1970 1000km of Nürburgring

The 1970 1000km of Nürburgring was an endurance race held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Nürburg, West Germany on May 31, 1970. It was the seventh round of the 1970 World Sportscar Championship season.[1]

Pre-race

The race weekend was marred by the fatal accident of Finnish driver Hans Laine in a Porsche 908/02. While attempting to qualify for the race at the end of Saturday's qualifying session, Laine damaged one of the front sections of his car; and while he was on the Dottinger Hohe straight going at full speed over one of the humps near the Antonius Bridge, his 908/02 flew into the air, did a full backflip and landed back on the track and rolled a number of times. Although Laine was alive and conscious after the accident, fuel was leaking and Laine could not get out of the car. Track marshals were able to get to the wrecked Porsche, but then the car burst into flames. The marshals only had small extinguishers that was not enough to put out the inferno and Laine perished in the fire. He was 25, and was survived by his wife and 5-month year old daughter; he was one of 6 racers to die at the Nürburgring that year. Laine's co-driver, Dutchman Gijs Van Lennep had a similar incident at the same place on the track, although he was able to avoid causing any damage to the car. The racing team Laine drove for withdrew another one of its entries, a Porsche 917K but a Porsche 911 driven by Finnish rally driver Pauli Tovionen and entered by Laine's team won the GT's with an engine larger than 2 liters class.[2]

It was agreed upon by John Wyer and Porsche that the works teams would use the 908/03, the car used at the Targa Florio. The light and nimble 908/03 was better suited to the twisty and demanding Nürburgring than the big and powerful 917K. 2 were run by John Wyer's team and 2 were run by Porsche Salzburg.

One of the works Ferrari 512S Spyders, entered and to be driven by Jacky Ickx and Peter Schetty crashed in practice; neither driver took part in the race. This just about proved to be fatal for Ferrari, because Ickx was considered to be the best Nürburgring driver in the world at that time, next to Formula One world champion Jackie Stewart. Even with the experienced John Surtees who knew the long circuit well and had lots of success at the challenging mountain circuit in the past, things did not look good for Ferrari- as most of the works Porsche drivers- including Jo Siffert, Brian Redman, Hans Herrmann and Vic Elford were all known to be Nürburgring specialists and were very fast around the circuit.

Qualifying was dominated by works Porsches. They took the first 4 positions on the grid; pole position went to the Jo Siffert/Brian Redman car, followed by Pedro Rodriguez/Leo Kinnunen, Vic Elford/Kurt Ahrens, Jr., and then Hans Herrmann/Richard Attwood. They were followed by a works Alfa Romeo T33/3 of Rolf Stommelen/Piers Courage, and the 2 works Ferrari 512S Spyder's of Ignazio Giunti/Arturo Merzario and John Surtees/Nino Vaccarella.

Race

At the start Rodriguez went ahead and Siffert, the pole sitter, was also overtaken by Giunti's Ferrari. This allowed Rodriguez to get a good lead. At the second lap Siffert managed to overtake Giunti and endeavoured to regain first place. He was faster at the Ring and eroded Rodriguez's lead by about 1,5 seconds per lap. At lap 8 Siffert went ahead, but Rodriguez answered back with a best lap (new prototype record). Siffert managed to gain about 8 seconds on Rodriguez, before the pit stops. When pitstops came around, Rodriguez handed off his car to Kinnunen and Siffert to Redman; but the Siffert-Redman car was delayed and went back to second place. Redman went after Kinnunen and in two laps was poised to overtake him; under pressure Kinnunen, who had been affected by his friend Hans Laine's death the day before, crashed his 908/03 after going over a jump at the 14 kilometer mark (near the Karrusell), flipping in the air and Redman went right underneath his crashing teammate. This put the Siffert/Redman car into the lead, but by the end of the 22nd lap, Redman brought his 908/03 due to faltering oil pressure. The engine then failed due to lack of oil, and the Elford/Ahrens Jr. 908/03 took the lead, ran without a hitch and went on to win the race; followed by the other 908/03 of Herrmann/Attwood and the remaining works Ferrari of Surtees/Vaccarella. The one competitive works Alfa Romeo of Rolf Stommelen/Piers Courage went out after 11 laps with a broken shock absorber.

With this victory at their home event, Porsche claimed the World Sportscar Championship over Ferrari.

This would be the last ever major international race on the original Nürburgring with no safety features on it. For the next year's race, the Nordschleife was rebuilt, which included making the surface smoother and lining the circuit with Armco and adding run-off areas wherever possible. The German Grand Prix that year was originally supposed to be at the Nurburgring that year, but with Laine's accident being the third racing fatality at the Ring in 1970 and the deaths of 2 other Formula One drivers, the Formula One circus moved temporarily to Hockenheim, which prompted the Ring to be rebuilt. 3 more drivers and a motorcyclist were to die at the Ring that year- bring the total death tally for the circuit in 1970 up to a very dubious seven in one year.

