I was at this race standing on the inside of the hairpin when McLean crashed his Ford GT not 50 feet from me. It was a very sobering experience for a 16 year old to witness. I remember trying to back away from the snow fence but the press of the crowd that rushed to the fence to see the burning car was too much. The heat coming from the magnesium wheels burning was intense and they were glowing white hot. It was painfully obvious that the driver had not survived and was no more than charcoal at this point. Very grue-some.and an experience that I will never forget. It is forever etched into my mind how dangerous racing can be.
I would be 17 that July... I was probably within 100 ft of you... I was the kid with the brass knock off hammer... On loan from a Healey 3000 owner No one had an AXE Not even a hatchet! Then the thing lit up... Horrible choking yellow green smoke... Bob died BEFORE he burned.... Quelle HORRORS! We drove back to Tampa before dusk.... SILENT.... Sobering.... REAL! 1964 was my first 12 Hours 1972 my last.... Daytona Continentals thru '73. I despised IMSA for their rules changes That last race "won" by a non-running BRUMOS 911 RSR.... ( Would have been classified NC under FIA Regs...) Over the fine RUNNING NART FERRARI GTB/4.... Sebring '73 would be IMSA Trash CARs only.... We quit going... J.C.
Thank-you for finding and sharing this archival '66 12 Hours of Sebring film footage. My brother-in-law, Merle Van Steenwyk, was part of this Ford GT40 program that raced at Sebring in this era. He primary job was that of a machinist & fabricator. The team dominated GT prototype racing for several years back in the late 1960's. Merle, or 'Van' as we called him, was a fabulous story teller and it was fascinating to hear him tell stories about the men and machines from this golden age of racing. Through Van, I got to meet a bunch of the old racers from this era who would come by and visit with him at his vintage race car restoration shop on Gasoline Alley, just outside the Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana.
#Jono Edwards Hi i guess this is going to be a freaky technology @Sxldierman Want to {Visit my site|Hit my page|Check out my website|Skip on over to |Slide on over to ebay.to/29RuaD4 End signature
Shows how attitudes have changed given the tragic fatality only garnered a mention in the video. Australian Bob McLean was the 1965 Canadian driving champion and an incredibly talented driver. Heat seized wheel lugs on his GT-40 forced a cool off lap, and while pitted for refueling the brake fluid boiled. With no brakes, he attempted to spin in the infield, but hit a partially buried concrete footing, launching him into a pole with full fuel tanks.
I do have a copy that I did some color correcting on that desaturates the magenta. That's from the filmstock of the era that didn't hold up. I'll post it.
German ZF gearbox in the 330P3 As in the Mk.I 289 CID GT-40s... Ferrari would design it's own box for the 1967 Daytona 24 winning 330P4s... Issue over.... J.C.
Is the footage public domain or is it owned by you? I could make a basic colour correction to it for free if you own it. It would greatly help the watchability.
Shoot! This race (Sebring) IS a tough event! And this 1966 race - Gurney had it literally after a tough start. What a driver Dan Gurney was! Sport car & just any road course track was his gem. And Lloyd Ruby...he was in his prime years in racing...just a shame he never won Indy. As to this '66 event - sorry to watch tragic deaths that make racing a dangerous but spectacular sport. Think what the Sebring course would be if it were a 10 mile course...quite fast, I think.
Wow shows how much tires and technology has changed I think was right at the 2 minute even mark running around Sebring I know those GT 40s were fast they were hauling really zipping along but today s tires a whole minute quicker....I was curious what kind if lap times they were turning in these cars...going to Le Mans were today top cars are right down to 3 minutes and 20 seconds unbelievable for 8.50 mile course.....
I recall those years of Sebring between 1965 to '67 where Ford and Ferrari were shadow-boxing each other; as the only endurance races in those seasons that truly pitted Ford vs Ferrari at full-strength were Daytona and Le Mans.
I attended this race in 66.' could not believe the ending. Gurney pushed the motor to hard. he could have won by backing off a bit. Those 427 were brutally fast compared to the opposition. Outside of the one P-3 Ferrari entered , little competition for the big Fords.
While Gurney's reputation was to drive the cars to its limits, the late Mark Donohue, in his book: _The Unfair Advantage_ spoke positively about Gurney's driving skills when it came to the long-life Gurney got with the brakes on the GT40s Mk II and IV. When it came to brake replacements during the endurance races, it was noted that Gurney's car required fewer brake pad changes than the other cars/drivers. The joke went around that Gurney would change the brake pads somewhere out in the race course prior to pitting.
