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| February Vic Elford |
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month’s feature porschesport are proud to bring you racing legend Vic
Elford, Nicknamed "Quick Vic"
by his peers, Derek Bell once said "Without Porsches commitment to racing many drivers would not have had such glorious careers", well the same can be said for Porsche without Vic Elford Porsche would not have had as many title wins, they both go hand in hand. Victor Henry Elford was born in London, England on June 10th 1935. Vic lived in France for many years, then in Belgium where he met his wife Anita. Todays motorsport drivers start at a very young age, Vic's love of motorsport started at the age of thirteen when his father took him to see the first post-war British Grand Prix at Silverstone. He decided there and then that he was going to be a racing driver. In 1961, thirteen years later at the age of Twenty six Vic Elford started racing in a Mini and rallying in a DKW in 1962.  By 1967 he was driving for the Porsche Factory Team! In 1968 Vic Elford and David Stowe won the Monte Carlo Rallye for Porsche in a 911,Victories in the Geneva, Stuttgart-Lyon-Charbonnières and Tulip rallies coupled with podium finishes on Monte Carlo and the Tour de Corse, all in a 911, assured him of the European GT Rally Championship. In his first season of circuit racing, the racing world witnessed Viv Elford winning the British championship in a 911 and his international debuts in Porsche 911R, 906 and 910 at Le Mans, Mugello, Reims and Nurburgring. The season finished on a high note with "Le Marathon de la Route" at the Nurburgring. Driving a 911R Sportomatic, Vic with his partners Hans Herrmann and Jochen Neerpasch drove four consecutive 7 1/2 hour rain and fog filled nights around the combined Sud/NordSchleife track while they did the rest, to win this mind-boggling 84 hour event.  1968 saw victory in the Monte Carlo Rally in a 911, followed a week later by victory in the 24 hours of Daytona in a 907, Porsche's first ever outright win in a 24 hours race.  Vic Elford went from strenght to strength competing in every major rally and road race throughout the sixties and seventies also making this formula 1 debut in a Cooper at the French Grand Prix in 1968. Vic's victories included the Targa Floria, the 1000km of Nurburgring in a 908 coupe. In 1970 Vic Elford turned his attention to America, driving for Jim Hall's Chaparral team in TransAm (with a spectacular win in the rain at Watkins Glen) and CanAm (with sensational performances in the 2J "sucker" car).  By 1971 Vic had become one of the very few drivers to have won both the American Crown Jewels of endurance racing, the 24 hours of Daytona and the 12 hours of Sibring. Vic Elford was one of the fastest drivers of the Sixties and Seventies and a Porsche hero. Vic Elford lap records included: Targa Florio, Nurburgring, Daytona, Sebring, Norisring, Monza, Buenos Aires, Road Atlanta, Laguna Seca, RiversideAt Le Mans he was the first driver to lap at over 150mph in the Porsche long-tail 917 in 1970. And while driving for Jim Hall, Elford was the first ever to pace the old Laguna Seca course in under 1 minute, in the Chaparral 2J "sucker car".  Vic Elford's
long tail car, the first car to break the 150 MPH lap at Le Mans.
porschesport.com had the privilege of
asking Mr Elford a few questions of our own.1, Out of all
the Porsche race cars you drove do you have a favorite and if so which
one.
The
917.
Then you ask, "Which one?" The answer, "All of them. Even the very
first one in 1969 which I dubbed 'the undriveable monster'. The
first long tail in 1970 because it was so beautifully fast. The 917/30
in Interserie, for its sheer power and performance."
2, You where
successful and both rallying and circuit racing out of the two witch
one was your favorite.
I
liked
both equally. They were totally different, of course. Rallies had
more social life and were much more "man against the clock and the
elements". Circuit racing on the other hand was much more "man to man"
and if you didn't win there was always next week, whereas in rallying
it was "wait till next year"!
3, Today's
racing cars are understandably strong and under go strict safety rules,
Back in the days of the 917's and previous was safety a major
issue among drivers or was it just part and parcel of the job in hand.
It was part of the job and we never thought
about it much, but death was one of the risks that was always
there and we accepted.
4,
Unfortunately I am too young to remember the Targa Florio and it was a
sad day for racing when this event came to a close, in your eyes do you
think it should have keep going and if so would it be has popular today.
I am sure it would still be just as
popular, but there is no way it could be run today. There was
absolutely NO PROTECTION for either drivers or spectators and I am
always amazed that there were not more serious accidents to both.
I go back
almost every year for a Giro di Sicilia/Targa Flroio reunion which is a
great adventure.
Until a few years ago Vic was still active in Historic racing in the United States driving a TransAm Pontiac and CanAm McLaren among others. Vic is now offering an extensive collection of Memorabilia on his on line shop.  You can learn more about Vic Elford by visting his offical web site, click on the image on the right. Contact Vic today and pre-order is new book due out April / March |
INFORMATION: Home News Porsche Art Links Contact us Forum Merchandise Monthly Feature  Perhaps the greatest all-round driver ever, Vic Elford - the rally driver - who successfully turned his hand to road racing.   Vic Elford was one of the select few Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512 drivers hired by Steve McQueen to do the high speed close-up action driving for Steve's film "Le Mans". In 1972, while driving for Alfa Romeo, Vic branched out into another extra-curricular activity - that of principal narrator for producer Michael Keyser's film The Speed Merchants.  During the 24 hours of Le Mans, when a Ferrari crashed in front of him, Vic stopped in mid-race to extricate the driver from his burning car. T.V. cameras caught the action and Vic was named Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite by French President Georges Pompidou for his act of courage and heroism. Shortly after, Vic retired from racing… Career Record 1967 European GT Rally Champion & British 2-litre Circuit Racing Champion Winner Targa Florio 1968 Winner Sebring 12 Hours 1971 3 Time Winner Nurburgring 1000kms 2 Time Winner Nurburgring 500kms Winner Marathon de la Route F1 1968-1971  Today, Vic and Anita live in South Florida. Vic created and ran the Porsche Owners Driving School for Porsche Cars North America also found time to write two books, "Porsche high performance driving" and "Vic Elford La victoire ou.. rien". Vic's third book "Reflections on a Golden Era of Motorsport" is due out round about April 2006. Bavid Bull will be Publishing the book in the US, and still be confirmed, by Haynes in Europe. For the last few years Vic Elford has concentrated on teaching and coaching and will accomodate your needs Vic is also available for special
appearances, speeches, autograph sessions, merchandising, driving
demonstrations, "hot laps" or other special or corporate events.
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