that allowed employees to come and go also allowed early arrivals for the race to enter the facility without too much hindrance or having to pay for a race day ticket.

Back in those days the Sebring race officials would deal with these “early arrivals” by sending out a large contingent of race workers to the spectator enclosure. They would line up almost finger tip to finger tip and then walk through the spectator enclosure stopping all they met and requiring them to produce an entry ticket. If they didn’t have a ticket they had to pay $5.00 on the spot.

At one point the track workers came across a young man sleeping (or feigning sleep) in his locked vehicle. No amount of banging on the doors/windows or rocking the car could rouse him. They eventually gave up and proceeded on to the next group of spectators.

The topics of conversation among these early arrivals in 1966 included the large contingent of Fords entered in the race and would Jim Hall and the Chaparrals repeat their win from last year. Also in that conversation were several who regaled each other with stories about the big storm the previous year and how much better prepared they were for a similar event this year. One race fan even showed his buddies a large war-surplus inflatable Navy life raft that he had purchased just for any eventuality. If it didn’t rain he said he could then use it for a “wading pool.”

Among many of the early arrivals in March of 1966 were members of the automotive press who were waiting to see how many factory Ferrari race cars would eventually show up to challenge the Fords. According to Sebring race founder, Alec Ulmann, “without Ferrari the race wouldn’t be worth watching.”

In 1965 Ulmann’s decision to allow the light-weight Chaparrals to enter the Sebring race in the sports car category precipitated a boycott by Ferrari. Enzo later relented and allowed several of his cars to enter the event but strictly as private entries.

However, by 1966 the Ford – Ferrari War was fully engaged. Henry Ford II was pumping millions of dollars into his determined effort to beat Ferrari where it counted, on the track. At the very first (earlier races had been 3 and 6 hrs.) Daytona 24-Hour Continental in February of 1966, Fords came in 1-2-3 and Enzo Ferrari was warning European race constructors that they were losing the war to the “American steamroller.” (Note: In 1967 Ferrari would finish 1-2-3 at the 2nd annual Daytona 24).

Alec Ulmann, fearing an impact on gate receipts if Ferrari boycotted Sebring again, travelled to Maranello, “hat in hand…to plead with the Commendatore.” This was no doubt humiliating for Ulmann but as the saying goes, “money talks.”

The parties met in Enzo’s office and after much haggling, in French no less, Ferrari agreed to send over two of his new P3 cars. At the moment he made that commitment there was serious doubt that the factory could get those cars ready in time. In the end only one of the new factory 4-liter 330 P3s made the starting grid at Sebring with a North American Racing Team (NART) 365 P2/3 as back-up. On the surface it was not much competition for the slew of Fords entered with several of them being monster 7-liter cars.

On the other hand the new Ferrari 330 P3 was nothing to totally dismiss out of hand. The massive fuel-injected 12-cylinder engine generated 420 h.p. and Ferrari cars had a reputation for durability. More than once they outlasted the race leader to take the overall win at an endurance event.

At Sebring in 1966 Ford was a heavy favorite just because of the sheer number of cars entered. In that number were three 475 h.p. 7-liter 427 GT40 Mark II coupes, a 427 GT40 Mark II “X1” roadster, two 289 GT40s entered as prototypes and seven more GT40s entered in the Sports 5000 category. Plus there were three Cobras ready for this grueling 12-hour race. (Note: 22 Ford race cars were entered at Sebring that year and 18 of the 64 that made it to the starting grid were Fords).

Interestingly enough while Ferrari, Chaparral, Porsche, Alfa, Austin-Healey and Triumph were all listed as entrants all of the Ford cars mentioned above were from private shops like Shelby American, Holman Moody, Essex Wire Corporation, Scuderia Bear, Bill Wonder and Comstock Racing of Canada.
Have no fear though for Ford had a whole host of executives there from Dearborn as well a “consultants” ready to assist any Ford-powered entry.

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Race Profile Continued

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Page Two

In addition to all those Fords and the afore mentioned Ferraris there were two new Chaparral 2Ds from 1965 winner Jim Hall’s stable. Those cars were closed coupes and entered in the prototype class. Unfortunately for Chevy and Chaparral fans the cars were handling poorly during practice and one was leaking oil badly. All of this was worrisome to Jim Hall and Hap Sharp and both showed a lot of pessimism about repeating their win from the previous year. Also in the mix was a large contingent from factory Porsche and cars from Alfa-Romeo, Matra and a host of British iron from MG, Triumph and Lotus.

