1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Opening Round of the World Sportscar Championship

By Louis Galanos | Photos as credited

The ninth running of international sports car endurance racing at the Daytona International Speedway was historic as the new group 5 Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s met for the first time in a battle for the 1970 FIA World Sportscar Championship (WSC). This fierce competition between Porsche and Ferrari would last just two short years until the FIA closed the loop hole in the rules that allowed for the creation of the 5-liter 917K and 512S “sports cars” and mandated that for the 1972 championship (renamed the World Championship for Makes) season that ALL cars would be limited to no more than three-liters. To many in the racing community this change signaled the end of what some called the “Golden Age” of endurance racing.

However, the first points race for the 1970 WSC championship series held promise and hope for both Porsche and Ferrari. By the end of the previous year Porsche had a ten-month lead over Ferrari in development and testing of their new 917 and the car had its competition debut at the Spa 1000 Km. in May of 1969. Not one single model 512 Ferrari had been completed by then.

Despite the time lead in testing and development the new 917 race car was having teething problems to the point that some factory drivers refused to drive the car. They considered it too unstable at high speeds. The Porsche drivers instead preferred to drive the 908 in competition.

Only after Porsche decided to hire John Wyer of J.W. Automotive (JWA) were the handling and aerodynamic problems resolved. At a testing session at Österreichring in October of 1969 JWA chief engineer John Horseman made modifications to the 917 body that solved the handling problems and produced the aerodynamic 917K (Kurzheck or short tail) body that is most identified with the 917 today.

Ferrari at one time dominated (12 titles in 16 years) the WSC series until the late 1960’s when, during the Ford – Ferrari War, Ford was able to win several championships. The Ford Motor Company also won what was the Holy Grail of endurance racing, The 24-Hours of Le Mans (’66,’67,’68,’69). It was during this time (1968) that Enzo Ferrari decided to withdraw his cars from endurance racing competition instead concentrating on Formula One.

By the end of the 1967 WSC season Ford felt it had nothing further to prove and in their mind had won the Ford – Ferrari War. This was also a great excuse for Ford to terminate their very expensive support for teams racing their products in European competition. Another thing encouraging Ford’s withdrawal from the endurance championship was the fact that the governing body for endurance racing (FIA) had again changed the rules effectively making all unlimited capacity Group 6 prototypes (such as the 7-liter Ford GT40 Mk. IV and 4-liter V12 Ferrari prototype) ineligible for competition. From 1968 through 1971 all prototypes would be limited to a 3-liter engine size. However, a group 4 Sports Car category (later renamed Group 5) was created for 5-liter sports cars as long as the cars had a minimum of two seats, a luggage compartment, spare tire and the ability to be licensed for street use.

With Ford out of the picture Enzo Ferrari saw this an opportunity to get back into endurance racing by taking advantage of the group 4 Sports Car category and building a 5-liter “Sports Car” that could take the overall win away from the new 3-liter prototypes. The Germans at Porsche were the first to spot this loop hole in the new FIA rules and already had adapted their model 908 Porsche to meet the new regulations and called it the Porsche 917. While Porsche had the resources to build and test these new cars Ferrari was a much smaller auto manufacturer and also had a very active Formula One racing commitment. They needed to find the funds to build the 25 car minimum the FIA required for homologation of the new 5-liter cars.

In June of 1969 Enzo Ferrari sold half his Ferrari stock to Fiat. After the sale was complete he ordered development on a new three-liter race car halted and all effort turned to creating a five-liter racer to compete against the Porsche 917 for the 1970 WSC season. In a remarkably short six months the Ferrari factory had created the necessary 25 Ferrari 512S race cars for FIA homologation with five of them already on the way to America for the 1970 Daytona race. Of the five Ferraris sent to Daytona three would be entered as factory cars while the other two would be in the hands of privateers like Luigi Chinetti of the North American Racing Team (NART) and a team from Milan, Italy called Squadra Picchio-Rosso.

The 512S Ferraris were powered by 5-liter V12 engines while the 917K Porsches had a flat 12 at 4.5-liters. The Ferrari engines were rated at 550 horsepower while the Porsches were at 500 horsepower. On the plus side for Porsche they were carrying 90 pounds less weight than the Ferrari. Factory price for the Ferrari 512S in late 1969 would have set you back $40,000 while the Porsche 917K was a bargain at $35,000. Adjusted for inflation the Ferrari would have cost you the equivalent of $245,714.43 today. Considering what those cars sell for at auction today it could have been a good investment if you were flush with an extra $40,000 back then.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Two

Unfortunately the bad weather in Italy during the Fall and Winter of 1969 plus labor disputes caused unplanned delays and didn’t leave much time for proper testing of the new Ferrari 512 and a “shakedown cruise” of sorts would have to be in the heat of the battle with the Porsche 917s at the Daytona 24-Hour race in January of 1970.

