Toga

Hi all! The "oldest" forum members will remember the 917 era with its great pilots like Jo Siffert and Pedro Rodriguez shown on the picture below fighting
to be first on the "Raidillon" in Spa.



Jo died in a non championship grad prix in Brands Hatch on the 24th october 1971. 39 years ago today.
His Mexican team mate Pedro Rodriguez was killed in a non championship race in Nurnberg in July the same year. The Mexican Grand Prix was then cancelled and replaced by a Grand Prix in Brands Hatch. "Seppi" din't want to race that week end...

2 of the greatest drivers from the John Wyer Gulf-Porsche 917 team were gone!



the evening before the tragic day

vaujot

Very nice, thank you Toga.
Some more resources about Mr. Siffert:
Wikipedia
Official website (run by his son, only German and French available)

curve lover

JP-- You have a P.M.

If you haven't seen the following, you might like this award-nominated 90-minute tribute film.

Click below image for the short 'quicktime' trailer promo clip:

Toga

I was 13 when Rodriguez and Siffert died. At that time I was watching the races on a black and white TV, and drawing the front of the 917 in my class books! Souvenirs souvenirs...

thanks for the links guys!

Blaine S

I have an original photograph of Seppi hanging in my office that I look at all of the time. Apparently he was asked by the factory to drive the 917 as a personal favor. In the early days of the 917 a lot of drivers just couldn't handle the car - it was too much for them. Not Seppi.

brucec59

I've always loved that photo. I wish it were in color...

cmat

Here's a shot of Jo that I took in August of 1971 during the Can Am race at Mid Ohio.

Ocean Blue C2S

Siffert was one on my favourite race drivers, fearless Jo, as i saw him race in the CanAm in Edmonton, took a lot of slides...I was so overcome with emotion by his death that i sent all my slides to the Porsche factory as a "tribute", unfortunately they all went, and I have no pictures left...

I also bought the Jo Siffert lugguage set, that was available through the Porsche factory, I still have that, and it was made especially to fit in the back and trunk of a 911.

I also met one of the Rodrigues brothers, amongst many race drivers, while I was a TV Cameraman in a major network TV Station, like Olivier Gendebien, Mark Donohue ( I have pictures) and Jim Clark (Jim and I standing side by side), what an honour...

Those were the days of racing, much like the AL series!

Thanks for posting!

Bert

Toga

Lots of souvenirs coming back here!! Thanks for sharing

Ocean Blue C2S

Toga,

Especially for you!!!

I remember asking Olivier Gendebien about driving at high speed,"where do you focus your eyes on?" And,"do you see anything...?"

He said: "I look a long ways down the road, focus where i'm going to be in a few seconds.." I don't see anything else!"

He was a very friendly man, and he was given a white Stetson cowboy hat when he was here in Calgary, and said he would wear it when he won the 24hrs of LeMans... he probably forgot... I will try to attach a picture of him in a Porsche 356.

Warmest Regards, (picture from my Private Collection)

Bert

Toga

Wow thanks Bert! I really appreciate! He had 4 times the occasion to wear the Stetson...

Blaine S

Great photograph Bert. Thank you for sharing.

Toga

The scene is filmed in color from the bottom of the raidillon in the Siffert movie. If somebody knows a soft to extract from a Dvix, I'll try to post it

brucec59

Cool!