Gijs van Lennep

A much respected driver, Gijs always gave a good account of himself whenever his occasional Grand Prix opportunities arose, and scored a point for both Williams and Ensign when their cars were hardly at their most competitive.

Beginning in Formula Vee in 1965, van Lennep soon took up sports car racing to such effect that he was in the Porsche factory team in 1967, taking third place with Elford in the Circuit of Mugello. After concentrating on Formula 3 in 1968, Gijs returned to sports cars and was awarded the Porsche Cup for the best private entrant in 1970.

The 1971 season found him much in demand. He won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Helmut Marko for Martini Porsche and the Paris 1000 Km for Gulf/Wyer, and took second place in the Targa Florio for Alfa Romeo, as well as hiring a Surtees to make his GP debut.

Adding F5000 to his already hectic schedule, van Lennep won the 1972 Rothmans title in a Surtees, and enjoyed continued sports car success with Martini Racing, winning the 1973 Targa Florio with Herbert Muller and the 1976 Le Mans with Jacky Ickx, after which he announced his retirement.