Sebring 1970:
The Greatest Endurance Race of All Time?
Text and photos by Harry Hurst
This year marks the 50th anniversary of what
many feel is the greatest endurance race in history – the
1970 Sebring 12-hour. Yes, there have been many great
12- and 24-hour races over the years, some with more historical
signifi cance. But few can match the 1970 Sebring
for its combination of legendary drivers, great cars, and an
incredible fi nish.
All the greats have raced at Sebring at one time or another:
Fangio, Moss, Hill, Surtees, and Stewart. Even Jim Clark in
a Cortina when he was reigning World Champion! The fi rst
20 years of Sebring in particular had an incredible array of
drivers from all disciplines of the sport.
These days, drivers generally must devote themselves
to only one or two series. But in 1970, the great drivers
drove everything. One week they’d be in the orange
groves of Central Florida, the next in Europe racing F1.
Also team contracts weren’t so restrictive. They could be
driving a Porsche at Sebring and a BRM at Monaco or an
Eagle at Indy.
Many top F1 drivers were at Sebring in 1970: Andretti,
Ickx, Rodriguez, Siffert, Elford, Parkes, Redman, Courage,
Cevert, and Gurney. This year also had an additional element
of glamour – Steve McQueen had entered a Porsche
with Peter Revson as co-driver.
Few gave Steve McQueen and Peter Revson much of a
chance. McQueen’s fi lm company, Solar Productions, had
entered the Porsche as research for the movie “Le Mans,”
which was to begin shooting that summer. (Their 908 was
converted into a camera car and actually ran in the 24-
hour race and fi nished 8th! Unfortunately, because they
had to stop more frequently than the regulations allowed
to change the fi lm in the cameras, they were not offi cially
classifi ed as a fi nisher.)
Revson, of course, had by now established his driving
credentials even though he initially suffered from a “rich