# 1958 12 Hours of Sebring

The 1958 12-Hour Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance for the Amoco Trophy took place on 22 March, on the Sebring International Raceway, (Florida, United States). It was the second round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship, which was running to new regulations introduced at the beginning of the season. The most influential of these regulations changes would be the 3.0 litre engine size limit. This was seventh running of the 12-hour race.

## Report
### Entry

A massive total of 73 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 70 arrived for practice. Only these, 65 qualified for, and started the race. With these new rules, and Maserati on the brink of financial crisis, Scuderia Ferrari would head the Italian challenge. Ferrari had six of their 250 TRs in Florida, of which three were works machines for Phil Hill/Peter Collins, Mike Hawthorn/Wolfgang von Trips and Luigi Musso/Olivier Gendebien. Opposition would no longer come from Maserati... but from Aston Martin.
David Brown sent two Aston Martin DBR1s over from England for Stirling Moss/Tony Brooks and Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori. There were supported by George Constantine and John Dalton, in a DB2/4. Also on the entry list were some quick looking Jaguar D-Types though the Coventry marque were a bit out-classed by now. Ecurie Ecosse had two D-Types for Ron Flockhart/Masten Gregory and Ninian Sanderson/Ivor Bueb. Another Jag was entered by Briggs Cunningham for himself and Walt Hansgen. Cunningham also brought along two Jaguar engined Listers for Ed Crawford/Pat O'Connor and Archie Scott Brown/Hansgen. All three cars were listed with Alfred Momo being the entrant.

### Qualifying

Because there were no qualifying sessions to set the grid, the starting positions were decided according to engine size with the 4.6 litre Chevrolet Corvette C1 of Jim Rathmann and Dick Doane in first place. Next was another Corvette of John A. Kilborn, Fred Windridge and Dick Thompson. In fact Corvette’s held the first three places.

### Race

Day of the race would be sunny and warm, but the start of race was something of a shambles as some drivers posed for the tradition Le Mans style start, ready to sprint to their cars, while others were still ambling across the track. This prompted a false start, so everyone had to line-up again.
From his third place of the grid, Jim Jeffords was expected to be quick off the line, and indeed he was but a wheel problem stopped him out on the circuit, and by the end of lap one, he crossed the line in last place.
The Aston Martins set the early pace with Moss going out in front. Hawthorn was second in his works Ferrari, with Salvadori in the other Aston on his tail. Soon, Salvadori moved past Hawthorn to make it an Aston 1-2. As for the Listers, they were going well in the opening laps, but Gendebien tried to force his Ferrari past Scott Brown, on the managed to climb right over the back of the Lister. Both drivers hopped out and removed the Ferrari and the Belgian took it back to the pits for repairs while the Lister retired. As for the other Lister, it only managed six laps before its Jaguar engine went and all the Jaguar-powered cars were out of the race by lap 55.
As for the Hill/Collins Ferrari, it made a cautious start with the American behind the wheel. The crew decided to be easy on the gearbox and brakes which get worked so hard at Sebring. They were in fourth at the end of the first hour, with Moss/Brooks leading from Salvadori/Shelby and Hawthorn/von Trips. Their easy pace allowed the private 250 TR of Richie Ginther and Johnny von Neumann into fourth an hour later. The pair of Astons and the trio of Ferrari held the top five spots for the first four hours. The other works Ferrari of Musso/Gendebien started to recover from its early encounter.
It was all change in the fifth hour of the race when both Astons had gearbox troubles, which forces them to retire. Hill and Collins had progressively worked their way through to second and then took over the lead which they would not be moved. By the half-way mark, there were four Ferraris in the top four and that remained that way for the next five hours. Hawthorn and von Trips were out on lap 159, with Neumann and Ginther at lap 168. Hill and Collins still kept to a steady pace, the Musso/Gendebien car moved into second with the Porsche 718 RSK of Harry Schell and Wolfgang Seidel now up to third. Surprisingly, the little Lotus Eleven of Sam Weiss and David Tallakson had got into fourth overall.
And that's how the race finished, the Scuderia Ferrari of Collins and Hill, winning ahead of their team-mates Musso and Gendebien. Car number 14, took an impressive victory, completing 200 laps, covering 1,040 miles after 12 hours of racing, averaging a speed of 86.501 mph. Second place went to the second Ferrari, albeit one lap adrift. The podium was complete by works Porsche of Schell and Seidel who were seven laps behind the winners. Phil Hill and Peter Collins had established the Ferrari 250 TR as the main sports car championship contender, with its second straight victory in the series.