The JWA Gulf Porsche team was able to add to their 10-month time advantage in testing and development of the new Porsche when it rented the Daytona International Speedway (DIS) for a testing session in November of 1969. It was at that testing session that they were able to see how the new Kurzheck body configuration worked on the super-fast 31-degree NASCAR high banks.

During a 30-hour test with two 917s they achieved lap times of 1 minute, 47 seconds which beat the old track record by almost five seconds. The only change to the cars was a request from the drivers for a “view window” to be placed above the windshield so drivers could see further ahead on the curved high banks. Drivers felt this was necessary to eliminate a blind spot and help them avoid the slower cars which would make up the bulk of the Daytona entry list. With some of those slower cars the closing speeds between them and a 917K could exceed 100 mph.

While the new 5-liter supercars would get the lion’s share of publicity at Daytona in 1970, there were some old hands present at Daytona for the race who felt that the “big cars” wouldn’t be there at the finish of America’s longest and most grueling race. One of those with that opinion was the well known and respected Italian motorsports journalist, Franco Lini. In 1967 Enzo Ferrari appointed him team manager for the factory team at Daytona. With only two 4-liter Ferrari factory prototypes he had to contend with the Ford factory and seven of their monster 7-liter GT40s. Despite such odds Ferrari made a 1-2-3 sweep in what some said was the greatest comeback in endurance racing history up to that time. Helping the factory complete that sweep was a privately entered NART Ferrari 412P. Later motorsports journalists would nickname the new Ferrari 365GTB/4 the “Daytona” in honor of that victory and the name stuck despite getting no support from Enzo Ferrari.

One team hoping that the larger displacement cars wouldn’t finish the 1970 Daytona endurance race was the two-car factory Matra team. With French government support this aerospace firm fielded two three-liter Matra-Simca 650 Spyders for Daytona. They had hoped to field their new Monocoque 660 at Daytona but the cars were not quite ready.

The 650 Spyders were flown into New York to be trucked from there to Florida. To keep prying eyes, and photographers, from getting a sneak peak at the Matras they “sealed” the race cars in the truck. For the trip to Florida not even the truck’s drivers had access to the cars. This was unfortunate because the truck loading crew had failed to properly tie down the cars and during the trip the vehicles banged around inside the van and against each other. Upon arrival at Daytona the fiberglass bodies were a mess and a spare race car had to be flown into Florida from Argentina. The body parts and panels from that car were used to make the two Matra entries presentable for the race.

Matra’s chances of a podium finish at Daytona that year increased with the announcement that factory Alfa Romeo would not field any cars for the race. This was not expected because Alfa Romeo had won the Buenos Aires 200 mile race in early January but Autodelta decided to skip Daytona. Instead they shipped their new T33/3’s back to Italy for additional testing before returning to Florida in March for the 12-Hours of Sebring.

Adding to Matra’s hope for a respectable showing at Daytona was the inclusion of three-time Formula One World Driving Champion Jack Brabham to their driver roster. He would co-drive a Matra-Simca MS650 with Francois Cevert. This was the very first appearance of Brabham at the Daytona endurance race and he was asked why by the motoring press. He indicated that his Formula One competition raced more often than he did and he needed the extra track time to maintain his skill level and stay competitive.

With Alfa Romeo out of the picture at Daytona Matra’s main opposition in the Group 6 prototype class would come from Ferrari and the two very beautiful 312P coupes entered by Luigi Chinetti’s, Sr.’s North American Racing Team (NART). Sam Posey and Mike Parkes would pilot one 312P while the other was handled by Tony Adamowicz and David Piper. In addition to the 312P Coupes there was competition from a couple of Porsche 908s, a former Penske Lola Mark 3B and three Ford GT40s. One of the 908s finished second behind the Alfa Romeo at Buenos Aires so they were definitely in contention for the overall win.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Three

Most of the 65 cars that started at Daytona that year were in the GT and Touring Car classes and consisted of cars like the Porsche 911, MG B, Volvo 122, Shelby GT350, Camaro Z/28, 7-liter Corvettes, Ford Mustangs, a 1600 cc Datsun 510 and a 1600 cc Lancia Fulvia HF.

Besides those Group 6 prototypes like the Ferrari 312P and Matra 650 there were some very small displacement cars also running as prototypes. That included a 4-cylinder Austin-Healey Sprite, a 1600 cc TVR Vixen, and a 1800 cc Chevron B16 Ford.

Prior to and during practice for the race some of the faster drivers complained loud and long about the slower cars and the dangers they presented on the course. These complaints were nothing new. Some motorsports journalists described the process of driving around and through a gaggle of slower cars as the equivalent of driving through a mobile chicane. What became the poster boy for these complaints and really drove home the dangers of mixing faster and slower cars in a race was a fiberglass-bodied dune buggy that was powered by a 1700 cc Volkswagen engine and running as a prototype. It was classified as a prototype due to the fact that it was a “one-off” kind of race car. It did not have a custom-made fiberglass body but looked for all the world like the classic dune buggy you might see running up and down the desert sand dunes of southern California or the beach dunes in Florida. Many were amazed that the stewards actually allowed this car to be entered, let alone practice. This produced a lot of criticism from the European automotive press who referred to the Daytona 24-Hour race, with its combination of high banks and infield course, as “Mickey Mouse.” This was an obvious reference to the fact that Disney World would open its doors in Orlando, Florida the following year.

