1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1968

The Porsche 908 with the starting number 1. Gerhard Mitter and Ludovico Scarfiotti's car was out of the race

Winning lap by Jo Siffert in the Porsche 908 Coupé

The French skin racer Jean-Claude Killy (in the car without a helmet) in the Porsche 911 during a test drive before the race weekend

Chris Irwin had a serious accident in training with a Ford F3L P68

Alpine A220 ; the chassis 1730 was completely destroyed in the accident of Henri Grandsire during training

The 14th 1000 km race on the Nürburgring , also the ADAC 1000 km race on the Nürburgring , took place on May 19, 1968 on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring and was the sixth round of the sports car world championship of that year.

Before the race

In 1966 , the overall victory of Joakim Bonnier and Phil Hill in the Chaparral 2D broke the dominance of Maserati and Ferrari in the 1000 km race , which had persisted since the early 1960s . After the success of the Camoradi - Maserati Tipo 61 in 1960 and 1961 , Scuderia Ferrari racing cars won the overall standings from 1962 to 1965 . In 1967 there was Porsche's first overall success , a triple victory, driven by the teams Udo Schütz / Joe Buzzetta , Paul Hawkins / Gerhard Koch and Jochen Neerpasch / Vic Elford , all of whom drove the Porsche 910 .

In 1968 Porsche came to the Nordschleife with five works cars, two 908 , two 907 and one 911 . Since the upper limit of displacement for prototypes was 3 liters according to the 1968 technical regulations, the Porsche engineers designed a new engine for the 908. The 178 kg V8 unit developed 350 hp in racing and had four overhead camshafts that were driven by chains. The cylinder and cylinder head were made of aluminum , the crankcase and various cover parts were made of magnesium . The original chassis of the 907 was further developed and the body was adopted almost unchanged in 1968. Before the race at the Nürburgring, the 13-inch wheels were replaced by 15-inch wheels in order to be able to install larger disc brakes . The cars were driven by Joseph Siffert / Vic Elford and Gerhard Mitter / Ludovico Scarfiotti . With the two 907 with 2.2-liter six-cylinder - Boxer engine were Hans Herrmann / Rolf Stommelen and Jochen Neerpasch / Joe Buzzetta into the race. The cockpit of the Porsche 911 was shared by French ski racer Jean-Claude Killy and professional racing driver Jean Guichet .

John Wyer relied on the proven Ford GT40 . Two 5-liter sports cars were prepared for the teams Jacky Ickx / Paul Hawkins (who competed for Porsche the year before) and David Hobbs / Brian Redman . Two other Fords were the F3L P68 from Alan Mann Racing . The very flat prototype made its racing debut at the 6-hour race at Brands Hatch and impressed with its fast lap times. For the race at the ring, Alan Mann registered two P68s for drivers Frank Gardner , Richard Attwood , Chris Irwin and Pedro Rodríguez .

At the Targa Florio , the Alfa Romeo T33 / 2 of the Alfa Romeo Autodelta racing team were equal opponents of Porsche. Four cars, two of which had a 2.5-liter eight-cylinder engine, were brought to Germany in racing vans and reported by Alfa Romeo Germany .

The two Britons Raymond Nash and Roger Stallwood had a strange journey with their self-made racing car, the Tavenor . After the departure from England , Belgian customs stopped the transport at the Franco-Belgian border. Because the racing car was loaded on a trailer, the border officials wanted to collect import duties for it. Since Nash and Stockwell were unwilling to pay it and the Travenor was street legal, the car was unloaded and Stockwell drove it on public roads to the Nürburgring.

For the first time, the ADAC used a so-called Marschallwagen in the 1000 km race in 1968, driven by Herbert Linge . The Porsche 911 R provided by Porsche drove almost at racing pace to monitor the work of the marshals, if necessary to report unfair behavior by drivers to the race management and to check the condition of the track. In order to be able to provide help if necessary, there was a crowbar, a spade with saw teeth, long asbestos gloves, a large fire extinguisher and bandages in the car.

