Guide: Porsche 917 / 71 K
Background
Porsche had beaten Ferrari by nine wins to one in the 1970 World Sportscar Championship (including twice with the 908/03). They were hoping for a similarly dominant 1971 season.
1971 was to be the last year that five-litre Group 5 Sports cars like the 917 were eligible to race.
The Group 5 class of 1970-1971 had started life as Group 4 in 1966. It was created as a five-litre Sports car category for less highly developed machinery than Group 6 Prototypes. A production run of 50 cars was required to qualify for Group 4 whereas Group 6 had no such restriction.
For 1968, the FIA imposed a three-litre engine limit on Group 6 to reduce speeds which meant a raft of vehicles such as the Ford GT40 Mk2 and Mk4, the Ferrari P4 and Chaparral 2F became obsolete.
To stimulate entries for the poorly attended Group 4 category, the FIA announced mid-way through 1968 that, from 1969, the homologation requirement for the Sports class would be slashed from 50 to 25 cars.
Canny as ever, Porsche decided to build 25 out-and-out five-litre prototypes.
1969 was a development year for the new car and in 1970, the resultant 917 smashed the opposition out of the park.
To rectify their mistake, the FIA announced that a three-litre engine limit would be imposed on Group 5 for 1972. The 1971 season would therefore be the final year for the Group 5 917 and Ferrari’s 512. Porsche decided ahead of time they would not participate in the 1972 World Sportscar Championship.
To make Porsche’s farewell campaign easier, Ferrari had announced they would not run works 512s in 1971 despite two highly promising outings for the uprated ‘M’ version at Zeltweg and Kyalami in late 1971. Instead, Scuderia Ferrari chose to focus on the first iteration of their three-litre 312 PB which would go on to become the premier sports racing of 1972 to 1973.
As a result, the 917’s main opposition for Group 5 class wins in 1971 came from privateer Ferrari outfits running 512 Ms. For outright victories, they would also be up against the aforementioned Ferrari 312 P plus other works Group 6 cars from Alfa Romeo (Tipo 33/3) and Matra (MS630/650, MS650 and MS660).
Technical Changes
Several body and engine upgrades were made to the 917 during 1971.
The most obvious was a flattened rear body section with a pair of vertical tail fins that kept the downforce-inducing air on top of the tail. This allowed the angle of the rear deck to be reduced which resulted in less drag and higher top speed.
The Gulf-backed John Wyer Automotive Engineering squad that managed the 917 programme for Porsche also had an aero department which ushered in a number of special tweaks during the course of the year.
A full five-litre version of the air-cooled Rene Mezger 180° Flat 12 was available by May 1971. The original 4.5-litre Type 912/00 unit from 1969 had already been taken out to 4907cc with the arrival of the Type 912/10 engine in spring 1970.
The new-for-1971 Type 912/11 unit was bored out by an additional 0.8mm which took displacement to 4999cc.
Further improved valve gear enabled the engine to rev higher. Cylinder liners of a sophisticated nickel-silicon alloy improved oil consumption and wear rate.
A beefier four-speed gearbox was also developed.
Peak output was 630bhp at 8300rpm. This latest power unit went down as the ultimate evolution of Mezger’s normally aspirated Flat 12 as turbocharging took over thereafter.
1971 Programme
As had been the case in 1970, John Wyer Automotive Engineering (JWAE) continued to run Porsche’s works 917s from England.
Although he would quickly return, JWAE driver, Brian Redman, had decided to retire at the end of 1970. For 1971, his team-mate Leo Kinnunen’s contract was not renewed. Instead, JWAE recruited Derek Bell to partner Jo Siffert and Jackie Oliver as co-driver to Pedro Rodriguez.
The quasi-works Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg operation that appeared throughout 1970 was disbanded. Their cars were leased to the Martini International Racing Team run by Hans-Dieter Dechent.
Dechent’s backing from Porsche was increased tenfold on the previous year when his team had campaigned 908s. Dechent also inherited Porsche’s full roster of drivers which included Vic Elford, Gerard Larrousse, Kurt Ahrens Jr., Helmut Marko, Rudi Lins and Gijs van Lennep.
The Martini team presentation was held at Hockenheim in December 1970 where three of the ex-Salzburg cars were on show in their new silver with blue and red striped livery.
