Jay Gillotti DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS

Transcription

1 G U L F 917 Jay Gillotti DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 8 Foreword: John Horsman 10 Preface 14 One: Early History of Porsche 20 Two: Predecessors, Design and Development 40 Three: Gulf Versus Porsche 70 Four: Chassis 004 (renumbered 017) 86 Five: Chassis Six: Chassis Seven: Chassis 014 (renumbered 029) 138 Eight: Chassis Nine: Chassis Ten: Chassis 017 (renumbered 004) 228 Eleven: Chassis 026 (renumbered 031) 244 Twelve: Chassis 029 (renumbered 014) 272 Thirteen: Chassis 031 (renumbered 026) 298 Fourteen: Chassis 034 (renumbered 013) 332 Fifteen: The Taxi Chassis 035 (renumbered 015) 356 Sixteen: Chassis 043 (044) 378 Seventeen: Chassis Eighteen: Le Mans Movie Cars 408 Nineteen: Gulf-Related 917s 430 Epilogue 434 Appendices 482 Bibliography and Resources 488 Photo Credits and Thanks 490 Index Gulf 917s at Spa, (Klemantaski) Gulf 917

3 PREFACE The word iconic has been overused and perhaps even misused in recent times. According to Webster s, it means widely known and acknowledged for distinctive excellence. The Porsche 917, especially in Gulf livery, would seem to meet this test for anyone with a passing interest in auto racing. Motor Sport Magazine rated the 917 at number one in a list of greatest racing cars of all time in the September 1997 issue. Success on the track for the 917 in endurance racing and later in Can- Am was clear. The 917 in various forms won over 70 races worldwide between 1969 and The model was largely responsible for Porsche winning the Manufacturer s World Championship in 1970 and 1971, plus two Can-Am Championships in North America and six Interserie Championships in Europe. The 917 also brought Porsche their first two overall victories at Le Mans. To most sports car racing fans and Porsche enthusiasts, this lineage is familiar: 904/906/910/907/908, then the 917. However, the Porsche 917 was not just the crowning iteration of this line of endurance sports racing cars. Purposeful, beautiful to look at, perhaps THIS PAGE: Historic display of Gulf racing cars. (Hugues Vanhoolandt) OVERLEAF: Three Gulf 917s at Rennsport Reunion V, (Dennis Gray)

