Gurney bubble
17. Mar 2025
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For the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona, Dan Gurney accepted Luigi Chinetti’s offer to drive one of his North American Racing Team (NART) Ferrari 512S. The tall American (1.93m) was paired with Chuck Parsons and a bubble had to be fitted to the 512’s roof (picture-above), for Gurney to fit in the tiny cockpit.
The race was dominated though by the John Wyer-entered Porsches 917 who scored a prestigious 1-2 with Rodriguez-Kinnunen (winners) and Siffert-Redman, while Gurney and Parsons were forced to retire, with a broken gearbox.
At nearly 6 feet 4 inches (1.93m) Gurney first struggled to fit into the tight Ford GT40 cockpit, so master fabricator Phil Remington installed a roof bubble over the driver’s seat to allow space for Gurney’s helmet – now known as “Gurney bubble”. Later, this bubble was also fitted by Ferrari.
Categories:
Endurance World Championship, Daytona, 24 Hours Daytona, Dan Gurney, Chuck Parsons, NART, Luigi Chinetti, Ferrari, USA, 1970
Source: DR
