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• THE 2008 EXHIBITION •

FERRARI

OF THE MANY DRIVERS WHO EXPERIENCED THE FERRARI ENDURANCE CARS, MARIO ANDRETTI TOOK VICTORY IN FOUR OUT OF FIVE RACES WITH THE 312PB.

In 1971, a new chassis was built for the Sebring 12 Hour race. Smaller than its predecessor the 512S, the little Ferrari was the car best suited for the Sebring circuit. Andretti loved the new car. “I was so impressed with everything. It seemed aerodynamically right. It had all the characteristics of a Grand Prix car. It was light, it braked well, put its power down well, the gear shift was very quick and the car was easy to drive.” Of course, at Sebring the 312PB faced the big 5.0 liter cars, headed by Donohue’s 512M which took pole. Andretti was second on the grid. “It was very tough to qualify against the 5.0 liter cars. But in the race, fuel consumption and braking were very important. The 312P excelled in both. Mario Andretti and Jacky Ickx led for much of the race, but the Formula-1 type transmission was not up to the job and failed in mid-race.

The year 1972 was a complete triumph for Ferrari. Andretti’s mastery of endurance racing was at its zenith when he co-drove the 312 PB to victory with Jacky Ickx at Daytona, Sebring, Brands Hatch and Watkins Glen.

photo: © Steve Dawson

IN 1972 THE FERRARI 312PB OF MARIO ANDRETTI AND JACKY ICKX RACED AT A DISADVANTAGE THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE DAYTONA CONTINENTAL. THE TALENT OF THE DRIVERS, HOWEVER, MADE UP FOR THE PROBLEM.

For 1972, the FIA moved from the five-liter formula to three-liters. The race was shortened to six hours. Some said the loss of the popular big cars would hurt attendance. Andretti won the pole with a lap of 131.606 mph, but his car lost a cylinder in the early going of the race. This was the handicap the team would need to overcome. Fortunately, the Ferrari still has 11 working cylinders. “During a pit stop, we found we had a dead spark plug, but the wire to the plug was also dead,” said Andretti following the race. “There was nothing we could do about it then, so I didn’t think we could win. The only thing we could do was “drive as hard as we could all day.”

During the six hour race, Andretti’s underpowered Ferrari regained the lead after the Regazzoni/Redman Ferrari suffered several spins and a pit fire. The Revson/Stommelen Alfa, however, was able to lead twice during pit stops, as the Ferrari crew unsuccessfully attempted to get its car firing on all 12 cylinders. The Alfa eventually withdrew because of engine failure shortly after the halfway point. Despite orders from the team manager to “cool it”, Jacky passed the sister car of Ronnie Peterson and Tim Schenken with five laps to go. They were in the Daytona victory lane after completing 194 laps, 739.14 miles and averaging 124.16 mph.