“12 To Go” covers the 1957 Florida International 12 Hour Grand Prix of Endurance of the Amoco Trophy. The sports car endurance race was held at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida. Mark 00:35 introduces us to David Ash, who between 1952 and 1957 earned the title of “Mr. MG’” as the only driver to start and finish five twelve-hour-long endurance races at Sebring in five tries. Ash “pleads” with his wife to allow him to participate in the race and sets off from New York to Florida at mark 04:05, pulling his racer behind him. Arriving at the racecourse at mark 05:40, we watch Ash register and enter the line-up for a vehicle inspection before going over the course rules. Meanwhile, mechanics are shown tinkering with cars at mark 07:10 for peak performance, and at mark 08:36 we get an aerial view of the track. Walking through the pits we see Jaguars, Ferraris, Alfa Romeros, and others along with drivers such as Carroll Shelby (mark 10:54), Juan Manuel Fangio, Harry Schell, and Donald Healey. The race is on starting at mark 12:30 and we see aerial views of the cars maneuvering hairpin turns and speeding down straightaways. Ash makes a pitstop at mark 14:41 as the race grinds on. The narrator details the action onscreen including an explanation of car colors at mark 20:32 (such as red for Italian entries, green for British cars, white for American, silver for German, and blue for French). Night begins to fall at mark 23:30 as the race rolls on and headlights peer from the darkness of the screen. Fireworks fill the sky at mark 24:28 signaling the end of the race, as Fangio claims victory for the second consecutive year. As the film comes to a close, we watch Ash (who finished second in his class) load up his car at mark 25:55 and head out on the long drive home.
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida. The event is the second round of the United SportsCar Championship and in the past has been a round of the now defunct World Sportscar Championship, IMSA GT Championship and American Le Mans Series. In 2012, the race was the opening event of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The track opened in 1950 on an airfield and is a road racing course styled after those used in European Grand Prix motor racing. The first race was a six-hour race on New Year’s Eve 1950, with the next race held 14 months later as the first 12 Hours of Sebring. The race is famous for its “once around the clock” action, starting during the day and finishing at night. From 1953 to 1972 the 12 Hour was a round of the FIA’s premier sports car series which was contested under various names including the World Sportscar Championship and the International Championship for Makes.
In its early years, the Sebring circuit combined former airport runways with narrow two-lane service roads. The 1966 event was a turning point in Sebring history, as the facilities and the safety of the circuit were heavily criticized. Five people were killed during the race, which was more people killed than in the race’s prior 15-year history combined. Bob McLean crashed while approaching the hairpin; his car rolled several times, struck a utility pole and then exploded, landing in a ditch and killing McLean.
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