During Thursday’s practice session Ferrari fans were excited to see that the only car to break the three-minute barrier was the factory Ferrari 330 P3 of Mike Parkes and Bob Bondurant with a time of 2 minutes, 56.6 seconds.

However, during the last practice on Friday the “Big Brute” Fords unleashed all their horses and literally blew away the lap records with a time of 2 minutes, 45.6 seconds for Dan Gurney in his Shelby American Ford Mk. II, 2 minutes, 54.6 seconds for Graham Hill in his Alan Mann Ford GT40 and the Walt Hansgen/Ken Miles Ford GT40 Mk. II came in with a time of 2 minutes, 58 seconds.

Added to Friday’s schedule of events was the first ever Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Trans-American Sedan Championship known more commonly today as the Trans-Am. This series was originally derived from SCCA’s A-Production class and the race cars were supposed to be modified production (street) cars like Mustangs, Javelins, Dodge Challenges and so on. These cars were in the over 2-liter Trans-Am class and the under 2-liter class mostly included small European sedans like the Alfa-Romeo GTA.

In the inaugural event at Sebring in 1966 that Friday Bob Tullius came in first in the over 2-liter class driving a Dodge Dart and Jochen Rindt came in first in the under 2-liter class driving an Alfa-Romeo. Rindt also captured the overall win with his Alfa with Tullius second OA in his Dart and three more Alfas in third, fourth and fifth. It was a good day for Alfa.

The dawning of race day Saturday saw that the Sebring promoters were far better prepared to handle the expected record crowd that eventually hit around 60,000. Everyone hoped to avoid the fiasco that occurred the previous year when thousands of spectators were stuck outside the track in a monumental traffic jam that prevented some race fans from getting into the track until three hours after the 10 a.m. start.

As more and more people entered the 4,700 acre facility the dry conditions for March created a dusty haze that looked for all the world like Los Angeles smog.

This dust haze was especially bad in the spectator enclosure and clung to cars and sweaty bodies alike. On Sunday numerous race fans returning home after the race were seen stopped at gas stations trying to rinse the dust, now mud, from their legs and feet. Some even stopped at private homes along the way and paid homeowners for the privilege of using their garden hose.

The dusty conditions in the spectator area didn’t stop the residents of the “Zoo” from cranking up the traditional day-long party of food, drink, marijuana smoking, drink and more drinking. As a result a very rowdy atmosphere developed.

Peter McManon, commented in the Miami News that the folks of Sebring, “…simply could not control the crowd and it resulted in an unpleasant situation. No man would take his wife or family there and ever return after seeing the gross misconduct of some spectators.” (In the words of one regular Sebring fan, “Who could forget the topless bimbos dancing on the hoods of cars.”)

When a local policeman doing security at the event was asked why he wasn’t doing anything about the behavior he said, “If we locked up everybody who was drunk there wouldn’t have been enough jails in Florida to hold them.”

John Crittenden of Competition Press and Autoweek (CP&A) magazine commented in the May 7 issue that, “This was not a picnic or county fair atmosphere, but an asylum.”

Just across the start/finish line and maybe a million miles away was the striped tent of the “Patrons Enclosure” sitting serenely in the paddock.

This is where the Palm Beach crowd in their jackets, ties, spring dresses and slacks were enjoying a leisurely breakfast with a mimosa to wash down their eggs. The lunch menu included cold bird and bottles of Yquem. (A bottle of vintage 1966 Yquem today will cost you $650.)

This oasis of civility was under the direction of Mrs. Alec Ulmann and only members and guests of the Automobile Race Club of Florida (ARCF) were allowed. The price for admittance was usually $100 per couple and for that price one could partake of good food and drink right up until the end of the race and sometimes later.

Just a few yards from the Patrons Enclosure the usual morning ritual for race day was beginning in the pit area as mechanics were doing their last minute checks and warming up engines.