The race

Serious accidents in training

The training sessions for the race on Sunday were overshadowed by some serious accidents. Derek Bell , who was to make his debut at the Nürburgring, was registered with Geoff Breakell on a Chevron B8 . Breakell was on the first training lap with the Chevron when the car rolled out without power at the Breidscheid section . The Nordschleife can be reached by a driveway over a bridge over the Breidscheider Bach . A spectator offered Breakell to drag the Chevron to the pits in his Mercedes-Benz . An abrupt braking action by the Mercedes driver surprised Breakell, who then crashed into the rear of the Mercedes with the Chevron without braking. The B8 was so badly damaged that Bell and Breakell could not take part in the race.

Henri Grandsire had a serious accident in a new Alpine A220 . At the Döttinger Höhe, the Alpine was hit by a gust of wind at a speed of almost 250 km / h on a bump in the ground. The car took off, turned in the air on its own axis and landed with the front car back on the road. After another rollover, the car stayed on the roof. Except for the driver's cab, the Alpine was completely destroyed. Grandsire was able to get out of the wreck with slight hand and foot injuries.

Chris Irwin got off badly in the Ford F3L P68 with the number 8. On the jump hill near the airfield section, the Ford also took off at high speed and landed with the rear first diagonally on the track. Irwin completely lost control of the car, which subsequently overturned several times. He suffered severe head injuries in the accident that ended his career.

The course of the race

The last time the race began in 1968 was the Le Mans start . In the following years, this start variant was not used for safety reasons. The fastest training time was achieved by Rolf Stommelen in the Porsche 907 2.2 with start number 3, which lapped the track in a time of 8: 32.800 minutes, which corresponds to an average speed of 160.308 km / h. The starting turn was taken over by Hans Herrmann, who only slowly drove away from the best starting position. Jacky Ickx, who had problems with the starter , started even worse . Gerhard Mitter in the Porsche 908 with starting number 1 led the field into the first lap. After just one lap, Frank Gardner in the second Ford F3L P68 had to head for the Alan Mann Racing pit to have the brake pads changed. According to him, the Ford suffered from significant braking problems that forced it to give up a few laps later at Breidscheid. The race ended on the second lap for Robin Widdows , whose brand-new Lola T70 Mk.3 GT broke down without oil pressure. David Hobbs struggled through the field; he had spun on the first lap and dropped back to last position.

The Porsche were largely spared technical problems, only the Mitter / Scarfiotti 908 caused difficulties. The car became more and more restless when braking. In the fourth lap, Mitter already needed the entire width of the street to keep the 908 on the track when braking. After the fifth lap, Mitter came into the pits while in the lead. The Porsche team management feared a broken chassis and took the car out of the race. When Mitter gave up, Jo Siffert took over the first position in the second 908. It was the only change in leadership in the entire course of the race. After a third of the race distance, Siffert / Elford (Porsche 908) were in the lead ahead of their teammates Herrmann / Stommelen (Porsche 907 2.2), the Ford GT40 from Ickx / Hawkins and Porsche 907 2.2 from Neerpasch / Buzzetta. In fifth place was the best-placed Alfa Romeo, driven by Nanni Galli and Ignazio Giunti . These five teams crossed the finish line in exactly this order, which made some spectators bored in the last third of the race. A race report from that time described the mood: “The even, rather monotonous distribution of places in the top group ultimately prevented that aura that lay over many 1000 km races emerged - uncertainty about victory, battles for positions. There was no real tension, nor did the spoiled and relaxed grandstand audience jump from their seats. This was only achieved by the Swedes' dinosaur Evert Christofferson / Hans Wängstre, who was far behind, when he started to burn while standing in the pit. Within seconds, however, this excitement was smothered in the foam. "

