1960 World Sportscar Championship Explained

The 1960 World Sportscar Championship was the eighth FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was contested over a five race series commencing 31 January 1960 and ending 26 June 1960.

The championship was won by Ferrari.

Championship summary

The 1000 km Buenos Aires returned to the calendar at the expense of the RAC Tourist Trophy, which formed part of the inaugural FIA GT Cup.The championship still comprised five qualifying rounds. They were the 1000 km Buenos Aires the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Targa Florio, the Nürburgring 1000 km, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans being the final round.[1]

With reigning champion, Aston Martin works cars not returning to defend their title, this left the door wide open for Scuderia Ferrari to reclaim the title. This wasn’t to be plain sailing as the nearest rivals turned out to be the smaller Porsches. The Italian manufacturer started stronger with Phil Hill and Cliff Allison taking the spoils in Argentina.[2] Next was the annual trip to Florida, for the 12 Hours of Sebring, however the factory Ferrari and Porsche were not present because of the rule change by the FIA, allowing the organisers to permit use of only certain brands of fuel,[3] As a result, the race was between privateers with works-backed drivers, with Porsche coming out on top.[2] The mid-way point of the championship, saw the cars return to Europe for the Targa Florio. The twisty mountains roads of Sicily favoured the more agile car, like the Porsche which duly took the victory.[2]

The championship then moved into West Germany, the annual trip to the Nürburgring Nordschleife. To the surprise of everyone, the spoils went to an American team, Camoradi/USA Racing Team, whose Maserati was driven by Stirling Moss and Dan Gurney. This result meant, going into the final round, the only way Ferrari could stop Porsche winning the title was to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and that was exactly what they did.[2]

Schedule

RoundDateEventCircuit or LocationWinning driversWinning teamWinning carResults
1January 31 1000 km Buenos AiresAutódromo Municipal-Avenida Paz Phil Hill
Cliff Allison
Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59/60Results
2March 26 Sebring International Grand Prix of Endurance for the Amoco TrophySebring International Raceway Hans Herrmann
Olivier Gendebien
Joakim Bonnier Porsche 718 RS 60Results
3May 8 44° Targa FlorioCircuito Piccolo delle Madonie Jo Bonnier
Hans Herrmann
Porsche KG Porsche 718 RS 60Results
4May 22 VI. Internationales ADAC 1000 Kilometer RennenNürburgring Stirling Moss
Dan Gurney
Camoradi / USA Racing Team Maserati Tipo 61Results
5June 25-26 24 Heures du MansCircuit de la Sarthe Olivier Gendebien
Paul Frère
Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 250 TR 59/60Results

Points system

Championship standings

PosManufacturer BUE SEB TGA NÜRTotal
1 Ferrari8(4)6(4)822 (30)
2 Porsche(4)88622 (26)
3 Maserati3811
4 Aston Martin44

† - Ferrari and Porsche finished equal first on net points but Ferrari was awarded the championship based on gross points scored.[4]

The cars

The following models contributed to the net championship point scores of their respective manufacturers.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: World Sportscar Championship - Championships - Racing Sports Cars . 2016-07-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160708182141/http://www.racingsportscars.com/championship/World%20Championship.html . 2016-07-08 . dead .
  2. Web site: 1960 World Sportscar Championship. Teamdan.com. 31 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181001182555/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/wsc/1960/1960.html. 1 October 2018. dead.
  3. Web site: Sebring 12 Hours 1960 - Racing Sports Cars. Racingsportscars.com. 31 December 2018.
  4. Janos Wimpffen, Time and Two Seats, 1999, Motorsport Research Group, page 330