History 12 Hours of Sebring

the track opened in 1950 on airfield , road racing course styled after used in european grand prix motor racing. first race six-hour race on new year s eve 1950, next race held 14 months later first 12 hours of sebring. race famous once around clock action, starting during day , finishing @ night. 1953 1972 12 hour round of fia’s premier sports car series contested under various names including world sportscar championship , international championship makes.

in years, sebring circuit combined former airport runways narrow two-lane service roads. 1966 event turning point in sebring history, facilities , safety of circuit heavily criticized. 5 people killed during race, more people killed in race s prior 15-year history combined. bob mclean crashed while approaching hairpin; car rolled several times, struck utility pole , exploded, landing in ditch , killing mclean.

in incident mario andretti in ferrari 365 p2 tangled don wester s porsche 906 on warehouse straight near webster turns, killing 4 spectators , crashing warehouse next track. subsequent these events, facilities upgraded , circuit layout changed, including eliminating webster turns , creating green park chicane further down track move straight further away airport warehouses. circuit made safer , there no fatalities until 1980.

it known preparation 24 hours of le mans, track s extremely bumpy surface, combined south-central florida s perennial hot weather, test of car s reliability. in recent years, 6 overall victories have been achieved audi r8, 1 fewer record 7 wins of porsche 935.

tom kristensen has won race more times else, 6 victories – in 1999–2000, 2005–2006, 2009 , in 2012.