STORY OF THE DAY: A Private 412 P Seals Ferrari’s Daytona Sweep

On 5 February 1967, Pedro Rodriguez and Jean Guichet finished third in the 24 Hours of Daytona with the number 26 Ferrari 412 P. Entered by Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team, their car joined the two works Ferraris in a celebrated sweep of the podium.

The NART crew gave the result significance beyond the factory operation. Rodriguez and Guichet maintained a strong, reliable pace throughout the day and night, placing a customer prototype in position to participate in Ferrari’s coordinated formation finish and complete the marque’s commanding result.

The 412 P was a customer competition model closely related to Ferrari’s P3 and P4 prototypes. It combined a four-litre V12 with a mid-engined tubular structure and a streamlined closed body. Its specification offered private teams contemporary performance in a package prepared for operation outside the full works programme.

Rodriguez was a Mexican driver with close NART connections and exceptional endurance-racing speed. Guichet was a French Le Mans winner whose restraint and consistency complemented his teammate’s intensity. Together they gave Chinetti’s American team a central place in one of Ferrari’s defining international victories.