Sebring
History
Sebring’s races started on the old Hendricks Field runways. The notes below follow that history and link each story in the club archive. The longer account is on the About page.
1942 to 1946, Hendricks Field
Before the races, the property was a United States Army Air Force base where crews trained in B-17, B-24, and B-29 bombers. Between 1942 and 1946, more than 10,000 pilots and crewmen trained there and made more than 600,000 take-offs and landings. Hendricks Army Airfield was turned over to the City of Sebring on May 1, 1946.
December 31, 1950
Alec Ulmann came to Sebring in 1949 looking for a place to run a long European-style race. On December 31, 1950 he staged the Sam Collier Memorial Grand Prix of Endurance, a six-hour race and the first automobile race at Sebring. Twenty-eight cars ran under the FIA Index of Performance. The Sports Car Club of America conducted the race with Ulmann. Fritz Koster and Ralph Deshon were declared the winners in a 1949 Crosley Hotshot.
March 15, 1952
The first official 12 Hours of Sebring was held on March 15, 1952. The American Automobile Association sanctioned it under FIA rules, so the car that covered the greatest distance won. Harry Gray and Larry Kulok won in a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica.
1953 to 1955
In 1953 the 12 Hours joined the FIA World Sports Car Championship and opened the series. Phil Walters and John Fitch won in a Cunningham C4R. In 1954 Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd won in an OSCA MT4. In 1955 Mike Hawthorn and Phil Walters won in a Jaguar D-Type, with Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby second in a Ferrari 750 Monza Spyder.
1956, Automobile Racing Club of Florida
On June 11, 1955, Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR hit Lance Macklin’s Austin-Healey at Le Mans. More than eighty spectators were killed. The AAA withdrew from sanctioning international-style racing by late 1955, and Sebring had no sanctioning body. Alec Ulmann went to Paris that fall. The FIA gave him a direct sanction for 1956 and 1957 and approved the Automobile Racing Club of Florida as the new sanctioning body. Mary Ulmann organized much of the social life around the race.
1957
Two stories from 1957 cover George Tilp’s Ferrari 290S and Chevrolet’s Corvette SS and SR2.
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1972
Derek Bell and Gijs van Lennep ran the Gulf Mirage at Sebring in 1972. That story also describes the pause in the 12 Hours after the season.
2023
ARCF was dormant for more than 50 years after Alec Ulmann retired. In the spring of 2023, Ford Heacock III revived it with guidance from Charles Mendez, winner of the 1978 race, and historian Doug Morton. The club is the membership division of the Sebring Hall of Fame.
December 31, 2025
The club held a community celebration of 75 years since the first race. That page is kept as an archive: 75th Anniversary of the First Sebring Race.