# 1955 12 Hours of Sebring

The 1955 Florida International Twelve Hour Grand Prix of Endurance took place on 13 March, on the Sebring International Raceway (Florida, United States). It was the second round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. For the fifth running of the event, the 5.2 mile course had been widened and smoothed with a new asphalt topping laid down. This was for safety and would allow the cars to achieve greater speed, especially in some of the corners.

## Report
### Entry

A massive total of 124 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 101 arrived for practice, trying to get among the 80 qualifiers for the race. Despite the size of the entry, the event was not supported by the major European teams, although there was one factory entry from England, for Donald Healey Motor Co., driven by Stirling Moss, who piloted an Osca to victory in 1954 with fellow Englishmen, Lance Macklin and two cars from France for Regie Renault Co., who include Robert Manzon amongst their squad. With no factory Ferrari entry to defend their championship lead, they were supported by the private entries of Allen Guiberson and Luigi Chinetti.
Briggs Cunningham returned after winning in 1954, with five cars from five different manufacturers. One of those cars was a factory-supported Jaguar D-Type for Phil Walters and Mike Hawthorn. Cunningham himself was entered in a new Offenhauser-powered Cunningham C-6R with John Gordon Bennett.
There were a dozen different countries represented in the field, including the teams from Mexico and Venezuela. The later had Chester "Chet" Flynn leading their effort, while the Mexicans had a two car team with Fred T. Van Beuren and Carlos Braniff leading their charge. The race saw its first Hollywood movie star, as Jackie Cooper was listed to pilot an Austin-Healey 100S.
Miss Isabelle Haskell was to become the first woman to complete, not only in the 12 Hours of Sebring – but in any American Automobile Association sanctioned race. Although the AAA did not allow ladies drivers, Haskell discovered that there was no such restriction placed on 'foreign races'. By race day, another woman had signed up to drive in the race, Greta Oakes was listed to take the wheel with her husband, Sydney Oakes.

### Race

The race was held over 12 hours on the 5.2 miles Sebring International Raceway. An estimated 20,000 spectators showed on a warm and sunny raceday. With the race starting promptly at 10am, 80 cars scrambled for positions. Meanwhile, six drivers who were unhappy at not being allowed to start, decided to go on the track at the start, they did one or two laps and then got off the track. Statistics show that the Hawthorn/Walter's Jaguar D-Type led all but one of the 182 completed laps, That single lap, a Ferrari 750 Monza of Piero Taruffi and Harry Schell were able take to the front for lap 32.
As darkness fell on the former Hendricks Army Airfield, the race ended in confusion. At one point, the Ferrari of Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby were declared winners, then it was the D-Type. The Jag was called to the winner's circle, only to run out of fuel during the victory lap. The former Le Mans winner, Luigi Chinetti, the Ferrari representative from New York protested the result, which was counter-protected by the Jaguar owner, Briggs Cunningham. Cunningham insisted that the D-Type had passed the Ferrari. The owner of the Ferrari, Allen Guiberson demanded that the D-Type should be disqualified, as it passed the Ferrari under a yellow flag. Cunningham countered the Index of Performance Trophy should not have been handed to Hill/Shelby, when in fact it should have gone to the Osca driven by Bill Lloyd and George Huntoon.
The AAA contest board called a meeting on 21 March to make a final decision. They inspected the records of Cunningham and Guiberson, and that of race timekeeper, Joe Lane. The AAA declared the Jaguar had won by a margin of ten seconds. Although Cunningham had won the race, his protest was disallowed and Ferrari was ruled the handicap winners under the Index of Performance. This was due to an admission by Ferrari team chief, Nello Ugolini had forgotten to count a lap. As a result, Walters became the first driver to win the Grand Prix of Endurance twice – having co-driven a Cunningham-Chrysler C4-R to victory with John Fitch in the 1953 race.
The winning D-Type covered 182 laps (946.4 miles), averaging a speed of 79.300 mph. The podium was complete by William Spear's Maserati 300S, which he co-drove with Sherwood Johnston albeit two laps adrift. Elsewhere, Cooper managed to finish the race in 41st, Haskell did not. She went out with an apparent engine problem. The Oakes' Austin-Healey also failed to finish, after being involved in an accident.

