The Sebring 12-Hour Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance for the Alitalia Group took place on 25 March 1961, on the Sebring International Raceway, (Florida, United States). It was the opening round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. This was also the second round of the F.I.A. GT Cup.
A massive total of 74 racing cars were registered for this event, of which 67 arrived for practice. Out of these, 65 qualified for, and started the race. [1]
As was the norm for Sebring and because there was no qualifying sessions to set the grid, the starting positions were decided according to engine size with the 4.6 litre Chevrolet Corvette C1 of Don Yenko and Ben Moore being given first place. [2]
Most of the 40,000 spectators expected Phil Hill to win the race in his Ferrari 250 TRI/61, provided the car lasted the distance.
Stirling Moss had a bad start due to his Maserati Tipo 61 having problems starting as the battery was flat. It took the Englishman over six minutes to coax the car into life. However, after driving flat out for two hours, he handed the car over to Graham Hill. During the third hour, the car was withdrawn as it exhaust system fell apart. [3]
After 12 hours of racing, the race was won the Sefac Automobile Ferrari of Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien, two laps clear of their teammates. Giancarlo Baghetti, Willy Mairesse, Richie Ginther and Wolfgang von Trips. The winning cars, completed 210 laps, covering 1,081.6 miles after 12 hours of racing, averaging a speed of 89.861 mph. The podium was complete by another Ferrari of Pedro Rodríguez (racing driver) and his brother Ricardo who were a further lap behind. [4] [5]
Class Winners are in Bold text.
| Class | Winners | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports 3000 – Class S-12 | 14 | Ferrari 250 TRI/61 | Hill / Gendebien |
| Sports 2500 – Class S-11 | 22 | Dino 246 S | Hall / Constantine |
| Sports 2000 – Class S-10 | 37 | Dino 196 S | Helburn / Hudson / Fulp |
| Sports 1600 – Class S-9 | 51 | Porsche 718 RS 61 | Holbert / Penske |
| Sports 1150 – Class S-7 | 64 | Lola-Climax Mk.1 | Kurtz / Ripley |
| Sports 850 – Class S-5 | 71 | Osca S750 | Peck / Hoffman / Richardson |
| Grand Touring +3000 – Class GT-13/15 | 4 | Chevrolet Corvette C1 | Johnson / Morgan |
| Grand Touring 3000 – Class GT-11/12 | 12 | Ferrari 250 GT SWB | McCluggage / Eager |
| Grand Touring 2000 – Class GT-10 | 32 | Arnolt Deluxe | Goldman / Durbin |
| Grand Touring 1600 – Class GT-9 | 44 | MGA | Flaherty / Parkinson |
| Grand Touring 1300 – Class GT-8 | 58 | Alfa Romeo Giuletta Spider Veloce | Durant / Swanson |
| Pos | Championship | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ferrari | 8 |
| 2 |  Porsche | 2 |
Championship points were awarded for the first six places in each race in the order of 8-6-4-3-2-1. Manufacturers were only awarded points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by additional cars. Only the best 3 results out of the 5 races could be retained by each manufacturer. Points earned but not counted towards the championship totals are listed within brackets in the above table.