Rather than risk damaging the 917s the JWA Gulf team had entered in the race the drivers were doing much of their practice using their spare 917K or “T” car. During the first practice session on Wednesday Jo Siffert was at the wheel and on the infield section of the course when he made contact with the dune buggy between turns four and five. The dune buggy, driven by Jon Krogsund, suffered a rear punctured tire and ruined wheel but because of its high fenders sustained no other damage. The lower-to-the-ground 917K also suffered a punctured tire but also some destroyed body work and this precipitated the filing of a protest by the Porsche team with the stewards. According to the April 1970 issue of Sports Car Graphic (p.33) the complaint indicated that, “the drivers in the buggy were all over the road.”

Both Siffert and Krogsund were interviewed as well as any corner worker who might have witnessed the incident. The ruling of the stewards was that the incident should be considered a “racing accident” and neither driver was at fault. Both the dune buggy and driver could continue to practice and if the car qualified they could start the race. However, the owner and builder of the dune buggy, 37-year-old Hugh Heishman, was also a Porsche – Volkswagen dealer from Arlington, Virginia and he didn’t want to antagonize his business partners and quietly withdrew his entry much to the disappointment of his drivers. In his own words, “I didn’t want to be accused of causing Porsche any more grief.”

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Four

Later that same afternoon it was Brian Redman’s turn to practice in a Porsche 917K for the race. As he entered the infield portion of the Daytona road course the 917’s Graviner automatic fire extinguisher system inexplicably went off filling the driver’s compartment and engine compartment on the 917K with fire suppressing gas.

Although blinded and choked by the gas Redman was able to get the car off the paved track coming to a stop on the infield grass. He struggled to open the car’s door to get a breath of much needed fresh air and when the corner workers arrived at the car he was partially incapacitated and had to be assisted from the car. He eventually recovered but many in the Porsche pits shuddered at the thought of what could have happened if that fire extinguisher had gone off somewhere on the high banks with Redman going at over 200 mph.

The Porsche factory wasn’t the only team dealing with problems during the fourteen hours of practice for the race. Two of the new Ferrari 512s were experiencing transmission problems and some overheating even in the cool January temperatures. According to a Ferrari spokesman, “This is a new car. We’ll need a couple of days to get sorted out. After that, we’ll go as fast as anybody.”

Dan Gurney and co-driver Chuck Parsons had a number of headaches with the NART Ferrari 512S they were scheduled to drive in the race. There were fuel pump problems caused by vapor lock and because he was much taller than the average Italian driver, Gurney had to deal with a cockpit that was too small for his 6’2″ frame. The NART mechanics addressed Gurney’s height problem by creating a dome to accommodate his helmet. Using the dome and sitting on the floor he could drive the car but it was not an ideal situation for him. Gurney also had the audacity to suggest to the Italian mechanics that they replace the Italian-made fuel pumps with ones made in America. This did not go down well with the Italians.

After fourteen hours of practice officially timed qualifying was to take place on the Friday before the race starting at 8 a.m. and run for two hours. For some reason an afternoon timed qualifying session was not announced and it became apparent later that many of the teams were unaware of it.

On that Friday morning it was cold and a light rain was falling. When the timed session ended the Mario Andretti – Arturo Merzario Ferrari 512S held the pole position with a time of 1 minute, 51.6 seconds and a record speed of 122.9 mph. Second on the grid would be the Jo Siffert – Brian Redman Gulf 917K at 121.5 mph, the Jean Pierre-Beltoise – Henri Pescarolo Matra-Simca 650 was third at 121.4 mph and the Gulf 917K of Pedro Rodriguez and Leo Kinnunen was fourth at 115.445 mph.

In interviews prior to the start of the race Mario Andretti was his normal very candid self when he indicated that the Porsche 917s were probably faster than his Ferrari 512. He also opined that the Porsche drivers were probably told not to try for the pole position as part of the overall Gulf Porsche strategy. Andretti’s opinion would be proven correct before the first lap of the race was completed.

While Andretti was on the track during that rainy qualifying session in the morning there were several teams in the garage and paddock working furiously in an attempt to get their car ready for qualifying. Several of them assumed there would be an afternoon timed session. When word spread that the morning session was all there was going to be and anyone who didn’t qualify that morning would be put at the back of the pack a number of protests were filed with the stewards. After a hasty meeting the stewards relented and scheduled an afternoon timed qualifying session. The only complication was that the weather had improved with bright sun and a dry track so the stewards created a “rain handicap” for the afternoon session and the cars were placed on the grid accordingly. By the close of the second qualifying session on Friday a complete starting grid was published and cars with the “rain handicap” were indicated with an asterisk next to them.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Five

With practice and qualifying done for the day most of the activity moved to the paddock area next to the garages where the less affluent race entries were camped out with some working on their cars as friends and family cooked supper over large charcoal grills and hibachis.