## Official Classification

Class Winners are in Bold text.
| Pos | No | Class | Driver | Driver | Entrant | Chassis | Laps | Reason Out |
| 1st | 14 | S3.0 | Phil Hill | Peter Collins | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 250 TR 58 | 12hr 01:22.6, 200 | |
| 2nd | 16 | S3.0 | Luigi Musso | Olivier Gendebien | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 250 TR 58 | 199 | |
| 3rd | 41 | S2.0 | Harry Schell | Wolfgang Seidel | Porsche K.G. | Porsche 718 RSK | 193 | |
| 4th | 56 | S1.1 | Sam Weiss | Dave Tallaksen | Team Lotus | Lotus-Climax Eleven | 179 | |
| 5th | 22 | GT3.5 | Paul O'Shea David Cunningham | Bruce Kessler | North American Racing Team | Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta | 179 | |
| 6th | 55 | S1.1 | Colin Chapman | Cliff Allison | Team Lotus | Lotius-Climax Eleven | 179 | |
| 7th | 21 | GT3.5 | George Arents Don O'Dell | George Reed | North American Racing Team | Ferrari 250 TR 58 | 175 | |
| 8th | 60 | S750 | Alejandro de Tomaso Robert Ferguson | Isabelle Haskell | Automobili Osca | Osca S750 | 175 | |
| 9th | 54 | S1.1 | Jay Chamberlain | William Frost | Team Lotus | Lotus-Climax Eleven | 175 | |
| 10th | 43 | GT1.6 | Huschke von Hanstein John Cuevas | Herbert Linge | Porsche K.G. | Porsche 356A Carrera | 174 | |
| 11th | 30 | S2.0 | Porfirio Rubirosa William Helburn | Jean-François Malle | Porfirio Rubirosa | Ferrari 500 TRC | 172 | |
| 12th | 1 | GT5.0 | Jim Rathmann | Dick Doane | Richard Doane | Chevrolet Corvette C1 | 170 | |
| 13th | 47 | S1.5 | Hal Stetson Harry Beck | Otto Linton | Osca Automobili | Osca MT4 1500 | 170 | |
| 14th | 27 | S2.0 | Gilbert Geitner Harold Kunz | Phil Stiles | Hmbro Automotive Corporation | Auston-Healey 100-6 MM | 169 | |
| DNF | 17 | S3.0 | Johnny von Neumann | Richie Ginther | Johnny von Neumann | Ferrari 250 TR | 168 | Gearbox |
| 15th | 72 | S2.0 | Luke Stear Bob Harris | Mike Norris | A. C. Car Ltd | AC Ace | 168 | |
| 16th | 39 | S2.0 | Fred Fuller Tony Briggs | Art Tweedale | A. C. Car Ltd | AC Ace | 166 | |
| 17th | 28 | GT3.5 | William Kinchloe | Fred Moore | Hambro Automotive Corporation | Austin-Healey 100-6 MM | 166 | |
| 18th | 50 | GT1.3 | Fred van Beuren | Javier Velásquez | Fred van Beuren | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce | 164 | |
| 19th | 37 | GT2.0 | Richard Milo Duncan Forlong | George McClure | A. C. Car Ltd | AC Ace | 163 | |
| 20th | 34 | GT2.0 | Mike Rothschild Bill Lott | William Kimberly | Standard Motor Co. | Triumph TR3 | 160 | |
| 21st | 53 | S1.1 | Carl Haas Chuck Dietrich | Alan Ross | Behm Motors | Stanguellini S1100 Bialbero | 160 | |
| DNF | 15 | S3.0 | Mike Hawthorn | Wolfgang von Trips | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 250 TR 58 | 159 | Gearbox |
| 22nd | 38 | S2.0 | Bill Love George Crowder | Roy Jackson-Moore | A. C. Car Ltd | AC Ace | 159 | |
| 23rd | 29 | GT3.5 | Gus Ehrman | Ray Cuomo | Hambro Automotive Corporation | Austin-Healey 100-6 MM | 159 | |
| 24th | 52 | GT1.3 | Charlie Rainville | Jake Kaplan | Jake Kaplan | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce | 157 | |
| 25th | 46 | S1.5 | Charles Wallace Skip Hudson | Bob Holbert | Marshall Motors | Porsche 550 RS | 153 | |
| 26th | 35 | GT2.0 | Jim Roberts | Louis Heuss | Hambro Automotive | Austin-Healey 100 Special | 151 | |
| 27th | 71 | S2.0 | Manolo Perez de la Mesa Alfonso Gomez-Mena | Santiago González | Scuderia Cuba | Ferrari 500 TRC | 151 | |
| 28th | 78 | S1.1 | William Milliken, Jr. Cameron Argetsinger | Millard Ripley | Ripley Motor Co. | Elva-Climax Mk. II | 151 | |
| 29th | 61 | S750 | Howard Brown | Richard Toland | Richard Toland | D.B. HBR Panhard | 151 | |
| 30th | 63 | S750 | Jack Brumby Ray Martinez | Frank Aldhous | Emmanuel de Graffenried | Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato | 150 | |
