1963 12 Hours of Sebring - Race Profile, History, Photos (2024)

1963 Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance – The Second Battle in the Ford-Ferrari War

By Louis Galanos | Photos as credited

In mid-March of 1963 the small community of Sebring, Florida was getting ready for the annual onslaught of cars and racing fans for the 12th running of the Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance.

Much to the chagrin of race founder and promoter, Alec Ulmann, the local businesses were already planning to jack up their prices for what had become a much-despised annual tradition of price gouging of race fans. No amount of past public criticism of this practice, by newspapers and such notable visitors as British driving ace, Stirling Moss, could dissuade the locals from this practice.

For the international members of the automotive press in attendance that year the race held little significance other than it would be the first race run under FIA’s new Manufacturer’s Championship rules. For American sports car fans making the annual trek to Sebring the significance of the ’63 race was that there would be a large contingent of American cars at Sebring to challenge the supremacy of the European cars. Fans of American sports car racing were hoping that this could be “their year.”

Only in later years did some automotive historians designate 1963 as the first year of what many today refer to as The Ford – Ferrari War which lasted from 1963 to 1967.

The first salvo in that war was fired at Daytona five weeks earlier with the running of only the second Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) sanctioned international endurance race at the Daytona Speedway. Like the inaugural event in 1962 it was a three-hour race called the Daytona Continental.

Former Le Mans winner (’59) and Sports Illustrated Driver of the Year (’56-’57), Texan Carroll Shelby, had three of his new 4.7-liter (289 c.i.) Ford-Powered AC Cobras entered at Daytona with one of them finishing in 4th place at the hands of Dave MacDonald. Coming in first and second were two 3-liter Ferrari 250 GTO’s driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Roger Penske.

However, coming in third was one of the ten Chevrolet Corvette Sting Rays entered and this one was driven by Dick Thompson. Having a Chevy-powered sports car beating a Ford-powered sports car did not sit well with Henry Ford, II who wanted a car that could beat the much loved and successful two-seat Corvette of General Motors and possibly beat the legendary Ferrari GT cars. As a result Ford would provide financial support for Carroll Shelby’s Cobra racing efforts from 1962 to 1965 and then support for Shelby American’s GT40 racing efforts from 1964 to 1967.

At Sebring in 1963 the war got a little hotter with six Ford-powered Cobras on the grid with four from Shelby’s stables and one from Ford’s performance specialist, Holman Moody. There was also a basically stock Cobra entered by George Reed. The four Shelby cars were equipped with the latest high performance 350-hp 289’s provided by Ford plus 4-speed close-ratio transmissions and wide magnesium wheels. Also at Sebring was a crew of 23 support personnel whose sole job was to guarantee a Ford victory in the GT class. Ford’s “deep pockets” were evident in this attempt to win at Sebring.

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Ahead of the Cobras on the starting grid at Sebring in 1963 were seven of the latest competition models of the Corvette Sting Rays and all of them were listed as private entries.

In those days the cars with the largest displacement were placed at the front of the grid and the Corvettes all sported 5.3-liter (327 c.i.) engines. There were no qualifying sessions in 1963.

Next on the starting grid, after the Vettes, were two Chaparral 1’s from Jim Hall and Hap Sharp’s Texas garage and both were equipped with 5.3-liter aluminum Corvette engines. Their cars would be the only American challengers in the Prototype Class at Sebring in ‘63.

The cars to beat in both the Prototype and GT classes at Sebring were the Ferraris. They had claimed overall honors at Sebring five times in the last seven years. In ’63 it looked like they were shooting for win number six for when the boys from Italy arrived they brought with them two new open-seat Ferrari 250Ps sporting 3-liter rear mounted 12-cylinder engines. Sebring would be the first test for these new cars.

For the competitors arriving at Sebring few would have guessed that a gauntlet of challenges awaited them in the form of tech inspectors and the rules for the new Manufacturer’s Championship.

As the first race run under these rules a number of incidents occurred during the inspection process on Tuesday (March 19) that had many race veterans describing the whole process as one big SNAFU. In military parlance that meant Situation Normal, All Fouled Up. However, instead of the word “Fouled” the American G.I. might be prone to use another “F” word. You figure it out.