4 arrogant, and brutally fast; the 917 dominated its era. Thanks in large part to Steve McQueen s film, Le Mans, the 917 in Gulf colors introduced countless fans to motorsport. At least two generations of racing enthusiasts may view the 917 as the very definition of what a racing car should be. In the author s opinion, the 917 has a charisma that could rival one of Hollywood s most charismatic movie stars. The iconic stature of the Gulf 917 has grown to such an extent over the past five decades that the author felt it worthy of a dedicated volume among the many existing 917 history books. Given the historical importance of the individual 917 chassis, it may be surprising that some of the historical information is sketchy. In their day, no one could have known that the 917s would someday be worth millions of dollars as vintage racers and collector s items. There was a period of time during which even the great 917s were just obsolete race cars with little or no useful purpose. The story of some of the cars is still murky as a result of incomplete records and lost transaction histories. Even to the Porsche factory, the endurance racing 917s were yesterday s news after 1971 and some information is not easily accessible. This can be true of the ownership histories for certain chassis. A major step toward improving the record came with the publication of Walter Näher s Porsche 917 Archive and Works Catalogue in This book has become the bible for 917 spotters and historians. Herr Näher worked for Porsche in the 917 era and through much of his career; his access to Porsche s archives when writing the book makes it the most authoritative volume for chassis histories. Having said that, some 917 enthusiasts still feel the story is incomplete for some of the cars. Although the story of the 917 has been well told in several earlier volumes, the author s intent is to catalog the cars run by the legendary JW Automotive Engineering (JWAE) team and recount their stories individually. This will be a fresh and interesting take on the 917 story for the reader. The author was able to contact a majority of the current owners (or their representatives) and other knowledgeable sources; however, two post-gulf ownership histories are presented based on Internet research and previously published books rather than first-hand verification. In some cases, contemporary race reports and books written by participants or historians will differ on the exact details and sequence of events during the long-distance races from 1970 and In general, this volume defers to John Horsman s book, Racing in the Rain, and the official JWAE team records which he has retained for all these many years. In some cases, the author has noted situations where historical accounts differ. Also, since two or more cars appeared in nearly every race run by JWAE, the author has generally included technical or development notes in the first chapter in which a given race is discussed. The exchanging of chassis numbers and the reconfiguration of some of the cars made the tracking of 917 histories difficult for many years. The author has tried to include the best and most recent data available on all of the cars but cannot guarantee 100% accuracy. Even though this volume is finished, the author welcomes any additional information or corrections to the record for any of the Porsche 917s. The complete and perfect story may never be told and the history for some of the chassis may remain in question. For several decades, the convention was to list a renumbered 917 s current chassis number first, followed by its original number. For example, the Siffert/Redman 1970 Le Mans car would be referred to as 004/017. It currently wears Chassis plate 004, originally built with 017, or 004 from 017. The author has always felt this was confusing and perhaps misleading. For this volume, the author lists the chassis numbers in sequence from left to right. As a result, the Siffert/Redman Le Mans car is referred to as 017/004. Produced originally as Chassis number 017, it now carries Chassis number 004. The swap-mate car, which Redman crashed in during the 1970 Brands Hatch race, is referred to herein as 004/017. It was produced originally as Chassis 004, but now carries 017. Since vintage racing has become a significant category of motorsport, a 917 can occasionally be spotted being driven on the track by one of the lucky few who own them (or their appointed driver). The cars now hold their rightful place as stars of any vintage meeting where they appear. Although it takes a special breed of driver to get the most from a 917, and today s owners are understandably cautious, seeing a 917 in a vintage race is still a peak experience for fans of sports car racing and for the many Porsche enthusiasts around the world. The author hopes the reader will enjoy this fresh take on the history of the 917s that raced in the colors of Gulf Oil and under the management of JW Automotive Engineering. Jay Gillotti, 2018

5 Gulf Versus Porsche 55 Gulf GT40 victorious at Le Mans, (Porsche Archive) late in the race. This abnormally long pit stop was important to giving Ickx the best possible performance in the closing stage of the race. However, the Gulf team also brought Ickx in one lap too early for his last fuel stop. The last two hours became a close, wheel-to-wheel, eyeball-to-eyeball battle between Gulf and Porsche. Steinemann elected to switch from Larrousse to the veteran Hans Herrmann in the 908 to battle with Ickx over the last stint. Herrmann and Ickx exchanged the lead many times as the minutes counted down to the finish at 2 PM. The Porsche had the edge on top speed so was able to pass on the Mulsanne. The GT40 had the edge on braking and Ickx could out-brake the Porsche at Mulsanne corner. Herrmann was getting a front brake pad warning light at the end of the race so had to brake more lightly into the slow corners, especially at Mulsanne. Herrmann described his view of the cat-and-mouse exchange to Motor Sport in 2001: Every lap we overtook each other three or four times. We touched very often, and each of us had the color of the other car. But we had absolute trust in each other. One time Ickx went in the sand at Arnage, and I thought maybe he s going to take a long time to come out and I ll be alright, but he came out much quicker than I thought. I overtook him, but on the straight he overtook me again Herrmann continued: It was strange, because neither one of us wanted to go in front on the straight. We were looking at each other and it was like a pursuit race on bicycles you see a guy standing still, waiting for the other one to go. That was more or less what we were doing. As if this close contest weren t enough of a nail-biter, Ickx and Herrmann crossed the start/finish line only seconds before 2 PM. This meant racing for another full lap and the cars exchanged the lead multiple times on the last lap. The Gulf team could only wait and worry that Ickx might run dry due to the error on the last fuel stop. However, the racing gods smiled on JWAE and Ickx led Herrmann at the Ford Chicane the last time through. The GT40 won by less than two seconds, chassis P/1075 repeating its win in the 1968 Le Mans race.