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	P 3.0	2	Porsche	Jo Siffert Vic Elford	Porsche 908	44
2	P 3.0	3	Porsche	Hans Herrmann Rolf Stommelen	Porsche 907 2.2	44
3	S 5.0	65	JW Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Jacky Ickx Paul Hawkins	Ford GT40	44
4th	S 3.0	4th	Porsche	Jochen Neerpasch Joe Buzzetta	Porsche 907 2.2	44
5	P 2.0	16	Alfa Romeo Germany	Nanni Galli Ignazio Giunti	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	43
6th	S 5.0	66	JW Automotive Engineering Ltd.	David Hobbs Brian Redman	Ford GT40	43
7th	P 3.0	5	Alfa Romeo Germany	Udo Schütz Lucien Bianchi	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2 2.5	42
8th	P 2.0	25th	Jürgen Neuhaus	Jürgen Neuhaus Helmut Kelleners	Porsche 910	42
9	P 3.0	10	Societé des Automobiles Alpine-Renault	Gérard Larrousse Patrick Depailler	Alpine A211	41
10	P 2.0	15th	Alfa Romeo Germany	Herbert Schultze Nino Vaccarella	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	41
11	S 2.0	87	Caltex Racing Team	Erich Bitter Reinhold Joest	Porsche 906	40
12	S 2.0	80	IGFA Cologne	Willi Kauhsen Karl von Wendt	Porsche 906	40
13	P 2.0	18th	Racing Team VDS	Gustave Gosselin Serge Trosch	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	40
14th	S 2.0	102	Tech-Speed ​​Racing	Allan Rollinson Moris Nunn	Chevron B8	39
15th	S 2.0	93	Vic Elford	William Bradley Chris Lambert	Porsche 906	39
16	S 2.0	84	Mefco Racing	Chris Ashmore John Morris	Porsche 906	39
17th	S 5.0	75	Strathaven Ltd.	Mike Salmon David Piper	Ford GT40	39
18th	GT 2.0	110	Association of South German Automobile Sportsmen	Malte Huth Sepp Greger	Porsche 911TH	39
19th	S 2.0	90	Jeremy Delmar-Morgan	Jeremy Delmar-Morgan Mike Walton	Porsche 906	39
20th	P 2.0	22nd	Gerhard Koch	Gerhard Koch Rudi Lins	Porsche 910	38
21st	S 5.0	74	Nicholas Granville-Smith	Nicholas Granville-Smith John Raeburn	Ford GT40	38
22nd	S 5.0	71	Peter Sadler	Peter Sadler Willie Green	Ford GT40	38
23	GT 2.0	107	Caltex Racing Team	Ernst Kraus Dieter Basche	Porsche 911S	38
24	P 2.0	27	Sport-Uniao Sintrense	Manuel Nogueira Pinto Joao Andrade Villar	Porsche 911R	38
25th	P 2.0	32	Hart Ski Racing Team	Rico Steinemann Dieter Spoerry	Porsche 910	38
26th	GT 2.0	112	Porsche	Jean-Claude Killy Jean Guichet	Porsche 911T	38
27	GT 2.0	117	Sten Axelsson Road Racing	Björn Rothstein Peter Gregg	Porsche 911T	38
28	GT 2.0	115	Hans-Dieter Blatzheim	Hans-Dieter Blatzheim Alan Hamilton	Porsche 911S	38
