Sebring Twelve Hour 1960

It ain't over 'til it's over - last-lap wins (and losses) remembered

Formula One racing is a long game. From the months of preparation that go into building a new car to the slow-burning build-up of a race weekend, the fastest sport in the world certainly likes to take its time. Critically, however, it’s the action on a Sunday that matters most, and as McLaren’s Jenson Button displayed with such finesse last weekend, every second of a Grand Prix counts - and victory is always within someone else’s grasp. Cooper’s Jack Brabham started second on the grid at the inaugural US Grand Prix, the final (and title-deciding) round of the 1959 season, but inherited the lead soon after to take control of the Sebring race. On the very the last lap, however, his luck - or rather his fuel - ran out, and he was passed by team mate McLaren, who thus entered the record books as the first US Grand Prix winner (and at that time the youngest Grand Prix winner). Brabham, meanwhile, managed to push his car over the line for fourth place, having seen title rival tony Brooks go past for third, ensuring he at least had the solace of claiming the first of this three drivers’ championships. When Graham Hill’s BRM gave up the ghost with fuel-pump problems towards the end of the ‘64 Spa event, Cooper’s Bruce McLaren inherited the lead. But McLaren had problems of his own and his engine gave out just before La Source on the final lap. Although he - and gravity - managed to keep the Cooper moving towards the finish line, McLaren could only sit back and watch as Clark swept past him to take victory for Lotus by a matter of seconds. What the stats don’t show is that Clark ran out of fuel soon after on the slow-down lap. Surtees, driving the brand-new Honda, inherited the lead on the last lap of the ‘67 Monza round when Jim Clark’s astounding run through the field for Lotus spluttered to a halt with fuel-pump issues. But a resurgent Jack Brabham wasn’t going to let Surtees have it all his own way and passed the Honda under braking. By the very next corner, however, Surtees managed to regain the lead to take the win by just 0.2 seconds. A real clash of the titans. Spa is still one of the most demanding tracks on the Formula One calendar, but back in the 1960s the Belgian round was always a real race of attrition. This was especially true of the 1968 event, which saw 12 of the 18 runners afflicted by technical calamity. One of the afflicted many was Jackie Stewart, whose Matra ran out of petrol on the penultimate lap. What had been a lead of half a minute swiftly vanished, and at the death it was McLaren who emerged victorious, with Stewart eventually classified fourth. Arguably the most reminiscent of Button’s recent success in Canada is Rindt’s triumph on the streets of Monte Carlo. Jack Brabham looked on course to take a decisive victory, but Rindt was charging in the Lotus and the duo started the last lap nose to tail. With the pressure building, Brabham made a slight mistake whilst lapping a backmarker and slid into the barriers at the final corner. It was all the encouragement Rindt needed and he sashayed into the lead to take his one and only Monaco victory. Brabham made it to the flag for second place, 23 seconds down on the Austrian. Jack Watson had been comfortably ahead for quite some time at Dijon when Lotus’s Andretti started to reel himself back into contention. Getting past Watson’s Brabham proved much tougher than catching it, however, and it looked as though Andretti would have to settle for second. But on the very last lap Watson’s car, running out of fuel, started to sputter and Andretti went ahead to win by just 1.5s. Towards the end of the 1978 Kyalami event the Tyrrell of race leader Patrick Depailler hit trouble. Although Depailler managed to continue it gave Lotus’s Peterson just enough incentive to try for the win. A dramatic last-lap battle ensued with the pair side-by-side, banging wheels, for much of the lap. At the line, it was Peterson who was ahead by just 0.5s. Twenty years before Button’s last-lap success in Montreal, fellow Briton Nigel Mansell was busily throwing his win away at the very same circuit on the very last lap. Having led from the first corner, Mansell cruised round the Canadian circuit for the final time waving to the crowd and soaking up his imminent victory. The only problem was he hadn’t quite won the race yet - and he wouldn’t. Busy with his premature celebrations, Mansell eased off just a little too much and stalled the car. Unable to get it going again, Mansell was left helpless as he watched his much-amused former team mate Piquet pass by to take an unexpected win for Benetton. Mansell’s Williams was classified sixth. Ouch! He may have been driving one of the slowest cars on the track, but through sheer skill and good fortune Damon Hill had managed to get his Arrows into the lead of the 1997 Budapest round and had stretched out a seemingly unassailable advantage of 35 seconds. But with the Arrows slowed by hydraulic problems, second-placed Villeneuve gradually gained ground on his former Williams team mate and as the last lap began Hill’s lead started to look decidedly tenuous. And in the end, Villeneuve couldn’t help but charge ahead to take the win. Hill came home second. It may be one of the most recent last-lap victories, but Fisichella’s ’03 success at Interlagos was much less spectacular than Button’s Canada outing. The race had started under the safety car due to wet conditions and after serious crashes for Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso was red flagged. The only problem was in the rainy melee nobody knew for sure who had won. McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen was eventually declared victorious, with Fisichella a confused second for Jordan. Five days later, however, a timing error was confirmed and the Italian was declared the winner. He received his first winning trophy of his F1 career at the next round in Imola. While Fisichella went on to win again with Renault, it would be the Jordan team’s last triumph. McLaren’s Raikkonen started the rain-hit Japanese event from only 17th, but in the race he had arguably the best pace and by the last lap was just a tenth behind race leader, Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella. As the duo went into Turn One for the final time they were wheel-to-wheel and Raikkonen managed to go round the outside of the Italian and into the lead to seal his ninth F1 victory in spectacular fashion.

