Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km race in 1969

Porsche 908 long tail with starting number 25; Winning car from Jo Siffert and Brian Redman

The Porsche 917 made its racing debut at Spa

Alpine A220

The fourth 1000 km race of Spa-Francorchamps , also Grand Prix de Spa (1000 Kms de Francorchamps), Circuit National de Francorchamps , took place on May 11, 1969 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and was the sixth race of the sports cars World Championship this year.

Before the race

In the spring of 1969, Jackie Stewart , representing the Grand Prix Drivers' Association , visited the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack and again pointed out the safety deficiencies on the circuit to the officials of the Royal Automobile Club de Belgique . The GPDA had long criticized the lack of guard rails in the most dangerous places and Stewart found that not a single suggestion was implemented. In a hitherto unique event in Grand Prix racing, the GPDA drivers obtained the cancellation of a Formula Grand Prix . In 1969 there was no Belgian Grand Prix .

In contrast to the Formula 1 race, however , the endurance race took place. This was partly due to the fact that the 1000 km race was organized by the Royal Automobile Club of Spa and not by the Royal Automobile Club de Belgique and partly to the fact that the sports car drivers had no representation similar to the GPDA. Some of the Porsche works drivers spoke of a grotesque before the race.

The race

Rico Steinemann reported for the Porsche - factory team four Porsche 908 in the long-tail version for Vic Elford / Kurt Ahrens , Rolf Stommelen / Hans Herrmann , Jo Siffert / Brian Redman and Gerhard Mitter / Udo Schütz . Alternatively, a Porsche 917 was provided for Siffert and Redman , which made its racing debut in Spa.

After the debut at the 6-hour race at Brands Hatch came Mirage M2 by John Wyer in Spa for the second race. While Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver drove the chassis from Brands Hatch , a new vehicle was built for David Hobbs and Mike Hailwood . The two racing cars, powered by a V12 engine from BRM , had ZF 5-speed high-speed transmissions. The Hobbs and Hailwood car received a newly designed exhaust system from Weslake . After the cancellation of the Targa Florio , Scuderia Ferrari was back in the world championship. The only Ferrari 312P was driven by Pedro Rodríguez and David Piper , with Piper temporarily standing in for the sick Chris Amon . A second 312P was reported for Mario Andretti and Peter Schetty , but was not ready for use on the race weekend.

Three Alpine A220s with 3-liter V8 engines from Gordini came from France and were driven by André de Cortanze , Jean Vinatier , Jean-Claude Andruet , Gijs van Lennep , Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Henri Grandsire . The two reported work - Matra MS630 / 650 did not appear to practice and race.

The three training sessions were rainy. Siffert drove the 917 on a wet road with a time of 3: 51.900 minutes, which corresponded to an average of 228.750 km / h. After the first training session, Siffert explained that the 917 would hardly be drivable regardless of the track conditions. As the fastest driver in the Porsche driver squad, Siffert was able to choose between the 917 and the 908 and opted for the 908, which Redman also drove. Mitter and Schütz were to start the race with the 917, the 908 of which had an engine failure in the final training session. On the increasingly drier road, Paul Hawkins set the fastest time in the last few minutes of training on a Lola T70 Mk.3B GT in 3: 42.500 minutes. Hawkins in the Lola also led in the early stages of the race ahead of Ickx in the Mirage. In the third lap, Siffert took the lead in the 908, closely followed by Pedro Rodríguez in the Ferrari. As a result, a duel developed between Siffert and Rodríguez, similar to that in the 1000 km race in Monza . From Rodríguez's point of view, a preliminary decision was made when lapping Karl von Wendt in a Porsche 907 2.2 . While Siffert passed von Wendt in his Porsche on the descent to Eau Rouge , Rodríguez collided with the Porsche 907 before the curve in the Ferrari. The rear of von Wendt's Porsche crashed into a barrier, with hardly any damage to the car. Rodríguez had to pit to check the car and lost 40 seconds. After the race, Siffert also complained about von Wendt: You are always in the way. You need to look more in the rearview mirror . The decision about the overall victory was not made in the pits, but on the racetrack. Ferrari racing strategist Mike Parkes knew about his team's shortcomings even before the start. David Piper, the substitute for Chris Amon, who had measles , could not keep up with the pace of the top Porsche drivers and that of his teammate Rodríguez. Parkes therefore let Rodríguez sit in the car for the maximum driving time permitted by the regulations - 3 hours. Six minutes before this time was up, Rodríguez came to the pits to change drivers. At this point, the gap to Brian Redman, who is now driving in the leading Porsche, was 45 seconds. Since the Ferrari driver lost 40 seconds during the unplanned control stop, he only lost five seconds on the leading Porsche on the track and during the necessary refueling stops. During his 62 minute stint, Piper lost up to five seconds per lap to Redman and later to Jo Siffert. This decided the race to the disadvantage of Ferrari. At the finish the gap to the victorious Porsche was 3 minutes and 32 seconds.