Arriving in the pits early were Ferrari drivers Mike Parkes and Bob Bondurant. They looked well-rested and refreshed and less haggard than some of the other drivers walking around. It might have had something to do with the fact that Alitalia Airlines gave both of them full access to the company trailer behind the pits where they could rest, get a refreshing shower and some nourishment.

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Race Profile Continued

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Page Three

At the driver’s meeting the usual admonitions about watching for slower cars and proper passing were discussed but there was something new. For the first time in many years there would be no countdown by Joe Lane leading to the Le Mans-style start. Instead the drivers were to make their run to their cars when the starter, in this case newly elected Florida Governor Haydon Burns, dropped the starting flag.

Well, the governor didn’t botch his big chance and the drivers dashed to their cars and all got away clean with no major fender benders along the way. However, something was wrong and it was in the shape of the big #2 Guardsman blue Shelby Ford Mk. II of pole sitter Dan Gurney. Try as he would the big 427c.i. engine wouldn’t start. There he sat while the other prototypes passed by. There he sat while the GT cars passed by. There he sat while the Porsches, MG’s, Alfa’s, Triumphs, etc. passed by. Finally with only one other car left on the starting grid the engine came to life and off he sped as if the hounds of Hades were about to descend upon him.

Now you might ask why the Mk. II engine failed to start. According Gurney himself the answer was simple, “vapor lock.” It seems that, just like they did with the team cars in 1965, the Shelby mechanics warmed up the engine (“A little too much,” according to Gurney) prior to the start and then the dark-colored blue car sat in the hot sun for some time. And, just like it happened to several Shelby team cars in 1965, the Gurney Ford Mk. II, failed to start. As the historian Santayana said, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

While Gurney sat there trying to get the car started the #46 Ferrari Dino of Lorenzo Bandini and Ludovico Scarfiotti led the pack through the first turn and held that lead for half a lap until passed by Graham Hill driving the #24 Alan Mann Ford GT40.

At the end of the first lap Hill’s Ford was in first place followed by the Dino, then the Ferrari P3 of Mike Parkes, a P2 driven by Pedro Rodriguez, a Corvette Stingray driven by Dick Thompson, the Mk. II Ford of Walt Hansgen and Mark Donohue, then two more Fords, a Porsche and rounding out the first ten was a Chaparral driven by Hap Sharp.

The #17 Comstock Ford GT40 of Eppie Wietzes and Craig Fisher would have been in the first ten except they went too deep into turn 12 (the last turn) and hit a hay bale.

Also having trouble on the first lap was the Yenko Stinger of Donna Mae Mims and John Luke. Mims blew a piston on the first lap and became the first car to retire from the race.

Traveling like a jet plane on full afterburner was “ole tail-end Charlie” Dan Gurney who passed 27 cars on the first lap alone. On the 44th lap Gurney set a new race-day record of 2 minutes, 54.8 seconds with a speed of 107.09 m.p.h. Soon after he takes the lead away from team mate Ken Miles who is driving the #1 Shelby Ford X1 roadster.

The two drivers then began a duel to see who could maintain the lead and began passing and repassing each other. This did not sit well with team manager Carroll Shelby and he sent out the signal for both of them to slow down. It was assumed he felt that it was way too early in the race for this kind of nonsense.

The signal was promptly ignored by both drivers. So, Shelby walked over to the pit wall and sent a signal they wouldn’t be able to ignore. Shelby waved a “knock-off” hammer at them. The drivers complied and began doing 3-minute laps with Gurney in the lead. All of this was recorded for posterity by the ABC TV cameras.

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Race Profile Continued

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Page Four

At the one-hour-20-minute mark the pace was too much for the Phil Hill/Jo Bonnier Chaparral 2D and they retired due to a persistent oil leak that plagued them all week. When they entered the pits for the last time the rear window on the 7-liter mid-engine car was covered in oil.

Eight laps later the other Chaparral retired with a broken rear suspension. The team was kaput after completing only 35 laps. When asked by Bill Fleming of ABC’s Wide World of Sports about the problems that Chaparral was having Hap Sharp said, “We don’t seem to be able to build a closed car as well as the open cars we campaigned here last year.”

According to Sharp the additional 300 pounds of weight required for the prototype class was too much for the underpowered 327 cubic inch Chevrolet engine. “Everything we have was designed for a light-weight automobile”, said Sharp.

