1968 Watkins Glen 6 hour race

Track layout 1968

Ford GT40 with starting number 6; Paul Hawkins and David Hobbs drove the car into second place overall

Rear of a Howmet TX with the exhaust pipes for the gas turbine

The first 6-hour race of Watkins Glen , also the 21st Annual Watkins Glen Sports Car Road Race (6 Hours of Endurance For World Championship of Manufacturers), Watkins Glen , took place on July 14, 1968 in Watkins Glen and was the eighth race the sports car world championship this year.

Before the race

In 1948 , a sports car race was held for the first time in the small town of Watkins Glen , in the US state of New York . It was driven on public roads with a distance of 80 kilometers. The winner was Frank Griswold in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B . 1956 - George Constantine won on a Jaguar D-Type - the event switched to the permanent track of the Watkins Glen International Circuit and subsequently became an endurance race . In 1968 the 6-hour race was announced for the first time, the driving time corresponded to a distance of almost 1000 kilometers.

The race at Watkins Glen was after the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring 1968 the third race with world championship status in the United States . After seven world championship races, after four overall victories , Porsche had 47 championship points to book and led the overall standings from their big competitor Ford . After three successes, the American manufacturer was clearly behind the sports car manufacturer from Zuffenhausen with 31 points . If a Porsche racing car wins the 6-hour race, the world championship with the overall victory would be decided for the German team.

The race

The Porsche team arrived with four 908 hatchbacks . There were changes to the previous races in the driver pairings. Porsche race director Fritz Huschke von Hanstein didn't want to leave anything to chance and hired pilots who were familiar with the track conditions in Watkins Glen. Joe Buzzetta had been a works driver at Porsche since 1965 and was also used sporadically in the sports car world championship. In 1967 he and Udo Schütz won the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in a Porsche 910 . A newcomer to Porsche was his team-mate George Follmer . The 34-year-old Follmer was known in North America as a USAC Championship Car Series driver and was known as an expert on the track. Even Scooter Patrick had already been active for Porsche as a factory driver. In 1967 he and his partner Gerhard Mitter finished third overall in the Sebring 12-hour race and had contested many races in Porsche racing cars in his career to date. Another newcomer was the young Japanese Tetsu Ikuzawa , who was able to celebrate some successes in the British Formula 3 championship . Huschke von Hanstein saw it positively at the 500 km race on the Nürburgring in 1967 . There he finished eleventh overall on a Honda S800 and had left many larger-capacity sports car teams behind in his class win. The other two teams were formed by Jo Siffert / Vic Elford and Hans Herrmann / Richard Attwood .

John Wyer sat in Watkins Glen two Ford GT40 , both of new 5-liter V8 engine with Weslake - cylinder heads received. Five days before the race, regular Wyer driver Brian Redman had a serious accident at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps . After a suspension damage to the Copper T86B , he went off the track, the car broke through a barrier and crashed into a parked vehicle. Redman broke his arm and suffered minor burns. Redman's replacement as Jacky Ickx 's partner was Lucien Bianchi . Paul Hawkins and David Hobbs drove the second car .

Ray Heppenstall reported two Howmet TX with Continental Aviation & Engineering - gas turbines for himself and Dick Thompson as well as Hugh Dibley and Bob Tullius . The North American Racing Team from Luigi Chinetti brought two Ferrari on the track. A Dino 206 for Charlie Kolb and Ricardo Rodríguez and a 275 GTB / 4 for Bob Grossman and Ronnie Bucknum .

The course of the race

Jacky Ickx had the best start from second place on the grid, but he was ousted from the lead in the first lap by Jo Siffert , who was fastest in training . Behind Ickx, the three remaining Porsches followed in the order Scooter Patrick, Hans Herrmann and George Follmer. In sixth place was Dick Thompson in the faster of the two Howmet, ahead of Joakim Bonnier in the Lola T70 Mk.3 GT and Paul Hawkins in the second Wyer GT40. Jo Siffert's lead lasted twelve laps, then Jacky Ickx took back the top position. That was when the problems started at Porsche. George Follmer switched the gear when downshifting and over-revved the eight-cylinder boxer engine of the 908. The car then failed with engine failure. After an hour of racing, Jo Siffert came to the pits with a jammed wheel bearing . While the Porsche mechanics were trying to change bearings as quickly as possible, Hans Herrmann stopped with an over-revved alternator . To make matters worse, the second-placed scooter Patrick came into the pits at the same time. Patrick felt sick in the hot cockpit. He could bring the car just to the pits before the confidence lost. Mechanics helped the completely exhausted pilot out of the car. Richard von Hanstein sent Attwood back on the train with this vehicle and put Patrick's actual partner, Ikuzawa, in Hans Herrmann's 908. When all Porsches were back in the race, the two GT40s had a lead of several laps in some cases. After three hours of racing, both Attwood and Vic Elford retired with damaged wheel bearings on their 908s. So only the car of Scooter Patrick and his new partner Ikuzawa was in the running. Jo Siffert drove a few stints in the car, which was hopelessly behind after a battery change and a repair on the accelerator.

At the front, the two GT40s drove their laps unhindered for hours. Tension only arose when Lucien Bianchi lost 1½ minutes in the pits after a puncture. Hawkins and Hobbs, however, stuck to the racing director's command "Slow" and "Stay in your position", which had already been issued at halftime, and drove after the team-mates' car, which also suffered from irregular oil pressure, throughout the race. After a driving time of 6: 00: 26.080 hours, Ickx / Bianchi had a lead of 11 seconds over Hawkins / Hobbs.