The debut race of the Porsche 917, which rolled down the pit lane with an over-revving engine, lasted just under a lap.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	P 3.0	25th	Porsche System Engineering	Jo Siffert Brian Redman	Porsche 908 LH	71
2	P 3.0	8th	Spa Ferrari SEFAC	David Piper Pedro Rodríguez	Ferrari 312P	71
3	P 3.0	5	Porsche System Engineering	Vic Elford Kurt Ahrens	Porsche 908 LH	70
4th	P 3.0	11	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann Rolf Stommelen	Porsche 908 LH	67
5	S 5.0	32	Ecurie Bonnier	Jo Bonnier Herbert Müller	Lola T70 Mk.3B GT	67
6th	P 3.0	16	Racing Team VDS	Teddy Pilette Rob Slotemaker	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2 2.5	65
7th	P 3.0	2	JW Automotive	David Hobbs Mike Hailwood	Mirage M2 / 300	65
8th	S 5.0	33	Paul Hawkins Racing	Paul Hawkins David Prophet	Lola T70 Mk.3B GT	64
9	S 5.0	38	Peter Sadler	Peter Sadler Paul Vestey	Ford GT40	64
10	S 5.0	37	IGFA Deutsche Auto Zeitung	Helmut Kellener's Reinhold Joest	Ford GT40	64
11	S 5.0	34	PR For Men	Picko Troberg Bjorn Rothstein	Lola T70 Mk.3B GT	63
12	S 2.0	39	William Bradley	William Bradley Tony Dean	Porsche 910	61
13	GT 2.0	59	Gérard Larrousse	Gérard Larrousse Rudi Lins Dieter Spoerry	Porsche 911T	58
14th	GT 5.0	58	Scuderia Filipinetti	Jacques Rey Edgar Berney	Ferrari 275 GTB / C	58
15th	S 2.0	43	Guy Edwards	Guy Edwards Mike Franey	Chevron B8	58
16	S 2.0	20th	Bridges Walker	John Bridges John Lepp	Chevron B8	58
17th	P 3.0	5	Societé Automobiles Alpine	André de Cortanze Jean Vinatier	Alpine A220 / 69	57
18th	GT 2.0	55	Jean-Pierre Gaban	Jean-Pierre Gaban Yves Deprez	Porsche 911S	56
19th	S 2.0	46	Lord Angus Clydesdale	Angus Clydesdale Terry Hunter	Chevron B8	56
20th	S 2.0	41	JCB Excavators Ltd.	Peter Brown Roger Enever	Chevron B8	56
21st	P 3.0	4th	Societé Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Claude Andruet Gijs van Lennep	Alpine A220 / 69	54
22nd	P 2.0	21st	Andrew Mylius	Andrew Mylius Alan Harvey	Chevron B8	54
23	GT + 5.0	57	Chris Tuerlinx	Chris Tuerlinx Etienne Stalpaert	Chevrolet Corvette	53
24	P 2.0	22nd	Richard Dawkins	Richard Dawkins Rod Eade	MGB	51
25th	GT 2.0	56	Hans-Dieter Blatzheim	Hans-Dieter Blatzheim Werner Zanders	Porsche 911T	41
Failed
26th	P 3.0	12	German BG Racing Team	Karl von Wendt Willi Kauhsen	Porsche 907 2.2	7th
27	S 5.0	30th	Porsche System Engineering	Gerhard Mitter Udo Schütz	Porsche 917	1
28	P 3.0	1	JW Automotive	Jacky Ickx Jackie Oliver	Mirage M2 / 300
29	P 3.0	3	Societé Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Pierre Jabouille Henri Grandsire	Alpine A220 / 68
30th	P 3.0	14th	German BG Racing Team	Hans-Dieter Dechent Gerhard Koch	Porsche 907 2.2
31	S 2.0	44	Worcestershire Racing Association	John Burton Paul Ridgway	Chevron B8
Not started
32	P 3.0	17th	Racing Team VDS	Gustave Gosselin Claude Bourgoignie	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2 2.5	1
33	P 3.0	18th	Tony Beeson	Tony Beeson Peter Smith	Chevron B8	2
34	P 3.0	24T	Porsche System Engineering	Gerhard Mitter Udo Schütz	Porsche 908 LH	3
35	S 5.0	31	Porsche System Engineering	Jo Siffert Brian Redman	Porsche 917	4th
36	S 2.0	40	Racing Team VDS	Jean-Marie Jacquemin Camille Demoulin Yves Deprez Jean-Pierre Cornet	Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ	5
37	S 2.0	45	Peter Taggart	Peter Taggart Tony Goodwin	Chevron B8	6th
38	S 2.0	48	Ecurie Francorchamps	Hughes de Fierlant Léon Dernier	Ferrari Dino 206S	7th
39	P 3.0	24	Porsche System Engineering	Gerhard Mitter Udo Schütz	Porsche 908 LH	8th