## Official Classification

Class Winners are in Bold text.
| Pos | No | Class | Driver | Driver | Entrant | Chassis | Laps | Reason Out |
| 1st | 19 | S5.0 | Mike Hawthorn | Phil Walters | B. S. Cunningham | Jaguar D-Type | 12hr 00:00.0, 182 | |
| 2nd | 25 | S3.0 | Phil Hill | Carroll Shelby | Allen Guiberson | Ferrari 750 Monza Spyder | 182 | |
| 3rd | 35 | S3.0 | William Spear | Sherwood Johnston | William C. Spear | Maserati 300S | 180 | |
| 4th | 36 | S3.0 | Gino Valenzano | Cesare Perdisa | Maserati Co. & B. S. Cunningham | Maserati 300S | 178 | |
| 5th | 28 | S3.0 | Piero Taruffi | Harry Schell | Luigi Chinetti | Ferrari 750 Monza | 177 | |
| 6th | 44 | S3.0 | Stirling Moss | Lance Macklin | Donald Healey Motor Co. | Austin-Healey 100S | 176 | |
| 7th | 64 | S1.5 | Bill Lloyd | George Huntoon | B. S. Cunningham | Osca MT4 1450 | 168 | |
| 8th | 68 | S1.5 | Huschke von Hanstein | Herbert Linge | Porsche Co. & B. S. Cunningham | Porsche 550 Spyder | 166 | |
| 9th | 63 | S1.5 | Carlos Braniff | Javier Velasquez | Carlos Braniff Cornejo | Osca MT4 1500 | 166 | |
| 10th | 15 | S5.0 | Charles Wallace | Dick Thompson | Jack Pry | Jaguar XK140 | 163 | |
| 11th | 61 | S1.5 | Bob Davis | Candy Poole | Robert H. Davis | Porsche 550 Spyder | 163 | |
| 12th | 14 | S5.0 | Russ Boss | Jake Kaplan | Jacob Kaplan | Jaguar C-Type | 162 | |
| 13th | 5 | S8.0 | Ray Crawford | | Ray Crawford | Kurtis Kraft-Lincoln 500K | 161 | |
| 14th | 70 | S1.5 | Ed Crawford | John Urbas | Fed Crawford | Porsche 550 Spyder | 161 | |
| 15th | 45 | S3.0 | William Brewster | Bill Rutan | Wm. Brewster | Austin-Healey 100S | 160 | |
| 16th | 40 | S3.0 | Bill Cook | Steve Lansing | Hobart A. H. Cook | Austin-Healey 100S | 156 | |
| 17th | 12 | S5.0 | Roger Wing | Loyal Katskee | Loyal Katskee | Jaguar C-Type | 156 | |
| 18th | 60 | S2.0 | John Panks | Ernie Erickson | S. H. Arnolt | Arnolt Bolide Bristol | 154 | |
| 19th | 4 | S8.0 | Bull Murphy | Sam Hanks | B. Murphy | Kurtis Kraft-Buick 500K | 153 | |
| 20th | 17 | S5.0 | M. R. J. Wyllie | Leech Cracraft | Dr. M. R. J. Wyllie | Jaguar XK140 | 152 | |
| 21st | 31 | S3.0 | Harry Woodnorth | Rees Makins | Rees T. Makins & Herman Rutson | Mercedes-Benz 300SL | 152 | |
| 22nd | 38 | S3.0 | Joe Giubardo | Fred Wolf | Joseph Giubardo | Austin-Healey 100M | 152 | |
| 23rd | 81 | S1.1 | Paul O'Shea | Fritz Koster | Hoffmann Porsche Corp. | Porsche 550 | 152 | |
| 24th | 39 | S3.0 | William Wonder | William Wellenberg, Jr. | Wm. Wellenberg, Jr. | Austin-Healey 100M | 151 | |
| 25th | 59 | S2.0 | S. H. Arnolt | Bob Goldich | S. H. Arnolt | Arnolt Bolide Bristol | 151 | |