| 31st | 66 | GT750 | Chuck Kessigner Alfonso Thiele | Willie West | Emmanuel de Graffenried | Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato | 148 | |
| 32nd | 80 | GT750 | Harry Fry | Lou Rappaport | Dr. Harry Fry | Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato | 145 | |
| 33rd | 2 | GT5.0 | John Kilbourn Dick Thompson | Fred Windridge | Richard Thompson | Chevrolet Corvette | 144 | |
| 34th | 62 | S750 | Howard Hanna | Howard Brown | Howard Hanna | D.B. HBR Panhard | 143 | |
| 35th | 40 | GT2.0 | Max Goldman Sydney H. Arnolt | Ralph Durbin | S. H. Arnolt | Arnolt Bolide | 141 | |
| NC 36th | 33 | GT2.0 | Bob Oker | Harold Hurtley | Standard Motor Co. | Triumph TR3 | 131 | |
| NC 37th | 51 | GT1.3 | Louis Comito Bob Pfaff | Alan Markelson | Louis Comito | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce | 126 | |
| DNF | 31 | S2.0 | Gaston Andrey | Bill Lloyd | Mike Garber | Ferrari 500 TRC | 125 | Rear axle bearing |
| DNF | 65 | S750 | Densie McCluggage | Ruth Levy | Alfred Momo | Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato | 116 | Gearbox |
| DNF | 57 | S1.1 | Frank Baptista Bill Warren | Burdette Martin | Elva Engineering Co. | Elva-Climax Mk. III | 114 | unknown |
| NC | 49 | S1.5 | Charles Moran | Paul Ceresole | Charles Moran, Jr. | Lotus-Climax Eleven Le Mans | 110 | |
| NC | 74 | S1.5 | Norman Scott | Frank Bott | Norman J. Scott | Porsche 550 RS | 109 | |
| DNF | 44 | S1.5 | Art Bunker | Carel Godin de Beaufort | Art’s Sports Motors | Porsche 550 RS | 106 | Clutch |
| DNF | 42 | S2.0 | Jean Behra | Edgar Barth | Porsche K.G. | Porsche 718 RSK | 105 | Transmission, oil leak |
| DNF | 7 | S3.0 | Dale Duncan | Jo Bonnier | A. V. Dayton | Maserati 300S | 90 | Gearbox |
| DNF | 24 | S3.0 | Stirling Moss | Tony Brooks | David Brown | Aston Martin DBR1/300 | 90 | Gearbox |
| DNF | 19 | S3.0 | John Fitch | Ed Hugus | Harry Kullen | Ferrari 250 TR | 85 | Engine |
| NC | 36 | GT2.0 | Dick Kennedy Charles Sherman | Tom Payne | Richard Kennedy | Morgan Plus 4 | 76 | |
| NC | 58 | S1.1 | William Bradley | John Bentley | Elva Engineering Co. | Elva-Climax Mk. III | 71 | |
| DNF | 79 | S2.0 | Jan de Vroom | Alfonso Gomez-Mena | Alfonso Gomez-Mena | Ferrari 500 TRC | 69 | Engine |
| DNF | 77 | S1.1 | Charles Kurtz Dean Patterson | Joachim Kammer | Avant Corp. | Elva-Climax Mk. III | 65 | Clutch |
| DNF | 25 | S3.0 | Carroll Shelby | Roy Salvadori | David Brown | Aston Martin DBR1/300 | 62 | Transmission |
| DNF | 45 | S1.5 | Ken Miles | Jean Pierre Kunstle | Jean Pierre Kunstle | Porsche 550 RS | 59 | Clutch |
| DNF | 23 | S3.0 | E. D. Martin | Chester Flynn | Chester J. Flynn | Ferrari 250 TR | 58 | Accident |
| DNF | 9 | S3.0 | Ron Flockhart | Masten Gregory | Ecurie Ecosse | Jaguar D-Type | 55 | Engine |
| DNF | 81 | S2.0 | Bob Said | Miguel Rivera | Scuderia Central America | Ferrari 500 TRC | 43 | Brakes |
| DNF | 3 | S3.0 | Jim Jeffords | Augie Pabst | James Jeffords | Chevrolet Corvette SR-2 | 27 | Rear axle |
| DNF | 8 | S3.0 | Ninian Sanderson | Ivor Bueb | Ecurie Ecosse | Jaguar D-Type | 22 | Valve springs |
| DNF | 12 | S3.0 | Briggs Cunningham | Walt Hansgen | Alfred Momo | Jaguar D-Type | 16 | Blown piston |
| DNF | 26 | GT3.5 | George Constantine | John Dalton | David Brown | DB2/4 | 15 | Left rear hub |
| DNF | 32 | S2.0 | Jim Kimberly | Pete Lovely | Jim Kimberly | Maserati 200S I | 14 | Engine |
| DNF | 11 | S3.0 | Ed Crawford | Pat O'Connor | Alfred Momo | Lister-Jaguar | 6 | Cracked block |
| DNF | 10 | S3.0 | Archie Scott Brown | Walt Hansgen | Alfred Momo | Lister-Jaguar | 3 | Accident |
| DNS | 48 | S1.5 | M. R. J. Wyllie Margaret Wyllie | Chuck Dietrich | Dr. M. R. J. Wyllie | Elva-Climax Mk. II | | Accident in practice |
* Fastest Lap: Stirling Moss, 3:20.0secs (93.600 mph)