6 After the Nürburgring race, Chassis 004 was used for testing at Hockenheim on June 9, 1969 driven by Herbert Linge. The test was used to improve steering and suspension set up ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of the main goals was to improve straight-line running so Porsche also continued to work on aerodynamic changes. Porsche s transporters and mechanics were already on their way to Le Mans while the Hockenheim test was conducted. Brands Hatch, 1970 Car Number 9 Chassis 004 was disassembled after the Hockenheim test as was Porsche s custom. It was rebuilt to 1970 K spec in November and arrived at Slough on December 8, 1969 as one of the first batch of cars assigned to the Gulf team. The pro-forma invoice from Porsche, dated December 5, lists the value at 140,000 DM. The invoice notes the car being sent for temporary demonstration and testing purpose, free of charge. It became a practice to rotate the Gulf 917s so that while two cars were away at one race, two more could be in preparation at Slough for the next. As a result, 14 different 917s were raced in Gulf colors during 1970 and Upon arrival in Slough, the JW Automotive Engineering team would rebuild each 917 to their own standard of race preparation. Those preparations would include installing an aircraft-style fire suppression system made by Graviner. Other modifications included routing the oil through dedicated lines rather than the chassis tubes, using alternate brake, clutch and electrical components and doing detail bodywork changes. The JWAE team even took pains to put Porsche crest decals on the noses of their cars. Other teams seemed to neglect this step most of the time. ABOVE: Piper and Gardner finished eighth at the 1969 Nürburgring 1000 KM race. The S on the side of the car signifies Sports class. (Porsche Archive) OPPOSITE: Jo Siffert in practice for the BOAC 1000 KM race at Brands Hatch. (Porsche Archive) Chassis 004 was in the rotation for the 1970 BOAC 1000 KM at Brands Hatch. This was the third race of the season, run on April 16, and 004 was assigned to Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. The car wore race number 9 and appeared in the iconic 1970 K tail form. Chassis 004 qualified in fifth place with a lap of 1:29.02, about half a second slower than the pole- Gulf 917

7 Chassis 004/017 77

8 THESE TWO PAGES: Studio photographs of the restored Chassis 004/017. (Canepa Motorsports) Chassis 004/017 85

9 The race-leading Gulf-Mirage driven by Ickx retired after 99 of 170 laps with a broken steering column bracket. The Matra 650 had been a threat with the ever-competitive Pedro Rodriguez at the wheel. However, his co-driver, Johnny Servoz-Gavin crashed after leading for only five laps. This left the Scuderia Filipinetti Lola T70 in the lead, chased by Siffert who stayed in the car until lap 119. The second changeover to Ahrens took almost three minutes in the pits as the car needed a tire change, nine liters of oil, plus fuel and another delay in restarting the engine. Ahrens passed for the lead on lap 130 while the Lola was in the pits. However, there was not enough fuel in the car to complete the race distance. Ahrens drove hard to extend the lead before the final fuel stop and built up a margin for the last refueling. Kurt stopped on lap 157 with a lead of better than a minute and a half. This pit stop only took one minute as the ignition was left on, fuel pumps running. Siffert was still in the lead when he left the pit and brought his 917 home to victory ahead of the Lola-Chevrolet driven by Jo Bonnier and Herbert Müller. Redman and Attwood finished third in the other 917. Average speed for the winning car was mph. In The Certain Sound, John Wyer quoted Ferdinand Piëch saying after the race: Perhaps it is a good thing that it is the last time we race against each other. Just a week after the Zeltweg race, Jo Siffert gave the 917, Chassis 028, its Can-Am debut at Mid-Ohio, qualifying seventh and finishing fourth against the established Can-Am entrants. This showed a new direction for Porsche and the 917 that would come into full flower in 1972 and Many 917 spotters believe that Chassis 009 appeared in white as a 1970-style 917K at Hockenheim in December of The occasion was Porsche s press day where they displayed their current lineup of street cars and racing cars. However, there are other chassis that are plausible candidates for this appearance. ABOVE: Porsche factory poster, Austrian Grand Prix (Porsche Archive) BELOW: Jo Siffert takes the checkered flag for the first win by a 917. (Porsche Archive) Gulf 917

