By Jennings R. Scroggs, Jr.
After winning 7 out of 10 races during the 1969 International Championship for Makes, Porsche sought to defend their title and completely dominate the competition in 1970. They certainly had the right tools for the job; The Porsche 917, introduced in 1969, had been honed into a formidable track weapon thanks to a constant development program. Cognizant that the 917 wasn’t always the best car for the job, particularly on tighter circuits like the Nurburgring and Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, a shorter, lighter variant of the 908, dubbed the 908/3, was developed. Porsche selected John Wyer Engineering to run their factory effort, with Pedro Rodriguez, Leo Kinnunen, Jo Siffert and Brian Redman driving the Gulf Oil liveried cars. In addition, Porsche supported two semi-works teams; the Martini International team, with Helmut Marko, Rudi Lins, Gijs van Lennep and Gerard Larrousse, and the Porsche Salzburg team, with Vic Elford, Kurt Ahrens, Richard Attwood and Hans Hermann.
Simply put, the boys from Zuffenhausen were ready to roll.
At season’s end, the John Wyer Porsches won 7 out of 10 races, with Pedro Rodriguez and Leo Kinnunen taking four victories, while the pairing of Jo Siffert and Brian Redman had 3 wins. The Porsche Salzburg team, with Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens, won at the ADAC-Nurburgring 1000 kms. Hans Hermann, paired with Richard Attwood, took an overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in his final professional race. For Porsche, it was “Auftrag vollendete”. Naturally, the manufacturer were proud of their efforts; so they made this documentary about the 1970 World Sportscar Championship, entitled “Porsche Does It!.” Enjoy!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLP4zhnVwvI&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anq_hbC9E3o&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMkQd6E9v28&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4S_NbqhVyI&feature=related[/youtube]
All right! I'm lovin' me some 917s in Gulf livery!
Have we goddified Joh Wyer yet?
I can think of nothing more terrifying than racing a 917 in the rain.
Then, this would have to be twice as terrifying?
<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/5104629234_772bf57cc2.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="70 spa 1000km siffert and rodriguez porsche 917">