It wasn’t long before some of the race car entrants began filing verbal protests with Johnny Baus , Chief Scrutineer, and the stewards over the interpretation of the new FIA rules. As a result the process of getting cars inspected and certified to race almost ground to a halt.

Tech inspectors and stewards were seen going from garage to garage with tape measures, cardboard templates, straight-edges and rule books in hand as they tried to determine what the new rules really meant and if each car complied with them. To wit, did a Plexiglas window permanently fitted to a car’s door make it part of the door? Inspectors determined that it did not, “A window is a window and a door is a door.”

This interpretation of the rules caused Jim Hall’s Chaparral cars to run afoul of the inspectors when they were told late on Friday that the body lines of his two Chaparral 1 prototype cars were too low. This is amazing when you consider that both cars passed initial inspection earlier in the week and were even allowed to practice for the race. In a late night session in the Chaparral garage that Friday the Chaparral mechanics were able to attach fins to the car and aluminum to the side windows. This raised the body lines and ultimately got them certified.

The NART Ferrari 330 TRI/LM of Pedro Rodriguez and ’62 Formula One Champion Graham Hill also had a similar problem but by placing aluminum on the fitted Plexiglas windows on each of the Ferrari’s doors they were able to change a window into the upper part of a door and get approved to race. Go figure.

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Of little help in bringing sanity to this chaos was Sebring special guest, Maurice Baumgartner, President of the Commission Sportive International (CSI) of the FIA. He was the fellow who helped draft the new rules. At Sebring he would function as honorary starter on race day.

It was apparent to most there that the tech inspectors were making individual on-the-spot interpretations of the rules. Nowhere was it more apparent than what happened to the three identically prepared factory Triumph TR4’s that were rejected for three entirely different reasons. This mystified everyone because all three cars were prepared by the same man, R. W. “Kas” Kastner of California. This had more than a few scratching their heads in wonderment.

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Then there was the infamous FIA suitcase. At some races it brought fear and loathing to the competitors because all sports cars had to have a luggage compartment of certain minimum dimensions. If the mock up suitcase, sometimes a box made of plywood and about the size of suitcase, didn’t fit in your car’s luggage compartment your car was rejected.

A three-car TVR team had to remove all or part of their roll bars because either the roll bar or supporting members extended into the luggage compartment and the suitcase wouldn’t fit. It might have been better if the entire team had just packed up their cars and gone home because all three cars retired within the first 45 minutes of the start of the race.

Everything a competitor could do, legal and otherwise, was done to get through tech inspection. Some had skinny tires on their cars during inspection to avoid being forced to fabricate fender flares for the wider tires they would later mount for the race.

Ground clearance was an issue for some cars and mechanics could be seen wedging the car’s springs in order to get the right height for approval.

Like most race events of this nature it was common to provide several supporting races to keep the early arriving spectators happy and entertained. Plus it made money for the Sebring promoters since they charged two dollars for the Formula Junior race on Thursday and three dollars for the two sedan races on Friday. However, in all three cases the supporting races were from “dullsville” due to the very slim number of entries in all three events.

The Formula Junior race on Thursday could have benefitted from a shortened track. With a ridiculously slim entry list of only five cars running on the long 5.2 mile road course a spectator, once the last car passed his position, could wash and wax his car (only kidding) before the race cars made a complete circuit.

See Also

Sebring 1963 — BARCBOYS.COM

On Friday there were two sedan races scheduled with eight cars in the morning “Touring Class Two-Hour Race” and ten entrants in the afternoon “Three-Hour Race For 1,000 cc GT cars.”

The two-hour morning race was an easy victory for Charlie Rainville in his B-18 Volvo 122-S averaging 72.70 m.p.h. with a Morris-Cooper coming in second and a BMW 700 third. From the start of the three-hour afternoon race the cars began dropping like flies with two never making it off the starting grid. Graham Hill driving a MG Midget and the Austin-Healey Sprite of Pedro Rodriguez lost their drive trains just minutes after the green flag fell. This was a major embarrassment for the British Motor Corporation (BMC) because they made much to do in the press about 1962 World Formula One Champion Hill driving their car in the race. At the end of the race there were only five cars still running to take the checkered flag with Hans Herrmann and Mauro Bianchi coming in first and second in Fiat Abarths with the winning car completing 47 laps at an average speed of 80.42 m.p.h.

