Chuck Daigh runs through the rain. A fabulous capture of the spray by Bill Bellows.
Ivor Bueb in the Costin Lister. Moss had Bueb drive first. They stayed close to the Ferrari’s for over 4 hours. Then the rains came and the Hill/Gendebien car failed.
Moss took over when the rains came and being Moss - passed everyone and led the race. Only the officials could stop the Lister and the were DQ’d for illegal refueling.
Jean Behra in the Ferrari 59/60 Testa Rossa. Behra and Englishman Cliff Allison would finish 1 lap behind the winners with a fine 2nd place. The plucky Frenchman would die later in the year at the AVUS circuit.
Lance Reventlow bought himself a ride in E.D. Martin’s Ferrari. Lance hit something hard and came in with damage.. Despite the hit, they finished 6th overall.
The cars are lined up and the fans are ready. A shot from the start/finish grandstand not long before the start. The drivers are already standing across from their steeds.
The leaderboard, 1959 style. The #7 Ferrari leads the #9 Ferrari. Moss is gone from his DQ and those pesky Porsche’s are now in 3rd & 4th place. The race would finish that way.
The US Navy flew the MG team into Sebring. In 1959, the airfield once known as Hendricks Field still had dozens of WWII planes parked.
The 3 racing MGA coupes and the P or practice car sit beneath the mother ship that flew them to Sebring
Before the start, mechanics get the #28 & 29 cars ready. All 3 cars would finish in their numerical order; 28-29-30
Leaning hard into what is probably turn 1, two twin cams are staying together. Note the huge Navy plane that brought the MG’s parked off the racing circuit.
Off goes the field with all MG’s running. Only 11 hours and 59 minutes to go.
Gus Ehrman and Ray Saidel drove the #28 MGA to 27th overall and 2nd in GT1.6. BARC memeber Sherm Decker was listed as a co-driver but we aren’t sure he drove #28.
The #30 car did have Sherm Decker drive. He was listed as a support driver, but in practice proved the fastest of the entire team and the factory put him for the race.
Sherm Decker (middle) on his first trip to Sebring. Good friend and MG driver Hank van Duesen (white coat) traveled with Sherm.
This practice morning shot shows everyone relaxed and enjoying the day. It would not be like this on Saturday
It was wet for much of the race. Here Yank Jim Parkinson drives #29, he co drove with Brit John Dalton.
All the cars were housed in dealerships or body shops scattered around Sebring. There were no covered pits or buildings in 1959. Note the custom hood scoop to bring fresh air into the cockpit.
The ambulance attends to a rolled over car in the esses as #30 follows two sprites.
A rare color shot of almost all the BMC Sprites and MGA’s.
The BMC Sprite team. As mentioned, all the teams made arrangements at car dealerships, garages or body shops to maintain and prepare their cars. These Sprites enjoyed this Will-s Jeep dealership
Ricardo Rodriguez pushes the #56 OSCA to its position. Ricardo had just turned 17 before the Sebring race. the barcboys were jealous as any US citizen had to be 21 to drive a race car.
Porsche Carrera #33, a factory 356A for Huschke von Hanstein and Coutn Carel Godin de Beaufort won the 1.6 GT class and finished a terrific 11th overall. The poor MG twincams had no chance.
Beautiful DB of the bottled water czar Henri Perrier and Walter Wood ran all 12 hours to 37th overall and completed 141 laps.
The #61 OSCA of Rees Makins and Alan Markleson had their electrics drowned in the rainstorm and completed only 82 laps.
Standing behind the #24 AC Bristol is BARC member Charley Kurtz. Kurtz, Ross Wees and Archie Means finished 2nd in GT 2 liter. All 3 would have great SCCA seasons with the AC Bristol.
The Lotus Elite was the first of Chapman’s GT cars. Super light as it was the first to incorporate a full, monocoque fiberglass body. No tube frame. and simply gorgeous.
The #45 driven by west coast shoes, Pete Lovely, Jay Chamberlain and Sam Weiss did a full 160 laps to place 2nd GT 1.3 and 21st overall.
#47 Lotus 11 of Tom Fleming, Harry Dager and Bill Schade had problems during the race but were still running at the end, finishing 44th overall.
The brand new Lotus 15 is being worked on by a driver and mechanic. Driven by Harry Entwhistle and Bob Hanna, it succumbed to electrical problems after just 126 laps.
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