In the garage area the spaces reserved for the JWA Gulf Porsche team were very quiet with lights off and all three 917s in their respective spaces. Their crews were at the team hotel on the beach eating a late supper or already in their rooms trying to get much needed rest for race day. The local paper seemed to hint that some of the team members were visiting local nightclubs in an effort to scare up some female companionship.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Six

Just a few yards down from the Porsche garages in the spaces reserved for the five Ferrari 512s the lights would be on until the early hours of Saturday as the Italians dealt with a myriad of problems that surfaced during practice. One problem that wouldn’t get resolved before the green flag fell on Saturday was the fuel supply problem that plagued the Gurney/Parsons 512S. The useless Italian fuel pumps would necessitate more frequent pit stops for fuel but no attempt was made to replace them with something more reliable like American-made Stewart Warner fuel pumps. It was a matter of pride as far as the Italians were concerned.

Race day dawned sunny, windy and a bit chilly. High temperatures for Saturday were predicted in the forties with lows that night in the thirties. If you were a corner worker, as I was for that race, it was miserable weather with that damp Atlantic Ocean wind cutting right through you.

In the pits the drivers seemed quite pleased with the weather. Many of them remembered the warm temperatures during the 1969 Daytona 24 race that turned many of the enclosed cars into saunas. The cool weather would make driving more comfortable as well as boosting speed.

With all the hoopla surrounding the JW Automotive Gulf Porsche team and the factory Ferraris some motorsports journalists almost ignored the other two Porsche 917K race cars that were entered in this event. One was a 917K entered by Porsche of Austria (Porsche Salzburg) and was a direct result of an ongoing power struggle within Porsche. The other was a David Piper 917K that didn’t make the Friday morning qualifying session and when they entered the track that afternoon driver Tony Dean ran just a few laps before he entered his pit with complaints about gearing. The mechanics did what they could and then Peter Gregg took the wheel completing less than a full lap before blowing the engine. With no spare they were forced to withdraw the car.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Seven

According to Speedway founder Bill France an estimated 35,000 racing fans were in the track at the time of the start on Saturday the 31st of January. That would have been the largest crowd for this event since it became a 24 hour race in 1966. Besides what the local Daytona newspaper called the European “Jet Set” in attendance there was a large number of college students, many of them camped out in the western part of the track. In some spectator areas foreign sports cars seemed to outnumber domestic cars and the “hippie look” seemed to be in fashion with young men sporting beards and young women with long hair wearing, despite the cold, what fashion designers back then called “micro mini-skirts.” Two young ladies in such attire attracted a gaggle of photographers who followed them around the paddock. This parade was only broken up when the young ladies ducked into a nearby rest room and stayed in there until the cold and shivering photographers decided to get something hot to drink.

The green flag fell for the 65 starters at 3 p.m. on the back straight of the 3.81 mile course. There was no chicane on the back straight in those days and this gave the faster cars a chance to get away from the rest of the pack before entering the first two turns on the infield course thus minimizing a possible traffic jam and a race-ending accident.

Despite having the pole position Andretti’s Ferrari 512S was passed by the Gulf Porsche 917’s of Siffert and Rodriguez. As they approached turn one Siffert was first, Rodriguez was second, Andretti was third locking up his brakes in the process and the Vic Elford – Kurt Ahrens Porsche-Salzburg 917K fourth and close behind Andretti.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Eight

In the early going some observers thought the Gulf Porsches were braking later than the Ferraris going from a speed in excess of 200 mph to a first turn speed of 60 mph in less than 200 yards. This might have contributed to the 5-second lead that Siffert’s Porsche held after the first 30 minutes of the race.

The Pedro Rodriguez/Leo Kinnunen 917K Porsche still held onto second place with the Mario Andretti/Arturo Merzario Ferrari third and right on the tail of Rodriguez. At one point Andretti used his NASCAR drafting skills to pass Rodriguez at over 200 mph on the high banks but Rodriguez would have nothing to do with this and repassed Andretti before diving into turn one ahead of him. This brought several thousand fans in the grandstands to their feet. Following them into the first turn was the NART Ferrari 512S of Dan Gurney who passed the Elford/Ahrens Salzburg 917K to go into fourth place. It was rumored that the Salzburg team had their own strategy to finish Daytona and it didn’t include fighting for first place so early in the race.

Those early minutes of any endurance race usually separate the men (and some women) from the boys and this race was no different as some drivers pushed their cars too hard in the early going and had to pit for repairs. Also poor race preparation and faulty parts showed their ugly heads early and sidelined several cars.

The dubious distinction of being one of the first cars to retire was a Porsche 908/02 entered under the team name of Juan Manuel Fangio. The other car was the former Penske Lola T70 Mk. 3B being driven by John Canon and George Eaton. The Lola began smoking on the pace lap and continued to show the poor handling that was evident in practice. The car pulled into the pits and eventual retirement. They failed to complete even one lap. In the years to come this car would have an interesting but not successful race history. It appeared in the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans and in 1972 was purchased by a fellow who robbed a bank to pay for the car.

