Easy win to Porsche in Sebring race

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32561, 22 March 1971, Page 3

Easy win to Porsche in Sebring race

(N.Z. Press Assn Copyright) SEBRING (Florida). A silver Porsche driven by V. Elford of England and G. Larrousse of France, streaked home an easy winner of the 12-hour Sebring race, continuing Germany’s domination of world endurance racing.

Elford and Larrouse, the latter a seventh place finisher last year, completed the round-the-clock grind almost 20 miles ahead of their nearest pursuer. It was Porsche’s third endurance triumph of the year and its fifteenth since M. Andretti broke a three-year drought for Ferrari by winning Sebring in 1970. The second and thirdplaced cars were Italian-made Alfa Romeo prototypes—small 3-litre machines that pack a tremendous punch. M. Galli, of Italy, and Rolf Stommelin, of Gertnany, drove the Alfa that chased the winning Porsche home. They led the race for a time during the

latter stages, but lost their chance during a costly pit stop with three hours to go. 259 LAPS The winning car covered 259 laps—more than 1300 miles—at a record average speed of 112.500 miles an hour. Andretti’s speed last year was 107.029 miles an hour. Elford and Larrousse took command after a thrilling battle had ended between the Americans, Andretti and Mark Donohue and the Mexican, Pedro Rodriguez. These three had swapped the lead several times during the first two hours of a wild chase

that drew 60,000 people to the weatherbeaten old Sebring Airport course—a 5.2mile circuit of broken concrete and asphalt. But Donohue and Rodriguez, running second and third at the time in pursuit of the leader, Andretti collided in one of the track’s sharp comers. Rodriguez’s Porsche crew managed to make repairs quickly, but Donohue lost almost an hour in his pit while repairs were made to his Roger Penske Ferrari. At the end, Rodriguez was running in fourth place and Donohue managed to hold on for sixth behind another Porsche driven by the Swiss veteran, Jo Siffert, and England’s Derek Bell. Andretti, driving a hot new 3-litre Ferrari 312, swept into the lead at the sixty-second lap, and over the next two hours built up a seemingly insurmountable 30-mile lead. TRANSMISSION But the Italian-born Andretti, who .has become a millionaire from racing in this country, came to grief on the 118th lap when, with co-driver J. Ickx, of Belgium, at the wheel, the transmission failed, leaving the car stranded. The Galli-Stommelen Alfa inherited the lead then, while Elford and Larrousse recouped from an early collision with a course marker that not only slowed them briefly but ’damaged the front end of their car.