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This is not to say that Friday’s events were totally dull because, according to the June 1963 issue of Today’s Motor Sports:

“The only excitement of the otherwise dull day was a three-lap demonstration race put on by the BMC people, using five of their small sedans. The cars were lined up abreast on the line with drivers Graham Hill, Pedro Rodriguez, Christabel Carlisle, Innes Ireland, and Denise McCluggage behind the wheels. As the flag dropped, Hill, Carlisle, and Rodriguez shot forward fishtailing the little cars and going for all they were worth. Ireland and McCluggage shot backwards in reverse about 100 feet going equally fast. The three leaders staged their own race going quite rapidly in a manner not necessarily subscribed to by drivers for serious competition, and the second two were now moving forward with haste. At the end of the first lap Ireland and McCluggage came by next to each other, with Innes beating on Denise’s car with his fist. On the end of the second lap the pair pulled their cars to a halt, jumped out, and began walloping each other, and then made up with hugs and kisses. Ireland then spun going into the esses, but made up for lost time by cutting across the infield and rejoining the others where he had left off. At the finish Carlisle pulled her midget out a radiator badge in front of Hill and Rodriguez, and Innes and Denise crossed the line holding hands. It was the best show of the entire week.”

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Out there in the spectator viewing areas the supporting races, except for the BMC clown show, elicited little response other than some cheering at the start. Some of the veteran Sebring race fans who had arrived early seemed more concerned with setting up their favorite viewing spots and building their viewing platforms. They paid scant attention to the supporting races.

The scaffolding used to construct the viewing platforms was becoming more and more elaborate each year and some constructors made a little money on the side by allowing professional photographers a chance to take photos from the second or third level. Of course, attractive young ladies were permitted on the scaffolding for free.

In the eleven years since the first 12-hour race was run in 1952 the name Sebring had become a household name among sports car fans and many felt they had to make the pilgrimage to the historic Sebring raceway at least once in their lifetime. For them this was the premier sports car race in all of North America.

The race in 1963 would get nationwide recognition with a live radio broadcast direct from the track and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) planned to broadcast race highlights and driver interviews on their national TV network.

One thing that the television audience would not see in 1963, although it would have improved ratings, was the party-like atmosphere now a tradition in the spectator area that some in later years would call “The Zoo.” The wild goings on, the colorfully dressed spectators and scantily clad young women, much of it attributed to college students on spring break, would get national attention after the tragic 1966 Sebring race. This would cause no end of embarrassment for Sebring town residents and city fathers alike but nothing would change because local businesspeople made a lot of money each year during race week.

While the Sebring 12 Hour Grand Prix might have been a “must-attend” event for many sports car fans it was also a “must-enter” event for many drivers both nationally and internationally. This event was still the only one in North America that awarded points toward the coveted Challenge Mondial Speed and Endurance Trophy for Manufacturers and as such attracted many of the top race constructors from the U.S. and Europe plus many of their well-known drivers.

The caliber and diversity of driving talent attracted to Sebring in 1963 was extraordinary with Don Yenko and A.J. Foyt driving Corvettes, Jim Hall and Hap Sharp and their Chaparrals, Ken Miles, Fireball Roberts and 1961 Formula One World Champion Phil Hill in Shelby A.C. Cobra roadsters, Pedro Rodriguez, 1962 World Champ Graham Hill, Lorenzo Bandini, Roger Penske, Augie Pabst, Richie Ginther, Innes Ireland, Jo Bonnier, David Piper, John Surtees, Ludovico Scarfiotti and Nino Vaccarella driving Ferraris. Driving XKE Jaguars were Briggs Cunningham, John Fitch, William Kimberly, Bruce McLaren and Walt Hansgen.

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Some of the other drivers at Sebring that year who were either known or not so well known included a young Mark Donohue driving a team TVR Grantura, Jerry Titus and Dave Jordan in a Sunbeam Alpine, Denise McCluggage in an MGB, Bob Grossman and Hans Herrmann driving Abarths, Bob Tullius in a Triumph TR4 plus Don Wester and Bob Holbert in factory Porsches.

While not a household name, American driver George Waltman deserves a mention here because for the second time in a row he would drive the entire twelve hours in his Triumph TR4 without a relief driver. He would finish 37th, 55 laps behind the winner. This is a far cry from today’s endurance races where a team of four or five share driving duties.

