1963 12hrs of Sebring - Dave MacDonald & Fireball Roberts run Shelby Cobra CSX2026
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- Published on Mar 27, 2011
- 1963 12hrs of Sebring international endurance race attracts the worlds finest cars and drivers. Italian speed had long dominated this race and 1963 was no exception as Ferrari grabbed the top six spots. Top American finish was an 11th place showing by Phil Hill, Ken MIles and Lew Spencer driving a Shelby Cobra Roadster. Dave MacDonald & Fireball Roberts went out on lap 52 when Roberts brought the Cobra in with a fried differential.
I love this great vintage racing!! The good old days. What a treat to watch. Thank you for posting!
drove down from college in NJ for the race. the cobras were the class of the field but couldn't hold up. only cars faster were the Ferrari prototypes. this race was the dawn of American Dominance into international competition.
Nice to see a car with some ground clearance, tires riding for endurance, and road car bodies that the market wanted.
Thanks to Sherri MacDonald for loading this film. The Gurney Johnson Cobra was running a special Jack Hoare 404 hp. motor with 12:1 compression and a 1/2" lift. Gurney also laid his windshield back a bit more than the other Cobra roadsters and leaned out his carburetors.
I wish I can have the chance to actually drive one of these or atleast be in the passenger seat while going around the race track
What an amazing experience it will be one day for me
Fireball Roberts was my first favorite race car driver. It was such a shock when he died. It was my first realization that what these men did was dangerous. I miss Fireball.
Cobra? Man, Fireball would drive anything!
Fireball Roberts was my first favorite race car driver. It was such a shock when he died. It was my first realization that what these men did was dangerous. I miss Fireball.
Last gasp of the front-engined era. '61 F1 champ Phil Hill, after departing from a shattered Ferrari F1 organization, drove a Cobra with Ken Miles. Davey had a 15 more months.
3:35 White 1963 Grand Sport Corvette in EARLY TRIM.
Aspect ratio!
👍👍👍
why did they have music in those days?ruined the whole thing.
Well said, and let me add this: we were glad to see ANY motorsports reporting back then in conventional media. We used to have to wait two months to find out who won what races because that was the editorial gap between the race and the published magazine. Live sound reporting didn't become common until the Seventies.
Footage was collected on 16mm film cameras with no sound (the cameras had no audio). Sound effects and music were added later in production. That was old school documentary filmmaking.