1971 Daytona 24 hour race

Porsche 917K with starting number 2; Winning car from Pedro Rodríguez and Jackie Oliver

The sixth Daytona 24 Hours , also Tenth Annual 24 Hours of Daytona, World's Championship For Prestolite Trophy, Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida , took place on January 31 and February 1, 1971 at Daytona International Speedway and was the first race of the sports car world championship this year.

The race

The 1971 24-hour race suffered from the lack of factory teams. Both the Scuderia Ferrari and AutoDelta and Matra dispensed with the use of its 3-liter racing cars. The official reason given by all three teams for the cancellations was that the bumpy oval track at Daytona was not suitable for the light vehicles. The cancellation was not inconvenient for the employees of Scuderia Ferrari after the tragic accidental death of Ignazio Giunti in a Ferrari 312PB at the season opening race, the 1000 km race in Buenos Aires .

As in the race in Argentina, the Porsche 917K of the teams of John Wyer and Hans-Dieter Dechent were also registered in Daytona . The Wyer-Porsches were driven by Pedro Rodríguez / Jackie Oliver and Jo Siffert / Derek Bell . The two 917K from Martini & Rossi were registered for Helmut Marko / Rudi Lins and Vic Elford / Gijs van Lennep . There were reports from US teams for the Ferrari brand . The North American Racing Team brought three 512S to the track. A fourth Ferrari was a converted 312P . Penske Racing reported a 512M for Mark Donohue and David Hobbs . The vehicle was completely dismantled before the race and reassembled with a new fuel system.

