I have been spending some time sifting through Flickr and have started to unearth some fantastic motorsport imagery so I thought I would start a new thread for sports car racing. Let's aim to keep all pictures in this thread to sports car racing, both sprint and endurance. I will kick off with some 1960's and 70's Sports Cars with descriptions (below) where I can find them or add them.
(Note: This photo is from the Ford Racing Archives and was originally black and white. I colorized it trying to be faithful to the original car colors.) In 1967 Bruce McLaren and Mario Andretti drove this 12 Hours of Sebring race-winning Ford GT Mk IV. Developed from the infamous Ford J-Car prototype - named for the Appendix "J" car construction regulations - the Mk IV was a completely new car and a clear departure from the previous Ford GT Mk II. The Ford GT Mk IV made its debut at Sebring that year - entered by Shelby-American and painted in bright yellow livery - and the team expected a fierce battle with the impressive Chaparral 2F Coupe driven by Jim Hall and Mike Spence (Ferrari skipped Sebring after thumping the field in the 24 Hours of Daytona in February, finishing 1-2-3). Andretti fired the first shot in the battle by putting the No. 1 Ford GT Mk IV on the pole, and the beginning of the race lived up to expectations with the Ford battling the Chaparral back and forth for the lead over the first three hours. The Chaparral suffered a transmission failure and retired at the end of the third hour, surrendering the lead to the Andretti/McLaren Ford Mk IV for good. The dynamic duo then went on to not only score the largest margin of victory in the history of the race - 12 laps - they were the first to average 100 MPH for the entire race distance. The A.J. Foyt/Lloyd Ruby Ford GT Mk II finished second.
The Ford Motor Company (Shelby American) Ford Mk II #1012 that was driven by Bruce McLaren (in photo) and Lucien Bianchi to a seventh place finish in the 1967 24-Hours of Daytona. Factory Ferrari cars came in 1-2-3 for one of their best wins ever. The following year (1968) Porsche's would come in 1-2-3. The winning Ferrari 330 P3/4 #0846 was driven by Lorenzo Bandini and Chris Amon. BTW, this car was equipped with the big 7-liter Ford 427 V8.
The mid to late 60's and early 70's were a great time for sports car and endurance racing. The photo above was taken at Sebring on a nice warm, sunny day in March. Keep that in mind if you live in Chicago or the perpetually rainy UK. Note no guard rails, catch fences, etc. Just some hay bales and sand berms. Those were the days when you could really see and get close to the cars. Yeah, I sound like the old fart that I am. For our viewers out there how about trying to identify the cars in the photo.
This is the North American Racing Team's Ferrari 312P that Nestor Garcia-Veiga, Luigi Chinetti, Jr., and Alain De Cadenet drove to a 5th place finish and first in class at the 1971 24-Hours of Daytona. The car was equipped with a 3-liter V12. By 1971 Ferrari had dropped all support for their 5-liter 512 cars much to the chagrin of Ferrari fans who were hoping that Ferrari would give the Porsche 917 a run for its money. Unfortunately Enzo Ferrari didn't have the resources to continue development of the 512 and instead concentrated on building the 312PB which would makes its debut in the 1972 24-Hours of Daytona where it came in first and second. They repeated this success one month later at Sebring. However, Porsche had totally dropped out of endurance racing in 1972 so there wasn't much competition.
Mark Donohue (crew cut hair) is seen leaning over his immaculate Penske/Sunoco Lola T70 Mk.3B during the days prior to the start of the 1969 24-Hours of Daytona. Mark and his co-driver Chuck Parsons would go on to win the race after the much written about and favored factory Porsche's would all (five of them) fail to finish. The two JW/Gulf Ford GT40's would also fail to finish. It was an incredible win for them because from the start they had a fuel pick-up problem that forced them to pit twice as often as planned. As a result they fell further and further behind the leaders. But when the leaders retired late in the race they were in the lead to stay. This car is a Mark 3B with a 5-liter Traco Chevrolet engine. The second place car was a Mark 3 Lola entered by actor James Garner. This photo is from the collection of Fred Lewis.