At 2:40 p.m. the #18 Canadian Comstock Ford GT40 driven by Jean Oulette pulled into their pit for fuel, brake pads and a driver change. When it left the pit Bob McLean was at the wheel. Just minutes later on the short straight just before the Hairpin Turn the rear brakes locked up causing the car to slide off the pavement. It hit a ditch and begins a barrel roll before making a hard contact with a telephone pole on the passenger side of the right hand drive car. That is where one of the fuel cells was located.

The fully loaded car burst into flames then went end over end before landing on its top. The ruptured gas tank had spilt most of its contents and the car was a mass of flames. Bob McLean was trapped inside.

Those who wrote about the incident at the time claimed that McLean was killed outright by the impact with the pole but the photos in this story indicate otherwise. The driver’s side of the right-hand-drive car did not impact the telephone pole.

Although there was a fire truck nearby all they had on board was water (no foam) and two ten pound fire extinguishers, a CO2 and a dry chemical which was totally inadequate for the job at hand.

The fire burned for a long time with the magnesium wheels seen sparking from a long distance. The mushroom of black smoke drew almost 2000 onlookers and the police had their hands full trying to control the crowd. One photographer was roughed up by the police and his camera destroyed when he got too close to the burning car. The action of the police and the inability to rescue McLean or douse the fire quickly drew scathing criticism in US and international newspapers after the race.

Back in the pits the black smoke was clearly visible and a strange hush came over the mechanics, crew members and families of drivers as each stared intently down the front straight hoping to catch a glimpse of their car coming out of turn 12. When the word of McLean’s death finally reached the folks in the Comstock pits it hit them very hard and, as was the tradition back then, they withdrew their other car from the race. This was only the second death for a driver in the long history of the Sebring race with the first coming in 1957. However, more deaths were about to follow on this tragic day in Sebring racing history.

It is interesting to note that if such an incident were to happen at an auto race today, the course officials would immediately red-flag the race until the fire was extinguished and wreckage removed. In 1966 the race continued its blistering pace as the GT40 burned, and burned and burned. This was nothing new back then. The previous year when a deluge of five inches of rain flooded the Sebring track making driving extremely dangerous the race continued unabated. You either had to be nuts to race in those days or be one tough son-of-a-gun.

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Race Profile Continued

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Page Five

At the half-way point the leaders were Ford, Ferrari, Ford, and Ferrari. In fifth position was the #48 Porsche 906 of Don Wester and Scooter Patrick. This car would figure prominently in a tragic accident later in the race.

Except for some minor reshuffling the standings remained the same as darkness crept over the raceway. It was about this time, lap 172, that the folks in the factory Ferrari pits didn’t see their P3 car and driver Bob Bondurant come by at the expected time. They waited and waited but nothing. Bondurant finally showed up at the pits riding on the back of a spectator’s motorcycle. Only then did the crew find out that the Ferrari 330 P3 was parked on the course near the Hairpin Turn with a seized gearbox. It had been running second.

From that point on the only hope for the “glory of Maranello” rested in the hands of Mario Andretti and Pedro Rodriguez driving the #26 NART Ferrari 365 P2/3. Unfortunately they were eight laps behind the two leading Shelby Fords.

But #26 had been a big question mark from the very beginning of the race. According to Luigi (Coco) Chinetti, Jr. whose father owned the car and NART, “It (the Andretti/Rodriguez Ferrari) is a very tired car. It is coming in for its 25,000-mile checkup.” This was also the same car that had raced at the Daytona 24 hour race just a few weeks earlier.

With less than two hours left in the race the Ferrari was in the pits for a normal stop and driver change. Andretti took the car out for what might be the last chance at a win for Ferrari.
The crew was surprised when a few minutes later, on lap 200, Andretti returned to the pits. When he came to a stop it is obvious why, he hit something damaging the front cowling and almost extinguishing the head lights.

While his crew worked feverishly to make repairs to the front end and driving lights he explained to Bill Fleming of ABC what happened. It seemed that his third place NART P2 was approaching the Webster turns at 140 m.p.h. when he shifted from 4th to 3rd gear. At that very moment the gear shift selector gate broke and he went into first gear instead. This caused the rear wheels to lock up causing the car to spin, then off the pavement and into a sandbank. When he got his car restarted he drove directly to his pit in almost total darkness.