Ray Heppenstall and Dick Thompson finished third overall in the Howmet, thus achieving the first podium for the gas turbine racing car.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis	Round
1	S 5.0	5	JW Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Jacky Ickx Lucien Bianchi	Ford GT40	286
2	S 5.0	6th	JW Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Paul Hawkins David Hobbs	Ford GT40	286
3	P 3.0	76	Howmet Corporation	Dick Thompson Ray Heppenstall	Howmet TX Continental	267
4th	S 2.0	88	Foreign Car Sales	Werner Frank Ralph Trieschmann	Porsche 906E	259
5	S 2.0	14th	B & B Motors Ltd.	Bob Bailey Jim Locke	Porsche 906LE	257
6th	P 3.0	2	Porsche System Engineering Ltd.	Hans Herrmann Tetsu Ikuzawa Jo Siffert	Porsche 908	257
7th	P 2.0	21st	North American Racing Team	Charlie Kolb Ricardo Rodríguez-Cavazos	Ferrari Dino 206S	247
8th	GT 2.0	59	Brumos Porsche Corp.	Bert Everett Peter Gregg	Porsche 911T	244
9	S 5.0	22nd	North American Racing Team	Bob Grossman Ronnie Bucknum	Ferrari 275 GTB / 4	241
10	S 5.0	11	Ecurie Bonnier	Jo Bonnier Chuck Parsons	Lola T70 Mk.3 GT	240
11	GT + 2.0	12	Robert Johnson	Bob Johnson Robert Johnson	Chevrolet Corvette 427	238
12	P 3.0	67	Howmet Corporation	Hugh Dibley Bob Tullius	Howmet TX Continental	229
13	P 2.0	73	Baker Motor Co. Inc.	Clive Baker Paul Richards Jim Baker	Austin-Healey Sprite	228
14th	GT 2.0	94	Ralph Meaney	Ralph Meaney Alex Dearborn	Porsche 911	213
15th	S 5.0	7th	William Wonder	William Wonder Ray Cuomo Raymond Caldwell	Ford GT40	212
Disqualified
16	GT + 2.0	99	Pegasus Racing Team	Sidney Finkel James Sutter	Shelby GT350	25th
17th	S 2.0	37	Dieter Oest	Dieter Oest Nick Davidson	Porsche 904 GTS	20th
18th	S 2.0	93	Arthur Mollin Racing	Arthur Mollin Art Riley	TVR Grantura	9
Failed
19th	S 2.0	47	Andre Prefontaine	Andre Prefontaine Peter Roberts	Lotus 47	181
20th	P 3.0	3	Porsche System Engineering Ltd.	Scooter Patrick Richard Attwood Joe Buzzetta	Porsche 908	145
21st	P 3.0	1	Porsche System Engineering Ltd.	Jo Siffert Vic Elford	Porsche 908	109
22nd	GT 2.0	97	Herrington Motors Inc.	William Herrington Rick Mansfield Jerry Walsh	MGB GT	106
23	S 2.0	58	Jacques Duval	Jacques Duval Jean-Paul Ostiguy	Porsche 906	105
24	GT 2.0	86	Craig Hill	Craig Hill Bill Brack	Triumph GT6	91
25th	GT + 2.0	9	Sunray-DX Oil Co.	Don Yenko Dave Morgan	Chevrolet Corvette 427	84
26th	P 3.0	10	John Woolfe Racing	John Woolfe David Piper	Chevron B12	26th
27	P 2.0	33	Ausca Racing Inc.	Horst Kwick John Martino	Alfa Romeo T33 / 2	17th
28	P 3.0	4th	Porsche System Engineering Ltd.	George Follmer Joe Buzzetta	Porsche 908	13

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
29	GT + 2.0	62	Lodge steak house	Don Yenko John Bushell	Chevrolet Corvette 427

Class winner

class	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
P 3.0	Dick Thompson	Ray Heppenstall	Howmet TX Continental	Rank 3
P 2.0	Charlie Kolb	Ricardo Rodriguez	Ferrari Dino 206S	Rank 7
S 5.0	Jacky Ickx	Lucien Bianchi	Ford GT40	Overall victory
S 2.0	Werner Frank	Ralph Trieschmann	Porsche 906E	Rank 4
GT + 2.0	Bob Johnson	Robert Johnson	Chevrolet Corvette 427	Rank 11
GT 2.0	Bert Everett	Peter Gregg	Porsche 911T	Rank 8

Racing data

• Registered: 29
• Started: 28
• Valued: 15
• Race classes: 6
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: hot and dry
• Route length: 3.701 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 6:00: 26.080 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 286
• Total distance of the winning team: 1058.626 km
• Winner's average: 176.225 km / h
• Pole position: Jo Siffert - Porsche 908 (# 1) - 1: 10.200 = 189.820 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Jacky Ickx - Ford GT40 (# 5) - 1: 11.100 = 187.418 km / h
• Racing series: 8th round of the 1968 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

• Race report at Motorsport Magazine
• Race results at WSPR Racing

Previous race 1000 km at Spa-Francorchamps 1968

Sports car world championship

Follow -up race 500 km race from Zeltweg 1968