Motorsport fans from Europe always look enviously to Florida at the beginning of the year. While locals are still picking out their scarves and gloves in the morning, visitors to the Sebring Classic Festival are probably more concerned with sunglasses and T-shirts...
Nevertheless, summer temperatures are never guaranteed, not even this year, and as luck would have it, the weather conditions repeated those of 50 years ago.
Water fountains like in 1965
The 1965 12 Hours of Sebring will be remembered not only for the course of the race, but much more for the weather. Back then, torrential conditions overshadowed the entire race, with spectacular and extraordinary images being reported in the newspapers:
Just like 50 years ago, this year's Spring Vintage Classic race in Sebring was marred by torrential rain during the test days on Thursday and Friday:
The temperature dropped to 13 degrees Celsius. Racing drivers are notoriously tough men and so even under these conditions, racing cars were still doing their laps, including a Giulia Sprint:
In the end, the rain was so intense that all but two Alfa Romeos voluntarily drove into the pit lane and stopped.
Big blocks in the duel
The high number of American brands was not surprising, with almost all generations of Corvette mingling with Ford and Pontiac, but European names were also racing for the top spot.
Plenty of scope for spectators
Historic races are less well attended in the USA than in Europe. However, this also has an advantage if you want to follow the racing action on site. As a pedestrian, you can get to the track or the pit lane much faster. At Sebring, spectators have the special treat of watching the race from the terrace above the pit lane. In addition, the majority of the grounds are open.
Mixed starting fields
There was not only an interesting variety of brands at the start, but also a wide range of vintages. Corvette C1s from 1957 raced alongside more modern GT cars such as a Jaguar XKR from the year 2000...
Full calendar of the SVRA
The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) is the driving force behind all the historic racing events in the USA. This year's calendar is once again packed with races! Traditionally, the Spring Vintage Classic always opens the season. The journey then continues to the famous "Road Atlanta", then "Road America" and "Indianapolis". The classic "Watkins Glen" is also not missing from the calendar. The entire series of events is described in detail on the official website .