29	P 2.0	19th	Racing Team VDS	Teddy Pilette Rob Slotemaker	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	37
30th	P 1.6	44	Donald Healey Motor Co.	Clive Baker John Handley	Austin-Healey Sprite	37
31	P 1.6	38	Nikolaus Killenberg	Nikolaus Killenberg Georg Bialas	Chevron B8	37
32	S 2.0	91	Julian Hasler	Peter Jackson Rhoddy Harvey-Bailey	Lotus 47	37
33	P 1.6	50	Richard Groves	John Moore Martin Davidson	Ginetta G12	37
34	P 1.6	58	Auto-Neuser	Ernst Furtmayr Helmut Krause	Abarth 1300 OT	37
35	S 5.0	67	Terry Dury	Terry Dury Terry Sanger	Ford GT40	36
36	P 1.6	55	Bardahl Switzerland	Urs-Peter Dietrich James Bernard Fortmann	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ	36
37	GT 2.0	109	IGFA	Dieter Glemser Peter Nöcker	Porsche 911T	35
38	S 2.0	76	Diva Racing	Doug Mockford Jim Hardmann	Diva GT	35
39	GT 2.0	108	JCB Excavators Ltd.	Peter Brown Tony case	MGB	35
40	S 2.0	104	Sportvagnsimport Team Lotus	Björn Svensson Boo Johansson Harald Kronegard	Lotus Elan Racing	34
41	P 1.6	53	Varicam Int. Racing	Ian Alexander Mike Coles	Costin-Nathan GT	34
42	P 1.6	49	Richard Miles	Mike Pignéguy Willie Tuckett	Austin-Healey Sprite	34
43	GT 1.6	122	Arno Gyltman	Arno Gyltman Stig Johansson	Lotus Elan	34
44	GT 1.6	125	Scuderia Sant Ambroeus	Girolamo Capra Giorgio Danieli	Alfa Romeo Duetto	33
45	GT 1.6	123	Bernd Degner	Dieter Weizinger Bernd Degner	Alfa Romeo Duetto	33
46	S 2.0	98	Trevor Twaites	Trevor Twaites George Duncan	Chevron B8	32
47	S 2.0	79	IGFA Cologne	Heinrich Lenz Hans-Peter Koepchen	Abarth 1300 OT	32
Failed
48	S 2.0	85	Team elite	Trevor Taylor John Wagstaff	Lotus 47	5
49	P 1.6	39	Howard Fawsitt	Don Marriott Brian Cutting	Austin-Healey Sprite	1
50	P 3.0	1	Porsche	Gerhard Mitter Ludovico Scarfiotti	Porsche 908
51	P 3.0	7th	Alan Mann Racing Ltd.	Frank Gardner Richard Attwood	Ford F3L P68
52	P 2.0	21st	Peter Warren	Ken Simmons Howard Fawsitt	Willment
53	P 2.0	24	Scuderia Lufthansa	Hans-Dieter Dechent Robert Huhn	Porsche 910
54	P 2.0	30th	Bam-Bam AB	Hans Wängstre Evert Christofferson	Ferrari Dino 206S
55	P 2.0	31	Hammond & Oakwood	Keith Grant Grahame White	Elva Mk.7S
56	P 1.6	48	Nomad Cars	Tony Lanfranchi Mark Konig	Nomad Mk.1
57	P 1.6	56	Daren	John Green Peter Gaydon	Daren Mk.1
58	P 1.6	57	Raymond Nash	Raymond Nash Roger Stallwood	Tavenor
59	S 5.0	63	David Skailes	Eric Liddell David Skailes	Ferrari 250LM
60	S 5.0	64	Edward Nelson Racing	Edward Nelson Roy Pierpoint	Ford GT40
61	S 5.0	72	Sportscars Unlimited	Robin Widdows Ulf Norinder	Lola T70 Mk.3 GT