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Race day (March 23rd) would dawn cold with temperatures near freezing and the smoke from campfires was very thick in the spectator area. Fortunately the skies were clear and the sun would warm things up as the day progressed. Those driving to the track on race day would pass through acres of orange groves and the smell of orange blossoms was in the air.

The traditional race day traffic jam was ably handled by the local constabulary with the assistance of the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and several Bell 47G helicopters. An intrepid journalist managed to swing a ride on one of the choppers to get some aerial photos for his paper.

Pre-race ceremonies on Saturday included music from the Sebring High School marching band and a parade of vintage cars. There was also a parade of MG 1100’s with each carrying a well known driver whose name was affixed to a banner on the side of the car.

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Sixty-five cars were scheduled to be wheeled out to the starting grid but the Ben Warren TVR was scratched at the last minute. By 8:30 a.m. the final group of 64 was on the grid and it included eleven Ferraris, seven Corvette Sting Rays, six Cobra roadsters, four E-type Jaguars and the usual assortment of race cars from such makes as Porsche, Triumph, Austin-Healey, MGB, Alfa, Volvo, TVR, Sunbeam, Lotus, Morgan, Sabra and OSCA.

As mentioned earlier, the American challenge in the Prototype Class fell squarely on the shoulders of the guys driving the Chaparrals and the Ferraris were the odds-on cars to beat. That is not to say that there were only Ferrari and Chaparral prototypes entered but cars classified as prototypes also included a Triumph TR3, a Djet Renault and three Austin-Healeys (two AH 3000s and a Sebring Sprite). All three Austin-Healeys were equipped with light-weight aluminum alloy bodies. The AH 3000’s were also equipped with Weber carbs and turned times in practice equal to some of the 5-liter Corvettes.

With an 1100 cc engine the little AH Sebring Sprite of John Colgate and Clive Baker was capable of keeping up with a 1600 cc Porsche Carrera Abarth. Even more amazing was the #68 Austin Mini-Cooper of Gordon Browne and Grant Clark that had a factory prepared 1300 cc engine and hit speeds in Wednesday’s practice approaching 120 mph on the back airport straight. Like the others this little box on wheels was classified as a prototype. Imagine the scenario that if the Ferrari and Chaparral prototypes failed to finish a little Sprite or Mini-Cooper would have ended up taking class honors. That would have been a hoot.

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Right behind the cars on the grid were hay bales and they would be positioned, after the start, to delineate the pit road from the racing surface. With 15 minutes to go before the 10 a.m. start several drivers walked across the track from their cars to await the Le Mans style start. Some just wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle surrounding their cars and hopefully clear their minds for the task that awaited them. As more drivers made their way across the track it was obvious that some were nervous and one of the woman drivers actually did a pirouette.

It was at this point that a mechanic made his way through the throng along pit road to one of the TR-4’s. He was carrying a shovel and secured it to the inside the luggage compartment. Protective sandbanks along the race course were known to swallow a car or two each race and the only way a driver could continue racing is if he dug himself or herself out thus the necessity for a shovel. You were on your own if you got stuck and the only help a corner worker could give you was a shout if another race car came too close and was about to run your butt over.

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With five minutes to go the stewards had finally cleared most of the spectators from the grid and all the drivers were in position to make the dash to their cars. With 30 seconds left chief timer and scorer, Joe Lane, was handed the mike and he began his countdown.

On the count of “two” a couple of the drivers broke for the cars and the rest followed on “one.” Chief starter, Jesse Coleman, got Mr. Baumgartner to wave the starting flag and then pulled him to safety behind the pit wall. For many race car fans the Le Mans style start was one of the most exciting parts of racing.

Some drivers felt that this method of starting a race was unnecessary and downright dangerous because several of the drivers, who were first away that day accomplished this by not buckling their seat belts first only to do it when the opportunity presented itself several laps later. Until then they held onto the steering wheel tightly or got bounced out of their seat every time they hit a rough spot on the notoriously rough Sebring track. Historically it was not always the first car away at Sebring that eventually won overall or their class but the photo of your car in that lead group certainly looked good in the newspapers and magazines following the race.