### Class Winners

| Class | Winners | | |
| Sports 3000 – Class D | 14 | Ferrari 250 TR 58 | Hill / Collins |
| Sports 2000 – Class E | 41 | Porsche 718 RSK | Schell / Seidel |
| Sports 1500 – Class F | 47 | Osca MT4 1500 | Stetson / Linton / Beck |
| Sports 1100 – Class G | 56 | Lotus-Climax Eleven | Weiss / Tallaksen |
| Sports 750 | 60 | Osca S750 | de Tomasso / Haskell / Ferguson |
| Grand Touring 5000 | 1 | Chevrolet Corvette | Rathmann / Doane |
| Grand Touring 3500 – Class 9 | 22 | Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta | O'Shea / Kessler / Cunningham |
| Grand Touring 3000 | | no classified finishers | |
| Grand Touring 2000 | 37 | AC Ace | Milo / McClure / Forlong |
| Grand Touring 1600 | 43 | Porsche 356A Carrera | von Hanstein / Linge / Cuevas |
| Grand Touring 1300 | 50 | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce | Van Beuren / Velásquez |
| Grand Touring 750 | 64 | Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato | Kessinger / West / Thiele |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Championship | Points |
| 1 | Ferrari | 16 |
| 2 | Porsche | 8 |
| 3 | Lotus | 3 |
* 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, excepting the RAC Tourist Trophy, for which points were awarded on a 4-3-2-1 for the first four places. 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.