When the NART mechanics finished their makeshift repairs Andretti then reentered his car to rejoin the race. However, when Andretti attempted to start the car a flash fire engulfed the engine causing severe damage to the wiring and putting the car out of the race for good.

It was customary for Andretti to have a full racing schedule in those days and he was already committed to a sprint race in Reading, Pennsylvania on Sunday. He had his private plane and pilot waiting for him at the Sebring airport and he flew back that same night.

While he was at the Reading race someone showed him an article in the local paper about an accident at the Sebring race that involved his Ferrari and the Porsche 906 of Don Wester. The article also reported that the accident resulted in the tragic death of four spectators.

The news reports coming out of Florida indicated that the Andretti Ferrari hit the Wester Porsche causing it to go off the track and into a restricted area where the four spectators were not supposed to be. Some of these reports cited “official” press releases made by the Sebring officials to the media minutes before the end of the 12-hour race.

As a result most of the spectators leaving at the end of the race and drivers who left early had no idea that the tragedy had occurred until the next day. There were also stories circulating in the media that Andretti had “fled” the state of Florida in order to avoid being questioned about the accident.

Mario Andretti said at the time and later to this author in a recent phone interview that he had not been aware of the details of the accident prior to leaving Sebring. Nor was he told by anyone that lives had been lost.

It was his belief that in the dark conditions and dust caused by his spinning car that Wester lost control of the Porsche trying to avoid hitting his Ferrari. He doesn’t believe that his car made contact with the Wester Porsche and all the damage to the Ferrari was a result of hitting the sandbank.

In that phone interview Andretti said the failure of the shift gate, that precipitated the wheel lock up and off- course spin, was a direct result of NART not having properly prepared the car for Sebring following the long and grueling Daytona 24 race.

I talked to Don Wester on March 31, 2011 and he related his version of what happened:

In 1966, I was invited by Otto Zipper to drive in the Sebring 12-hour race with Scooter Patrick. We drove the Briggs Cunningham owned Porsche 906 #48. Otto Zipper entered the car in the race. Our Porsche was in 4th place overall and doing well at 8:00 pm, when this situation occurred:

I had caught up with and passed Mario Andretti’s Ferrari at the hairpin turn. Accelerating away from that turn and heading up the straight-away toward the Webster turn, Mario passed me and pulled away some from my car. Then all of a sudden his Ferrari was spinning and sliding off the straight-away to the left. I lifted from the accelerator to slow and make a quick decision on what my options were. It appeared to me that I could make it past Mario’s car without an incident. I floored the accelerator to pass by. He seemed to be completely off the track to the left. Then it happened. I felt a hard bump from the Ferrari in the left rear quarter panel of my Porsche. From then on, I was spinning around off the track to the left, holding the steering wheel with the brakes locked. I was in a cloud of dust and did not know where or when I was going to stop. Then I hit something very hard, and the whole cockpit of the Porsche 906 wrapped itself around me. I could feel it all happening, then I passed out.

The next thing I remember was a man talking to me. He had removed the door of the 906, and he was asking me if I knew where I was. I looked up and there was a sign that said “Webster Machine Shop.” Then I said, “Oh yes, I’m at Sebring.” My legs were pinned in the car, because the chassis had come into the cockpit from the right corner of the car. This man, with help from another man, cut the metal frame tubes and lifted me out and onto some grass.

Then I heard a lot of sirens and some ambulances driving up. Since I knew there were only two cars involved in the accident, I asked the man why there were so many ambulances. He told me that my car had run over and killed four people. I was very saddened by his words. Many thoughts began running through my mind, and I began to weep. I was taken to the hospital with a broken left ankle and a large laceration on my lower right leg.

While the corner workers and emergency personnel were dealing with the carnage wrought by the Andretti/Wester accident the clock was inexorably ticking down to the conclusion of the 1966 Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance.

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Race Profile Continued

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Page Six

Anticipating what everyone thought would be the winner, the Goodyear Blimp was overhead already announcing on its lighted sign that the #2 Ford GT40 Mk. II of Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant were the “winners.” At that moment Ken Miles was a full lap behind the leader in the #1 Shelby Ford GT40 X-1.

