In the hours leading up to the start of the 1965 running of the Sebring 12 hours race, it seemed like a perfect day for racing. A bit hot maybe at 94° but that wasn’t unusual for a Florida afternoon—even in March. There were rumors of hard weather on the way, but radio jamming between the US and Cuba meant that there was no solid local weather report available trackside.
After 6 hours of racing the sky began to threaten rain. An hour later, at 5:25 pm the sky opened up. By the time the race was over, prototype drivers were saying that their cars were filling up to their elbows with rainwater. It sounds like hyperbole until you see the photos. Rain delay? What’s a rain delay?
There’s endurance racing, and then there’s endurance racing.
More on the race and the spectacular conditions it was run in at Sportscars.tv. Some photos from BARC Boys, Via Retro and The Inside Line.
0 replies on “Wading Through the 1965 Sebring”
Enjoyed the race report at Sportscars.tv. Thorough, with some Henry N. Manny III color too. A few years ago, I dug into the fortunes of Stoddard’s TZ’s (factory cars; guest rides for some Americans). In ’64, four cars were entered and only one finished: Stoddard/Kaser won their class. In ’65, four cars were entered: three finished (somewhat waterlogged) but Stoddard wrote his off after sliding on the oil (as described in the report). Sic Semper Racing.
There is footage you know…
Sure is, Dude. Here’s a post we did with a film recap a while back: http://thechicaneblog.com/2011/08/04/1965-sebring-recap/
Long time reader, first time poster. I recognize a couple of the photos as originating from the fantastic BARC boys website. Here’s their pages dedicated to the 1965 edition of the 12 hours.
http://www.barcboys.com/1965Sebring.htm
Thanks Richard. Looks like I came across a source that was lifting them from BARC. I’ll add their link to the post. Those guys are amazing and I’d hate to not properly attribute them.