VIN: the Gulf Racing Porsche 917 chassis 016
History of chassis 016
Chassis 016 first appeared for the 917’s homologation inspection in April 21st 1969.
Like the majority of 917s present that day, 016 had only been loosely assembled. It was subsequently dismantled to be rebuilt properly at a later date.
016 did not race at all in 1969.
For the 1970 season, 016 was built up and dispatched to John Wyer’s Gulf-backed operation in England. Wyer had been brought on board to manage Porsche’s factory’s 917 programme for 1970 and 1971.
During the course of the 1970 season, chassis 016 appeared at five World Sportscar Championship events plus the Watkins Glen Can-Am race and the non-championship Imola 500km.
At the hands of Pedro Rodriguez, 016’s debut at the Brands Hatch 1000km went down in history as one of the most exciting races in history.
Rodriguez (co-driven by Leo Kinnunen) lined up seventh on the grid and the race got underway in torrential conditions. Rodriguez, who was a wet weather maestro, soon established himself at the head of the field, but a penalty for passing under yellow flags dropped him to fifth.
Undeterred, Rodriguez put on one of the most spellbinding driving displays ever to recover the lead and take victory.
At Monza two weeks later, Rodriguez / Kinnunen started fifth in 016. They took their second consecutive win in the World Sportscar Championship as most of the other 917s dropped out for one reason or another.
For Le Mans, John Wyer’s crew stuck with their trusty 917 Kurzhecks despite the availability of Porsche’s revamped Langheck variant.
Rodriguez / Kinnunen were once again paired together. They qualified fifth in 016 which, for this race, had been fitted with the latest 4.9-litre engine.
Unfortunately, the car ground to a halt at Arnage with a broken con rod after just 22 laps.
At the Watkins Glen 6 Hours, Rodriguez / Kinnunen qualified third and took the win from team-mates Siffert / Redman. This commanding victory secured Porsche the 1970 World Sportscar Championship with one round still to go.
The day after the six hour race, Watkins Glen also played host to a big money Can-Am event. Rodriguez qualified tenth but retired from the race at one third distance with a broken gearbox.
Rodriguez also retired from the non-championship Imola 500km nine weeks later. He started second only to crash out while trying to avoid a spinning Chevron.
Chassis 016’s last race of 1970 was at the World Championship season finale: the Zeltweg 1000km.
On this occasion, Rodriguez / Kinnunen started from pole but 016 was forced out of the race after just five laps with broken exhaust valves.
In 1971, 016 principally served as a back-up car for the John Wyer team.
Its only competitive outings were at the Le Mans Test weekend where it posted third fastest time and at the Watkins Glen Can-Am race where Richard Attwood drove it to 13th overall having started from eleventh on the grid.
At the end of the 1971 season, 016 was returned to Porsche.
In 1975, it was sold to Floridian Porsche collector, Gerry Sutterfield, who retained it until 1996.
Notable History
Porsche System Engineering
21/04/1969 factory homologation presentation
John Wyer Automotive Engineering / Gulf Racing
4.5-litre engine
12/04/1970 WSC Brands Hatch 1000km (P. Rodriguez / L. Kinnunen) 1st oa, 1st S5.0 class (#10)
25/04/1970 WSC Monza 1000km (P. Rodriguez / L. Kinnunen) 1st oa, 1st S5.0 class (#7)
4.9-litre engine
14/06/1970 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (P. Rodriguez / L. Kinnunen) DNF engine (#21)
11/07/1970 WSC Watkins Glen 6 Hours (P. Rodriguez / L. Kinnunen) 1st oa, 1st S5.0 class (#2)
12/07/1970 CAM Watkins Glen (P. Rodriguez) DNF (#2)
13/09/1970 IND Imola 500km (P. Rodriguez) DNF (#2)
11/10/1970 WSC Zeltweg 1000km (P. Rodriguez / L. Kinnunen) DNF (#22)
31/01/1971 WSC Daytona 24 Hours (P. Rodriguez / J. Oliver / J. Siffert / D. Bell) T-car (#T)
20/03/1971 WSC Sebring 12 Hours (J. Siffert) T-car (#T)
04/04/1971 WSC Brands Hatch 1000km (D. Bell) T-car (#T)
18/04/1971 IND Le Mans Test (J. Oliver / J. Siffert / D. Bell) 3rd oa, 3rd S5.0 class (#18)
25/04/1971 WSC Monza 1000km (D. Bell / J. Oliver) T-car (#T)
09/05/1971 WSC Spa 1000km (P. Rodriguez / J. Oliver / J. Siffert / D. Bell) T-car (#T)
27/06/1971 WSC Zeltweg 1000km (D. Bell / R. Attwood / P. Rodriguez) T-car (#T)
24/07/1971 WSC Watkins Glen 6 Hours (J. Siffert / G. van Lennep / D. Bell / R. Attwood) T-car (#T)
25/07/1971 CAM Watkins Glen (R. Attwood) 13th oa, 4th S5.0 class (#91)
Returned to Porsche
1975 sold to Gerry Sutterfield, Florida
1996 sold to Chris McAllister, Indianapolis
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com