Only at the beginning of the race could the Ferrari keep up with the fastest Porsche 917K, then the Porsche clearly took over command of the race. On Sunday morning, a few rain showers made driving conditions difficult. Just 70 miles from the racetrack, the countdown to the start of Apollo 14 at the Kennedy Space Center had to be interrupted because of the thunderstorm. After 18 hours of driving, the Rodríguez / Oliver-Porsche was leading with a huge 43 laps lead over the second-placed Ferrari 512S of Ronnie Bucknum and Tony Adamowicz when Jackie Oliver pitted at a slow pace. The transmission was stuck in first gear. The Wyer mechanics worked on the gearbox for an hour and 32 minutes and were able to repair it so far that Rodríguez could start the race again. He caught up with Ferrari, who had meanwhile taken the lead, and won the race for Porsche by one lap.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	S.	2	JW Automotive Engineering	Pedro Rodríguez Jackie Oliver	Porsche 917K	688
2	S.	23	North American Racing Team	Ronnie Bucknum Tony Adamowicz	Ferrari 512S Spyder	687
3	S.	6th	Penske-White Racing	Mark Donohue David Hobbs	Ferrari 512M special	674
4th	GT + 2.5	11	Owens Corning Fiberglass	Tony DeLorenzo Don Yenko John Mahler	Chevrolet Corvette	613
5	P	21st	North American Racing Team	Nestor Garcia-Veiga Luigi Chinetti junior Alain de Cadenet	Ferrari 312P / 71	584
6th	GT + 2.5	57	David Heinz Racing Inc.	Dave Heinz or Costanzo	Chevrolet Corvette	581
7th	GT 2.5	5	Sun Oil Company	Jacques Duval George Nicholas Bob Bailey	Porsche 914/6	579
8th	GT 2.5	19th	Ralph Meaney	Stephen Behr John Buffum Erwin Kremer	Porsche 914/6	571
9	GT 2.5	31	Locke Lake Colony	Bert Everett Jim Locke Jim Netterstrom	Porsche 911T	570
10	GT + 2.5	50	John Greenwood	John Greenwood Allan Barker Dick Lang	Chevrolet Corvette	554
11	T	17th	Tokondo Racing	Vince Gimondo Chuck Dietrich	Chevrolet Camaro Z / 28	542
12	P	45	Baker Motor Company	Clive Baker Bob Grossman Sam Brown Charles Reynolds	Chevron B16	534
13	T	42	Garcia Racing Jose Garcia	Javier Garcia Luis Sereix Richard Small	Chevrolet Camaro Z / 28	527
14th	GT 2.5	10	Walle Enterprises	Ray Walle Michael Sherwin	Porsche 911S	498
15th	P	43	Jean-Pierre Hanrioud	Jean-Pierre Hanrioud Jean Sage	Chevron B16	488
16	GT 2.5	44	Kind of bunker	Bob Hindson Kendall Noah Art Bunker	Porsche 911T	488
17th	GT 2.5	51	Waldron Motors Racing Team	Jim Gammon Dean Donley Carlos Garza	MGB GT	483
18th	GT + 2.5	64	Robert Luebbe	Robert Luebbe Bob Baechle John Orr	Chevrolet Corvette	469
19th	T	89	Houghton Smith	Ray Brimble Houghton Smith	Chevrolet Camaro	452
20th	T	72	Bob Mitchell	Bob Mitchell Charlie Kemp	Chevrolet Camaro	408
Failed
21st	GT 2.5	18th	Ralph Meaney	Ralph Meaney Bill Bean Gary Wright	Porsche 914/6	470
22nd	S.	3	Martini & Rossi Racing Team	Helmut Marko Rudi Lins	Porsche 917K	462
23	T	33	John McComb	John McComb Bob Tullius	Ford Mustang	395
24	T	36	Racing Specialties Co.	Warren Matzen Tom Heyser Dick Sears	Ford Mustang	369
25th	GT 2.5	16	Toad Hall Racing	Michael Keyser Bob Beasley Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911S	337
26th	GT 2.5	52	Waldron Motors Racing Team	Ben Scott Lowell Lanier Dave Houser	MGB GT	311
27	T	97	Susan Trumbull Cummings	Warren Stumes Don Cummings	Shelby GT350	306
28	S.	4th	Martini & Rossi Racing Team	Vic Elford Gijs van Lennep	Porsche 917K	274
29	GT 2.5	59	Brumos Porsche Audi Corp	Peter Gregg Hurley Haywood	Porsche 914/6	260
30th	T	98	Ed Matthews	Ed Matthews Swede Savage Danny Ongais	Ford Mustang	238
31	T	47	Bruce Behrens Racing	John Tremblay Bill McDill Bob Beatty	Chevrolet Camaro	230
32	T	88	Norberto Mastandrea	Norberto Mastandrea Tony Lilly	Chevrolet Camaro Z / 28	215
33	S.	22nd	North American Racing Team	Peter Revson Sam Posey Chuck Parsons Luigi Chinetti Junior	Ferrari 512M	202
34	GT 2.5	15th	K&T Enterprises	Peter Kirill Ash Tisdelle	Porsche 911S	163
35	S.	28	Escuderia Montjuich	Arturo Merzario José Juncadella	Ferrari 512S	161
36	GT 2.5	70	William Davidson	John Belperche William Davidson	Triumph GT6	157
37	GT 2.5	14th	Boykin Auto Repairs	CC Canada Joe Hine Wilbur Pickett	Chevrolet Camaro Z / 28	137
38	S.	26th	Jacques Swaters	Hughes de Fierlant Gustave Gosselin	Ferrari 512S	124
39	T	92	BF Goodrich Tire Co.	John Cordts Don Pike	Pontiac Firebird	121
40	S.	1	JW Automotive Engineering	Jo Siffert Derek Bell	Porsche 917K	113
41	T	79	Dan Moore	Hal Lawrence Dan Moore Gary Bishop	Shelby GT350	106
42	GT 2.5	8th	American Racing Promotions	Tom Nehl Charles Perry	Porsche 911S	88
43	GT + 2.5	12	Owens Corning Fiberglass	Jerry Thompson John Mahler	Chevrolet Corvette	83
44	GT 2.5	40	Fritz Hochreuter	Fritz Hochreuter Rudy Bartling	Porsche 911	58
45	T	48	S-Car-Go-Racing	Sheldon Dobkin John Maynard John Oliver	Chevrolet Camaro	37
46	T	74	Al Straub	Al Straub Walter Brown	Ford Mustang	35
47	S.	20th	Young American Racing North American Racing Team	Masts Gregory Gregg Young	Ferrari 512M	16
48	T	91	Larrauri Racing	Ralph Noseda Pepe Nunez	Chevrolet Camaro Z / 28	9
Not started
49	P	46	Baker Motor Company	Bobby Rinzler Wayne Christian Tom Fraser Jim Baker	Chevron B16	1
50	T	75	Reventlow-Pettey Automobiles	Paul Pettey Larry Bock	Ford Mustang	2
51	S.	T	JW Automotive Engineering	Pedro Rodríguez Jackie Oliver Jo Siffert Derek Bell	Porsche 917K	3
52	S.	T	Martini & Rossi Racing Team	Vic Elford	Porsche 917K	4th
Not qualified
53	T	35	Collins-Wilson Racing Ent.	Larry Wilson Vincent Collins	Chevrolet Camaro	5
54	T	37	Yenko Sportscars Inc.	Robert Johnson Donna Mae Mims Kirt Wetzel Bob Nagel	Chevrolet Vega	6th
55	T	38	Simone Fleming	Paul Fleming Amos Johnson Bill Barnes	Fiat 124 Sport Coupe	7th
56	GT 2.5	41	Del Taylor	Del Russo Taylor Ron Goldrich Buzz Dyer Ron Goldleaf	Alfa Romeo GTV	8th
57	T	55	Clearwater Datsun	Bobby Clark Don Kearney	Datsun 510	9
58	GT 2.5	65	Homeline Corp.	Robert Clark Donald Rhindress	Lancia Fulvia HF	10
59	T	73	Robert Lewis	Robert Lewis Charles Fairbrother	Ford Cortina GT	11
60	T	77	Grand Prix Motors	Buzz Marcus Larry Dent	BMW 2002	12
61	T	80	Fred dear	Fred Lieb Smokey Drolet Mitch Daroff	Dodge darts	13
62	T	81	Dieter Oest	Mike Tillson Dieter Oest Rodolfo Junco	Lancia Fulvia rally	14th
63	T	87	Preston Hood Chevrolet	John Elliott Don Gwynne	Chevrolet Camaro	15th
64	GT 2.5	93	Donald Wright	Robert Whitaker John Tunstall Ray Reed	Volvo P1800	16