The Jo Siffert - Derek Bell John Wyer Gulf Porsche 917K #004/017 at the 1971 24-Hours of Daytona. The car failed to finish due to engine problems. The other JW/Gulf Porsche 917K driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Jackie Oliver would win the race. Eight months after this photo was taken Jo Siffert would die tragically in a non-championship F1 race at Brands Hatch. Derek Bell is still with us and is often found driving at vintage events or being featured in publications.
The Phil Hill - Mike Spence Chaparral 2F #2D001 in the pits getting gas at the 1967 24-Hours of Daytona. Am I crazy or does it look like they are using a garden hose to siphon gas into the car? The car was powered by a massive 7-liter Chevy V8 and was gridded 2nd for the race with a time of 1:55.360. The car failed to finish due to suspension damage from an accident. Photo courtesy of Chaparral Cars.
The Rudy Bartling, Klause Bytzek, Bert Kuehne Porsche 908/02 coming off the high banks at the 1973 24-Hours of Daytona. The car finished 12th.
The Sunoco Ferrari 512M driven by Mark Donohue and David Hobbs to a 6th place finish at the 1971 12 Hours of Sebring. This car was one of the fastest and best looking 512M's ever raced and could have won at Daytona and Sebring except for some monumental bad luck at both races. It was a shame that the Ferrari factory dropped all support for the "M" series because they had a real chance to beat the 917 Porsches. It was left up to the private entries like Penske to carry the ball for Ferrari.
The Shelby American Ford Mk II of A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney is first in line while the Jim Hall, Phil Hill Chaparral 2F is second. The Ford did not finish because of a faulty con rod while the Chaparral didn't finish due to suspension damage from an accident. Photo courtesy of the Ford Archives.
Here it is. The challenger to the Porsche 917 at its first points race the 1970 24-Hours of Daytona. This car is one of the five factory Ferrari 512S's (#1026) that were shipped over from Italy despite not having been fully approved by FIA. The approval came when the race was 7 hours old. The car was driven by Mario Andretti and Arturo Merzario. This was the only one of the five to finish and it came in third. Ferrari was trying its best to make up for a 6 month lead time that the Porsche's had in development. Unfortunately Ferrari couldn't get their act together and lost to Porsche many times in the next couple of years before dropping all support for the 512 in favor of the 312PB.
(Note: This photo is from the Ford Racing Archives and was originally black and white. I colorized it trying to be faithful to the original car colors.) In 1967 Bruce McLaren and Mario Andretti drove this 12 Hours of Sebring race-winning Ford GT Mk IV. Developed from the infamous Ford J-Car prototype - named for the Appendix "J" car construction regulations - the Mk IV was a completely new car and a clear departure from the previous Ford GT Mk II. The Ford GT Mk IV made its debut at Sebring that year - entered by Shelby-American and painted in bright yellow livery - and the team expected a fierce battle with the impressive Chaparral 2F Coupe driven by Jim Hall and Mike Spence (Ferrari skipped Sebring after thumping the field in the 24 Hours of Daytona in February, finishing 1-2-3). Andretti fired the first shot in the battle by putting the No. 1 Ford GT Mk IV on the pole, and the beginning of the race lived up to expectations with the Ford battling the Chaparral back and forth for the lead over the first three hours. The Chaparral suffered a transmission failure and retired at the end of the third hour, surrendering the lead to the Andretti/McLaren Ford Mk IV for good. The dynamic duo then went on to not only score the largest margin of victory in the history of the race - 12 laps - they were the first to average 100 MPH for the entire race distance. The A.J. Foyt/Lloyd Ruby Ford GT Mk II finished second.
The Ford Motor Company (Shelby American) Ford Mk II #1012 that was driven by Bruce McLaren (in photo) and Lucien Bianchi to a seventh place finish in the 1967 24-Hours of Daytona. Factory Ferrari cars came in 1-2-3 for one of their best wins ever. The following year (1968) Porsche's would come in 1-2-3. The winning Ferrari 330 P3/4 #0846 was driven by Lorenzo Bandini and Chris Amon. BTW, this car was equipped with the big 7-liter Ford 427 V8.