Next to retire was the Datsun 510 of Don Kearney and Dick Roberts after 24 laps due to overheating problems. They were also having problems with the racing tires making contact with the inside of the fender wells. This was a result of the car’s speed on the 31-degree high banks which produced a downward pressure on the car’s body allowing it to make contact with the tires.

Following them into retirement was a Shelby GT350 (26 laps), a Porsche 911T (29 laps), a Volvo 122S (54 laps), a Ford Mustang, GT40, Chevron B16 and another Mustang. Of the first ten cars to withdraw eight of them were American entries.

Finally after just over an hour into the race the Ignazio Giunti factory Ferrari 512S smacked the retaining wall coming out of turn six as it joins the high banks. The infield track surface in that spot was beginning to break up which was not something new for that turn. Large bits of asphalt collected on the outside of turn six and any car getting into those marbles would slide dangerously close to the retaining wall.

When the Ferrari smacked the retaining wall it caused a tire to deflate and Giunti drove along the bottom of the tri-oval headed for pit road. Upon entering his pit the Ferrari crew spotted damage to the rear suspension which they hastily repaired by installing a new upright. Back on the track the car was not handling well due to what later was found to be a twisted chassis. The car would eventually retire after only 89 laps. Co-driver Nino Vaccarella never got a chance to drive in the race.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Nine

After less than an hour of racing the Ferrari 512s, with the faulty fuel pumps, began to pit for fuel while the 917K Porsches stayed out for an additional 10 minutes building up their lead. Dan Gurney had to make two unscheduled pit stops for an oil leak and the time needed to address this problem dropped him out of his fourth place position.

At the 58 minute mark the leading Gulf Porsche 917K entered the pit for fuel with Jo Siffert at the wheel. He was asked if he wanted Brian Redman to relieve him but he said he was fine. Siffert was asked this because several weeks before Daytona he had broken his ankle in a go-kart accident and had experienced some discomfort during practice.

After Siffert reentered the race the other Gulf 917K and Salzburg 917K pitted for fuel and tires. Not until 75 minutes had passed would the pits see the first Matra. It was obvious that the 3-liter Matra engines were getting much better fuel mileage plus the Matra strategy was to avoid the tendency to drive flat out at the start of the race but to run at a steady pace and finish as high up in the rankings as possible.

The previous year’s Daytona 24 winner, Mark Donohue, was driving the Penske prepared AMC Javelin when he ran out of gas and coasted to a stop in the infield just one hour and fifty minutes into the race. It seems that Penske was using an old trick to start the race with a partially filled gas tank and then outpace the fully loaded cars in his class. Unfortunately they miscalculated how much fuel his car would use in the early minutes of the race. According to Bernard Kahn of The Daytona Beach Morning Journal the “…chubby Donohue set a new SCCA half-mile record on foot….and was clocked at 10:93 mph as he jogged to the pits” for a can of gasoline. Donohue returned to the stalled Sunoco Javelin with the fuel and got going again having lost eleven minutes in the process.

Donohue and co-driver Peter Revson would only make it one-third the way through the 24 hour event having to retire with no oil pressure after 8 hours and 13 minutes. When asked about their failure to finish at Daytona Roger Penske pointed out that the car had run the equivalent of three Trans-Am races and that’s what the Javelin effort was all about.

Jean Pierre Beltoise also entered the pits the same way Donohue did, on foot. It seems that a distributor rotor broke on his Matra and he sprinted to his pit for a spare, arriving exhausted. He co-driver Henri Pescarolo was given the spare and made the dash to the car which was parked on the infield grass. Pescarolo got the car running but this would not be the last time this problem would surface.

After only 115 laps the Ickx/Schetty factory Ferrari 512S blew a tire at speed on the high banks causing it to make a glancing blow to the retaining wall. Some of the other crews were also experiencing tire failure on the track and blame was attributed to the crumbling track. The Ickx/Schetty car sustained enough suspension damage from hitting the wall to be withdrawn but something else puzzled Ferrari engineer Mauro Forghieri. After examining the tires on the Ferrari he noticed abnormal wear on the inside edges of the tires and wondered if this was the cause of the tire failure. Not until later did some put forth the idea that the abnormal wear may have been due to cracked mounting points caused by the extreme downward forces on the car when at speed on the high banks. This caused abnormal toe-in and excessive tire wear.