1971 Buenos Aires 1000km
The Buenos Aires 1000km on January 10th kicked off the 1971 season. It marked the return of Argentina’s most prestigious sports car race to World Championship status after an eleven year absence.
Seven 917 Ks were on hand including two from both JWAE and Martini plus privateer cars from the Zitro Racing Team, Escuderia Nacional and Team Auto Usdau.
The Auto Usdau example was owned by Porsche test driver, Willi Kauhsen, who had backing from a Mannheim Mercedes-Benz dealership. However, before the race, Kauhsen went down with flu and arranged for the Argentine, Engel Monguzzi, to partner his regular co-driver, Reinhold Joest.
Kauhsen’s car (chassis 022) was painted pale blue with a red centre stripe and noseband. It had been un-raced in 1970 but was used by Solar Productions as a camera car for Steve McQueen’s Le Mans movie (along with a 908/02 which Kauhsen purchased as well).
Also making its international debut was the white Escuderia Nacional entry (018) owned by Alex Soler-Roig. This car had been used exclusively for Spanish Sportscar Championship events the year before.
Soler-Roig was expected to drive in Buenos Aires with Carlos Reutemann. However, when Emerson Fittipaldi wrote off his Alfa Romeo 33/3 in practice, Soler-Roig stood down and Fittipaldi drove the Porsche instead.
The other privateer entry was the white and blue striped example from the Zitro Racing Team. Usual driver Dominique Martin was joined by Pablo Brea.
As for the works entries of JWAE, Siffert partnered Bell while Rodriguez drove with Jackie Oliver. These Gulf Racing cars ran five-speed gearboxes and Porsche-manufactured berellium brake discs.
The Martini cars ran four-speed gearboxes and standard brakes. They were entered for Elford / Larrousse and Marko / van Lennep.
Otherwise, all the cars remained largely in 1970 trim.
In practice, Oliver’s car needed repairs after a minor off while Siffert blew an engine. They nevertheless started from pole and third respectively. In between was the Giunti / Merzario Ferrari 312 P while Elford / Larrousse took fourth spot for Martini. Alfa Romeo drivers de Adamich / Pescarolo were fifth and Beltoise / Jabouille were sixth for Matra.
JWAE started the year with a one-two finish: Siffert / Bell took victory with Rodriguez / Oliver second and Stommelen / Galli third for Alfa Romeo.
The Martini entry of Marko / van Lennep (which had started tenth) blew its engine after just two laps.
This was followed by a real tragedy on lap 37 when the Matra of Jean-Pierre Beltoise ran out of fuel on the final stretch before the pits. Beltoise got out of the car, started to push it along a short uphill stretch and then tried to cross the track to use the advantageous camber.
Meanwhile, Ignazio Giunti’s Ferrari 312 P was slipstreaming the 512 M of Mike Parkes and pulled out to find the Matra in the middle of the track.
Giunti hit the Matra at full speed which catapulted the Ferrari 200 yards down the track. The 312 P burst into flames on impact and poor Ignazio Giunti died before he arrived at hospital.
The race continued.
Fittipaldi / Reutemann subsequently went out in the Escuderia Nacional entry after 43 laps owing to clutch problems.
The sole remaining Martini car of Elford / Larrousse was disqualified on 65 laps after two mechanics went out on track to try and fix a faulty fuel pump.
Joest / Monguzzi retired the Auto Usdau machine with engine problems on 85 laps while the Zitro entry of Martin / Brea placed a creditable tenth.
Behind the first and second placed Gulf Racing Porsches were a pair of Alfa Tipo 33/3s which were followed home by four Ferrari 512s.
1971 Daytona 24 Hours
None of the privateer 917s were present for the Daytona 24 Hour race three weeks later where JWAE and Martini once again ran two cars apiece.
Like the previous year’s race at Daytona, JWAE had a special banking window let into the roof of their cars. New lightweight body panels meant they were nearly down to the minimum weight limit of 800kg.
The car for Rodriguez / Oliver was chassis 034 which had been used to re-chassis 013 (damaged at Daytona the previous year). It continued to race under the identity of 013 for carnet reasons.
Martini ran 4.5-litre engines with four-speed boxes at Daytona as their computer predicted a five-litre engine with the four speed ‘box would blow up.
Daytona marked the appearance of Penske Racing’s reworked Ferrari 512 M. This was a blisteringly fast and beautifully prepared machine that demonstrated what might have been possible had Ferrari not pulled out of the Group 5 class to focus on the 312 P.
