Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/108532
couldn't believe it! There we were, doing 200 mph for mile after mile and there were no barriers…just the houses and the trees. Even with the barriers, at Spa, it was still terrifyingly fast. It was more difficult than anywhere else, to keep your foot down in these little kinks that weren't quite flat out. Your foot would just lift off by itself even though you knew the car could go around the turn. But boy, when you finished a race there, and you'd come through without having any incidents, you really felt that you'd done something." In the interest of safety, the 917 era saw Armco barriers installed to keep the cars out of the trees. Still, the 917s were only using first gear once per lap, at the very slow hairpin, La Source, just above the pits. The cars would accelerate downhill, through the compression and uphill Eau Rouge bend (one of the most challenging corners in motorsport to this day). Eau Rouge is named for the color of the stream bed that runs under the track at that point. Iron oxide gives the rocks a noticeable reddish/ orange color. After cresting the top of the Eau Rouge section, the cars would speed on into the forest with adjustments for most of the corners made by throttle only. On the Masta straight, top speeds were around 215 mph. Similar to Le Mans, Spa was a place-to-place track, using roads that connect the villages of Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot. As a driver, you might actually feel as if you were going somewhere (as opposed to going around in a circle). As we know, Porsche built the 917 with top speed in mind. By coincidence, the 917's first race had been at Spa in 1969. In 1970, the well-sorted 917s, ably run by the JWA-Gulf Racing Team, were the class of the World Sports Car Championship field. Jo Siffert and Brian Redman won that Spa race at an incredible average speed of 149.41 mph. In 1971, the competition from 3-liter prototype sports cars had started to encroach on the 917's domination. A 3-liter Alfa Romeo had actually beaten the 917s at Brands Hatch (a rather tight circuit and a rare failure of race management for the Gulf team). For 1972, the 917s would be banned and only 3-liter cars would be allowed to contest the World Championship. But the full 5-liter 917 had a few months left to show off on the fast tracks. At Monza on April 25th, in dry conditions, the Gulf cars ran away and hid with Pedro Rodriguez and Jackie Oliver finishing first, Jo Siffert and Derek Bell second (in the VRM 917, 017/004). Monza is a park land rather than a public road circuit, but was (and still is) very fast, the winning car averaging 146 mph. For the Spa race, the Gulf team brought chassis 035/015 for Rodriguez/Oliver and 029/014 for Siffert/Bell. As at Monza, the cars had the final endurance racing version of the 917's engine, now at 4998cc and with nickel-silicon carbide cylinders (Nikasil). The type 912 engine was now capable of 630 horsepower at 8300 rpm. The number one drivers were absent from qualifying due to a clashing (non-Championship) F1 race, so Bell took the pole with a record lap at 164 mph. Oliver qualified in third spot with the Martini 917s second (Elford) and fourth (Marko). The factory Ferrari 312pb driven by local hero Jacky Ickx could only manage fifth fastest. Upon arriving at Spa, and finding Bell on the pole, the sly Pedro said to Derek: "It is time you drive with me!" At the start of the race the track was drying but wet enough for the Gulf team to select intermediates tires. Siffert and Rodriguez were ahead by the end of lap one and Elford pitted for slicks, dropping him from contention. Elford would later retire his 917 with handling problems caused by a minute crack in a front suspension mounting point. The Gulf 917s romped off into the distance and John Horsman describes the drivers as having "fun" demonstrating the superiority of their machines and not conserving the cars in any way. He also describes the lap record "tumbling" with Pedro Rodriguez July 2011 19