Steve McQueen, Sebring, 1970.
McQueen v Andretti. The 50th anniversary exhibition of “one of the most exciting motor races of all time”, the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1970. Featuring race day memorabilia and fine art photography from celebrated photojournalist Al Satterwhite.
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“Few gave McQueen and Revson much of a chance. But after 248 grueling laps, only 23 seconds separated them from Andretti”.
— 12 Hours of Sebring
“Steve wasn’t a movie star kind of guy. He was a racer at heart, really dedicated to the sport”.
Steve McQueen and co-driver Peter Revson.
“McQueen was extremely good. If he chose motor racing as a career at an early age, he could have been as good as any of us”.
Brian Redman, Porsche 917k
“Steve’s second place was all the more remarkable when you consider he had broken his foot two weeks earlier during a motorcycle race. He arrived in Sebring on crutches and drove for hours wearing a modified cast on his clutch foot”.
The 3.0-liter Porsche 908/02 driven by McQueen and Revson for their upstart “Solar Productions” factory team, was significantly underpowered against the 5.0-liter Ferrari 512 driven by Andretti.
The Porsche 908’s next race appearance after Sebring proved even more important. It was mounted with cameras front and rear to get real action shots for McQueen’s Le Mans film. Despite extra stops for film changes, the camera car managed to finish ninth overall.
One of two Bell helmets McQueen wore at Sebring, and later during filming of Le Mans, featuring McQUEEN lettering and Solar Production logos hand painted by his friend, and legendary pinstriper, Kenny Howard aka “Von Dutch”. Pictured below: McQueen’s Simpson Nomex fire-resistant race jacket and Rolex Submariner.
Steve McQueen in the pits at Sebring, with wife Neile Adams.
Mario Andretti, Sebring, 1970
“I consider Sebring one of the best wins of my career. It was like the perfect storm”.
Mario Andretti, often referred to as the greatest racecar driver of all time. He won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, and the F1 World Drivers Championship. He drove at Sebring six times and won three. In 2000, he was named “Driver of the Century”.
“We were leading by a huge margin until around 9pm, the 512S of Jacky Ickx went out with gearbox failure, and then the same thing happened to us. I was ready to leave, say my goodbyes, and then the team manager said to me “No, wait, wait, we want you to finish the race in the third car”.
“Revson moved into the lead and I hear the announcer saying “And Steve McQueen takes the lead!”. That pissed me off, and fired me up. So, I said “I’ll take over at the next stop. And the rest is history”.
Mario Andretti
“McQueen was no slouch. And remember he was driving with a broken foot. Just look at where he was at the end of the race”.
— Bill Warner
Steve McQueen & Peter Revson (USA)
Prototype 1st. Overall 2nd. Margin of victory 23.8 seconds. Laps 248.