10 Chassis track. To start tearing them apart at such a time would be to invite mistakes. I decided, for better or for worse (as it turned out, much worse), to leave the hubs alone and hope for the best. A total of four 512s lined up against four 917s for the Saturday morning start. This was the first Sebring race to use a rolling start in place of the traditional run-and-jump, Le Mans start. Ickx and Andretti in their Ferraris traded the lead with Siffert early on and Siffert set a new lap record in the first half hour of the race at 2:33.11 or mph. Chassis 009 following Steve McQueen in the 908/02 that would go on to finish second at Sebring, (Porsche Archive) Chassis 009 was delayed by a loose contact on the fire system relay which affected engine ignition during Redman s first stint. Just before the three-hour mark, 009 came into the pits with its left front suspension broken. The retaining studs had failed and left only the brake caliper holding the wheel on. Ermanno Cuoghi told author Jeremy Walton that one of the four bolts was taking all of the load, hence the breakage. The ace JWAE mechanics took parts from their spare car and rebuilt the suspension during a 30 minute stop. When the sister Gulf 917 suffered the same failure on the heavily-loaded left front, the mechanics managed the rebuild in only 15 minutes, 30 seconds. 009 next suffered a failure of the engine s fan

11 Siffert leapt the pit counter, tripped, and went head first into the car. But that was the only time our system caused any trouble. Siffert and Redman soldiered on to finish in 12 th place at the end, still 16 laps down to the sister car. Interestingly, average lap times for Jo and Brian were identical at 1:27.5 for this race. Rodriguez and Kinnunen took the victory in the other Gulf 917 ahead of three Ferrari 512s, running a nearly flawless race. BELOW: JWAE Race Data Sheets for Chassis 009, See full sheets on pages (John Horsman Collection) OPPOSITE: JWAE Track Map with RPM/gear change notations. (John Horsman Collection) Gulf 917

12 Chassis ABOVE: Pedro Rodriguez in Chassis 013, Sebring, (Porsche Archive) BELOW: JWAE Race Data Sheets for Chassis 013, Sebring, See full sheets on pages (John Horsman all caution to the wind, catching and passing the Revson/McQueen 908. However, Mario needed a splash of fuel before the end. Revson passed as Andretti exited the pits, but Mario was able to catch and pass Peter on the out lap. Revson then backed off to secure second place as Andretti went on to win the race by a mere 23 seconds after 12 hours. Masten Gregory and Toine Hezemans were third for Alfa with 013 finishing fourth for Gulf in a very exciting race for the fans.

13 Chassis 014/ Siffert leads Rodriguez down the pit straight at Spa, (Porsche Archive) three stars continued to exchange positions as the track started to show a dry line and then became almost completely dry. Denis Jenkinson wrote in Motor Sport that Siffert, Rodriguez and Ickx left the field behind as these three Grand Prix drivers demonstrated what motor racing is all about. Rodriguez led after the first round of fuel stops until his 917 chunked a tire. Siffert was delayed by slower refueling stops but the Rodriguez/Kinnunen car eventually retired due to transmission failure. Redman took over Chassis 014 in second place and began to catch the leading Ferrari now driven by John Surtees. Redman passed Surtees for the lead on lap 35, in part by being very judicious and thinking ahead about where to pass the slower cars so as to minimize any loss of momentum. Redman s comment in 2009 was: One of the real keys to a fast track like Spa, where you re in first gear at one corner, La Source, before the pits. You re in third gear at the top of the hill, for Les Combes, but the rest of the track is all top gear. So, it s tremendously quick and when you see slower cars in the distance that you re catching, it s really important that you judge where to over-take them, correctly. It s better to ease off, a little bit early, a long way back if you think they re going to be in a corner when you get there. Cause the worst thing you can do is rush up to them and jam the brakes on. Chassis 014 won the race covering 71 laps in 4 hours, 9 minutes, 47.8 seconds for an average speed of mph, including the pit stops. 014 finished the race on the same tires it started with, saving time in the pits. It was the fastest road race up to that time, only to be surpassed by the following year s race at Spa. Ickx and Surtees finished in second place for Ferrari with

