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Phil Hill’s #7 Ferrari TR 59/60 splashes through the rain. This was later in the day as Hill and Gendebien started in #8 but the car failed after 77 lapts. Dan Gurney and Chuck Daigh started #7.

Just after the start Gendebien handles the #8 Ferrari TR 59/60. I love the side pipes carrying the V12 sounds to the crowd.

Practice day from above the pits. The #9 Ferrari of Jean Behra and Cliff Allison is looked after as the pontoon Testa Rossa of E.D. Martin and Lance Reventlow goes past.

No idea what number car this will become. A photo taken on Thursday as the cars are unloaded. Just a photo of a magnificent design that is ageless. The Ferrari Testa Rossa 59/60.

Practice preparations. It look serious on the #14 of E D Lunken, Augie Pabst and Gus Andrey. They would finish 7th overall. Could this be the same #14 Testa Rossa 58 that Hill and Gendebien won Sebring in 1958?

Carroll Shelby rolls down pit lane in the Aston Martin DBR-1. Later in the year Shelby and Roy Salvadori would team together to win LeMans.

While it isn’t every year, Sebring can get rain. Here Lance Reventlow takes his Testa Rossa down the main straight to 6th place.

Shelby leads Moss in tha Aston vs Lister battle that would continue in the US all year. The only change were the protagonists - it was George Constantine in the Aston and Walt Hansgen in the Lister.

At the same time the Ferrari’s were being unloaded so was the single Aston Martin DBR-1.

This beautiful factory car was driven by Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori. While the car did not last at Sebring Shelby and Salvadori did take a DBR-1 to victory later in the year at Le Mans. This particular car did win the Nurburgring 1000 with Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman.

The dead car park. The Moss/Bueb Costin Lister and the #8 Ferrari sit abandoned at the end of the pits. The Lister would go on to glory with Walt Hansgen fighting George Constantine through all 1959.

Some things never change. The pit straight at Sebring in 1959. In 1969 or 2009 or 2019 it was much the same. Always near or over 100,000 come to celebrate Spring at the Sebring 12 hour.

Here is Moss in the Costin Lister he shared with 2 time LeMans winner Ivor Bueb.

Walt Hansgen and DickThompson in one of Cunninghams “knobbly” Lister-Jags finished 12th.

Bueb, Moss and a team member talk over who will start the race.

While a head popped up in front of the camera, we know that Moss stood aside while Ivor made the Le Mans start.

The Porsche RSK of Wolfgang von Trips and Joachim Bonnier finished a surprising 3rd overall just 4 laps behind the winning Ferrari.

Ken Miles takes his RSK past the dead car park. Miles co drove with Jack McAfee to 8th overall and 3rd under 1.5 liters.

Don Sessler in his RSK he shared with Bob Holbert. They were quick and only beaten by the factory RSK. Sessler took this easily identifiable car to a great season in 1959.

No, Ernie Erickson is not racing, he is taking the car to the grid. He and Ed Hugus would take this Porsche RSK to 10th overall.

Art Bunker’s RSK resting in a very neat VW hauler. Bunker brought the car but it only practiced and never started.

A Mechanic does a quick pit stop oil check on one of the Lotus entries.

Jean Behra smokes while poking a journalist. Porsche's von Hanstein smiles at the joke.

Carroll Shelby (L) is pensive, Roy Salvadori chats with a friend.

Olivier Gendebien (hat) Phil Hill (behind) on the grid, were the winners.

Paul O'Shea in striped sweater Who are the others? O’Shea shared a Ferrari Testa Rossa 58 with Pedro Rodriguez.

The Rodriguez brothers give the photographer some “stink eye” as Momma Rodriguez looks on. Pedro shared a Ferrari with Paul O’Shea. Ricardo co drove an OSCA with Alejandro deTomaso and Denise McCluggage.

Bruce Kessler, in the USAC jacket, also gives Spankey a look.

Big Band leader Paul Whitman was a big race fan. He wrote and composed music and led one of America’s most popular dance bands of the 20’s and 30’s. His big hit was the introduction of George Gershwins “Rhapsody In Blue” which Whiteman used as his theme song.

The Ultimate Sportsman Briggs Cunningham sits in one of his Lister Jaguars. In the fall of 58, just a few months before Sebring, Cunningham guided his yacht “Columbia” to the America’s Cup championship. Cunningham was one in a lifetime.

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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.

1959 SEBRING 12 HOURS

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