Extracted from the magazine “Il

Quadrifoglio”, the house organ of Alfa

Romeo printed from 1966 to 1973, this is

the #7, April 1968: a full article regarding

the 24h of Daytona competed… 47 years

ago! A full story of this great race for Alfa

Romeo, completed with photo and articles

coming from “Competition Press &

AutoWeek” issued on February 1968, and

“Daytona Beach Sunday News Journal”

edited on February 4th, 1968. Have fun!

24h of Daytona 1968-2015

Right: the magazineRacing Pictorial,Spring Edition 1968($1,25), containing afull article with photoof the race. On thecover a stunningimage of the startinggrid.

Below: the special souvenir program of the 24 hours of Daytona, Saturday & Sunday February 3, 4, 1968 ($1,00).

In this and in the next pages: some articles fromthe “Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal”edited on February 4th, and from the“Competition Press & Autoweek” issued onFebruary 24, 1968.

Photo source by: N J, Larry Bolch, Ed Bagget,Daytona International Speedway,Racing Sports Car.com, HenryFord/Friedman, Chris Ekonomaky, TheEnthusiasts Network/Getty Image.

In this and in the next pages:some articles from the “DaytonaBeach Sunday News-Journal”edited on February 4th. Photosource by: N J, Larry Bolch, EdBagget, Racing Sports Car.com,Henry Ford/Friedman, ChrisEkonomaky, The EnthusiastsNetwork/Getty Image.

Left: Daytona 24 Hours, February 4th 1968. Here note MarioAndretti changing with Lucien Bianchi. Note the bonnet oftheir 33 repaired with tape. During the race, Bianchi wereinvolved in the crash with the 2 Porsche 907 of Mitter andSpoerry and the Ferrari 250 LM of Masten Gregory. Only theAlfa 33 restarted, after being rear-ended by the DieterSpoerry’s Porsche. But no spare parts were available at thepit lane. Andretti and Bianchi had to stop many times torepair the rear part of their car (photo below): on balance,without this accident Mario and Lucien they could easily bethird at the end of the race!

The wrecked Porsche 907LM of Rico Steinemann-Dieter Spoerry (55)along with the Ferrari 250 LM of Masten Gregory-David Piper (81) rest inthe infield after crashing during the 24 Hours of Daytona, 1968. GerhardMitter’s Porsche 907 had spun on dropped oil on the 104th lap, catchingout Master Gregory’s Ferrari, and the 33/2 of Andretti Bianchi, seemedheaded for the wreckage when Dieter Sporrey’s Porsche tapped it,straightening it out so that it missed che carnage - though Spoerry didn’t.Andretti Bianchi had moved closer to the Porsche but they requiredrepairs to the accident-damaged bodywork. By midnight, Vaccarella andShutz were 5th, Andretti/Bianchi 7th , and Casoni/Zeccoli 9th. Andretti andBianchi made several additional stops to secure the damaged bodywork.So only the Alfa Romeo 33 of Lucien Bianchi (at right) restarted after thiscar crash (later called the Daytona carnage) and at the end of the race -notwithstanding many stop at the pit lane to fix the bodywork of their car- they were 6th! (Photo by Camaros.org, via Getty Images),

Plenty of winners in this Daytona 24 hours race!

No 6, the Donohue-Johnson Penske Camaro, 12th at the end, and theAlfa Romeo GTA 1.6, Cella-Biscaldi, 20th. Only a coule weeks after thisfoto, Leo Cella died at the Alfa’s Balocco track, during a test with a33/2 before the Sebring 12 hours.

Above: pit stop at the Alfa Romeo pit lane. Mr. Severiindicates to the pilot the position where to stop. The cararriving (# 22) was driven by Nino Vaccarella and UdoShutz and was 5th at the end.

Left: the pit lane in Daytona 24 Hours in late 60s: semplicity andessentiality were the rallying cry. Any form of security wasprovided to pilots, mechanics or their relatives. Also thedressing code was really informal!

Left: the Corvette of Guldstrand-Leslie during a night time pitstop; at the end of the race they were 29th . Nearly half of the30 cars that finished the race were Trans-Am machines.

The North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 LM of David Piper and MastenGregory leads the Alfa Romeo T33/2 of Udo Schutz and Nino Vaccarella plus theAlfa Romeo T33/2 of Mario Andretti and Lucien Bianchi on the infield course atthe 1968 24 Hours of Daytona. Photo courtesy of the folks at NSSN.

Same curve, different styles!

Craig Fisher seated in the first '68 Penske Camaro with Roger Penske talking to

him and possibly crew member Tom Greatorex on the passenger side. This must

have been during a pre-race practice session due to the relaxed demeanor of the

people on the pit wall and also there's no garage door handle on the hood, which

was there during the race.

Below, left: the cockpit of the Camaro of

Craig Fisher, and the one of the 33/2 of

Andretti-Bianchi

Left: Johnny Moore's

Camaro leads the

Mustang of Sam

Posey during the '68

Daytona 24-Hour

race. Moore's Camaro

was the first Z-28 sold

to the public.

