Throwback Thursday: Ferrari scores first victory at Sebring

Sixty years ago, Ferrari took the overall victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring, scoring its first major international victory in the United States.

Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio joined Eugenio Castellotti in a Ferrari 860 Monza, giving Ferrari its first of 12 overall victories in the Sebring enduro.

Didier Theys, now a Driver Advisor at IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races, has been involved with Ferrari over the past three decades and was the marque’s most recent overall winner at Sebring.

“Any victory is important for Ferrari, but especially one at one of the classic races at Sebring, Daytona and Le Mans,” said Theys. “In those days, Ferrari was going at it on both fronts – sportscars and Formula 1. Ferrari has enjoyed great success over the years, and I was proud to be part of it from time to time.”

The fifth running of Sebring’s 12-hour classic in 1956 attracted the world’s top teams. Headlining Sebring’s 59-car field was the Scuderia Ferrari team led by drivers Fangio, Castellotti, Luigi Musso and Harry Schell in a pair of factory prepared Ferrari 860 Monza entries. Factory teams from Maserati and Aston Martin were also at the front of the grid, but Ferrari’s biggest competition came from a fleet of nine D-type Jaguars. 

From the start, the race became a duel between the leading D-type Jaguar entry driven by 1955 winner Mike Hawthorn and Desmond Titterington, and the Fangio/Castellotti Ferrari. When the Jaguar retired with brake problems, Ferrari cruised to a 1-2 finish, with the Fangio/Castellotti Ferrari two laps ahead of Musso and Schell in the other team entry.

Fangio returned the following year and won in a Maserati. Ferrari then dominated by winning overall in six of the next seven races from 1958 through 1964. Phil Hill was a three-time winner, with Dan Gurney, Olivier Gendebien, Jo Bonnier and John Surtees also winning for Ferrari during that span.

Ferrari’s next Sebring victories were in 1970 and 1972, with Mario Andretti at the helm both times. Andy Evans and Fermin Velez won with the Ferrari 333SP in 1995 and 1997. The last overall victory for the Prancing Horse was in 1998, with Theys joining Gianpiero Moretti and Mauro Baldi in the Rolex 24 At Daytona-winning Momo Ferrari 333SP.

“Sebring has always been very interesting – I enjoy the layout,” Theys said. “In those days, the track was quite different. It had a very wide back straight that had about 10 different lines. The first time I went there was in 1995 with the Ferrari 333SP. I was a little bit lost on the back straight during the night practice – it was pretty dark!”

While celebrating the 60th anniversary of its first Sebring victory, Ferrari will be looking to continue its proud heritage with a pair of contenders in both GT categories, looking to add to its 20 class wins and nine poles in the event. In GT Le Mans (GTLM), Risi Competizione and Scuderia Corsa each field a Ferrari 488 GTE. Scuderia Corsa will race its brand-new Ferrari 488 GT3 at Sebring in the GT Daytona (GTD) class, while Spirit of Race will have a Ferrari 458.

Source: IMSA