ABARTH in the Classic & Sports Car MagazineABARTH Cars UK

OK… everyone knows that the tuned Fiat 500, 695 and 850 Abarth cars raced at Monza but these ‘small and wicked’ little race cars competed in some of the World’s biggest races – class win in the Mille Miglia and class wins at the Le Mans 24 Hour and Sebring 12 Hour races in the 1960s make these Abarth cars truely historic. This month ABARTH feature in the Classic & Sports Car Magazine with an Abarth supplement that gives a ‘potted history’ of the racing that gave the Abarth brand such a deep heritage in motor racing. Carlo Abarth, the engineering legend who founded the company, was still getting behind the wheel of his creations when he was in his late 50s when his cars were winning races and setting new speed and endurance records… but it wasn’t just his now famous association with Fiat; Carlo also designed and tuned cars that carried the Porsche and Simca badges and there is the clear link with Osella… but now the Abarth scorpion sits alongside the ‘prancing horse’ of Ferrari with the Tributo 695 Abarth – a true supercar in a small package!

Le Mans is the ‘big prize’ – in June 1960, the Abarth team made its inaugural trip to the Le Mans 24 Hours. With the ACO’s smallest engined GT class accepting vehicles of up to 1.3-litres, Abarth decided to contest the categories for more highly developed 750 and 850cc Sports racers. Despite closely resembling the standard Zagato Record Monza’s, these three cars were actually fitted with new bodywork designed by Mario Colucci. 1960′s race didn’t go to plan but Abarth were back in 1961 with a team of five works cars. Despite all four of the 700cc cars retiring (one just a lap from the end and whilst leading its class), the 850 of Hulme and Hyslop came home an astonishing 14th overall and first in class. The 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 28th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place over June 25–26, with the winner Scuderia Ferrari SpA; and drivers Paul Frère and Olivier Gendebien driving a Ferrari 250 TR59/60.

Keith Martin on Collecting Austin-Healey, MG, and Triumph

Obituaries from the Times, 1951-1960, including an index to all obituaries and tributes appearing in the Times during the years 1951-1960

Gentleman Jack, The Official Biography of Jack Sears

Corvette, fifty years

Achievements, Land, Sea and Air: A Century of Conquest