If Dan Gurney had some bad luck at the start of the race he would have even worse luck in the final minutes of this “12-Hour Grind.”

Harry Kennison was a college student at Michigan State on Spring Break in 1966 and had driven down for the race. He was in the spectator bleachers across from the pits and describes the last five minutes of the race as follows:

From my position in the spectator bleachers I could see two headlights appear to be stationary at the head of the pit straight. It was as though the driver of the car couldn’t make up his mind as to whether to pit or go another lap, after all, it’s another 5.2 miles around.

Then the car begins to move ever so slowly. It’s on the track side of the pit wall but the motor is dead. It’s being pushed by the driver.

It’s an agonizing two or three minutes before the machine comes into view. The PA (public address) announcer keeps saying, “This is unbelievable. This is un-bee-lee-va-bull.”

The crowd simultaneously groans as it becomes clear that the car in trouble is none other than the lead Ford and the guy doing the pushing is Dan Gurney. The crowd then cheers Dan toward the finish line as the clock strikes 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Ford Mk. X-1 roadster with Ken Miles at the wheel has made up its lap and motors across the finish line to take the checquered flag.

Confusion reigns. Would the Blue Ford that dominated the race finish second? It is not to be. As a result of his Herculean efforts, Dan’s car is unceremoniously disqualified.

Ironically the disqualification of Gurney’s car at Sebring in 1966 had a direct correlation to what he did at the very first Daytona 3-Hour Continental race held at the Daytona Speedway in 1962.

Gurney led most of that race driving a Lotus 19B Climax until the final minutes when he experienced mechanical difficulties. He had a huge lap advantage by then.

Rather than finish the race in the pits he parked his race car on the banked track right before the start/finish line and waited for the time to run out. When it did he used the car’s starter motor to cross the finish line and win the race.

A protest was filed by the race starter claiming that the Lotus did not finish “under power” as required by FIA regulations but used gravity to cross the finish line. The car was impounded but the protest was denied when the stewards were shown that the car could move “under its own power” using the car’s Prestolite battery and starter motor.

Upon hearing that the protest was denied and he was declared the winner Gurney’s only comment was, “Thanks Mr. Prestolite.”

Pushing a car on the track at Sebring in 1966 was a disqualification offense and Gurney knew it but he either forgot or chose to ignore that rule. The crowd cheering on Dan as he pushed his car across the finish line was, by and large, blissfully ignorant of that rule.

It was later revealed that what failed on the Gurney car was the timing chain. Gurney couldn’t determine what the problem was on that dark track but he was within eyesight of his pit. He asked the corner workers if it was OK to push the car to his pit and they didn’t object. If he had just left well enough alone, and not pushed the car, he wouldn’t have been disqualified and the Gurney/Grant car would have been awarded second just on number of laps completed.

The winning Miles – Ruby #1 Ford X-1 roadster covered 228 laps with an average speed of 98.067 m.p.h. and, after the Gurney – Grant car was disqualified, the second place spot was awarded to the Holman Moody Ford GT40 Mk. II of Walt Hansgen and Mark Donohue with the GT40 of Skip Scott and Peter Revson claiming third.

In fourth place was the Porsche 906 of Hans Herrmann, Joe Buzzetta and Gerhard Mitter. Fifth was the Ferrari Dino 206P of Ludovico Scarfiotti and Lorenzo Bandini. Sixth place went to Jo Siffert and Charles Vogele in a Porsche 906. Seventh was a Porsche 904 of George Follmer and Peter Gregg. Eighth was Lake Underwood and Ed Hugus in a Porsche 906. Ninth was the Penske Stingray of George Wintersteen and Ben Moore, and tenth was the Shelby Cobra of Bob Grossman and Ed Lowther.

Within two months of the Sebring race the mighty Fords would repeat the 1-2-3 finish at Daytona and Sebring but this time it was at the Holy Grail of endurance racing, The 24-Hours of Le Mans. It was a good year for Ford and a not so good one for arch-rival Ferrari.