| DISQ | 79 | S1.1 | Frank Miller | George Rabe | Frank Miller | Lotus-Climax Mark IX | 150 | pushed across the finish line |
| 26th | 18 | S5.0 | George Rice | Bob Grossman | Dr. Dolph Vilardi | Jaguar XK140 | 149 | |
| 27th | 55 | S2.0 | Mike Rothschild | Harold Kunz | M. G. Rothschild | Morgan-Triumph Plus 4 | 149 | |
| 28th | 48 | S3.0 | Jim Feld | Bob Ballenger | Brooks Stevens | Excalibur J Willys | 148 | |
| 29th | 58 | S2.0 | René Dreyfus | Robert Grier | S. H. Arnolt | Arnolt Bolide Bristol | 148 | |
| 30th | 52 | S2.0 | John Weitz | Gordon MacKenzie | John Weitz | Morgan-Triumph Plus 4 | 145 | |
| 31st | 84 | S1.1 | John Penn | William Wierdon | John S. Penn | Siata-Fiat 300BC | 145 | |
| 32nd | 43 | S3.0 | James Fergusson | Rowland Keith | Jas, F. Fergusson | Austin-Healey 100S | 143 | |
| 33rd | 57 | S2.0 | John Norwood | Don Vitale | John H. Horwood | Arnolt Bolide Bristol | 141 | |
| 34th | 69 | S1.5 | GuyAtkins | Trevor McKenna | Guy Atkins | Porsche 356 1300 Coupe | 141 | |
| 35th | 32 | S3.0 | Chester Flynn | Ed Munoz | Chester Fkynn | Mercedes-Benz 300SL | 139 | |
| 36th | 75 | S1.5 | Hubert Brundage Al DuPree | Howard Fowler | H. L. Brundage | Porsche 356 1300 Coupe | 139 | |
| 37th | 9 | S5.0 | Fred Scherer | Don Davis, Jr. | Fred G. Scherer | Ford Thunderbird | 138 | |
| DISQ | 80 | S1.1 | John Bentley | Jim McGee | John Bentley | Abarth 207A Spyder | 150 | refuelling on track |
| 38th | 76 | S1.5 | David Ash | Duncan Black | David Ash | MG TF | 137 | |
| 39th | 77 | S1.5 | Jack Ryan | Buel Kinne | John E. Ryan | MG | 135 | |
| 40th | 8 | S5.0 | Fred van Beuren | Eugene Towie | Fred T. VanBeuren | Van Bueren-Chrysler Special | 131 | |
| 41st | 42 | S3.0 | Jackie Cooper | Roy Jackson-Moore | Jack Cooper | Austin-Healey 100S | 131 | |
| 42nd | 67 | S1.5 | Evans Hunt | Howard Hanna | Howard Hanna | Porsche 550 Spyder | 130 | |
| DNF | 54 | S2.0 | Tom Friedmann | Karl Brocken | T.A. Fredmann | Maserati 300 AG | 129 | Gearbox |
| 43rd | 50 | S2.0 | Tony Palmer-Morewood Masten Gregory | Gleb Derujinsky | Ecurie Yankee | Ferrari 500 Mondial | 124 | |
| 44th | 88 | S750 | E. C. Miller | Curtis Attaway | Int. Auto Sales Co. | Renault 1063 | 124 | |
| DNF | 87 | S750 | Louis Pons Jean Hébert | Robert Manzon | Regie Renault Co. | Renault 1063 | 121 | Engine |
| DNF | 72 | S1.5 | Norman Christianson | Don McKnought | Norman Christianson | Porsche 550 Spyder | 119 | Brakes |
| DNF | 82 | S1.1 | Austin Conley | LeRoy Thorpe | Austin L. Conley | Siata-Fiat 300BC | 112 | unknown |
| DNF | | S2.0 | David Mott | Don Skogmo | John F. Ellwood | Triumph TR2 | 111 | Head gasket |
| DNF | | S1.1 | Norman Scott | Robert W. Samuelson | Bobbie Burns & Norman J. Scott, Jr. | Lotus-Climax Mark IX | 109 | Accident |