First under the Mercedes Benz Bridge was the #7 Corvette of Jerry Grant followed by the #2 Corvette of Ed Lowther then the #12 Cobra of Phil Hill who left a long set of black marks on the pavement as he burned rubber in his attempt to catch the Vettes.

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Last to get away from the grid was a Morgan +4 and a Jaguar E-Type. In what would give safety officials and insurance carriers a heart attack today, track security permitted a mob of dozens of spectators to cross the track into the paddock once the last two cars passed. It seems that the Mercedes-Benz footbridge was closed to spectators so the working press could take pictures of the start and a huge crowd built up at the base of the bridge waiting to cross.

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On the track the Corvettes were in the lead but Hill’s Cobra was showing fantastic acceleration as it weaved in and around them. By the end of the first lap the Cobra crossed the start/finish well in the lead but a new challenger was hot on his heels, that in the form of “The Little Mexican” Pedro Rodriguez in his #18 4-liter NART Ferrari 330 TRI/LM. He would pass Phil Hill for the lead on the second lap. Except for a brief time when a Chaparral took the lead both Rodriguez and co-driver Graham Hill would maintain their first place position until the 9th hour.

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Much to everyone’s surprise, especially the Ferrari pits, the Ferrari 250P being driven by John Surtees came down pit road for an unscheduled pit stop. It turned out to be a loose spark plug lead and was soon repaired. Surtees didn’t seem happy with the time lost for repairs. Strangely enough the same ailment occurred with another Ferrari but was also quickly remedied.

The dubious distinction of being the first to retire fell to a young Mark Donohue in his TVR Grantura. With a disappointing number of laps completed he was in the pits with what looked like a blown head gasket. His car and the remaining R.M Imports TVR would be the first to retire with only seven laps to their credit. Not long after the Dick Thompson Corvette would pit with a missing third gear.

At the end of the first hour the Graham Hill – Pedro Rodriguez 4-liter Ferrari 330 TRI/LM was in the lead with the Phil Hill Cobra second, the Penske/Pabst GTO third, Gurney’s Cobra fourth and the Mike Parkes – Lorenzo Bandini Ferrari 330 LM in fifth position. The Shelby Cobras were showing great speed and were the fastest of the GT cars. But, could they last for what many call “The 12-Hour Grind”?

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In a strategy that Carroll Shelby would use in future races at both Sebring and Daytona one of the team Cobras was selected as the “rabbit” to entice the hounds to give chase and hopefully suffer mechanical failure. At Sebring in 1963 this assignment was given to the team of Dave MacDonald and “Fireball” Roberts. However, by the second hour their car was “kaput” but the Ferraris showed little sign of any major problems.

In their attempt to lead the GT class the Cobras of Dan Gurney and Phil Hill were setting a fast pace. Hill was supposed to be Gurney’s co-driver but was drafted as a relief driver for the Miles-Spencer Cobra. Gurney, by choice, would drive for almost six hours straight but his car would be plagued with mechanical problems that would force him to revisit the pits thus dropping him further back in the pack.

In the early goings of the race John Christy, writing in the June 1963 issue of Sports Car Graphic, was very impressed by the performance of the two factory 2-liter Porsche Abarth 356B Carrera GTLs. In the #43 car were German drivers Edgar Barth and Herbert Linge. The #44 car was driven by Americans Don Wester and Bob Holbert. Both Americans were accomplished Porsche drivers as well as owning Porsche dealerships.

According to Mr. Christy:

“They (the factory Porsches) seemed tied together by an invisible rope. Lap after lap, hour after hour they ran around the course about 20 feet apart. Speculation had it that Team Manager Huschke von Hanstein was perched atop the tall water tower with a rifle to keep his drivers from dicing.”

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At one point, early in the race, the Chaparral 1 driven by Jim Hall, weird fins and all, actually led the race for a couple of laps. This was only the second time since 1953, when a Cunningham won, that an American-built race car led such a distinguished field. Unfortunately the Chaparral began to overheat and Hall slowed his pace to deal with it. What he did not realize was that he had blown a radiator hose and by the time he pitted the engine was cooked and the car retired after completing only 15 laps.

Retiring at 10:52 a.m. was the Dick Thompson – Don Yenko Corvette with a blown gearbox after completing 14 laps. Much to his disappointment co-driver Don Yenko never got a chance to drive but both men would be called upon later to drive another Corvette.