@@robertthomas2001 Yes, I read same. Miles said that Dan really slammed his motor exiting out of turns, particularly the Hairpin. Ultimately, the big V8 quit on him in a most cruel manner.
Econo-Whacky: "GIANT" FERRARI dohc V-12.... 4 liters vs. SEVEN for the Ford Mk. II's NASCAR V-8s... 244 CID vs.427 CID Our stick and ball game reporters were CLUELESS! One SEFAC 330P3 and one two liter 206P Dino.... Vs. Fords Blizzard of GT-40s... Worker problems in Italy... As again in1967.... J.C.
Dynamic Films Inc. out of New York used to be at Sebring every year. Speed Chsnnel owned the rights to those years ago but I don't know who does now. Too bad these films haven't been fully restored and released for sports car fans. This is important history.
The Chaparral , Jim Hall I think needed more money but we’re Engineering brilliance.From what I have read McLaren Cars built that coupe. The last lap must have been crazy.
@@exoditegrayc Sorry I miss typed McLaren built the Ford GT 40 open top . Chris Amon talked about that in one of his interviews that are still around .Jim Hall aI expect built his own cars. At the time there was a feeling that Bruce built very good versions of current technology. I remember the first time I saw that huge wing on the Chaparral Can Am car on the cover of road & track. I couldn’t work out what the wing was at first & then saw it was attached to the car . It was huge.
Just to jump right to the point, in that era, correctly, no one dwelled on death during a race and unless it created a barrier against doing so, seldom was a race cancelled because of a fatality. This was and is the correct way of things. No driver goes into a race expecting to get killed and I'd wager just as few want a race stopped because of a fatality. Auto racing is dangerous; people get hurt, and killed. But they don't close highways all day because of a fatal accident, do they? It in no way reflects negatively on the victims - but it shouldn't be the bellweather for the race, either. Finish the race.
The four casualties after the Webster - Andretti accident sealed the fate of the race. Even for the abysmal standards of the period, the safety measures were unacceptable, and the race was canceled for 1967. When it returned in 1968 the track safety was minimally improved, just enough to hold a race.
Pardon for bringing this up, but which race was _canceled_ in 1967? As this video was about the 1966 Sebring race, was the reference made about the running of the 1967 race? The 1967 Sebring 12 Hour race went on as scheduled, with the debut victory of the Ford GT 40 Mk IV driven by Mario Andretti and Bruce McLaren. The website can verify that.
Incredible footage and it's crazy how security was just... well non-existant at all back in these glory days. What surprise me is that their were 2 deadly crashes and at the end, nobody seems to care... Were they even getting the infos ? I assume death was normal part of the game at the time so... it was perhaps not considered as something important ? I don't know...
My dad and I had just walked behind the bleachers when Maclean crashed, so we knew about it, as we were right there. As to the 4 spectators, I don't remember anything about it.
These classic films have been so neglected. Most of them have endured the kind of color fading this one has. Would better storage have helped? Reprinting the film on new stock?
A lot of WWII and Korean War veterans and people who lived through the depression. Hate to say it but back then real men were men, nowadays men are pussies - see the NFL cancelling a game because someone got carried of by an ambulance.
The whole plot line in Ford v/s Ferrari tht Myles was robbed of being the first driver to win Daytona, Sebring and Le man is a load of BS. He was the only driver to have won Daytona in '66 and it was Gurney who was robbed at Sebring.
Like the first reply, it was a mechanical failure. One that even Miles commented on before it happened, Gurney was pushing the car for quite some time and Ken was following behind but not pushing the car since it was clear they would win the race. Ken kept the same pace while Gurney decided to run fast. IIRC Ken was 1 lap behind. The difference here and at Le Mans, is that it was an order from the executives that made Miles lose out of the win.
@@Guitarman5200 Ken might have known the car better. But people want to cry that Gurney was robbed. I would say more human error for losing because someone told you to slow down just like you posted.
auto stupende impegnative per piloti con le palle...oggi tutto automatico telecomandati dai box e quando dai box fanno cazzate ( vedi Gianni & Binotto ) il pilota fa la figura del pirla