Driven at Daytona by Mark Donohue and David Hobbs, the dark blue Sunoco-backed car qualified on pole with a time over a second faster than the 917 of Rodriguez / Oliver. The Revson / Parsons / Posey NART 512 M was third and Siffert / Bell were fourth in the other Gulf Porsche. Fifth and sixth went to the 512 Ms of Gregory / Young and Bucknum / Adamowicz. The Martini cars started eleventh and twelfth.
By mid-distance, the Ferrari threat had subsided but Porsche were having problems too.
The Siffert / Bell JWAE entry was retired after 113 laps when its engine dumped oil while exiting the pits.
Just before midnight, a tyre blew on Vic Elford’s Martini car which sent it up into the banking where it was severely damaged albeit without injury to the driver. This car (chassis 023) was repaired but not raced again.
After 462 laps, the second Martini entry of Marko / Lins stopped with a seized gearbox.
These failures meant only the Rodriguez / Oliver 917 saw the chequered flag. The Gulf drivers went on to win by one lap from the NART Ferrari 512 S of Bucknum / Adamowicz who were in turn followed by the Penske 512 M of Donohue / Hobbs.
1971 Sebring 12 Hours
Elford’s crash at Daytona meant the Martini team only had one car on hand for round three of the World Championship: the Sebring 12 Hours on March 20th.
Once again, there were no privateer 917s present, just two cars from Gulf and the solitary Martini entry for Elford / Larrousse.
For this race, JWAE ran five-litre 620bhp engines with five-speed gearboxes.
In qualifying, it was the Ferraris that demonstrated superior speed.
Pole went to the Penske 512 M of Donohue / Hobbs and second to the works 312 P of Andretti / Ickx.
Best of the Porsches were Rodriguez / Oliver in third followed by Elford / Larrousse in fourth. The Alfa Romeo of Galli / Stommelen was fifth and Siffert / Bell were sixth for Gulf.
During the race, Rodriguez had a series of bashes with the Penske 512 which resulted in his 917 requiring a substantial amount of front bodywork to be cutaway. This greatly reduced the car’s top speed but it still managed to finish fourth.
Back in fifth was the Siffert / Bell entry. They had run out of fuel and were docked four laps for receiving outside assistance.
Fortunately, the sole Martini entry saved the day to score Hans-Dieter Dechent’s first victory with the 917.
Elford / Larrousse finished three laps ahead of the second placed Alfa Romeo 33/3 of Galli / Stommelen which in turn was another nine laps ahead of the sister car driven by de Adamich, Pescarolo and Vaccarella.
1971 Brands Hatch 1000km
The World Championship returned to Europe for the Brands Hatch 1000km on April 4th.
Two car teams from Gulf and Martini were joined by the Auto Usdau entry of Willi Kauhsen and Reinhold Joest which had by this time been repainted yellow with a green centre stripe and noseband.
The Martini squad trialled a twin snorkel airbox in practice and Brian Redman was called up at the last minute to co-drive with Vic Elford as Kurt Ahrens Jr. had some kind of disagreement with team principal Dechent.
Ickx / Regazzoni were on pole in the Ferrari 312 P followed by Stommelen / Hezemans for Alfa Romeo. The fastest 917 was that of Siffert / Bell in third. Rodriguez / Oliver started fourth followed by Elford / Redman in fifth. De Adamich / Pescarolo were sixth for Alfa and van Lennep / Larrouse seventh in the second Martini entry. Kauhsen / Joest lined up eighth for Auto Usdau.
First of the 917s to experience problems was the JWAE car of Rodriguez / Oliver which retired with fuel feed problems at one third distance.
Half an hour later, the Elford / Redman Martini entry was in the pits with fuel leaking onto the rear tyres. This somehow ignited and, although the ensuing fire was quickly put out, the car was retired.
In the second Martini entry, a loose undertray and then a seized brake disc kept van Lennep and Larrousse out of contention. They eventually finished ninth, three laps behind Kauhsen / Joest who had a steady run to sixth in the Auto Usdau machine.
Siffert / Bell finished a distant third after persistent gearbox problems. They were seven laps behind the winning Alfa Romeo 33/3 of de Adamich / Pescarolo / Hezemans and three behind the Ickx / Regazzoni / Andretti Ferrari 312 P.