14 Chassis Interserie The Interserie was essentially the European version of the Can-Am series in North America. It was also inspired by the 1969 Nordic Challenge series that ran in Finland and Sweden. The cars ran to FIA Group 7 rules, so were generally open cockpit, two-seat spyders. Engine capacity was unlimited and the cars were required to have fenders. Porsche 917s won many races and the first six Interserie Championships. The Gesipa 917K (coupe) won the first title in 1970, followed by 917 spyders (normally aspirated, then 917/10 and 917/30 turbocharged cars). In the 917 era, races were run mainly in Germany plus Italy, Finland, England, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria. The Interserie was a sprint race series and most events consisted of two heats with the final result being an aggregate. In addition to Porsches, the Interserie welcomed purpose-built sports racing cars from Ferrari, Lola, McLaren, March, Chevron and others. In later years, the Interserie was mainly run at circuits in Germany and Austria. Porsche factory poster, Interserie Championship, (Porsche Archive)

15 (Canepa Motorsports) Chassis

16 Chassis 017/ race appearance for 017/004 ended up being at the daunting Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, May 17, The car was assigned to the Rodriguez/Kinnunen driving team for the event but they were not able to finish the race. In practice, Jacky Ickx was initially fastest on his home track in the Ferrari 512. The Gulf team were happy with the speed of their Porsches, now running with the 4.9-liter engine and an extra section of wing filling the valley in the 917 s tail section. The main story of practice and qualifying was the problem with the tires spinning off their rims (see Chapter Seven, page 116). The ever courageous Rodriguez put his 917 on the pole despite the tire concerns and prior to the Saturday evening fix for the rims. John Horsman instructed Rodriguez to bed in a set of brake pads for the race, running at race speeds but easing up on the fastest sections to avoid losing a tire. Rodriguez hardly eased up, setting the pole time during this exercise at 3:19.8. The track was wet prior to the start of the race, so most cars planned to start on wet weather tires. The Gulf 917s started on intermediate tires and kept them on for the entire distance. Rodriguez and Siffert sprinted downhill from the start into Eau Rouge. Rodriguez was on the inside at the first left hand bend. Siffert was on the outside and the two cars touched briefly. They continued side-by-side uphill into the right hand section and over the crest, neither driver giving an inch. Pedro led at the end of lap one but Siffert was right on his tail. Ickx was right with the 917s and these three exchanged the lead during the first hour. Chassis 017/004 in practice with standard tail, La Source hairpin, Spa, (Klemantaski Collection) Siffert was delayed slightly in the first fuel stop, allowing Rodriguez to enjoy a bigger lead, 20 seconds ahead of Ickx Ferrari. On lap 22, Pedro had a tire chunk and dropped to third place. Just after the driver change, on lap 44, Kinnunen was up to second place when the gearbox input shaft broke at Stavelot, perhaps as a result of additional stress with the cars

17 Chassis 026/

18 Chassis 029/

19 Watkins Glen, 1971 Car Number 1 The final event for Chassis 029/014 was at the Watkins Glen weekend in July, For the 6 Hour on Saturday, Jo Siffert was paired with Gijs van Lennep, substituting for Derek Bell who was now driving with Richard Attwood. The Gulf team driver pairings had to be shuffled as a result of the tragic death of Pedro Rodriguez and the departure of Jackie Oliver who elected to seek greener pastures in Can-Am. The Gulf 917s ran with front fender flares, as at the previous race in Austria, for larger front tires. Given the very hot weather in practice, the JWAE team also created a revised, square duct in the nose on the driver s side for additional driver ventilation and added a side window air scoop for driver cooling. Additional ducts were cut in the tail for tire cooling at the recommendation of the Firestone engineers. This would also help with the cars having to wear rear wheel protection mud flaps in the Sunday Can-Am race. In qualifying for the 6 Hour, Siffert was second fastest behind Mark Donohue in the Penske 512M. The Gulf team were, to some extent, going through the motions with the races taking place only three weeks after the loss of Rodriguez. In the race, Penske would be tough competition with their Ferrari and Ickx would be formidable as usual with the 312PB. Siffert ran third until lap 15 when he had a puncture on the left rear tire. Chassis 029/014 would suffer no less than three flat tires during the race. The newest Firestone tires were running thinner walls and the track surface was breaking up in places. The Ferrari challenge crumbled somewhat unexpectedly. The Penske car was out by lap 55 with a broken steering arm. Ickx and Andretti retired the 312PB on lap 56 when the engine refused to restart in the pits. Yorke, Wyer and Horsman keeping a watchful eye, Watkins Glen, (Leonard Turner) Gulf 917