Another point of view was that the stress on the suspension that led to cracking of the mounting points may have been caused by the dip in the track near a point on the high banks known as NASCAR 4. This dip was right on the line the faster cars took around the track while the slower cars stayed in their groove closer to the bottom of the banking.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Ten

In previous years at Daytona one of the most colorful distinctions was the demeanor of the German factory Porsche crews and the Italian factory Ferrari crews in the pits, garages and paddock. The Germans were always very precise and organized setting up their work areas almost like a hospital operating room. Also the Germans showed very little emotion throughout the entire race. The Italians were just the opposite with lots of yelling and hand gestures and their pits and garage areas were very disorganized with tools, tires and parts scattered about. It was a wonder they could find anything that might be needed. Also the Italians seemed to wear the same greasy overalls for the entire week while the Germans seemed to show up each day with a fresh set of clean work clothes.

In 1970 the JWA crew seemed to have picked up some bad habits from the Italians and the Gulf Porsche pits began to resemble the disorganization and casualness evident in the Italian pits. Except for the language differences there was little distinction between the Porsche and Ferrari pit crews and some Porsche fans seemed disappointed with the result.

With three hours of racing done and the sun was setting over the west rim of the Speedway. The Siffert/Redman Porsche 917K was in the lead after 381 miles of racing with the Rodriguez/ Kinnunen Porsche 917K on the same lap. Two laps back was the Andretti/Merzario Ferrari 512S then came the #34 Matra 650 three laps down along with another Porsche 917K. In fifth place was another Ferrari 512S.

The average speed set by the Siffert/Redman Porsche 917K was an amazing 122.355 mph after the first 90 laps of racing. That speed eclipsed the record (107.388 mph) set in 1966 by Lloyd Ruby and Ken Miles in their seven liter Ford GT40 Mk. II by 15 miles per hour.

Once the sun disappeared over the high banks it got dark pretty quickly at the track and the signal was given by the stewards for drivers to turn on their lights. Soon after the third place Andretti/Merzario Ferrari 512S was black-flagged for faulty tail lights. A quick pit stop corrected the problem and Andretti was back in the race in short order only to be black-flagged again after several laps for the same problem. A more thorough repair was done when he pitted but precious time was lost.

It was at this point that people noticed the Siffert/Redman crew looking at their stop watches and looking intently down the track toward the pit entrance. One crew member even walked across pit lane to the grass area next to the lane to get a better view of the pit entrance. It was obvious that Brian Redman in the leading Gulf 917K was overdue. Finally the car was spotted slowly coming along the grass near the bottom of the high banks and then down pit lane. It was apparent that the car had suffered a tire puncture and the tire was beginning to shred. While the Siffert/Redman crew bent to the task of changing the tires it was noticed that the shredded tire had damaged a brake line and they immediately went to work to repair it. They also had to do a minor repair to one of the headlights which had come loose.

The headlight problem would resurface again on this car and the other team 917K. The cause was traced to the fact that Friday afternoon the Cibie units were swapped out in favor of Marchal and the lights kept popping out of their mountings. After 17 minutes in the pits the Siffert/Redman 917K reentered the race but in 8th place.

The stop for repairs allowed the #2 Rodriguez/Kinnunen Porsche to assume the lead but once those repairs were complete the #1 Siffert/Redman 917K quickly began to catch up to the leading car with Jo Siffert turning in some very quick laps and by 8:30 p.m. were in second place and gaining.

After almost six hours of racing the two JWA Gulf Porsches were 1-2 with the Andretti/Ickx Ferrari in third. Arturo Merzario had started the race as Andretti’s co-driver but when Ickx’s car retired he was assigned to drive the third place Ferrari with Andretti. Swapping a driver in the middle of a race was not unknown and before the checkered flag fell another leading driver would also be replaced. The Gurney/Parsons 512S was in fourth and the Ahrens/Elford Salzburg 917K in 5th position.

The Brabham/Cevert Matra 650 was now in 6th but both team cars were suffering from broken rotor arms and the Beltoise/Pescarolo Matra 650 already had to have their distributor replaced. By the end of the race the Matra crews would use up their entire supply of eight replacement rotor arms and even resorted to gluing the broken parts together to keep their cars in the race.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Eleven

Around 9:30 p.m. both Gulf Porsches were in the pits for routine servicing but the Rodriguez/Kinnunen car needed extra time to repair a headlight that again had popped out of its mounting. They lost three laps as a result. Just down from the Porsche pits was the Squadra Picchio-Rosso Ferrari 512S of Corrado Manfredini and Gianpiero Moretti. After a routine stop Moretti left their pit and hit the gas pedal a little too hard spinning the car on pit road in front of everyone. Fortunately he didn’t hit anything or anyone and when he got going again received a rousing chorus of cheers, whistles and clapping from some of the crews.

The Gulf Porsches and the Andretti Ferrari continued their record pace into the cold January night. After nearly nine hours of racing the leading Porsche 917K of Rodriguez/Kinnunen was averaging over 119 mph and the previous year’s records were getting smashed as each hour passed.

At the half-way mark in the race the third place Andretti/Merzario/Ickx 512S was in the pits for new brake pads. The Ferrari mechanics also broke out some tape to repair a growing crack in the car’s body. Also needing some tape for body repairs was the Gurney/Parsons 512S after it collided with another car on the infield course. It took a couple of extra stops and more tape before they could correct the aerodynamic problems caused by that collision. That repair allowed them to stay in the top ten until a gear box failed when Gurney had to make an abrupt downshift to avoid a slower car. The car retired after 464 laps.