62	S 5.0	73	David prophet	David Prophet Richard Bond	Ford GT40
63	S 2.0	78	British Motor Corporation	Roger Enever Alec Poole	MGB
64	S 2.0	82	VW Auto Oy	Pauli Toivonen Antti Aarnio-Wihuri	Porsche 906
65	S 2.0	86	Anton Fischhaber	Anton Fischhaber Helmut Leuze	Porsche 906
66	S 2.0	92	Chris Barber	John Hine Mike Crabtree	Lotus 47
67	S 2.0	95	Victor Walker	Peter Clarke Brian Alexander	Lotus 47
68	S 2.0	96	Rainer Ising	Rainer Ising Karl Kalkuhl	Porsche 906
69	S 2.0	99	Red Rose Motors	John Lepp John Bridges	Chevron B8
70	S 2.0	101	Tech-Speed ​​Racing	Chris Meek Chris Craft	Chevron B8
71	S 2.0	103	Sportvagnsimport Team Lotus	Ragnar Eklund Per Brandström	Lotus 47
72	GT 2.0	111	Mrs. Jean Denton	Natalie Goodwin Jean Denton	MGB
73	GT 2.0	113	Erhard Sailer	Erhard Sailer Konrad Lammers	Porsche 991S
74	GT 1.6	120	International Racing Club	Siegfried Müller's Joachim Komusin	Alfa Romeo Duetto
75	GT 1.6	127	Richard Höhfeld	Heinrich Oestreich Richard Höhfeld	Glass 1300 GT
76	GT 1.6	128	Friedrich Noenen	Friedrich Noenen Heinrich Baumgartner	Glass 1300 GT
Not started
77	P 3.0	6th	Alfa Romeo Germany	Mario Casoni	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2 2.5	1
78	P 3.0	3	Alan Mann Racing Ltd.	Chris Irwin Pedro Rodríguez	Ford F3L P68	2
79	P 3.0	9	Societé des Automobiles Alpine-Renault	Henri Grandsire Mauro Bianchi	Alpine A220	3
80	P 3.0	11	Racing Preparations	John Markey Tony Beeson	Chevron B8	4th
81	P 2.0	20th	Fawdington and Ramsay	Andrew Hedges Julian Sutton	Lotus 47	5
82	P 2.0	29	Alain de Cadenet	Alain de Cadenet Anthony McKay	Ferrari Dino 206S	6th
83	P 1.6	47	Christopher St. Quintin	Christopher St. Quintin Mac Daghorn	Abarth 1600 OT	7th
84	S 5.0	69	Jeff Edmonds	Jeff Edmonds Chris Ashmore	Ferrari 250LM	8th
85	S 2.0	97	Chevron Cars	Digby Martland Brian Classic	Chevron B8	9
86	S 2.0	100	TR Clapham	Geoff Breakell Derek Bell	Chevron B8	10
87	GT 2.0	116	Werner Zanders	Werner Zanders Willy Zanders	Porsche 911T	11
88	GT 1.6	121	Team metronomes	Kaj Bjerke Bernhard Hakansson	Lotus Elan	12
Not qualified
89	P 2.0	34	Mag-Cap Motor Racing	Roy Johnson Howden Ganley	Chevron B6	13
90	P 1.6	40	Arthur Appleby	John Harris Arthur Appleby	Austin-Healey Sprite	14th
91	P 1.6	43	Angus Clydesdale	Tony Goodwin Angus Clydesdale	Intertech Lola Mk.1	15th
92	P 1.6	54	Philip Austen	Roger Mold Philip Austen	Austin-Healey Sprite	16
93	P 2.0	106	Peter Taggart	Peter Taggart Keith Burnand	Chevron B8	17th

