VeloceToday.com

The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

willem oosthoek

Sebring 1960: The Final Hours

By

Alan Connell in the Ferrari California [chassis 1603] he shared with owner George Reed. Connell flogged the car and ran as high as 3rd overall after ten hours, before the drivers had to settle for a 5th place at the finish.

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos taken by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection]


This gorgeous 250GT [chassis 1773] was entered by Luigi Chinetti’s NART for George Arents [here] and Bill Kimberly. They ended 7th overall, one of the six GT Ferraris finishing in the top ten. It showed the reliability of these cars.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring 1960: The Race

By

Ricardo Rodriguez in the NART-entered Ferrari Dino 196S [chassis 0776] that he co-drove with brother Pedro. The car ran well for the first five hours, occupying 5th overall. Then it began dropping back, to retire with clutch failure after 126 laps.

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring, 1960 Part 3

By

Sebring earlier in the week. Scrutineering has started, with the Count Giovanni Volpi Ferraris lined up. Both his Scuderia Serenissima entries were allowed to run in the GT class, the #16 California [assigned to Giorgio Scarlatti/Fabrizio Serena] due to its steel body, while #15 [for Carlo Abate/Giovanni Balzarini] because it was an older 250GT Tour de France model, already homologated in the U.S. The Lotus Elites were entered by Jay Chamberlain, the Lotus importer based in North Hollywood.

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos taken by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection]

After the two support races on Friday, it was time for the 12 Hours itself. Unlike the wet 1959 event, Saturday’s weather promised to be warm and clear. But two things had changed for this year’s endurance race. The FIA had mandated new rules for the sportsracers, forcing them to meet the same requirements as the GT entries. This meant they had to feature a 25 cm high windshield, 30 cm high doors, a separate compartment for a suitcase measuring 20 x 40 x 65 cm, a ground clearance of 12 cm and a “useful” top. Many of the especially smaller and lower entries needed last-minute body modifications to comply with the new rules.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring 1960: Under 1 liter GT Race

By

Race number 7 was part of three Turner works entries. This 750 cc car was driven by Fred Woodhead and Harold Krech.

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos taken by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection]

After the Formula Junior support race on Friday morning, March 25, 1960, everybody convened for lunch. On the program for the rest of the day was a 4-hour race for the International Trophy, limited to GT cars under-1-liter. In addition to the four Turners, the entry list showed eight Fiat-Abarths [750 cc], six DB-Panhards [almost 1 liter], six Austin-Healey Sprites [almost 1 liter], and a few oddities, such as a just under 1 liter Ford Anglia for Richard Toland and a 750 cc Saab for Jack Sheppard. Four of the Fiat-Abarths were entered by Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr, son of the former President.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Formula Junior at Sebring, 1960

By

Sebring, leading up to Friday. March 25th. Jim Hall poses next to his DKW-powered Elva FJ. His body man Foy Barrett is on the left, and the fuel man is Chester “Chet” Hines. Chet was Hap Sharp’s aircraft mechanic, often drafted to serve as part-time race mechanic.

By Willem Oosthoek All photos taken by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection]

The 1960 edition of the Sebring 12 Hours was scheduled to start at 10 AM Saturday, March 26. But competition actually began a day earlier. For the first time in its history, the 12-hour event featured two opening races, one for Formula Juniors on Friday morning and a 4-hour event for Under-1-liter GT entries in the afternoon. [Read more…] about Formula Junior at Sebring, 1960

And How! Speaking of Birthdays…

By

Frank Lance on his 91st birthday.

Making it all worthwhile…

I’m sure you remember the massive nine part article written by Willem Oosthoek about the adventures of Lone Star Mechanic Frank Lance. It was another, and perhaps the best yet, of his histories of American sports car racing heroes.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring ’58 Dawn of the Red Heads P4

By

After their victory in the January 1958 Buenos Aires 1000 KM, Phil Hill and Peter Collins scored again at Sebring, and they did so in the same Ferrari 250TR, chassis 0704. Did their massive AMOCO trophy end up in Maranello? In the background is Alec Ulmann’s wife Mary.

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

The top Sebring results were not unexpected, in spite of the strong opposition. Just like in Buenos Aires, Testa Rossas finished 1-2, with a Porsche in third place. But some of the other finishers in the top ten came as a huge surprise.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring ’58 Dawn of the Red Heads P3

By

Sebring 1958. Phil Hill in the early part of the race, maintaining a conservative pace with his Ferrari 250TR. Phil took the start and he and Peter Collins hovered between 4th and 5th overall during the first three hours.

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

With Stirling Moss taking an immediate lead from the start, second place was contested by Mike Hawthorn and Roy Salvadori. Salvadori soon managed to pass his fellow countryman in the opposite team, making it an Aston Martin 1-2 for the first three hours of the race. The model’s name DBR stood for David Brown Racing and the owner of the firm must have been pleased so far.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

The Works of Willem Oosthoek

By

Interview by Pete Vack
From the Archives, February 2019

Most of us are avid readers, particularly of good, solid historical books which feature our favorite cars; the more detailed the better, with decent contemporary photos, chassis numbers, hardcore information that you can count on, preferably on nice stock and hardbound.

But few readers realize what goes into the making of such a book, and how difficult it is to find publishers. We decided to ask Maserati expert Willem Oosthoek how he did it and what kind of problems he encountered in writing his last three major works; in 2004, Birdcage to Supercage, in 2009, The Magnificent Front Engined Birdcages, and the three volume set, Sports Car Racing in the South,Texas to Florida, 1957-1962.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring ’58: Dawn of the Red Heads P2

By

Pretty as they come, the 1.1-liter Stanguellini Bialbero of Carl Haas/Allan Ross/Chuck Dietrich awaits its turn for practice. [Bob Bellows photo]

By Willem Oosthoek All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

Sebring 1958: Dawn of the Red Heads

By

Sebring 1958: Peter Collins at the wheel of chassis 0704, the works 3-liter Ferrari Testa Rossa he shared with Phil Hill.

Part 1

By Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Bob Jackson [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

Saturday March 22, 1958, at 10 AM, would see the Le Mans start for the 8th Annual International Grand Prix of Endurance at Sebring, Florida, more commonly known as the Sebring 12 Hours. If the latter term is used, 1958 was actually the 7th edition, since the very first one – held in 1950 – was a six-hour event. Alec Ulmann had been the driving force from day one and he selected an abandoned airfield by the name of Hendricks Field near the town of Sebring.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe

F.O.R.A. The Short Fast Life of the Ferrari Owners Racing Association

By

F.O.R.A. –the Ferrari Owners Racing Association in action with Graham Hill up.

Story by Willem Oosthoek
All photos by Jim LaTourrette [Willem Oosthoek Collection], unless stated otherwise.

In 1965 the long-distance racing scene for the World Championship began at Daytona in February where, after 2,000 KM, Ferrari was trounced by the Carroll Shelby’s team of Ford GT-40s and Cobra Daytonas. The next challenge came at Sebring in March, where the Automobile Racing Club of Florida would be hosting its 12 Hours race. The difference with Daytona was that at Sebring the organizers created an open class for sportsracers, cars not meeting the FIA’s Appendix J standards. This meant that Appendix C cars of unlimited engine capacity were allowed to enter, and these cars were likely to be lighter, more powerful and faster than the prototypes that contested the Championship. Whether they would last the full 12 hours to finish was another question, but Enzo Ferrari did not like the idea of facing another category of strong competitors that might interfere with overall victory.

This content is for Premium Subscriber members only.
LoginSubscribe
MENU