The mid to late 60's and early 70's were a great time for sports car and endurance racing. The photo above was taken at Sebring on a nice warm, sunny day in March. Keep that in mind if you live in Chicago or the perpetually rainy UK. Note no guard rails, catch fences, etc. Just some hay bales and sand berms. Those were the days when you could really see and get close to the cars. Yeah, I sound like the old fart that I am. For our viewers out there how about trying to identify the cars in the photo.
This is the North American Racing Team's Ferrari 312P that Nestor Garcia-Veiga, Luigi Chinetti, Jr., and Alain De Cadenet drove to a 5th place finish and first in class at the 1971 24-Hours of Daytona. The car was equipped with a 3-liter V12. By 1971 Ferrari had dropped all support for their 5-liter 512 cars much to the chagrin of Ferrari fans who were hoping that Ferrari would give the Porsche 917 a run for its money. Unfortunately Enzo Ferrari didn't have the resources to continue development of the 512 and instead concentrated on building the 312PB which would makes its debut in the 1972 24-Hours of Daytona where it came in first and second. They repeated this success one month later at Sebring. However, Porsche had totally dropped out of endurance racing in 1972 so there wasn't much competition.
Mark Donohue (crew cut hair) is seen leaning over his immaculate Penske/Sunoco Lola T70 Mk.3B during the days prior to the start of the 1969 24-Hours of Daytona. Mark and his co-driver Chuck Parsons would go on to win the race after the much written about and favored factory Porsche's would all (five of them) fail to finish. The two JW/Gulf Ford GT40's would also fail to finish. It was an incredible win for them because from the start they had a fuel pick-up problem that forced them to pit twice as often as planned. As a result they fell further and further behind the leaders. But when the leaders retired late in the race they were in the lead to stay. This car is a Mark 3B with a 5-liter Traco Chevrolet engine. The second place car was a Mark 3 Lola entered by actor James Garner. This photo is from the collection of Fred Lewis.
The Jo Siffert - Derek Bell John Wyer Gulf Porsche 917K #004/017 at the 1971 24-Hours of Daytona. The car failed to finish due to engine problems. The other JW/Gulf Porsche 917K driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Jackie Oliver would win the race. Eight months after this photo was taken Jo Siffert would die tragically in a non-championship F1 race at Brands Hatch. Derek Bell is still with us and is often found driving at vintage events or being featured in publications.
The Phil Hill - Mike Spence Chaparral 2F #2D001 in the pits getting gas at the 1967 24-Hours of Daytona. Am I crazy or does it look like they are using a garden hose to siphon gas into the car? The car was powered by a massive 7-liter Chevy V8 and was gridded 2nd for the race with a time of 1:55.360. The car failed to finish due to suspension damage from an accident. Photo courtesy of Chaparral Cars.
The Rudy Bartling, Klause Bytzek, Bert Kuehne Porsche 908/02 coming off the high banks at the 1973 24-Hours of Daytona. The car finished 12th.
The Sunoco Ferrari 512M driven by Mark Donohue and David Hobbs to a 6th place finish at the 1971 12 Hours of Sebring. This car was one of the fastest and best looking 512M's ever raced and could have won at Daytona and Sebring except for some monumental bad luck at both races. It was a shame that the Ferrari factory dropped all support for the "M" series because they had a real chance to beat the 917 Porsches. It was left up to the private entries like Penske to carry the ball for Ferrari.
The Shelby American Ford Mk II of A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney is first in line while the Jim Hall, Phil Hill Chaparral 2F is second. The Ford did not finish because of a faulty con rod while the Chaparral didn't finish due to suspension damage from an accident. Photo courtesy of the Ford Archives.
Here it is. The challenger to the Porsche 917 at its first points race the 1970 24-Hours of Daytona. This car is one of the five factory Ferrari 512S's (#1026) that were shipped over from Italy despite not having been fully approved by FIA. The approval came when the race was 7 hours old. The car was driven by Mario Andretti and Arturo Merzario. This was the only one of the five to finish and it came in third. Ferrari was trying its best to make up for a 6 month lead time that the Porsche's had in development. Unfortunately Ferrari couldn't get their act together and lost to Porsche many times in the next couple of years before dropping all support for the 512 in favor of the 312PB.