The Rodriguez/Kinnunen 917K still led at this point in the race with the Siffert/Redman 917K second, Andretti was still third in his 512S. The Brabham/Cevert Matra 650 was fourth and the David Piper/Tony Adamowicz NART 312P was 5th.

A couple of hours later the Elford/Ahrens Salzburg 917K suffered a broken shock absorber that caused their fuel tank to drag along the pavement and fracture. This type of damage was not repairable and the car was withdrawn after completing 337 laps.

On those parts of the infield track where the asphalt was crumbling under the pounding of the race cars the underlying lime rock was exposed and began to pulverize into dust that was sucked into car air vents. The dust-clogged radiators began to overheat resulting in unscheduled pit stops. One crew borrowed a length of hose from a camper in the paddock and sprayed the race car’s radiator to wash off dust that adhered to metal surfaces almost like cement.

More bad luck befell the Siffert/Redman 917K as they too had a shock give way around 2:30 a.m. when a bolt holding the shock sheared clean off. What followed next could only be described by driver Brian Redman in his own words, “I’m coming off the banking at well over 200 miles an hour, there’s a bump and boom! I spin all the way down the pit straight but didn’t hit anything.”

It would take 20 minutes to replace the broken shock and that would put the Andretti/Merzario/Ickx Ferrari briefly in second place. That position change was short lived because the Ferrari was again black-flagged for tail lights and after the repair was made returned to the race in third place.

As the sun began to peek over the eastern rim of the Speedway the first three positions remained unchanged with a 917K in first and second and a 512S in third. Having to retire on lap 412 was the Picchio Rosso 512S with a broken suspension. The tremendous down forces experienced on the high banks at over 200 mph might have been the cause for so many broken shocks and damaged suspensions. Also, that dip in the track at NASCAR 4 didn’t help.

As more sun filtered into the Speedway tri-oval the spectators began to stir in their campsites. Awakening to near freezing temperatures campfires and grills were started in order to get some hot beverages brewing. Others made the dash to the nearby restrooms for morning ablutions and many experienced Daytona race fans knew if you didn’t get in there early it might be a long wait and the facilities, which were cleaned overnight, might not be as welcoming.

In the area known today as the hot pits a kind soul was distributing cups of hot coffee and hot chocolate to some of the drivers and crews. Most of the others had to hoof it over to the concession stands that were already doing a brisk business.

Standing in line at one concession stand was a attractive young lady wearing go-go boots, short jacket and a crocheted mini-skirt that could be described as see-through. It was obvious she was pretty cold because you could see chill bumps on her exposed flesh. Several of the men in and around her didn’t seem to notice her. No doubt they were still half asleep and wouldn’t wake up until they had their first cup of coffee.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Twelve

For some of the foreign drivers and crew getting to and from the concession stands and bathrooms was becoming an ordeal because several Volusia County deputy sheriffs were turning everyone away from the pit entrance unless you had the proper credentials. By this time in the race few drivers and mechanics still had their race passes pinned to their clothing and the deputies knew no French, German or Italian so there were some tense moments until someone from Bill France’s office arrived to sort things out. The foreign press would have a lot to say about this after the race was over.

As if a flat tire and broken shock weren’t trouble enough the Siffert/Redman 917K developed clutch failure on lap 482. Repairing the Porsche seemed out of the question so late in the race so orders were given to push it behind the pit wall and get it prepared to be loaded on the transporter.

Redman was quickly reassigned to the leading Rodriguez/Kinnunen Porsche because Kinnunen didn’t speak any English and they had trouble trying to communicate with him what was needed to win, which was slow down and conserve the car.

Before the disabled Gulf Porsche was loaded on the transporter a Porsche engineer suggested that repairing the clutch shouldn’t take more than 90 minutes. Back the car went to pit road and mechanics Ermanno Cuoghi and Peter Davies bent to the task of repairing the clutch which they had never done before. They did this in record time and the total time lost, including pushing to and from, was only 81 minutes and Jo Siffert was in the car and back on the track in fourth place.

Meanwhile on the track Brian Redman was piloting the leading #2 Gulf Porsche 917K. As Redman completed his 36th lap in the car he was passed by Jo Siffert in what Redman believed was the disabled and withdrawn #1 Gulf 917K. In Redman’s words it was, “…the shock of my life when Siffert came blasting past in our car.”

When Redman returned to “his” car both he and Siffert put “pedal to the metal” and with two hours left they recaptured second place from Andretti. A brush with the wall forced a five-minute pit stop for tires allowing Andretti to go back into second.

With ten minutes left on the clock Leo Kinnunen brought in the leading car for a quick driver change. Pedro Rodriguez had the honors of taking the checkered flag at Daytona for the third time. It would be his first in a Porsche but his second in a 24-hour event, having taken his first in the 1968 Le Mans enduro driving a Ford GT40 Mk. I for John Wyer’s Ford team.