| 45th | 3 | S8.0 | Walt Gray | Paul Ceresole | Walter Gray | Allard-Chrysler J2X | 104 | |
| DNF | 24 | S3.0 | Ernie McAfee | Howard Wheeler | Wm. H. Doheny | Ferrari 750 Monza | 99 | unknown |
| DNF | 100 | S2.0 | Jim Pauley | David Michaels | James E. Pauley | Siata 208 CS Balbo | 96 | Transmission |
| DNF | 29 | S3.0 | Sterling Edwards | Chuck Daigh | Manfredo Lippmann | Ferrari 750 Monza | 88 | Engine |
| DNF | 73 | S1.5 | Otto Linton | Hal Stetson | Speedcraft Enterprises | Osca MT4 1450 | 83 | Unknown |
| 46th | 16 | S5.0 | Fred Dagavar | Al Garz | Fred Dagavar | Jaguar XK120 | 73 | |
| DNF | 83 | S1.1 | Dick Irish | Isabelle Haskell | Isabelle Haskell | Bandini Fiat | 67 | Engine |
| DNF | 71 | S1.5 | Richard Toland | Stan Hoffstein | Richard H. R. Toland | Denzel-Volkswagen 1300 Super | 61 | Unknown |
| DNF | 41 | S3.0 | William Milliken, Jr. | Lester Smalley | Bill Milliken | Austin-Healey 100 | 60 | Engine |
| DNF | 74 | S1.5 | Walt Hansgen | William Eager | George E. Tilp | Osca MT4 1350 | 58 | Rear Axle |
| DNF | 37 | S3.0 | Briggs Cunningham | John Gordon Bennett | B. S. Cunningham | Cunningham C-6R | 54 | Gearbox |
| DNF | 26 | S3.0 | Alfonso de Portago | Umberto Maglioli | Marquis de Portago | Ferrari 750 Monza | 53 | Gearbox |
| DNF | 47 | S3.0 | Hal Ullrich | Robert Grey | Brooks Stevens | Excalibur J Willys | 50 | Engine |
| DNF | 46 | S3.0 | Gus Ehrman | Fred Allen | Fred F. Allen | Austin-Healey 100S | 47 | Oil leak |
| DNF | 49 | S3.0 | Sydney Oakes | Greta Oakes | Sir Sydney Oakes | Austin-Healey 100M | 44 | Accident |
| DNF | 89 | S750 | Sandy MacArthur | Paul Gougelman | Sandy MacArthur | Bandini-Mercury Outboard | 34 | Engine |
| DNF | 66 | S1.5 | Phil Stewart | Ted Boynton | Philip B. Stewart | Osca MT4 1500 | 33 | Accident damage |
| DNF | 65 | S1.5 | Harry Chapman | William Ball | Harry A. Chapman | Osca MT4 1500 | 18 | Unknown |
| DNF | 7 | S5.0 | Jim Kimberly | Ed Lunken | James Kimberly | Ferrari 375 Plus | 18 | Rear axle |
| DNF | 33 | S3.0 | Julio Pola | Pancho Croquer | Pancho P. Croquer | Mercedes-Benz 300SL | 17 | Out of fuel |
| DNF | 53 | S2.0 | Porfirio Rubirosa | Cal Niday | Porfirio Rubirosa | Ferrari 500 Mondial | 14 | Accident |
| DNF | 2 | S8.0 | Andy Rosenberger | Charles Cowdin | A. Rosenberger | Nash-Healey Le Mans | 14 | Gearbox |
| DNF | 85 | S1.1 | Bret Hannaway | Raymond Osborne | Dr. Raymond Osborne | Kieft-Fiat Sport | 10 | Engine |
| DNF | 11 | S5.0 | Jack McAfee | Bob Drake | Tony Parravano | Ferrari 375 MM | 5 | Fuel fire |
| DNF | 1 | S8.0 | Jack Ensley | Jim Rathmann | Jack Ensley | Kurits Kraft-Cadillac 500 | 3 | Engine |