1971 Thruxton BARC 200
One week later, David Piper wheeled his 917 out for its first appearance of 1971. It appeared sporting a new green and silver colour scheme complete with backing from Piper’s usual sponsor, Sandeman.
Entered in the BARC 200 F2 support race at Thruxton, it was driven to an easy win by Jo Siffert against mostly two-litre opposition.
1971 Le Mans Test
The next weekend, the annual Le Mans test took place. To try and boost spectator attendance, the organisers also arranged a three hour non-championship race.
Five 917s were on hand for the test session. JWAE had a regular Gulf-liveried 917 K that trialled the dual snorkel airbox.
Wyer’s crew were also supplied with two plain white cars sent straight from the Porsche factory: there was a 917 K with magnesium chassis and vertical tail fins plus an updated 917 L. Both these cars featured titanium suspension updates and new Bilstein-de Carbon shocks.
A third white car was notionally entered under the Martini banner but was actually handled by Porsche factory personnel. It was a new 917/20 that featured dumpy bodywork and was famously painted as the ‘Pink Pig’ for the 24 Hours in June.
The only privateer example on hand was that of the Zitro Racing Team.
All five 917s present used the drilled brake discs that had been perfected since Sebring.
Jackie Oliver set fastest time of the day in the re-bodied 917 L. His time was nearly five seconds quicker than the next best machine which was the mag chassis 917 K he shared with Jo Siffert and Derek Bell.
The standard Gulf-liveried 917 K used by the same three drivers was a further second back in third place ahead of the Escuderia Montjuich Ferrari 512 M of Hobbs / Juncadella. Fifth spot went to the 917/20 driven by Willi Kauhsen and Jo Siffert with the Zitro entry of Dominique Martin ninth.
1971 Le Mans 3 Hours
Only Willi Kauhsen and Gijs van Lennep started the three hour race.
They posted second quickest qualifying time in the 917/20 behind the Long Tail 917 driven by Derek Bell which was subsequently withdrawn.
Kauhsen and van Lennep lapped the entire field within ten minutes but retired at mid distance after the engine cut out and refused to re-start.
Victory went to the Sonauto Porsche 908/02 of Claude Ballot-Lena and Guy Chasseuil after the Georg Loos / Franz Pesch Ferrari 512 M ran out of fuel late on.
1971 Monza 1000km
The Monza 1000km race on April 25th was round five of the 1971 World Sportscar Championship.
It attracted six 917 Ks: two apiece from Gulf and Martini (now running with all the JWAE updates) plus the privateer Auto Usdau and Zitro entries.
Each 917 used the four-speed gearbox at Monza and only Zitro didn’t have the updated rear bodywork with its vertical stabilising fins. By this time, virtually every 917 racing was running an engine with a single billet crankshaft.
Elford and Larrousse were on pole for Martini followed by Ickx / Regazzoni in the sole Ferrari 312 P. Stommelen / Hezemans were next in the Alfa 33/3 and Parkes / Bonnier fourth in the Scuderia Filipinetti Ferrari 512 S/M hybrid.
Gulf pairings Rodriguez / Oliver (fifth) and Siffert / Bell (seventh) were split by another Alfa (that of de Adamich / Pescarolo). Marko and Larrousse were down in twelfth in the second Martini entry followed by Kauhsen / Joest in 14th and the Zitro car driven by Dominique Martin / Gerard Pillon in 15th.
Despite having been eclipsed in qualifying, the race yielded a copybook victory for JWAE; Rodriguez / Oliver took the win and finished three laps ahead of runners up Siffert / Bell. Alfa drivers de Adamich / Pescarolo rounded out the podium.
Kauhsen / Joest took sixth for Auto Usdau and Martin / Pillon ninth for Zitro.
Having led early on, the pole-starting Martini entry of Elford / Larrousse went out after 44 laps with a sticking throttle. Its sister car followed 16 laps later with a broken fuel line.
1971 Imola Interserie
As the inaugural Interserie championship of 1970 had proven a success, a second year of European Group 7 racing was organised.
The 1971 series began at Imola on May 2nd and a pair of 917 Ks were joined by a trio of Porsche’s new Group 7 917 Spyders. Also present was a works Ferrari 512 M fitted with a special seven-litre engine that was destined for Can-Am use.
