Siffert & Rodriguez

I am looking for really good pictures of both men. Especially good pictures showing there helmet designs. Can anyone out there help? Please post them...

Also maybe I can spark a conversation that involves great racing (and possibly the odd mention of 917s! :))

Jo Sifferts helmet is easy

In the BRM..

Pedro in the BRM too,his helmet was silver and black with"Rodrigeuz" on each side.

There you go Pedro's helmet

Thanks :beer:

Two of the most powerful images from my many memories of going racing are both from Brands Hatch. One is being soaked to the skin watching a pure master at work. Pedro Rodrigues in the Gulf 917 was a absolute master of the conditions sliding the car out of Druids on every single lap - never giving up. Although I was only 12 years old at the time I knew I was watching a pure genious.
The second was shocking and something that I will never ever forget. It was Autumn 1971 and I stood at the foot of Paddock at Brands with my brothers and parents watching the non Championship F1 race to celebrate Stewart's F1 Championship for Tyrrell. Gethin's BRM and Fittipaldi's Gold Leaf Lotus were contesting the lead with Jo 'Seppi' Siffert's BRM in 4th place. Only a few laps into the race we realised that it had gone very quiet, the engines had stopped. Then people started pointing and looking behind me I saw a huge pall of black smoke coming from the Hawthorne's Bend area of the circuit. The mood was very sombre and after a while a marshal's van came past and one of the occupants signalled to his colleagues (on the post in front of us) with a 'thumbs down'. Everyone knew then that something really terrible must have happened. An age passed and then the commentator announced that it was Seppi who had crashed. It wasn't until we were in the quiet car journey home that we knew he had died as announced on the radio news. In those days there were many death's on the circuits, Pedro having himself been killed at The Norisring earlier in 71.
It is ironic that two of the cleanest drivers around should have died in freak accidents which in a way helped to accelerate the safety standards we have today. There were not too many 'dangerous' drivers in those days due to the risks in going off. Many of todays drivers are anything but clean in their driving yet they all benefit from the safety standards from those 'terrible' days.
Pedro and Jo were great examples as to how a racing driver should be.

rear quarter view......

In the Porsche

No helmet but a nice shot.......

Some cracking pictures, Thanks for the story too Andrew, reminds us of the days where race drivers were racing drivers.

Any pictures of Pedro in the Gulf 917?

Only one I have.....

Now that is a beaut!

Cheers strad!

Originally posted by Andrew Kitson
Two of the most powerful images from my many memories of going racing are both from Brands Hatch. One is being soaked to the skin watching a pure master at work. Pedro Rodrigues in the Gulf 917 was a absolute master of the conditions sliding the car out of Druids on every single lap - never giving up. Although I was only 12 years old at the time I knew I was watching a pure genious.


A while ago on another forum, someone raised the question 'if you had the ability to travel through time and go back to watch any races in history, which would they be?'- that Brands race came up in quite a few people's lists- mine included.

I remember seeing a wonderful photo somewhere of Pedro exiting Druids just as you describe- the car is so sideways that the nose is virtually pointing into the bank on the inside of the track....

Originally posted by strad
No helmet but a nice shot.......

I met Pedro with Dickie Attwood when I was aged about 17, unfortunately I was too young and stupid to take full advantage of the meeting and ask them about some of their exploits (I was also a little overawed - probably). Wish I could go back in time and get a good spectating spot near Druids!!!:p

I too remember that race at Brands with Rodriguez in the 917 - I was 18 at the time - and somewhere in my archives - (archives being short for "in an unopened box in the loft from some distant past house move") - I have a reel of Super 8mm film, shot across from the top of Paddock Hill Bend, of those monster cars - and the 512's - sliding out of Druids through what amounted to not much less than a river. A truly unbelievable sight. Now, where's that torch.....

With the names Siffert and Rodriguez a hairy situation comes back to my mind: it was 1969 or 1970 at Spa 1000km race. in the first line of the grid were the two John Wyer 917 with Siffert and Rodriguez.When the flag fell and the race started, both accelerated with the same speed, bumping each other at the bottom of Eau Rouge and dissapearing side by side . I filmed that race by Super 8, and itīs time to have a look at this situation of struggelings within the same team. Both have gone years ago, but the rememberings staying alive.

great shots and (incomplete) translation to english:

www.porsche917.com.ar

Carlos

cjpani

An excellent site thankyou.

Klaus, there's a picture in this month's Motor Sport of that very Siffert/Rodriguez 917 moment at the bottom of Eau Rouge.

Yer tiz...

1 of the best racing pictures I have seen. A classic.

Definitely a great pic. I've got some video footage of that start - amazing. It was the 1970 race and the only guy who could stay with them was a certain Mr Ickx. He MIGHT have won except John Surtees (perhaps passed his brilliant best by then) wasn't quite able to maintain the pace.
The next year the Gulf 917s of Rodriguez/Oliver and Bell/Siffert finished 1-2 at 155mph. Bell's fastest lap was over 160mph and was about, I think, 11 seconds faster than the F1 record at the time. I don't know why, but the idea of Grand Prix drivers racing Sportscars which could blow F1 cars into the weeds rather appeals.....

What video is the footage on?

It's on a Gulf Racing video covering their 1968 (with GT40) and 1970 (with 917s and 908s) campaigns. I'll find out more detail if you'd like.

I think I know the one you mean. I have always meant to get it. I will now...

I would recommend it. Not only fab footage but interviews with the two great men and a certain Mr Wyer. There's also footage of Pedro hurling the 917 out of Druids on his way to THAT win at Brands in 1970.

Jackie Stewart wasn't the only one to have a cap.

They look pretty cool eh. Pedro raced here in Australia in the Tasman series (BRM)in the 60's. He wore the same hat.

As a small child, I caught up with Siffert and Rodriguez on practice day for the Rothmans Trophy at Oulton Park Easter 1971. Busy talking to each other, and with no one else around, they refused to autograph my programme! Some time later, Jackie Stewart "made" Siffert sign for me.

heres one of Pedro my dad took at the Daytona 24 Hours in 1970
http://www.paulsands.streamlinenet.co.uk/daytona70/slides/Image23.jpg

My Rodriguez memory is of the 1970 Brands race, just how sideways could you keep a 917 along the top straight?
My Siffert moment was at the same race just one year later.
Two school friends and I had decided to walk round the GP loop the wrong way, and were halfway to Stirlings from Clearways when we heard tyres screaching.
We soon found out who was spinning, it was Seppi. His car climbed the bank (sideways) and thankfully dropped back down on to the circuit. Seppi stopped just above us, got out of the car, had a good look round and decided he could drag the remains back to the pits and some uncomfortable questions from Mr Wyer.
As Seppi dropped the clutch to move off a marshal carrying an extinguisher arrived on the scene, panting and puffing like a steam engine and was mildly miffed that the miscreant had driven away. The three of us were then treated to a very one side dialogue about race drivers and their lack of consideration for marshals etc, all interspersed with words that will never get past the mods. We walked on our way trying not to laugh at the poor chap and speculating about what would have happened if the car had come down on our side of the bank.
Glyn