Following those cars behind pit wall after 22 laps was the Cobra of George Reed and Nathan Karas with ignition problems. The Denise McCluggage – Christabel Carlisle MGB succumbed to bearing failure after completing 32 laps. In fact both Ecurie Safety Fast team MGB’s retired for the same reason. It seems that the experimental bearings they were using were not up to the demands of a one-hour race, let alone a twelve-hour race.

Out on the course Jerry Grant had parked his Corvette and was seen walking to the pits. When he arrived he asked for a change of plugs and some tools and returned to his car. The car would retire after 46 laps.

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After completing only 56 laps the last remaining hope for an American win in the Prototype Class, the Chaparral 1 of Ron Hissom and Bob Donner, retired with differential problems. When the race entered the fourth hour nine cars had been withdrawn with two still in the pits for extensive repairs.

At this point Ferrari held eight of the top ten positions with a Cobra and a Jaguar in that mix. The Shelby Cobra that was in fourth place was in the capable hands of Dan Gurney. He had not yet relinquished the wheel and had expressed his intentions earlier to try and go the distance like George Waltman was attempting to do in his TR-4.

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Just after 2 p.m. the factory Ferrari 330 LMB driven by Mike Parkes went off the course after passing under the M.G. Bridge. Unfortunately he struck one of the few trees in that area of the track causing damage to his car. He was not hurt and drove away leaving behind a trail of gasoline. He managed to get the car to his pit where they found that the gas tank was split. They had no choice but to retire the car. According to Ozzie Lyons, writing in the March 29, 1963 issue of Autosport magazine: “Co-driver (Lorenzo) Bandini burst into tears as the big Ferrari was pushed away.”

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At the half-way point (6-hours) the Ferraris were in a commanding position with the Ferrari prototypes of G. Hill/Rodriguez in first, the Surtees/Scarfiotti Ferrari in second and the Mairesse/Vaccarella Ferrari third. In fourth was the Penske/Pabst Ferrari 250 GTO and the Gurney Cobra in fifth spot. Observers on the course heard Gurney having shifting problems and assumed he was having gearbox troubles. Later Gurney would hit a curb on the course and shear a rack-and-pinion support and spend almost two hours in the pits for repairs. He was running second in his class at the time and his car would eventually end up finishing 29th overall and 5th in class. Some felt that trying to go it alone in a car as demanding as the Cobra exhausted him and he might have made a mistake that cost him a class win.

With the sun heading down for a beautiful Sebring sunset the casualty list would reach its daytime peak of 25 retirements. Only one official retirement would occur after sundown and that was the #4 Sting Ray of Roy Kumnick and Ralph Salyer which blew an engine after completing 120 laps and 11 hours of racing. Those early hours of the race were Darwinism in action with the best prepared and driven cars surviving and the worst prepared or those with defective parts, like the MGB’s, dying an early but ignominious death. Of course there were always the few “hot shoes” that, trying to be the next Fangio, Hill or Gurney, would push their car too hard, too early.

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By the 8th hour Ferrari held the top four spots and in fifth place was the E-type Jaguar of Bruce McLaren and Walt Hansgen. The Cobras were in and out of the pits for a variety of ailments and only three of the six entered would finish. The #15 Gurney Cobra was finally repaired but Shelby turns the car over to Phil Hill while Hill’s #12 Cobra was given to Ken Miles.

Fans of American sports cars had not lost hope yet because the #2 Black/Lowther Corvette had moved up to sixth position. While in for a regular pit stop a complete change of drivers was ordered and Don Yenko and Dick Thompson took over. Unfortunately they would not be there for the finish having succumbed to a blown head gasket after completing 167 laps.

In the lead during the 8th hour the former Le Mans winning Ferrari 330 LM of Hill and Rodriguez had to pit for exhaust problems plus a malfunctioning tail light was repaired. Already the car had to have a broken tachometer attended to and a flat tire replaced. The exhaust problem was due to a split in the manifold caused by an off road excursion when Rodriguez was driving. It couldn’t be repaired and the drivers had to deal with the choking exhaust fumes for the rest of the race.

