1969 Season (Part IV) 

 NINTH RACE - 6 HOURS OF WATKINS GLEN 

SPORTS SYNTHESIS

Although the championship was already in the hands of Porsche, the races at Watkins Glen and Zeltweg were also very animated. In Watkins Glen two 908 Spyders were entered, as well as two privateer entered 908´s, and three out of those four cars finished in the top three places. In addition, Vic Elford with 908 obtained the Pole Position.

While this happened, in Nürburgring different elements were tried and experimented on the 917 but, although they were vastly improved, then did not get to equal the times obtained by the 908 Spyder .   

See the race standings

 TENTH RACE - 1000 KM. ZELTWEG 

SPORTS SYNTHESIS

In Zeltweg the 917 finally paid off. It faced his adversaries and in spite of their congenital brake problem, things had improved enough. The stability was not optimal, but now it was possible to be driven. All the improvements were obtained during the official tests, and the position of the front stabilizers was obtained by modifying the front end of the car. Thus it was like the 917, until that moment an untamed horse, was transformed into something more manageable.

In addition, the Porsche engineers led themselves to obtain a good ventilation of the cockpit, and reduced the fuel consumption on the basis of a new design of exhaust pipes, which proved very complicated but very effective. With hard work and thanks to thousand experimentations and loss of heart, the 917 was present in Zeltweg, and in the hands of Siffert-Ahrens as the winning car. And in third place, another 917: the one of Redman-Atwood.

 
Siffert/Ahrens, the winners

For the statistic: 

• The date: 10/08/69. 

• The Track: Zeltweg (5.911 km.) 

• The Drivers: Joseph Siffert-Kurt Ahrens Jr  

• The winning chassis was number 009 

• The car ran assisted by Freiherr Von Wendt´s team.  

See the race standings

  FINAL STANDINGS OF THE WORLD MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP 1969

References: 

1.Daytona - 2.Sebring - 3.Brands Hatch - 4.Monza - 5.Targa Florio - 6.Spa - 7.Nürburgring - 8.Le Mans - 9.Watkins Glen - 10.Zeltweg

In blue font, the selected competitions. (Only the five best scores of the year were computed)  

 AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE 1969 CHAMPIONSHIP 

After the conclusion of the 1969 World Championship of Makes, more precisely in October of ' 69, David Piper accompanied by Joseph Siffert participated as privateers in the Japanese Sports Car Race, at -obviously- Japan. They finished 6^th.

Time later, David Piper enters in a race at Hockenheim (Germany) and finishes 3^rd.

In November of '69 David Piper enters in a race at Kyalami (9 hs Kyalami - South Africa) and finishes 1st.

Jonathan Thompson drawing (courtesy of Philippe Mourinier) 

 PREPARATIONS FOR THE 1970 SEASON 

The Porsche “capos” hoped that the 917, with it’s modified tail, known as "Hockenheim" was to be the quickest one during the 1970 Season. They had already thought about the organization who would sustain their participation in the next year and for that reason, towards half-full of September of 1969, Ferry Porsche and Ferdinand Piech met John Wyer and John Willment in Zuffenhausen, which were the main partners of JW Automotive Engineering to constitute a 7-car team. Since recently the owners of the JWAE had signed an agreement with Grady Davis (Executive Vice President of Gulf Oil), to introduce Gulf Oil in motorsport, the new team would be called "Gulf Porsche".

The first activity made altogether between Porsche and the John Wyer Automotive organization, took shape in several test sessions in Zeltweg. Conventional models and the experimental 917PA (a previous development for Can-Am) were on that test.  

PREPARATIONS OF THE CARS

Test sessions at Zeltweg 

The first joint activity between Porsche and John Wyer Automotive took place in various test sessions at Zeltweg. Conventional models, and the experimental 917PA (an unsuccessful development for the Can Am Series) attended such test.

During the test, modifications to the suspension were done, in order to improve the docility of the ride.

Another modification, consisted in putting –in a rude manner- an aluminum device in the rear end of the car, which resulted in an impressive improvement in the car’s performance, which was ultimately reflected in the lap times, which were three seconds faster. This would be the first step towards the future construction of the 917 Langheck (long tail).

Wyer had entered an agreement with Firestone, which allowed him to replace the Dunlop tires that had been used. With this change, lap times were improved another two seconds.

At the end of this test sessions a much faster, docile 917 was born.

Preparation in John Wyer´s workshop

In January, 1970, three 917K (short tail) were delivered at the John Wyer Automotive workshop for preparation purposes, which included:

• Reinforced welding of the chassis

• Installation of flexible tubing in the lubrication system to minimize the chance of a hot oil leakage in the event of an accident

• Extra protection in light areas of the frame, which was designed to help protect against sand and rubber marbles

• Addition of an anti-fire system

• Tail section modification to host the increased tire measurement (from 12” to 15”)

• Framework painting (celestial blue and orange)

to 1969 (III) Season

to 1970 (I) Season

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