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Race Profile Epilogue

1966 12 Hours of Sebring – Page Seven

Epilogue: 1966 Was The Death and Re-birth of Sebring

The day following the March 26, 1966 Sebring 12 Hours of Endurance and for the rest of the week the newspapers at home and abroad were replete with the news of Ford’s 1-2-3 victory. But this story was overshadowed by the reports of the death of a driver and four spectators at America’s premier sports car event. Editorial criticism of the track and promoters in regard to adequate equipment to put out car fires and the lack of safety for spectators was very strong.

The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel of March 29 bitterly reproached the Sebring organizers for their failure to “provide spectator protection from the hurtling juggernauts.”

This criticism continued throughout the summer as automotive and sports magazines, with later deadlines, joined the chorus of nay-sayers with critical articles and editorials. Sebring founder, Alec Ulmann, got more than his fair share of the blame for what happened at that tragic event.

The June issue of Car and Driver magazine ventured the following: “The track at Sebring is far from being a paragon of safety, and certainly the promoters should be called to answer why, after 16 years of operation on the same site, more had not been done to generally improve the crude facilities.”

As expected, some local Florida politicians also jumped on the “kick Sebring when it’s down” campaign. Florida legislative candidate, Leo Furlong, pledged, that if elected, he would introduce legislation to create a state Athletic Commission that would, in part, regulate safety at automotive events like Sebring.

In the midst of all this criticism of his management of the Sebring race and the track facility Alec Ulmann got an offer that summer that seemed too good to refuse. It seems that the folks who owned and managed the Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) were interested in putting on a race. To be more specific they wanted Ulmann to move the Sebring event to Palm Beach, Florida. (Note: PBIR is actually situated in Jupiter, Florida.)

Ironically the 12-hour endurance race got its start in the Palm Beach area in 1949. It was held on the Beach Road on Singer Island. It was eventually moved to Sebring because area residents complained about the noise and spectator interest was small.

Pete McMahon, the general manager of Palm Beach International Raceway was willing to invest $1.5 million in track upgrades to the two-year-old track that would include extending the existing track length from 2 miles to 5.5. miles and the track would have 20 hairpin turns. According to Alec Ulmann, with that many sharp turns drivers would have to gearshift about 200 times for every lap of the track.

In addition 80 covered pits would be built for the entrants plus bleachers for the spectators, private parking, a scenic lake and roads the spectators could travel on to see parts of the course. All Ulmann had to do was sign a 10-year contract and change the name from The Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance to the Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance with the first race to be run on April 1, 1967 (Note the date.) On September 6, 1966, after several visits to PBIR, Alec Ulmann announced to the media the death of the Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance and the birth of the Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance.

This must have made “somebody” angry because the ink was hardly dry on the contract when it began to rain, and rain and rain some more. It rained regularly for almost two months in the Palm Beach area causing delay after delay in the PBIR track improvements.

Finally the PBIR people announced on November 22, 1966 that they were giving up the 10-year contract to hold the race because the rains and high water table prevented them from getting the track ready, as contractually agreed, for the April 1 running of the Florida Grand Prix of Endurance. (Was the Big Man Upstairs pulling an April Fool’s Day joke on Ulmann and PBIR?)

With no PBIR, Ulmann was forced to hurriedly move the event back to the aging Sebring 5.2-mile facility where it has been ever since, except for 1974 when it was cancelled due to the energy crisis. To address safety issues at the Sebring track the promoters first move the race course to a road that paralleled the Warehouse Straight. They then eliminated the old Webster corner and replaced it with the high-speed Green Park Chicane.

To protect the buildings and their inhabitants along the Warehouse Straight they erected war surplus nylon belting that was designed to catch Navy planes that might overshoot a carrier landing or a short runway.

A week before the 1967 Sebring race a $1 million wrongful death law suit was filed in Sebring, which is the county seat of Highlands County, Florida. Legal papers were served on the three “principals” in the ’66 tragedy and that included Alec Ulmann, founder and director of the Automobile Racing Club of Florida and driver Mario Andretti. The third principal, Don Wester, was not at Sebring that year.

Enzo Ferrari knew from experience that such a suit would eventually be filed and could guess that doing so right before the 1967 Sebring race would guarantee maximum media coverage. They addressed this problem by announcing earlier in 1967 that both Ferrari and their North American representative (NART) would not field any cars at Sebring that year. Their excuse was that they were getting their cars ready for Le Mans and would skip America’s premier sports car race. However, they did show up for the Daytona 24-hour race and did brilliantly there by coming in 1-2-3.