The new 917 Spyders for Leo Kinnunen (AAW), Michel Weber (Gesipa) and Jurgen Nuehaus (privateer) were joined by 917 Ks for Dominique Martin (Zitro) and Mario Casoni (David Piper). Both 917 Ks were still running 4.5-litre engines as was Weber’s Spyder. By contrast, Kinnunen and Neuhaus had the latest five-litre motors in their Spyders.
Arturo Merzario was on pole in the Can-Am-engined Ferrari 512 M and, on aggregate, he won by 40 seconds from Chris Craft’s Ecurie Evergreen McLaren M8E. Best of the Porsches was the Spyder of Kinnunen which finished third from a lowly tenth on the grid. Weber’s Spyder took sixth from an eighth place grid slot.
Martin was ninth in the Zitro 917 K (after qualifying 14th). Casoni (who had started eleventh) retired David Piper’s car in the second heat with a broken throttle cable.
Neuhaus had been the fastest Porsche in qualifying (starting sixth) but he managed just six laps in the first heat before stopping his Spyder with engine temperatures rising and oil pressure falling.
1971 Spa 1000km
Spa hosted a 1000km race on May 9th for round six of the World Championship and Porsche dominated qualifying.
The JWAE entries of Siffert / Bell and Rodriguez / Oliver started first and third respectively. They were split by the Martini example of Elford / Larrousse and followed by the fourth placed Marko / van Lennep sister car.
Best Ferrari was the 312 P of Ickx / Regazzoni in fifth followed by the Scuderia Filipinetti 512 M of Gagliardi / Manfredini in sixth. The Auto Usdau 917 K of Kauhsen / Joest started seventh with Martin / Pillon back in eleventh for Zitro.
JWAE controlled the race from start to finish.
Rodriguez / Oliver took the win while Siffert / Bell were second and the only car not to be lapped. Pescarolo and de Adamich came from eighth on the grid to finish third for Alfa Romeo.
Willi Kauhsen suffered a puncture in the final hour which damaged his car’s rear bodywork and dropped the Auto Usdau entry from third to fourth.
Both Martini machines were early retirements: Marko went out after six laps when the engine died and Elford stopped with untraceable handling problems on lap 31. Moments before, Gerard Pillon had crashed the Zitro entry with a blown front tyre.
1971 Targa Florio
As had been the case in 1970, Porsche’s top teams opted to run 908/03s at the Targa Florio for round seven of the World Championship (May 16th).
Alfa Romeo took a dramatic win after both Gulf entries crashed on the opening lap.
The solitary Martini 908/03 suffered a similar fate but also caught fire which left Brian Redman with serious burns.
1971 Nurburgring 1000km
The 908/03s were again deployed two weeks later at the Nurburgring 1000km.
This time, Porsche took an important 1-2-3 finish on home soil.
Elford / Larrousse won for Martini followed by the JWAE entry of Rodriguez / Siffert / Oliver. The Martini sister car driven by van Lennep, Marko and a recovering Brian Redman was third.
The only 917 in the race was that of Auto Usdau for Kauhsen / Joest which started tenth and rose to finish sixth as best of the five-litre Sports cars.
1971 Repubblica GP, Vallelunga
From Germany, the Auto Usdau car was taken direct to Italy for the non-championship Repubblica GP on June 2nd. This race was organised to mark the opening of the reconstructed Vallelunga circuit on the outskirts of Rome.
Held just two days after the Nurburgring 1000km, Willi Kauhsen enlisted Jo Siffert to drive. However, Siffert missed practice so had to start from the back of the grid.
By this time, Auto Usdau’s 4.5-litre engine had run for 92 hours without a rebuild and it simply didn’t have the gusto to win. Siffert finished second to the Scuderia Filipinetti Ferrari 512 M of Mike Parkes.
1971 Zolder Interserie
The same car was entered for round two of the Interserie championship four days later at Zolder, but the engine finally gave up during practice and Kauhsen did not start.
There were also a trio of 917 Spyders on hand at Zolder, the fastest of which was driven by Kinnunen who qualified sixth for AAW. Neuhaus started eighth and Weber ninth. The top three grid slots all went to McLarens with Peter Gethin on pole in the Castrol-backed Sid Taylor Racing M8E followed by Chris Craft’s similar Ecurie Evergreen mount.
After the two heats, Gethin took the win with Kinnunen second. The Alfa 33/3 of Toine Hezemans was third, Neuhaus was fourth and Weber fifth.
