Vic Elford

Vic was something of a star performer in every type of racing to which he turned his hand, and it is a great shame he was not seen in a competitive Grand Prix car earlier in his career, which was largely spent rallying, sprinkled with whatever circuit racing his limited finances would allow.

He was a Ford works driver from 1964 until he switched to Porsche, Vic then winning the Group 3 title in 1967 and the Monte Carlo Rally in 1968. By now he had become an established member of the Porsche sports car team and produced some dazzling performances, winning the Daytona 24 Hours (after doing the lion's share of the driving), the Targa Florio - a truly epic performance - and the Nürburgring 1000 Km. Cooper, searching for a driver, offered Vic a chance at the French GP and he duly finished fourth first time out in the rain. He completed the season with them, but then the team folded.

For 1969 Elford continued with Porsche in sports car racing - taking time out to finish 11th in the Daytona 500 in a Dodge! - and drove for privateer Colin Crabbe in F1. Things looked promising until he was involved in Mario Andretti's accident at the German GP, his McLaren hitting debris from the American's car. Vic crashed badly and was lucky to escape with no worse than a broken arm and collar-bone.

The crash effectively spelt the end of his Grand Prix career, but he was soon back in the Porsche and driving as well as ever, winning the 1970 Nürburgring 1000 Km with Ahrens. Elford drove for BRM in the German GP of 1971, but was not really given a fair crack of the whip.

He raced on, driving for Porsche and Alfa Romeo in endurance events, handling Chaparrals, McLarens and Shadows in Can-Am, and a Chevron in F2, and even won a Trans-Am race in a Camaro at Watkins Glen before finally retiring in 1974. He was briefly team manager of the ATS F1 team in the second half of 1977, but now lives in Florida, involved with the Porsche marque once more, offering his considerable expertise to those lucky enough to be able to purchase the fabulous Stuttgart sports machines.