F Sheff at Sebring   -2-
1958
It's the Ferraris, Dummy
Click a picture to see a larger version

One of those delightful Testa Rossa Ferraris, 0726TR. Scene is a little closer to the hairpin turn, in an area where you could see the brakes glowing. I think there were a few cars with disc brakes in them days. Unfortunately I can't recall who were the drivers of this car (Luigi Musso/Olivier Gendebien; they finished second overall). I'm pretty sure Phil Hill and someone won (it was Peter Collins), in a similar car #14.

You can also see some more of the Flagman-Next-To-The-Track madness apparently rampant at the time. You suppose that seated guy is reading the paper? Pretty scary to stand there at all, let alone with attention focused on something other than the ton or so of hot metal hurtling by.


Here's a trophy tray Hill and Collins won:

It's the Firestone trophy for the Overall Maximum Distance Winner, Florida International Twelve Hour Grand Prix of Endurance, March 22, 1958. I have the photo through the offices of Russell Paterson, first Scottish Morgan Champion. He now has custody of the plate, having won the British Morgan Challenge, a series run over ten events at several English tracks. The tray has been presented to the Challenge Champion for about 21 years.

Russell's interested in finding photos of Peter Collins with the trophy, and any pertinent historical information. eMail me and I'll put you in touch.


Hill and Collins covered 1,040 miles (1,673.715 kms) in 200 laps of the 5.2 mile circuit, taking 12 hours, one minute and 22.6 seconds, an average speed of 86.501 mph (139.210 kph). I remember feeling great awe, watching them in the bright lights at the podium ceremony. Memories of any trophies are absent; a reasonable guess would be that this one was presented at a later ceremony.

Plenty of interesting material in the  R E S U L T S.

Click the thumbnail to see the larger versions. On the left, the winning Testa Rossa Ferrari, number 14, 0704TR. On the right, another Testa Rossa, 0730TR, a black one numbered 23. I thought it was the one I saw a year or two later at Mansfield, Louisiana, driven by Alan Connell, who co-drove a similar car at LeMans one or another of those years, but it seems not (here at Sebring drivers were Chester Flynn/Ed Hugus; DNF, accident). Look: Ferrari 250 GT coupe, 0773GT, numbered 22 (P. O'Shea/B. Kessler; fifth overall, first in class 9) is in there, too.

For a long time I thought the second photo (through the structure of the Martini & Rossi bridge to the paddock) was of a dark green Aston Martin. Must have been the number that confused me. It wasn't until a new scan and computer screen enlargement made clear the pontoon fenders and duck-ass of a TR. I think.

Recognize these? The one on the left isn't identifiable with what I know*. Maybe someone else can help. It has what appear to be vestigial tailfins. The one on the right is the winning car driven by Phil Hill and Peter Collins. Click on a picture or appropriate text to see a larger view.

*Fin-mobile demystified     |      Winning TR250    

These two are from the second or under-the-bridge photo. The #23 car (0730TR) looks as if it could be either green or blue, but I choose to think "black." And I choose to see the number on the 250GT (0773GT) as "22." You agree, don't you? Any road, the #22 car sold for $1,740,000 at Christie's auction in May, 1990. You could probably have bought it for ten or twenty K after this race.

Some time in the mid-2000s The most recent purchaser was checking out the history of his new car and found these pages. His assistant negotiated a nice 11x14 print of the full slide, bridge and all, and assured me it is framed and hanging in the office of the big man.

Click the picture or the appropriate text to see big ones.

Dark Ferrari     |    Red 250GT   

Here in its debut race is the #21 (0893GT; Arents, George Reed, O'Dell, 7th overall, 2nd C 9) sibling car to #22, above. I see they had similar contrast striping around the grille, over the roof, and on the rocker panels. In this poor photo, made from a poor negative I took with my poor skills from the original pretty good slide, you can't see the color of the stripes on this car. I don't remember, but the Barchetta site says they were blue. Maybe the rocker stripes were blue, but I have recently seen a movie that shows without question the over-the-top stripes were red.

Facebook post by Frederico Brambilla, 20 July, 2022: "NART Ferrari 250 GT at Sebring 1958. The car was driven by George Arents, George Reed and Don O'Dell. (Photographer unknow)." :


I reckon that one day soon I will find the slides of this and some early 60s Riverside International Raceway events. I will share.

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