1971 Le Mans 24 Hours
Porsche had secured their first outright victory at Le Mans in 1970 and turned up even better prepared for 1971.
There were three cars apiece for Gulf and Martini.
Five of these were factory owned and prepared. They comprised a trio of updated Long Tails plus the 917/20 and a 917 K on a magnesium chassis. In addition, JWAE took one of their regular Kurzhecks.
Zitro Racing were on hand with their standard privateer car.
In the two JWAE Long Tails were Siffert / Bell and Rodriguez / Oliver while Richard Attwood and Herbert Muller were in the 917 K.
Martini put Elford / Larrousse in their silver Long Tail and Marko / van Lennep in their white mag chassis 917 K: both cars ran full Martini livery.
The Martini-entered 917/20 was the famous ‘Pink Pig’ and was driven by Willi Kauhsen / Reinhold Joest.
For Le Mans, it was decided to use five speed gearboxes in all these cars along with the earlier 4907cc engine for reliability.
Le Mans was round eight of the World Sportscar Championship and began with a rolling start after the traditional ‘Le Mans’ start where the drivers dashed across the track was abandoned on safety grounds.
Qualifying had seen the trio of Long Tail 917s go quickest with Rodriguez / Oliver on pole for Gulf, Elford / Larrousse second for Martini and Siffert / Bell third in the other Gulf-backed Langheck.
Quickest of the conventionally-bodied Group 5 cars was the Penske Ferrari 512 M of Mark Donohue / David Hobbs (fourth) which was two tenths faster than the white mag chassis Martini 917 K of Marko / van Lennep (fifth).
Vaccarella / Juncadella were sixth in the Escuderia Montjuich 512 M followed by the pink 917/20 of Kauhsen / Joest in seventh. The remaining 917 Ks were eleventh (Attwood / Muller for JWAE) and 18th (Martin / Pillon for Zitro).
The first Porsche retirement came in the ninth hour when the cooling fan on the Elford / Larrousse Martini Long Tail became detached which caused the engine to overheat.
Next to go was the 917/20 in hour twelve; Joest crashed at Arnage and damaged the car too badly to continue.
JWAE lost their first car in the 14th hour when an oil pipe broke at full speed down the back straight and flooded the cockpit with scolding oil. Rodriguez limped back to pits but the engine had suffered terminal damage.
Soon afterwards, the sister Gulf Long Tail was also gone as Siffert / Bell (who had already lost a lot of time with shock absorber problems) suffered a cracked crankcase that put them out for good.
Having suffered with persistent gearbox problems, Zitro’s privateer 917 K stopped after labouring for a gallant 22 hours.
This left just two 917 Ks in the race.
Fortunately, the white mag chassis Martini entry of Gijs van Lennep and Helmut Marko emerged victorious. It finished two laps ahead of the standard Gulf example of Attwood / Muller which had required a full gearbox rebuild during the night.
Third and fourth spots went to the Ferrari 512 Ms of NART and privateer David Weir, but both were over 30 laps behind the winning Porsche.
1971 Zeltweg 1000km
Two weeks after Le Mans, the Zeltweg 1000km was 1971’s penultimate World Championship race.
Just three 917 Ks were entered: two from Gulf and a solitary example from Martini.
Despite the World Championship already having been decided in Porsche’s favour, new parts were still being trialled. These included twin front Girling discs on JWAE’s practice car and a special transistorised anti-lock system on the brand new Martini entry.
Pedro Rodriguez and Richard Attwood were on pole for JWAE with a time just over half a second quicker than the Ferrari 312 P of Ickx and Regazzoni. Marko / Larrousse were third for Martini and Siffert / Bell were fourth in the other Gulf Porsche. Quickest of the Ferrari 512 Ms was that of Herbert Muller and Rene Herzog in fifth.
Siffert went out at quarter distance with a broken clutch followed later by the Martini entry which suffered a rear puncture. This massively damaged the rear bodywork to the extent the car had to be retired. Zeltweg would be Martini’s final race with the 917 as the team would not appear at Watkins Glen.
Despite losing three laps with a flat battery when leading, the JWAE car of Rodriguez / Attwood recovered to win. Attwood had been drafted into the Gulf squad after Jackie Oliver broke his contract to go Can-Am racing with Shadow.
Two laps behind were the Alfa 33/3s of Hezemans / Vaccarella and Stommelen / Galli.
