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1960 Sounds Of Sebring Florida 12-Hour Grand Prix Car Racing Vinyl LP Record

Vinyl / Jacket Grade Per Goldmine Standard: VG / VG
Windshields, contracts and “birdcages” were the sub- jects most discussed at Sebring this year. After the Grand Prix in December, 1959, the speeds seemed slow —but the magnificent color and variety attendant to sports cars more than made up for it. In addition, this small central Florida town, the focus of international attention during race week, lived up to its reputation for beautiful weather for once. It was fitting retribution after last year’s continuous deluge. The skies were cloudless, the days cool and clear, much to the relief of the carburetor people. Technical inspec- tion and practice seemed to go smoothly—indeed, almost uninterestingly—which left time for discussion of the three subjects mentioned in our first sentence.. And they were well worthy of discussion, since at least two of them could substantially affect the future of the race. Windshields were submitted to the invective of the drivers. To a man, they stood solidly against the F.I.A. regulations governing the size and general shape of the windshield. The drivers seem to have a good argument here. The enormity of the windshields on some of the cars, particularly the faster ones, added considerably to the hazards of an already hazardous business. The case of Stirling Moss was a particularly obvious one. Co- driving with Dan Gurney (who is somewhat over six feet tall), Moss, who makes it to five foot six or seven complete with ballet slippers, was hard put to see out of the car. He was able to prop himself up with twelve or fourteen inches of foam rubber, but this brought him up to a point where his helmet kept trying to blow off. Furthermore, the windshield became a collecting place for bugs, road dirt and oil, and after only a few laps was filthy and useless. There is no question-but that this is dangerous. Then there was the matter of contracts. This one almost ruined the whole race. It seems that Ferrari and Porsche both have fuel and oil contracts with Shell. Alec Ulmann, on the other hand, has a fuel contract with Amoco. Until this year, Shell had always graciously backed down for this one race. But they finally balked and suggested that it was Amoco’s turn, a suggestion that met with very little enthusiasm. There was a stale- mate which resulted in both Porsche and Ferrari with- drawing their official entries. It began to look like a pretty grim year at Sebring. There were of course, factory-sponsored private entries which included three new Porsche 60’s and two new three-litre Ferraris, but the teamwork which adds so much excitement and color each year was lacking^ Then there were the birdcages. These fantastic new Maseratis have made a name for themselves in typically short order. However, prior to Sebring, they had never run in an endurance race. These peculiar-shaped ma- chines seem to consist almost entirely of some left over spaghetti with a few pieces of aluminum wrapped around it and four wheels. (And an enormous windshield, of course.) The noise they emit is not particularly impres- sive, yet they began to look very much like the dark horse of the race. People were still remembering the trouncing handed out by the 4%-litre Maser in 1957, when Fangio and Behra left a trail of broken Jaguars and Ferraris behind them while they stroked around for twelve hours. But then, the two Maseratis which would bear the most watching, the Cameradi-entered cars, didn’t even appear on the scene until Thursday night’s practice. So, quite frankly, it looked like a pretty dull race until Saturday morning. (Incidentally, the race organizers took some pains this year to separate the bigger cars from the smaller and ran a race for cars under 1000 ccs. on Friday after- noon. This was quite an exciting event. The Abarth— Fiats were without question, the fastest cars, but Moss was piloting an Austin-Healey Sprite and played the part of the underdog magnificently. It was a great thrill to watch the impeccable style of Moss as he hurled the Healey around in vain pursuit of the fantastic Abarths. He managed to stay within striking distance throughout the entire four hours and if it hadn’t been for a bungled pit stop might have finished first instead of second.) Primarily because of the absence of the factory teams, everyone seemed possessed by a peculiar sort of lethargy, not generally associated with racing. The weather, balmy and soothing, didn’t help much. Saturday was pastoral and right'up to the start of the race it didn’t seem likely that much would be happening. But when the count-down reached zero, things began to happen very quickly in- deed. It turned out to be a race exciting beyond any expectations. The Cameradi team made a noble effort in running the two Maseratis. This is a wonderful idea—an Amer- ican racing team—and they seem well organized with a sound program laid out. It was surprising and dis- couraging, therefore, to note their shocking pit work. The winning Ferraris at Sebring in past years have always been magnificently attended to, the mechanics properly trained and apparently picked at least partially for their coolheadedness. This kind of preparation has always paid off. The Cameradi pit work was incredible. It seems impossible that they had done no planning at all: the kind of chaos that reigned at Moss’ pit could only have been the result of bad planning. Had they played it strictly by ear they would surely have achieved more efficiency. The car was consistently stopped far beyond the point to which the gas hose would reach. There was always dissention as to which tires should be changed. Essential tools were not only not on the pit rail during critical stops, but were evidently not avail- able anyplace. Pit stops which should have been run of the mill seemed interminable. This is not lightly written criticism. There is something of considerable importance involved here. A driver forced to watch a butchered pit stop dragging on and on while he waits impatiently on the pit rail might easily overextend the machine on his first lap out and damage the rear axle. “For want of a nail. ...” (If it were being written merely to fill out the story of the race, the above criticism would not belong here. It would be enough to state that the pit stops were lengthy. But because we feel that Lucky Casner is doing such a magnificent job in every other respect, we could not honestly overlook it. It is our hope that Cameradi goes on to bring American prestige to international racing.) All in all, it was an exciting race, but one hopes the gas companies will solve their differences before next year. The factory teams somehow manage to keep com- petitors and spectators on their toes. Produced by BILL GRAUER and BARRETT CLARK. Edited, and notes written by BARRETT CLARK. Cover designed and produced by PAUL BACON-KEN BRAREN- HARRIS LEWINE. Recorded by RAY FOWLER; Sebring, Florida; March, 1960. Riverside wishes to acknowledge with special thanks the invaluable assistance of Richard Cohn. Jack Bacon, and Alec Ulina nn. RIVERSIDE RECORDS are produced by BILL GRAUER PRODUCTIONS, Inc. 235 West 46th Street New York 36, N. Y.
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