¹ not started ² not started ³ training car ⁴ training car ⁵ not qualified ⁶ not qualified ⁷ not qualified ⁸ not qualified ⁹ not qualified ¹⁰ not qualified ¹¹ not qualified ¹² not qualified ¹³ not qualified ¹⁴ not qualified ¹⁵ not qualified ¹⁶ 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
65	GT 2.5	7th	George Drolsom	George Drolsom Bill Campbell	Porsche 911S
66	S.	9	Escuderia Nacional CS	Àlex Soler-Roig Peter George	Porsche 917K
67	GT + 2.5	24	North American Racing Team	Alain de Cadenet David Weir	Ferrari 365 GTB / 4
68	GT 2.5	25th	North American Racing Team	Harley Cluxton Gordon Tatum	Ferrari Dino 246 GT
69	S.	26th	Scuderia Filipinetti	Mike Parkes Jo Bonnier	Ferrari 512M
70	T	30th	Ray Cuomo Racing Ent. Ltd.	Ray Cuomo John Gimbel	Ford Mustang
71	S.	71	David Weir	David Weir Alain de Cadenet	Ford GT40
72	GT + 2.5	86	Cliff thank god	Cliff Gottlob Ed Lowther	Chevrolet Corvette
73	GT 2.5	94	Donald Wright	Donald Wright Dick Myers John Prasek John Turnstall	MGB

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
P	Nestor Garcia-Veiga	Luigi Chinetti junior	Alain de Cadenet	Ferrari 312P / 71	Rank 5
S.	Pedro Rodríguez	Jackie Oliver		Porsche 917K	Overall victory
GT + 2.5	Tony DeLorenzo	Don Yenko	John Mahler	Chevrolet Corvette	Rank 4
GT 2.5	Jacques Duval	George Nicholas	Bob Bailey	Porsche 914/6	Rank 7
T	Vince Gimondo	Chuck Dietrich		Chevrolet Camaro Z / 28	Rank 11

Racing data

• Registered: 73
• Started: 48
• Rated: 20
• Race classes: 5
• Spectators: 25,000
• Race day weather: dry at first, thunderstorms during the race
• Route length: 6.132 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 24: 00: 58,000 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 688
• Total distance of the winning team: 4218.542 km
• Winner's average: 175.655 km / h
• Pole position: Mark Donohue - Ferrari 512M (# 6) - 1: 42.420 = 215.919 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Mark Donohue - Ferrari 512M (# 6) - 1: 41.250 = 217.281 km / h
• Racing series: 2nd round of the Sports Car World Championship in 1971

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 .
• JJ O'Mailey: Daytona 24 Hours: The Definitive History of America's Great Endurance Race. David Bull Pub; First Edition edition (July 2003), ISBN 978-1893618244 .

Web links

• Race report at Motorsport Magazine
• Race results

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ferrari 312P chassis 0872

Previous race 1000 km of Buenos Aires 1971

Sports car world championship

Successor to the 12-hour Sebring race in 1971