1971 Vila Real
The Vila Real street circuit in Portugal hosted a non championship race on July 4th where David Piper entered his green and silver 917 K for domestic hero, Mario Cabral.
Despite dropping oil pressure towards the end of the 240km race, Cabral held on to finish second behind the Escuderia Nacional Porsche 908/02 of Jorge de Bagration.
1971 Norisring Hockenheim
That weekend, the Interserie championship also resumed with round three at Hockenheim. It was increasingly, though, becoming the preserve of specialist Group 7 cars and there were no 917 Ks present either here nor at the Norisring one week later.
1971 Norisring Interserie
The Norisring Interserie event was completely overshadowed by the death of Pedro Rodriguez who was driving a Ferrari 512 M for Herbert Muller.
While battling for the lead with Leo Kinnunen’s 917 Spyder on lap twelve of the first heat, Rodriguez was edged into the wall while passing a slower car. The Ferrari hit the armco backwards and shot across the track. It slammed head on into the opposing barrier and caught fire.
Trapped in the wreckage, poor Pedro Rodriguez died soon after he reached hospital.
Still only July, it had already proven to be another terrible year of driver fatalities.
1971 Watkins Glen 6 Hours
The Watkins Glen 6 Hours on July 24th brought the eleven-round 1971 World Sportscar Championship to a close.
As expected, the Martini team was absent leaving just JWAE to officially represent Porsche.
Mark Donohue and David Hobbs were on pole in the Penske Ferrari 512 M. Despite this car failing to deliver the results that matched its blistering performance, the American team had so impressed that Porsche made them their works Can-Am partner for 1972 and 1973.
Second on the grid was the Gulf 917 K of Siffert / van Lennep. Third went to the Ferrari 312 P of Ickx / Andretti and fourth to the sister Gulf entry of Bell / Attwood.
Also present was the green and silver 917 of David Piper. Piper had enlisted Tony Adamowicz and Mario Cabral to drive. They qualified eleventh and, although still running at the end, were not classified for having covered insufficient distance.
Both JWAE cars suffered a rash of punctures and myriad other troubles that stifled their race.
Late rain soaked the ignition leads on both cars and they crossed the finish line with rough sounding engines. The Siffert / van Lennep entry placed second, two laps behind the winning Alfa 33/3 of de Adamich / Peterson.
In the other Gulf car, Bell / Attwood finished third another eight laps down the road.
1971 Watkins Glen Can-Am
That same weekend, Watkins Glen also hosted a round of the Can-Am championship and, like in 1970, all the 917s were entered. Also present and making its competition debut in the Can-Am race was Porsche’s brand new 917/10 Group 7 car for Jo Siffert.
With the number of pure Group 7 cars in Can-Am having risen dramatically (combined with some extremely rapid development), the 917 Ks were no longer competitive in this form of racing.
After qualifying well down the order, they finished ninth (van Lennep), eleventh (Bell) and 13th (Attwood).
By contrast, Siffert took third in the new dayglo red STP-backed 917/10 after a big battle with Mario Andretti in the Ferrari 712 (which was also making its debut).
1971 Keimola Interserie
There were no 917 Ks at the Keimola Interserie race on August 22nd (round five).
Leo Kinnunen took a convincing victory in the Group 7 AAW 917 Spyder ahead of the Sid Taylor-entered McLaren M8E of Peter Gethin.
1971 Imola Interserie
Three weeks later, David Piper’s Kurzheck was on hand at the Imola Interserie race. Piper’s green and silver Sandeman-backed car arrived from Stuttgart with a fresh five-litre engine installed. It ran under a Scuderia Brescia Corse entry for Mario Casoni.
The first heat was contested in pouring rain and resulted in yet another tragic loss of life.
Driving a Scuderia Nettuno Alfa Romeo 33/3, Klaus Reich died when he lost control while lapping a slower Abarth. His car aquaplaned into a wall and burst into flames before spinning to a stop just past the finish line.
Klaus Reisch was thrown from the car and died from his injuries soon after he arrived at hospital.
Despite this horrific accident, the race continued.
After heat two had concluded, Casoni was classified fifth even though he forgot to switch the fuel pumps on at the start of the second phase and crawled away from the line in last position.
Driving one of the three Porsche 917 Spyders present, Leo Kinnunen finished fourth on aggregate and was crowned 1971 Interserie champion with one round still to go.