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Malfunctioning lights were a common problem at Sebring for many of the entrants. Some would start the race with two headlights and two driving lights only to find that when Jesse Coleman gave the signal at 6:30 p.m. to turn on their car’s lights several of them had ceased to function. In most cases it was the brutal pounding the cars took for over eight hours on the notoriously rough Sebring course. Some were black flagged for not having the minimum number of operating lights and had to make unscheduled stops for repairs.

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Coming into the pits for a look at his battery was the Ferrari 250P of Ludovico Scarfiotti. It seems that the battery casing had expanded and forced the contacts off the leads. Scarfiotti was in second position at the time and he also had other complaints, to which, exhaust fumes in the co*ckpit, from their rear-engined car, that made him nauseous. When his co-driver, John Surtees, took the car out for the final time few seemed to notice that Scarfiotti seemed a bit flush. It was the beginning of carbon monoxide poisoning. In the pits an incident happened that for the quick action of the pit stewards could have been tragic. The Simca-Abarth of Hans Herrmann was in for gas and tires and the jack slipped causing the car to fall on a mechanic. Stewards rushed to the rescue lifting the car high enough for him to be removed. His injuries were only minor.

Out on the course the Hill/Rodriguez Ferrari 330 TRI/LM that had led for seven of the past eight hours was in big trouble. The generator had failed and the battery was quickly being drained and headlights and driving lights began to dim. To conserve battery power and to help find his way in the pitch dark Hill would turn off his lights and tuck in behind another car and allow them to light the way.

This didn’t go unnoticed by the corner workers and when the stewards were notified that a car was running without lights they prepared a black flag for Graham Hill. The wily Hill, knowing what was coming, would get to the last turn before the start/finish and then turn on what was left of his lights. It also seems that the factory Ferrari people had a word with the stewards about the lights on the NART Ferrari. That American entered car had embarrassed them all day long and they would have preferred that one of their new factory cars win. However, as Hill passed the stewards they determined he had enough light showing to let him continue racing.

The inability to see properly in the dark at high speed forced Hill to slow the car and he would eventually finish in third position. Moving into first and second overall were the factory Surtees/Scarfiotti 250P and the Mariesse/Vaccarella 250P.

At 10 p.m. starter Jesse Coleman dropped the checkered flag with the Ferrari of John Surtees and Ludovico Scarfiotti taking overall first place honors in their #30 Ferrari 250P. It was the first win at Sebring for a rear-engined race car. Coming in second overall were Willy Mairesse and Nino Vaccarella in another Ferrari 250P. In third place was the Ferrari 330 TRI/LM of Pedro Rodriguez and Graham Hill. In fourth, fifth and sixth place were a trio of Ferrari 250 GTOs. It was an incredible clean sweep for Ferrari and as further proof of Ferrari reliability nine of their eleven cars entered finished.

In seventh and eighth places were two Jaguar E-types and in ninth and tenth position were the two factory Porsche Abarth 356B Carrera GTLs mentioned earlier. They had exhibited remarkable discipline hour after hour by staying within twenty feet of each other for almost twelve hours. That is, until the last pit stop. In his own words #44 Porsche driver Don Wester explains:

“Here is what happened at our last pit stop toward end of the race. The German Team pitted first; when I saw them head into pit lane I began to drive as quickly as possible to gain some time on them. When it was our time to make a pit stop for gas and Bob’s (Holbert) turn to finish the race, the mechanics did a quick gas fill, Bob got in to re-enter the race. As he re-entered, our car was leading by a good distance ahead, #44 went on to win the class and 9th overall.”

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Of the six Shelby Cobras entered only three finished with the Phil Hill, Lew Spencer, Ken Miles roadster finishing 11th and first in the GT+4 class. The two other Cobras ended in 29th and 41st place. Of the seven Corvettes entered three finished, 16th, 17th and 42nd.

In order to get as many Corvettes as possible there for the finish a decision was made by the crew of the ailing Jerry Grant – Don Campbell Sting Ray to fake doing repairs for four hours and fifteen minutes by placing a mechanic under the car for all that time. Officially this prevented the stewards from withdrawing the car.

The car could still run but no one knew for how long so they waited until there was ten minutes left in the race and sent it out to finish in 42nd position (the very last finisher) completing a total of 46 laps (the winner completed 209) with an average speed of 19.9 m.p.h. No doubt the seven independently entered Corvette Sting Rays could have benefitted from the kind of factory support, organization and team work that Ferrari provided its people at Sebring in ’63. If they had, a better showing for GM would have been the result.