| DNF | 27 | S3.0 | Bob Said | Masten Gregory | Ecurie Yankee | Ferrari 750 Monza | 3 | Collision with ambulance |
| DNF | 86 | S750 | Jean Rédélé | Louis Pons | Regie Renault Co. | Renault 1063 | 2 | Accident |
| DNF | 86 | S750 | John Shakespeare | Manfredo Lippmann | J. W. Shakespeare | Ferrari 375 MM | 0 | Electrics |
| DNS | 6 | S5.0 | Walter F. Huggler | John B. Mull | John B. Mull | Jaguar XK120 | | Reserve |
| DNS | 12A | S5.0 | Reina Morales | Ed Munoz | Chester J. Flynn | Ferrari 340 America | | Accident in practice |
| DNS | 21P | S1.5 | Art Bunker | | Art Bunker | Porsche 500 Spyder | | |
| DNS | 29T | S3.0 | Sterling Edwards | Chester Flynn | Manfredo Lippmann | Ferrari 250 Monza | | Engine |
| DNS | 41 | S3.0 | Sandy McPherson Harley Watts | Robert Fergus | Robt. H. Fergus | Austin-Healey 100S | | Accident in practice |
| DNS | 62 | S1.5 | Ed Crawford | John Urbas | Ed. W. Crawford | Porsche 550 Spyder | | |
| DISQ | | S2.0 | James Carson | Dan Hastings | Howard Hanna | Swallow Doretti-Triumph | | started illegally – flagged off |
| DISQ | | S1.1 | Warren Smith | Joe Sheppard | Joe Sheppard | Lotus-Climax Mark IX | | started illegally – flagged off |
| DISQ | | S3.0 | Billy Dantone | Phil M. Seeberg | Billy J. Dantone | Austin-Healey 100 | | started illegally – flagged off |
| DISQ | | S3.0 | Phil Stiles | Red Bryon | Phil Stiles | Austin-Healey 100 | | started illegally – flagged off |
| DISQ | | S3.0 | Emil Bulck | William Bulck | Emil Bulck | Austin-Healey 100 | | started illegally – flagged off |
| DISQ | | S2.0 | Fred Losee | William Kichloe | Fred L. Losee | Veritas Comet RS | | started illegally – flagged off |
* Fastest Lap: Sherwood Johnston, 3:38.8secs (85.558 mph)

### Class Winners

| Class | Winners | | |
| Class B - Sports 8000 | 5 | Kurtis Kraft-Lincoln 500K | Crawford |
| Class C - Sports 5000 | 19 | Jaguar D-type | Hawthorn / Walters |
| Class D - Sports 3000 | 25 | Ferrari 750 Monza Spyder | Hill / Shelby |
| Class E- Sports 2000 | 60 | Arnolt Bolide Bristol | Panks / Erickson |
| Class F - Sports 1500 | 64 | Osca MT4 1450 | Lloyd / Huntoon |
| Class G - Sports 1100 | 81 | Porsche 550 Spyder | O'Shea / Koster |
| Class H - Sports 750 | 88 | Renault 1063 | Miller / Attaway |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Championship | Points |
| 1 | Ferrari | 14 |
| 2= | Jaguar | 8 |
| 2= | Maserati | 8 |
| 4 | Porsche | 3 |
| 5 | Gordini | 2 |
* Note: Only the top five positions are included in this set of standings.
Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 4 results out of the 6 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.