20 learning in practice that first year. It was an easy gearbox to work on, like a Formula One Hewland, but not quite as simple to work on because it has the synchronizers. Still you could change ratios in half an hour or so. It was such a big-capacity engine though, that sometimes you forget to change the ratios for the absolute best choice! We had five gears, but many circuits, like Daytona, we would run just four gears. Gearbox repair, Daytona, (Porsche Archive) BELOW: Porsche factory poster, Daytona, (Porsche Archive) In all, the rebuilding operation took some 92 minutes. At a critical moment when the transmission casing became stuck during the reinstall, Cuoghi sat himself down behind the car, with hands braced behind his back, and used his feet to slam the gearbox back in place! In Racing in the Rain, John Horsman wrote: Only Ermanno would have the nerve to do that, at least without checking with Yorke or myself first! Cuoghi, who had confidently changed into a clean shirt just before the transmission failure, said to Jeremy Walton: I don t ever change into something clean before the end of the race again! As described in The Certain Sound, before Pedro left the pits, John Wyer implored: For God s sake be careful. The gearbox is full of sand. When Rodriguez returned to the race he found himself in second place, now three laps behind the Ferrari 512S driven by Ronnie Bucknam and Tony Adamowicz for NART. With only two hours left to race, Pedro took up the challenge and began lapping at qualifying speeds in an attempt to catch up. He would take ten seconds a lap from the NART car, Gulf 917

21 Bell reckoned he would have won if not for the misfiring engine caused by the fuel. It is interesting to note that Derek Bell won the 1970 Formula Two race at the same track, from the pole position and setting fastest lap. Bonnier and Peterson won the 1000 KM race in their Lola T210. It should also be noted this was the only race that Chassis 034/013 entered without winning. Finishing second was no great disgrace given the type of circuit and other circumstances of the race. The JWAE race data sheet includes the following comment: The car was at a disadvantage on this short, very tight, circuit compared to the 2-liter Lolas and Chevrons. It was also misfiring throughout the race owing to the high lead content (0.9 gr/liter) of the 100/130 Avgas fuel supplied by the organizers. The car led on laps and 107/214 inclusive but was then delayed by a pit stop to change front brake pads when it was also necessary to change the left front caliper and the lead and the race were lost at this point. ABOVE: Chassis 034/013 leads the Lola in Barcelona, (Robin Townsend) OPPOSITE: Chassis 034/013 at Montlhéry for the Paris 1000 KM race, October, Note scratches on the side of the car from Barcelona guardrails have not yet been repaired. (Daniel Boulanger) Paris, 1971 Car Number 4 October 17, 1971 was perhaps a sad day; the last race in period for a Gulf 917. It was also the final race for Chassis 034/013, a 1000 KM event at Montlhéry near Paris. This time Bell and van Lennep were able to win with some ease. JWAE used the same engine as run at Barcelona a few days earlier with only a change of spark plugs. The transmission was changed to a five speed gearbox, the fuel system flushed, and the car given a general checking over. The bodywork was polished after some light creasing against the Montjuich circuit guardrails and was now ready for Friday practice. The entry for the race was fairly strong with two 917 spyders from the Interserie (AAW and Gesipa teams), three Ferrari 512Ms, one Alfa 33 and one Matra 660 flying the home colors for France. There were also two Lola T70s, three Lola T210s, eight Chevrons and a strong Gulf 917

22 Chassis 035/ ABOVE: Gulf 917s at Spa, (Porsche Archive) BELOW: Porsche factory poster, Spa, (Porsche Archive) At the checkered flag, the cars were nose-to-tail, Chassis 035/015 collecting the historic win. The race average speed was the fastest ever for a sports car race, setting a record that is unlikely ever to be broken given the configuration of modern circuits, including the revised Spa-Francorchamps layout. It boggles the mind to think of averaging mph for 1000 kilometers including the pits stops! John Horsman noted that the pits stops were extremely quick and with only one driver change, the amount of time spent in the pits was minimal. The final fuel stop was timed to only eight seconds as that was the amount of fuel needed to finish. As there were no tire changes during the race, the cars were stationary for well under a total of two minutes. Horsman also wrote that the cars were using top gear (4 th ) for 87% of the lap at Spa, including the entire run from the exit of Les Combes all the way to La Source. Top speed on the Masta straight was estimated at 218 mph! Writing in Motor Sport, Denis Jenkinson said of the event: JW Automotive had given a truly outstanding demonstration of long-distance racing with perfectly prepared cars that did not suffer from a single fault, team control and race running that was an example to all, and pit work by the mechanics that was perfection at every stop. High praise from Jenks!