When John Surtees drove into the winner’s enclosure he was in bad shape due to exposure to exhaust fumes. Scarfiotti was a little bit better but still unsteady on his pins. There to greet them was the usual crush of reporters, photographers, radio and television people. Surtees and Scarfiotti smiled and exchanged handshakes and hugs from well wishers. When a person from the radio station broadcasting the race stuck a microphone in Surtees face and asked him to comment he said, “It was a very nice race indeed.” He then promptly passed out cold in front of everyone but was quickly revived by medical personnel.

For Ferrari it was as clean a sweep as any race car constructor could hope for. They took the first three places in the Prototype 3000 class as well as the first three places in GT 3000. In addition this was the sixth overall win for Ferrari at Sebring in the last eight years. They also took the Index of Performance and set a new lap record for Sebring. It was a great day for Ferrari but a disappointing one for Ford and Chevrolet.

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Back in Dearborn, Michigan Henry Ford II was not a happy man. The results from Daytona and Sebring in 1963 showed that the Cobras were not yet the sports cars he wanted associated with the Ford name.

Under the guise of “If you can’t beat them, buy them”, in May of 1963, at the suggestion of Lee Iacocca, Ford made an offer to buy the financially troubled Ferrari S.p.A. If Enzo Ferrari agreed to the purchase then two companies would be created. A Ford-Ferrari Company dedicated to making the luxury sports and GT passenger cars that Ferrari was best known for and a Ferrari-Ford Company dedicated to sponsoring drivers, entering races and making racing cars. Ford would be the majority stock holder in the first company and Ferrari the majority stock holder in the second. In the event of Enzo Ferrari’s demise Ford insisted they have the option of purchasing the controlling stock he had in the second company.

Ford got permission to audit Ferrari assets for a possible purchase offer and sent over a team to Maranello that included an assets-determination specialist, manufacturing expert plus a cadre of lawyers to determine the value of the company and work out the legal details. The eventual cost of this exercise would run into the millions of dollars for Ford.

Ford eventually offered to buy Ferrari for what some said at the time was the ridiculously low price of $10 million. It was reported at the time that Enzo Ferrari felt this low offer was an insult and there was much indignation in the European press when word of the offer leaked. On top of that the insistence by Ford that Ferrari would not be allowed to race at the Indianapolis 500 turned out to be too much for the Commendatore. As a result Enzo Ferrari abruptly ceased negotiations.

Ferrari’s rejection of Ford’s offer, the termination of negotiations and the vilification of Ford in the European press did not sit well with Henry Ford II. Enraged, he directed his racing division to negotiate with Lotus, Lola and Cooper to build a car capable of beating Ferrari on the world endurance circuit. By 1964 Eric Broadley of Lola began construction on what would be the Ford GT40 and subsequent versions of this model, in the hands of Shelby American and then Ford, would beat Ferrari at Daytona, Sebring and four years in a row at the Holy Grail of endurance racing, The 24-hours of Le Mans. Ford-powered Shelby cars would also win the International Championship for GT Manufacturers in 1965, Ford would win the Sports-Prototypes and Sports Car championship in 1966, repeat the Sports Car Championship in 1967 and the Championship for Makes in 1968.

For many in America in the late ‘60s The Ford – Ferrari War was over and Ford had won. However, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the beginning of that war few today would regard Ford as the epitome of exotic sports cars and racing. Ferrari may have lost those early battles in the 1960’s but in the hearts and minds of many sports car fans it never lost the war.

For Further Reading:

Autosport: Britian’s Motor Sporting Weekly, March 29, 1963 pages 424-429
Car and Driver, June 1963 pages 27-34
Ocala Star Banner, March 17, 1963
Palm Beach Daily News, March 1 and April 27, 1963
Road and Track, June 1963, pages 61-66
Sebring: The Official History of America’s Great Sports Car Race, Ken Breslauer, pages 76-79
Sports Car Graphic, June 1963, pages 18-25, 74-75
St. Petersburg Times, January 19, 1963
Today’s Motorsports, June 1963, pages 40-46

[Source: Louis Galanos]