It's interesting to note that many ofthe great pilots who participated tothe 24 Hours of Daytona in 1968(also the winners) became in lateryears official pilots of the AlfaRomeo-Autodelta team, drivingthe 33 versions that followed orthe GTA, some of them withexceptional results, including theTrans Am Series in 1970 and thePrototype Championship in 1975.

Masten Gregory, Sebring 1970

Peter Revson, Daytona 1972

Vic Elford, Sebring 1972

Jacky Ickx, Spa 1975

Rolf Stommelen, Le Mans 1970

Brian Redman, Nurburgring 1974

Whilst Jo Siffert owned a Porsche and Alfa Romeo dealership in Suisse!

Season 1968: races and results of the 33/2 chassis #015: 1. Daytona 24 Hours (race no. 23, Andretti/ Bianchi), 6th

2. Targa Florio (race no. 220, Vaccarella/ Schutz), retired3. Nurburgring 1,000Kms (race no. 5, Schutz/ Bianchi), 7th

4. Mugello GP (race no. 3, Bianchi/ Vaccarella/ Galli), 1st

5. Austrian 500Kms (race no. 6, Pilette), 4th

The Alfa Romeo 33/2 - chassis # 015 - race No 23 MarioAndretti-Lucien Bianchi 6th during the Daytona 24 hours1968, and used in the same year by other great pilots inunforgettable car races (see below), returned under thespotlights several years later, with this incredible story:

This is the Andretti-Bianchi car during the Daytona 24hours 1968. This chassis #015 which spent many years inAngola, running several races and championships in Africaand Portugal from 1970 to 1975. Also Christine Beckerdrove this car in a race with no lucky (I will be better nexttime, thanks - Je ferai mieux la prochaine fois, merci.)

Chassis 015 (the Andretti-Bianchi #23 car on Daytona 1968) after manyyears sitting in an Angolan lumber yard. This car was sold in a auction bySimon Kidston in 1994 and then the car returned to Italy in the hands ofa new owner where it was finally restored to its original 1968appearance and condition.

Also this other old glory of the Daytona 24h, 1968 - the car ofthe winners Vic Elford, Joken Neerpasch, Rolf Stommelen,chassis 005, No 54 during the race - had a new second life underthe spotlights: sold in 2014 by Gooding & Co. during the AmeliaIsland Auto Auction for $3.630.000 (2.963.000 Euro).

The chassis M10003-P/1074 begin life as a Mirage and would make itsdebut at Spa in May of 1967. In its first race, it would be driven by acouple of legends in endurance racing. Jacky Ickx would be joined by the'Flying Dentist' Dr. Dick Thompson and the two would pair togetherbeautifully. In its debut, chassis M.10003 would come through to scorevictory. Upon conversion, the GT40 would make its way to Daytona whereit would be raced by David Hobbs and Paul Hawkins. Unfortunately, thecar would not achieve the same result as with its debut as a Mirage. AtDaytona, the car would suffer a DNF, but that would not last all that long.

The third old glory of theDaytona 24h, 1968 - thecar of Hawkins-Hobbs,chassis M10003-P/1074,No 9 during the race - hada new second life underthe spotlights: sold in2012 by RM Auctions atthe Amelia Island AutoAuction for $11.000.000(8.979.000 Euro).

The last of this ‘then & now’ sectiondedicated to the Daytona 24h, 1968 oldglories - is the Ferrari 250 LM - the car ofOrtega-Morello-Gunn, chassis 6107, No 34during the race, and 8th at the end: This carhas been sold in New York, in October 2013during a Sothebys Auction for $14,300.000(11.673.000 Euro)!

One of the finest original examples of Ferrari’s first mid-enginedcar, the 1964 Ferrari 250 LM finished eighth overall and first in class at the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona. This 250 LM, Chassis no. 6107, the 24th of only 32 250 LMs produced. Chassis 6107 is no exception, it eventually embarked on an extensive racing career, including the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona, where it finished an amazing 8th overall and 1st in class

Here's what the Alfa’s pilots see: the cockpit of the 33-2

The Alfa Romeo 33-2 Daytona: looks like a modelwaiting to be assembled, but it’s the real thing.

Left: the atypical chassis of the Alfa Romeo33-2, formed by a central part settled andcointaining the tanks.

The stunning nose of the “Daytona” 33-2 version. Note the doors opened and the bonnet at the left, and the impressive array of 33-2 in the backside.

A day at Autodelta in Settimo Milanese (near Milano): a technician assembling part of the body of the 33-2. Note the absolute hand crafted construction, no robots, only passion and experience. Things unfortunately lost today.

The coachwork of the 33-2 third series, now called “Daytona” at the Autodelta plant located in Settimo Milanese, near Milan. Note the other 6 cars under construction in the background

Daytona 24 hours, Saturday 3 and Sunday 4, February 1968: this was the first internationalcompetition in which the Alfa Romeo 33-2 won its class. Since then, the third version has beenknown as the “Daytona”. Here’s Mario Andretti at the wheel, before the night crash!