23 Chassis 035/

24 LEFT: Approaching the Ford Chicane for the rolling start alongside Chassis 042. (Porsche Archive) BELOW: Chassis 043 swings into Mulsanne corner. (Porsche Archive) Gulf 917

25 Le Mans, 1971 Car Number 17 Chassis 045 is the last of the long-tail Le Mans cars completed by Porsche although the chassis was built in April It was assigned to the JWAE-Gulf team for the Hours of Le Mans race. Porsche records indicate the car was not delivered until June 5, 1971, although this seems rather late. Various photos and John Horsman s recollection indicate that the car was painted by Porsche before being sent to Slough. The delivery date would have left only two days for the team to prepare the car before leaving for Le Mans. Jo Siffert and Derek Bell would be the driving team and the car was given the orange greenhouse Gulf color scheme. PREVIOUS TWO PAGES: Chassis 045 passing a 914/6 at the Ford Chicane, Le Mans, 1971 (Porsche Archive) BELOW: Close-up of electrical cut-off switch (see arrow) and external fire suppression switch (E) on Chassis 045. (Porsche Archive) Gulf 917

26 Gulf Le Mans Movie Cars 401 Chassis 022 at Rennsport Reunion V, (Jay Gillotti) Chassis 024 (2) As with several of the 917s, the story of this car has its share of twists and turns, discrepancies and disagreements with regard to history. One of the biggest twists is right at the beginning of the story. According to Walter Näher s 917 Archiv, there were actually two chassis with number 024. The first 024 would have been one of the original twenty-five cars produced for homologation purposes in Many of the original cars were disassembled after homologation with parts being re-purposed. The original Chassis 024 apparently was used in this way. According to Herr Näher, the original 024 was renumbered to 002, then 005, then 006 before being scrapped in February of It was the only frame to be renumbered more than once in period. The car generally thought of as Chassis 024, which Walter Näher refers to as 024-2, was built in 1970 as a replacement for the first 024. According to Näher, it is possible that started as the sample or pattern chassis (pre-001 Musterrahmen) built by Porsche for test fitting of components. That chassis did not have a number when constructed. The first assignment for the new 024 was an important one; the Le Mans Test Weekend, April 11 and 12, The car did 560 kilometers of running mainly with the short K tail. Brian Redman and Mike Hailwood were the drivers with John Horsman attending as the JW Automotive Engineering observer. John Wyer himself and Grady Davis from Gulf Oil also joined the shuttle operation between Le Mans and Brands Hatch as the BOAC 1000 KM race was being run that same weekend. Porsche also had Chassis 041 on hand with brand new long-tail bodywork. 024 was set up to accept both the short or long-tail, and Redman tried it with the long-tail even though 041 was available. However, conditions were very wet so the lap times were slow. Redman set the best time in 024 at 3:33.5. Wyer felt that superior

27 ABOVE: Chassis 001 in Gulf announcement colors. (Porsche Archive) OPPOSITE: Chassis 001 in a display with historic Porsche racing cars at Chateau Courtanvaux, near Le Mans, (Porsche Archive) Gulf 917

28 APPENDICES 436 Gulf 917 Race Dates, Entries and Results 438 Gulf 917 Engine and Transmission Numbers 440 Gulf-Porsche 908/03 Entries and Results 442 JW Automotive Engineering Personnel (Roles and Responsibilities) 444 Endurance Racing Gulf 917K Specifications 446 Spotter s Guide to the Gulf 917s 448 Summary of Gulf 917 Chassis History 451 Race Data Sheets Gulf 917s at Spa-Francorchamps, (REVS) Gulf 917

29 RACE DATA SHEETS