¹ withdrawn ² accident in training ³ accident in training ⁴ drive shaft in training ⁵ accident in training ⁶ engine damage in training ⁷ engine damage in training ⁸ chassis break in training ⁹ accident in training ¹⁰ accident in training ¹¹ accident in training ¹² differential in training ¹³ not qualified ¹⁴ not qualified ¹⁵ not qualified ¹⁶ not qualified ¹⁷ not qualified

Only in the entry list

Here you will find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race but did not take part for a variety of reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis
94	P 3.0	12	John Woolfe Racing	John Woolfe Derek Bennett	Chevron B12
95	P 3.0	14th	Scuderia Filipinetti	Herbert Müller Jonathan Williams	Serenissima Mk.168
96	P 2.0	23	Ben Pon	Ben Pon Sten Axelsson	Porsche 910
97	P 2.0	26th	Valvoline Racing Team	Karl Foitek Rudi Lins	Porsche 910
98	P 2.0	28	Sport-Uniao Sintrense	R. Cavagnac Norman Casari	Porsche 911R
99	P 2.0	29	Alain de Cadenet	Tony Beeson	Scodec diva Martin Valkyrie
100	P 1.6	41	Peter Clarke Racing	Peter Clarke Laurie Goodwin	Emeron
101	P 1.6	42	Equipe Concorde	Roger Sparkes	Piper GT
102	P 1.6	45	Chris Lawrence	Chris Lawrence Andrew Page	Deep Sanderson 302
103	P 1.6	46	David Bruce Porter	Anthony Harvey David Porter	Harvey
104	P 1.6	51	HF Squadra Corse Lancia	Claudio Maglioli Sandro Munari	Lancia Fulvia
105	P 1.6	52	Team Coburn	Jack Wheeler Max Mosley Mike Franey	Austin-Healey Sprite
106	S 5.0	68	Alain de Cadenet	Mario Cabral Alain de Cadenet	Ford GT40
107	S 5.0	70	Mike De Udy	Mike De Udy Hugh Dibley	Lola T70 Mk.3 GT
108	S 5.0	74	Chris Lawrence	Nicholas Granville-Smith Chris Lawrence	Shelby Cobra
109	S 2.0	77	Diva Racing	John Broomfield John Streetly	Diva GT
110	S 2.0	81	Jürg Dübler Racing	Hans Tschiemer Jürg Dübler Heini Walter	Porsche 906
111	S 2.0	83	Ben Pon	Gijs van Lennep Frans Lubin	Porsche 906
112	S 2.0	88	JSR engineering	Anthony Godfrey Mike Franey	Lotus Elan
113	S 2.0	89	Mike de Udy	Brian Hart Robin Widdows	Porsche 906
114	S 2.0	94	Antonio Zadala	Antonio Zadala Giuseppe Dalla Torre	Porsche 906
115	S 2.0	105	Sportscars Unlimited	Richard Broström	Porsche 906
116	GT 2.0	114	Helmut Felder	Helmut Felder Frank Kalkuhl	Fiat Dino
117	GT 1.6	124	Chris Schirle	Chris Schirle Christian Schmarje	Lotus Elan
118	GT 1.6	126	Bernard Collomb	Bernard Collomb Jean-Pierre Hanrioud	Alpine A110

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
P 3.0	Jo Siffert	Vic Elford	Porsche 908	Overall victory
P 2.0	Nanni Galli	Ignazio Giunti	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	Rank 5
P 1.6	Clive Baker	John Handley	Austin-Healey Sprite	Rank 30
S 5.0	Jacky Ickx	Paul Hawkins	Ford GT40	Rank 3
S 2.0	Erich Bitter	Reinhold Joest	Porsche 906	Rank 11
GT 2.0	Malte Huth	Sepp Greger	Porsche 911TH	Rank 18
GT 1.6	Arno Gyltman	Stig Johansson	Lots of verve	Rank 43

Racing data

• Reported: 118
• Started: 76
• Rated: 47
• Race classes: 7
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: light rain in the middle of the race
• Route length: 22.835 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 6: 34: 06.300 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 44
• Total distance of the winning team: 1004.740 km
• Winner's average: 152.965 km / h
• Pole position: Rolf Stommelen - Porsche 907 2.2 (# 3) - 8: 32.800 = 160.308 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Jo Siffert - Porsche 908 (# 2) - 8: 33,000 = 160.246 km / h
• Racing series: Round 6 of the 1968 World Sports Car Championship

literature

• Michael Behrndt, Jörg-Thomas Födisch, Matthias Behrndt: ADAC 1000 km race. HEEL Verlag, Königswinter 2008, ISBN 978-3-89880-903-0 .
• Peter Higham: The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing. A complete Reference from Formula 1 to Touring Car. Guinness Publishing Ltd., London 1995, ISBN 0-85112-642-1 .

Web links

Commons : 1000 km race on the Nürburgring 1968  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Race report at Pro Steilkurs
• Race results at WSPR Racing

Individual evidence

1. ↑ About the Porsche 908
2. ^ Georg Bohlender: Joyful event . In: auto motor und sport , issue 12/1968, Vereinigte Motorverlage, Stuttgart, p. 50 u. 52.
3. ↑ Chris Irwin in the cockpit before the start of training
4. ↑ About Chris Irwin and the accident
5. ↑ Pictures of the wreck… 1
6. ↑ … 2…
7. ↑ … 3
8. ↑ Michael Behrndt, Jörg-Thomas Födisch, Matthias Behrndt: ADAC 1000 km race. Page 103.

Predecessor race Targa Florio 1968

Sports car world championship

Successor 1000 km race of Spa-Francorchamps 1968