¹ Piston damage in training ² Engine damage in training ³ Replacement car ⁴ Replacement car ⁵ Accident in training ⁶ Not started ⁷ Accident in training ⁸ Engine damage in training

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
40	P 3.0	6th	Matra	Jean Guichet	Matra MS630 / 650
41	P 3.0	7th	Matra	Johnny Servoz-Gavin Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra MS630 / 650
42	P 3.0	9	Spa Ferrari SEFAC	Mario Andretti Peter Schetty	Ferrari 312P
43	P 2.0	15th	Alfa Romeo Benelux	Enrico Pinto Camille Demoulin	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2
44	P 2.0	19th	Willie Green	Willie Green Jonathan Williams	Chevron B5
45	P 2.0	23	Unipower	Andrew Hedges Piers Forester	Unipower GT
46	S 5.0	35	Tech-Speed ​​Racing	Chris Craft Allan Rollinson	Lola T70 Mk.3 GT
47	S 5.0	36	Ford France	Michel Martin Hervé Bayard	Ford GT40
48	S 2.0	42		John Hine Mike Crabtree	Lotus 47

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
P 3.0	Jo Siffert	Brian Redman		Porsche 908 LH	Overall victory
P 2.0	John Bridges	John Lepp		Chevron B8	Rank 16
S 5.0	Jo Bonnier	Herbert Mueller		Lola T70 Mk.3B GT	Rank 5
S 2.0	William Bradley	Tony Dean		Porsche 910	Rank 12
GT + 5.0	Chris Tuerlinckx	Etienne Stalpaert		Chevrolet Corvette	Rank 23
GT 5.0	Jacques Rey	Edgar Berney		Ferrari 275 GTB / C	Rank 14
GT 2.0	Gérard Larrousse	Rudi Lins	Dieter Spoerry	Porsche 911T	Rank 13

Racing data

• Registered: 48
• Started: 31
• Valued: 25
• Race classes: 7
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 14.100 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 4: 24: 19,600 hours
• Overall laps of the winning team: 71
• Total distance of the winning team: 1001.100 km
• Winner's average: 227.242 km / h
• Pole position: Paul Hawkins - Lola T70 Mk.3B GT (# 33) - 3: 42.500
• Fastest race lap: Brian Redman - Porsche 908 LH (# 25) - 3: 37.100 = 233.809 km / h
• Racing series: 6th round of the 1969 World Sports Car Championship

literature

• 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

• Report at Motorsport Magazin
• Results

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Helmut Zwickl: World champion through technical knockout - a racing season with Porsche . Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart 1969, p. 117.
2. ↑ Helmut Zwickl: World champion through technical knockout - a racing season with Porsche . Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart 1969, p. 121.

Predecessor race Targa Florio 1969

Sports car world championship

Successor 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1969