In those final minutes of the race confusion in the pits and in the timing shed made many believe that the race for second was much closer than it actually was. As a result the shouting of the announcer over the public address system made wonderful theater as people thought they were witnessing a close-fought duel between Porsche and Ferrari for second place. In reality the Siffert/Redman Porsche actually had a three-lap lead over the Andretti/Merzario/Ickx Ferrari but during those final minutes everyone in the grandstands and in the pits was on their feet shouting for their favorite.

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Thirteen

The race ended with the Pedro Rodriguez/Leo Kinnunen 4.5 liter Porsche 917K covering 724 laps and 2,758.44 miles with a record average speed of 114.866 mph. This would be a record distance for the Daytona 24 not exceeded until 1987. The Siffert/Redman 917K came in second 45 laps and 171 miles behind the winning car. Brian Redman received official credit for having driven not only the winner but the second place finisher at Daytona in 1970. To his credit Redman declined to be part of the ceremonies in victory circle because he felt he had not spent that much time in the winning car and the victory rightly belonged to Rodriguez and Kinnunen.

Mario Andretti along with co-drivers Arturo Merzario and Jacky Ickx brought home the sole remaining Ferrari 512S in third place. Not bad for a car that was brand new, never fully tested and never raced. Andretti would get redemption for himself and Ferrari at Sebring six weeks later. The 1970 Daytona 24 Hour race would mark factory Ferraris return to WSC endurance racing after a three-year hiatus.

Fourth and fifth were a couple of NART Ferrari 312Ps driven by Mike Parkes and Sam Posey in one car with Tony Adamowicz and David Piper in the other. Jerry Thompson and John Mahler finished sixth in a Corvette while Gregg Young and Luigi Chinetti, Jr. finished seventh in a NART Ferrari 250 LM. Eighth went to William Wonder and Ray Cuomo in their Ford GT40, ninth was Gregg Loomis and Bert Everett in a Porsche 906LE and tenth was the Matra 650 of Francois Cevert and three-time Formula One champion Jack Brabham.

There are some interesting stories surrounding both the Adamowicz/Piper NART Ferrari 312P and the Matras. When Mike Parkes brushed the wall and damaged a radiator on his 312P the NART mechanics replaced it with their only spare. Later when the Adamowicz/Piper 312P had their radiator holed by bits of track debris Adamowicz came in for a repair and was told that they had no spare radiator for him.

Incredibly enough he was told to continue racing without any coolant but to keep an eye on the car’s oil temperature and not exceed 9500 rpm. Except for a quick pit stop to address a minor oil leak the 312P ran for five and one half hours without any coolant, completing 632 laps and finishing second in class and fifth overall. The other NART 312 P finished first in class and fourth overall

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

1970 24 Hours of Daytona – Race Profile Page Fourteen

The Matras had their own story to tell about how they would finish the race. As previously stated the two team cars had distributor and rotor arm troubles throughout the race and the mechanics used up their entire supply of eight rotor arms. After they were used up the mechanics resorted to using glue to repair some of the rotor arms.

When that didn’t work the team got the public address announcer to ask anyone owning a BMW 2002 to contact the mechanics at the Matra pits. Supposedly that model BMW had rotor arms compatible with the distributor in the Matra race cars. The Matra folks wanted to “borrow” any available rotor arms they could to keep their cars in the race.

As the clock ticked down to the 3 p.m. finish of the race both Matras were parked in their pit. With about five minutes left both cars were started and driven back onto the track to make a slow circuit of the course and take the checkered flag so they could qualify as running at the finish.

Count yourself as lucky if you were there in 1970 and actually got to hear the distinctive sounds of a Porsche 917K, Ferrari 512S, Matra 650 and Ferrari 312P engine in competition. Those sounds will always stay in your memory. Only in retrospect did I come to realize the significance of the 1970 Daytona race. Not only was it the first international competition between the now iconic Porsche 917K and Ferrari 512S but the international makeup of the German Porsche team was extraordinary with a British manager and drivers from Mexico, Finland, Switzerland and England. It was also the beginning of a legendary time in motorsports history that would last just two short years until the FIA changed the rules, again, and legislated out of existence probably the most popular cars in endurance racing history. That legend lives on in the mind of racing fans as witnessed at every concours, car show or vintage racing event where the 917K and 512S appear.

---

For Additional Reading

Corvette: Racing Legends, by Dr. Peter Gimenez, Ventura Publishing, Inc., 2008

Daytona 24 Hours: The Definitive History of America’s Great Endurance Race by J.J. O’Malley, David Bull Publishing, 2009

Lola T70: The Design, Development and Racing History, by John Starkey and Franco Varani, Gryfon Publishers, 2012

Racing In The Rain by John Horsman, David Bull Publishing, 2006

The Daytona Beach Morning Journal, Daytona Beach, Florida, Jan 30-31, Feb. 1, 1970

[Source: Louis Galanos]