VIN: the works / Gulf Racing Porsche 917 chassis 009
History of chassis 009
Chassis 009 was one of three Porsche 917s that raced in 1969, 1970 and 1971.
The others (007 and 010) were sold off to privateers for 1970 but 009 was campaigned exclusively by the Porsche factory and then John Wyer Automotive Engineering (JWAE).
The car made its debut in the 1969 World Championship finale, a 1000km race at the new Zeltweg circuit on August 10th.
Two brand new 917s were taken for assessment by potential customers David Piper (chassis 010) and Karl von Wendt (009).
Painted white with green wing flashes, 009 was allocated to factory drivers Jo Siffert and Kurt Ahrens Jr.
Both cars were in short tail configuration with new 15-inch rear wheels, slightly heavier ventilated brakes and the anti-dive geometry removed.
In qualifying, Ahrens Jr. incurred minor damage after a coming together with a Mirage M3. The collision ruled both cars out of any further participation in the session.
Siffert / Ahrens Jr. would nevertheless start fourth.
The race was a more successful affair. With opposition from Mirage, Matra and Alfa Romeo all out by mid-distance, Siffert and Ahrens Jr. took the 917’s first win.
For 1970, Porsche contracted JWAE to handle the 917 programme and chassis 009 was one of several cars dispatched to England once it was updated to the latest specification.
For the next two seasons, 009 appeared in the colours of Gulf Oil, JWAE’s long term sponsor.
009 raced twice in 1970. Its first appearance was at the Sebring 12 Hours on March 21st. After six weeks at the Gulf research centre in Pennsylvania, the JWAE cars arrived with new cockpit and damper cooling ducts, better dampers, larger front wheel bearings, wider wheels and wider bodywork.
009 was driven by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. They qualified second.
However, JWAE had missed a telegram from Porsche that called for some new titanium retaining bolts to be replaced with steel ones. As a result, both JWAE cars suffered wobbling uprights and multiple changes were required during the race. The problem eventually forced 009 to retire.
At Monza five weeks later, 009 was again driven by Siffert / Redman and this time it ran the new 4.9-litre engine. It was also equipped with a Girling brake system that used Ford GT40-type front calipers and ventilated discs along with special front uprights made in Stuttgart.
Siffert / Redman put 009 on pole but the 4.9-litre engine suffered an oil leak late in the session which saw the car revert to a 4.5-litre unit.
In the race, Siffert span at Lesmo when trying to avoid a slower car. He touched a barrier which necessitated a 24 minute stop for new rear suspension. 009 ultimately finished twelfth.
The car’s next race was at Sebring in 1971, by which time it had been further uprated to include the latest five-litre engine and five-speed gearbox.
009 was allocated to Pedro Rodriguez and Jackie Oliver who qualified third.
During the race, Rodriguez had a series of bashes with the pole-starting Penske Ferrari 512 M which resulted in a substantial amount of the 917’s front bodywork having to be cutaway. This greatly reduced the car’s top speed but it soldiered on to finish fourth.
009 was subsequently retired from competition duty.
In later years, it was sold to Manfred Freisinger who in turn passed it onto Charles Nearburg in the USA.
Notable History
Porsche System Engineering
21/04/1969 Factory homologation presentation
Porsche System Engineering (Karl Freiherr von Wendt entry)
10/08/1969 WSC Zeltweg 1000km (J. Siffert / K. Ahrens Jr.) 1st oa, 1st S5.0 class (#29)
John Wyer Automotive Engineering / Gulf Racing
21/03/1970 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (J. Siffert / B. Redman / L. Kinnunen) DNF (#14)
25/04/1970 WSC Monza 1000km (J. Siffert / B. Redman) 12th oa, 9th S5.0 class (#8)
20/03/1971 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (P. Rodriguez / J. Oliver) 4th oa, 2nd S class (#2)
Later sold to Manfred Freisinger, Germany
Later sold to Charles Nearburg, USA
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com