According to a report in Road and Track magazine, “Luigi Chinetti of North American Racing Team said he feared the action (the Sebring suit) might result in a writ of attachment which would prevent him, as Ferrari’s U.S. representative, from removing his cars from Florida after the race so he wasn’t going to come.”

Both Don Wester and Mario Andretti were called to give depositions in this case. Andretti had to fly down to Sebring to answer questions from the lawyers while the same lawyers flew out to California to depose Wester who was still recovering from the injuries he sustained at Sebring.

The Edenfield family lost a father and two sons at the ’66 Sebring race and the Heacock family lost a mother and had a son seriously injured. The Edenfield family pushed for the lawsuit when negotiations with the insurance company broke down. The Heacock family settled things quietly because of their close relationship with Alec Ulmann. There is no indication that the suit ever went to trial. Information available on the Internet indicates that the deaths were officially ruled a “racing accident.”

The fall-out from the deaths at Sebring in 1966 was profound for track owners. Insurance companies demanded that spectators get no closer than 120 feet from the track rather than the previous 75 feet. Snow fencing was ruled inadequate for restraining the crowds and track owners had to install chain-link fencing and protective Armco barriers. After 1966 racing got a little more expensive for track owners and promoters but a lot safer for spectators.

March 26, 1966 will go down as the bloodiest day in the history of the Sebring 12-hour race and the aftermath of that event had a profound effect on American motorsports when it came to spectator safety issues.

The tragic death of Bob McLean at this race also led to some much needed modifications in later Ford GT40s to make them safer. This included a stronger roll cage and thicker fuel bladders to prevent fire.

To this day a controversy still surrounds what happened to the remains of the burnt-out car. One version is that it was buried in a landfill outside of Sebring. The other is that it was returned to Comstock Racing in Canada. A third is that a person in England has restored it. In motorsports folklore it is referred to as the “Ghost GT40.”

Ever fearful of any negative publicity affecting the company Ford hoped to bury the story of what caused the death of Bob McLean and refused to respond to any inquiries concerning the accident. To this day no official cause of the accident was ever produced by Ford. Bob McLean’s widow felt that Ford wanted to sweep things under the rug as quickly as possible.

During Le Mans testing on April 7, 1966 well known American racing champion Walt Hansgen was killed driving a 7-liter Holman Moody Ford GT40 Mk. II when the car aquaplaned in the rain and crashed heavily.

The deaths of McLean and then Hansgen within weeks of each other shook the Ford executives to the core. On top of that they were both at the wheel of Ford’s pride and joy, the GT 40 when the fatal accidents occurred.

The April 23, 1966 issue of Competition Press and Autoweek had a front page article that said. “Win or lose Ford may drastically curtail road racing after Le Mans.” It seems that the bean counters at Ford had convinced the executives that supporting a racing program might do more harm to the corporate image (and bottom line) regardless of how successful they might be.

The 1966 Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix was just one of many battles in the Ford versus Ferrari Wars. As in most battles and wars there are winners, losers and casualties. At Sebring Ford was the winner in 1966 while Ferrari was the loser. However, Ford’s victory was overshadowed by the tragic loss of a driver and four spectators. Other Sebrings were races to remember but this one most would like to forget, if they could.

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For further reading:

The Sebring Story, Alec Ulmann, Chilton Book Company, 1969

Sebring: The Official History of America’s Great Sports Car Race, Ken Breslauer, David Bull Publishing, 1995

1966 Sebring 12-Hours of Endurance, Harry Kennison, motorsportsmarketingresources.com

Competition Press and Autoweek, April 23, 1966, front page

St. Petersburg Times, November 24, 1966, P. 1C

Race on Sunday – Sell on Monday, www.aarcuda.ch

Sportscars.TV, www.sportscars.tv/newfiles/6612hrsebring.html

Daytona Beach Morning Journal, November 24, 1966

Sports Illustrated, April 4, 1966, www.//sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault

The Legend of the Buried GT40, Gary Grant, The Garage Blog, Sept 7, 2010

[Source: Louis Galanos]