Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/118654
Jay: Concerning the 917, you seem to have been the most enthusiastic of the 10 factory Porsche drivers in 1969. Did you really have to talk Dr. Piech into letting you have one for Le Mans? finished 3rd. Gerard's arrival for the podium ceremony was delayed by a spin on the cooling down lap! He was a little over-excited at winning his first World Championship race. The 917 set a Sebring distance record that would hold up until being surpassed by a Porsche 962 in 1985. Vic: Yes! Piëch and Bott really only wanted to run the one car driven by Stommelen and Ahrens as an experimental car, knowing it would break after six hours. I was convinced that driving it with kid gloves I could make it last and chose Attwood as co-driver because I thought he agreed. Bott in particular kept saying "Vic, you want to win so have a 908 instead". Eventually I convinced them and when it did break, (at 21 hours – JG) it was nothing that they had anticipated! Rodriguez and Oliver managed to bring chassis 009 home in fourth place, 12 laps behind, the car looking decidedly second-hand. The 917's nose was bonded to the chassis and could not be replaced in the event of a collision. With most of the right front fender shaved off, the JWA mechanics had been forced to improvise lighting on the right side and to hold the rest of the nose together with duct tape! A spare headlight had been taped in place during the evening and actually made it to the finish! 009 had also suffered a puncture, a broken wishbone and a hole in the cockpit floor during the course of the race. Siffert and Bell were 16 laps behind (including the penalty for illegal refueling) in the other Gulf 917, chassis 031/026. The excessive fuel consumption for their car was never explained and may well have cost them the race. In all, 57 cars started and 24 were classified as finishers after 12 hours. www.pnwr.org Here are Vic's answers to my questions on the 917 and the Sebring race: March 2011 31