Watkins Glen 6 hour race 1970

The number 31 Porsche 917K. Vic Elford and Denny Hulme achieved fourth place overall with this car

The third 6-hour race of Watkins Glen , also Six-Hours and The Can-Am, The Glen, Watkins Glen , took place on July 11, 1970 in Watkins Glen and was the ninth round of the World Sports Car Championship of that year.

Before the race

Before the starting flag fell at the endurance race at Watkins Glen , the two main questions of the 1970 World Sports Car Championship had been clarified. Porsche had won the Manufacturers' World Championship for Manufacturers and, thanks to the success of Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood in the Porsche 917K, the overall ranking at the Le Mans 24-hour race for the first time .

The race

The competition between the 5-liter prototypes from Porsche and the works cars from Scuderia Ferrari continued in Watkins Glen . John Wyer’s racing team registered two Porsche 917Ks for the driver pairings Jo Siffert / Brian Redman and Pedro Rodríguez / Leo Kinnunen, which were so successful in the season . The two Porsche-Salzburg- 917K were given a new green paint job and were officially reported by the North American sales subsidiary Porsche Audi Division , which also financed the use of the cars. The replacement for Hans Herrmann, who retired after the Le Mans victory, was found in McLaren - Formula 1 driver Denny Hulme . Hulme contested the race together with Vic Elford . Richard Attwood and Kurt Ahrens drove the second Porsche Salzburg 917 . Ferrari reported two 512S Spyder for Mario Andretti / Ignazio Giunti and Jacky Ickx / Peter Schetty .

Jo Siffert started from pole position in the Wyer-917K, which drove a time of 1: 06.300 minutes in qualifying, which corresponds to an average of 200.986 km / h. In the race there was a duel between the two Wyer-Porsches for overall victory over the entire distance, which Rodríguez and Kinnunen ultimately won with a lead of almost one lap.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	S 5.0	2	JW Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Pedro Rodríguez Leo Kinnunen	Porsche 917K	308
2	S 5.0	1	JW Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Jo Siffert Brian Redman	Porsche 917K	308
3	S 5.0	92	Ferrari SPA SEFAC	Mario Andretti Ignazio Giunti	Ferrari 512 S Spyder	305
4th	S 5.0	31	Porsche Audi Division	Vic Elford Denny Hulme	Porsche 917K	302
5	S 5.0	91	Ferrari SPA SEFAC	Jacky Ickx Peter Schetty	Ferrari 512S Spyder	299
6th	S 5.0	32	Porsche Audi Division	Richard Attwood Kurt Ahrens	Porsche 917K	295
7th	P 3.0	36	International Martini & Rossi Racing Team	Helmut Marko Rudi Lins	Porsche 908/02	288
8th	S 5.0	50	Ecurie Bonnier	Jo Bonnier Reine Wisell	Lola T70 Mk.3B GT	264
9	S 5.0	35	International Martini & Rossi Racing Team	Gijs van Lennep Gérard Larrousse	Porsche 917K	260
10	GT + 2.5	5	Mallbank Racing	Bob Grossman Don Yenko	Chevrolet Camaro 427	243
11	S 2.0	52	Volkswagen North Central	Merv Rosen Dick Jacobs	Porsche 906	241
12	S 2.0	53	Nationwide Food Brokers Racing Team	Hugh Wise Werner Frank	Porsche 906	236
13	GT 2.5	77	Toad Hall Racing	Bob Tullius Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911T	233
14th	GT 2.5	41	Sport Motors	Jim Bandy Bruce Cargill	Lotus 47	233
15th	S 2.0	39	Rainer Brezinka	Rainer Brezinka Horst Petermann Rudy Bartling	Porsche 906	231
16	GT 2.5	84	Ralph Meaney Inc.	Gary Wright Francis Grant	Porsche 911T	223
17th	P 2.0	46	Baker Motor Company	Wayne Christian Charles Reynolds Bobby Rinzler	Chevron B16	223
18th	GT 2.5	70	Sylvain Garant	André Wicky Sylvain Garant	Porsche 911T	217
19th	P 2.0	45	Baker Motor Company	Paul Richards Jim Baker	Chevron B16	206
20th	GT 2.5	94	Ralph Meaney Inc.	Ralph Meaney Stephen Behr	Porsche 914/6	181
Failed
21st	GT + 2.5	20th	John Greenwood	Allan Barker John Greenwood	Chevrolet Corvette 427	116
22nd	GT 2.5	37	Sunoco	Jacques Duval George Nicholas	Porsche 911T	92
23	GT + 2.5	63	Robert Luebbe	Robert Luebbe Michael Summers	Chevrolet Corvette 427	85
24	S 5.0	33	Gelo Racing Team	Georg Loos Franz Pesch	Ferrari 512S	24
25th	GT + 2.5	23	Bill Schumacher	Bill Schumacher Robert Johnson	Chevrolet Corvette 427	8th
26th	P 3.0	8th	Tony Dean	Tony Dean Peter Revson	Porsche 908/02	3
Not started
27	S 5.0	6T	JW Automotive Engineering	Jo Siffert Leo Kinnunen Pedro Rodríguez	Porsche 917K	1

¹ training car

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
28	GT 2.5	30th	Jim Netterstrom	Jim Netterstrom Bob Bailey	Porsche 911
29	S 5.0	38	William Wonder Inc.	William Wonder Ray Cuomo	Ford GT40
30th	GT 2.5	40	Walle Enterprises	Ray Walle Richard Rubenstein	TVR Vixen

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
P 3.0	Helmut Marko	Rudi Lins		Porsche 908/02	Rank 7
P 2.0	Wayne Christian	Charles Reynolds	Bobby Rinzler	Chevron B16	Rank 17
S 5.0	Pedro Rodríguez	Leo Kinnunen		Porsche 917K	Overall victory
S 2.0	Mev roses	Dick Jacobs		Porsche 906	Rank 11
GT + 2.5	Bob Grossman	Don Yenko		Chevrolet Camaro 427	Rank 10
GT 2.5	Bob Tullius	Bruce Jennings		Porsche 911T	Rank 13

Racing data

• Registered: 30
• Started: 26
• Rated: 20
• Race classes: 6
• Spectators: 45,000
• Race day weather: cold, light rain
• Route length: 3.701 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 6:00: 47,700 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 308
• Total distance of the winning team: 1140.059 km
• Winner's average: 189.592 km / h
• Pole position: Jo Siffert - Porsche 917K (# 1) - 1: 06.300 = 200.986 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Pedro Rodríguez - Porsche 917K (# 2) - 1: 04.900 = 205.322 km / h
• Racing series: Round 9 of the 1970 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 of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1970

Sports car world championship

Successor 1000 km race from Zeltweg 1970