1971 Hockenheim Interserie
No 917 Ks turned up for the Interserie finale at Hockenheim on October 3rd where Brian Redman’s victory made it two wins from two for the Sid Taylor BRM P167.
917 Spyders finished second through fourth.
With the Interserie and World Championship over, there were just a few big independent races left before most 917 Ks were forced into retirement.
1971 Barcelona 1000km, Montjuich Park
Montjuich Park hosted the Barcelona 1000km on October 12th and, although the tortuous nature of the tight, twisty and undulating circuit meant it was not ideal for big sports cars, JWAE sent a 917 K for Derek Bell and Gijs van Lennep to share.
The thirsty five-litre Porsche would have to do an extra couple of stops compared to the lightweight two-litre Prototypes which made up most of the grid.
Starting third, the track proved too much for the big Porsche’s brakes. By dropping the pace, Bell and van Lennep eventually finished second, five laps down on the winning ex-JWAE 908/03 that had been sold to Fernandez brothers Jose and Juan. This car was run by Escuderia Montjuich and was still in its original Gulf colours.
1971 Paris 1000km, Montlhery
Fittingly, JWAE bowed out with a win one week later at their final race for Porsche.
In the Paris 1000km at Montlhery, the Kurzheck of Bell / van Lennep started third and won by five laps over the pole-starting 917 Spyder of Larrousse / Kinnunen.
An announcement had been made back in September that John Wyer’s Gulf Racing team would build a new Ford-powered Group 6 Prototype for the 1972 season. Thus, Montlhery brought the curtain down on arguably the greatest combination of team, car and drivers that endurance racing had ever seen.
Death of Jo Siffert
However, some really bad news was to come.
The weekend after Montlhery, JWAE driver, Jo Siffert, was killed in the non-championship F1 Victory race at Brands Hatch. The event had been organised to celebrate Tyrrell and Jackie Stewart’s wins in the Formula 1 Driver and Constructor standings.
Unknown to him, Siffert’s BRM had incurred suspension damage after a first lap coming together with Ronnie Peterson. The suspension failed with disastrous consequences a few laps later. Siffert’s BRM careered into the barriers and burst into flames with the Swiss ace unable to get out.
A Gulf 917 K was on hand at Siffert’s funeral five days later.
It had proven a brutal three years since the 917 was introduced. In that time, the F1 and sports car world had lost Bruce McLaren, Jochen Rindt, Paul Hawkins, Piers Courage, Iganzio Giunti, Hans Laine, Lucien Bianchi, Yukio Fukuzawa, Klaus Reich and of course Pedro Rodriguez who was Siffert’s team-mate at JWAE and BRM.
1971 Japanese GP, Fuji
The penultimate race of 1971 was the Japanese GP at Fuji on October 31st where David Piper’s Seiko and Mitsubishi-backed 917 K was driven by Tetsu Ikuzawa.
Ikuzawa took second behind the privateer Ferrari 512 M of Gregg Young.
1971 Kyalami 9 Hours
One week later, Piper entered two Kurzhecks for the Kyalami 9 Hours having added a car built from spare parts to his stable.
Both this and his original chassis (010) were repainted white and red to reflect sponsorship from Lucky Strike cigarettes.
The works Ferrari 312 Ps driven by Regazzoni / Redman and Ickx / Andretti were fastest in qualifying.
Driving Piper’s original 917, Richard Attwood / Dave Charlton started fourth while Tony Adamowicz / Mario Casoni were sixth in the other machine.
The Ferraris finished the race as they started while the Adamowicz / Casoni 917 took fourth behind the Gunston-backed Team Richter Chevron B19 driven by Howden Ganley, Paddy Driver and Mike Hailwood.
In the second 917, Dave Charlton and Richard Attwood had trouble throughout and finally retired with a blown engine.
1971 Close Season
After the 1971 season concluded, nearly all the 917 Ks were retired having been made obsolete by the new three-litre engine limit imposed for the World Sportscar Championship.
They were, of course, still permitted contest the Interserie championship but were no longer in the reckoning for outright victory.
Chris Craft took a couple of third place Interserie finishes for David Piper in 1972 but the 917 Ks most notable performances that year arguably came in the end-of-season Brazilian Temporada. Here, Wilson Fittipaldi took a brace of seconds followed by victory in the finale at Interlagos driving the now yellow ex-Zitro Racing example (chassis 025).
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com