Official results

The Nürburgring in 1970
Vic Elford in a Porsche 908/03, winner of the race together with Kurt Ahrens
Hans Herrmann in a works Porsche 908/03, this car finished 2nd
Nino Vaccarella in a works Ferrari 512S Spyder, this car finished 3rd and 1st in class
Helmut Kelleners in a private Porsche 917K, this car qualified ninth but then retired due to wheel bearing problems
Gerard Larrousse in a Martini Porsche 908/02. This car finished 5th overall and 3rd in class.
Mike Parkes in a privately entered standard Ferrari 512S. This car finished 4th overall and 2nd in class.
Dieter Fröhlich in a Racing Team AAW Porsche 911S. This car won the GT +2.0 class and finished 14th overall. The team that fielded this car was the same that Hans Laine drove for.
Jo Siffert in a works/John Wyer Porsche 908/03, this car retired with engine failure after leading 11 laps
Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Laps
1 P
3.0
22 Austria Porsche Salzburg United Kingdom Vic Elford
West Germany Kurt Ahrens, Jr.
Porsche 908/03 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 44
2 P
3.0
15 Austria Porsche Salzburg West Germany Hans Herrmann
United Kingdom Richard Attwood
Porsche 908/03 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 44
3 S
5.0
55 Italy SpA Ferrari SEFAC United Kingdom John Surtees
Italy Nino Vaccarella
Ferrari 512S Spyder Ferrari 5.0L V12 43
4 S
5.0
4 Switzerland Scuderia Filipinetti United Kingdom Mike Parkes
Switzerland Herbert Müller
Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 42
5 P
3.0
1 West Germany Martini International Racing France Gérard Larrousse
Austria Helmut Marko
Porsche 908/02 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 42
6 P
3.0
2 West Germany Martini International Racing Austria Rudi Lins
West Germany Willy Kauhsen
Porsche 908/02 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 42
7 P
3.0
11 West Germany German BG Racing Team West Germany Karl von Wendt
West Germany Gerhard Koch
Porsche 908/02 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 41
8 P
3.0
4 West Germany Asahi Pentax Racing Team West Germany Sepp Greger
West Germany Helmut Leuze
Porsche 908/02 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 40
9 P
2.0
29 Switzerland Andre Wicky Racing Team Switzerland Andre Wicky
Portugal Mário Cabral
Porsche 907 Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 39
10 P
2.0
14 Belgium Levi's International Racing Belgium Yves Deprez
Belgium Julien Vernaeve
Chevron B16 Mazda 1.0L 2-Rotor 39
11 P
3.0
17 West Germany Asahi Pentax Racing Team West Germany Dieter Basche
West Germany Helmut Kelleners
West Germany Jürgen Neuhaus
Porsche 908/02 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 38
12 P
3.0
31 West Germany Scuderia Auto-Neuser West Germany Anton Fischhaber
West Germany Dieter Schmid
Porsche 906 Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 38
13 P
2.0
31 United Kingdom Mark Konig United Kingdom Mark Konig
United Kingdom Tony Lanfranchi
Nomad Mk.2 BRM 2.0L V8 37
14 GT
+2.0
79 Finland Racing Team AAW West Germany Dieter Fröhlich
Finland Pauli Toivonen
Porsche 911S Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 37
15 GT
+2.0
84 West Germany Auto Kremer West Germany Erwin Kremer
West Germany Günther Huber
Porsche 911S Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 37
16 GT
+2.0
85 West Germany Peter Kersten West Germany Clemens Schickentanz
West Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck
Porsche 911S Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 37
17 S
2.0
67 United Kingdom Roger Heavens United Kingdom Roger Heavens
United Kingdom Mike Garton
Chevron B8 BMW 1.9L I4 37
18 GT
2.0
53 Austria Porsche Salzburg West Germany Georg Loos
West Germany Franz Pesch
Porsche 911L Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 36
19 GT
2.0
88 West Germany Scuderia Lufthansa Belgium Robert F. Huhn
Belgium Günther Schwarz
Porsche 914/6 GT Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 36
20 GT
2.0
93 West Germany Hahn Motors Belgium Peter Kaiser
Belgium Günter Steckkönig
Porsche 914/6 GT Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 36
21 GT
2.0
101 West Germany Hülpert & Co. West Germany Alexander Nolte
Belgium Werner Christmann
Porsche 914/6 GT Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 36
22 S
5.0
60 United Kingdom Ecurie Evergreen United Kingdom Piers Forrester
United Kingdom Alain de Cadenet
Ford GT40 Mk.I Ford 4.9L V8 35
23 GT
2.0
96 West Germany Autohaus Max Moritz West Germany Gerd F. Quist
Belgium Dietrich Krumm
Porsche 914/6 GT Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 35
24 GT
2.0
55 France Jean-Marie Jacquemin France Jean-Marie Jacquemin
Belgium William Scheeren
France Bernard Palayer
Alpine A110 Renault 1.3L I4 35
25 GT
+2.0
83 Switzerland Claude Haldi Switzerland Claude Haldi
Switzerland Eric Chapuis
Porsche 911S Porsche 2.2L Flat-6 34
26 GT
2.0
91 West Germany Bernd Becker West Germany Bernd Becker
West Germany Elmar Clever
Porsche 911S Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 34
27 P
1.6
42 West Germany Dieter Weizinger West Germany Dieter Weizinger
West Germany Wilhelm Bisterfeld
Alfa Romeo GTA Junior Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4 34
28 GT
2.0
94 West Germany Jörg Klasen West Germany Peter Otto
West Germany Jörg Klasen
Alfa Romeo GTA Alfa Romeo 2.0L I4 34
29 GT
+2.0
97 United Kingdom Ecurie Evergreen United States David Weir
United Kingdom Mike Ogier
Porsche 911T Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 32
30 S
2.0
69 United Kingdom Worcestershire Racing Association United Kingdom James Tangye
United Kingdom Paul Vestey
Chevron B8 BMW 1.9L I4 32
31 S
2.0
69 United Kingdom Edward Negus United Kingdom Edward Negus
United Kingdom Brian Joscelyne
Chevron B8 BMW 1.9L I4 30
32 P
1.6
43 United Kingdom Stanley Robinson United Kingdom Stanley Robinson
United Kingdom John Blanckley
Unipower GT BMC 2.0L I4 29
33 P
2.0
93 United Kingdom AM Graphics Racing United Kingdom Andrew Mylius
United Kingdom Gerry Birrell
Gropa CMC Ford 1.6L I4 28
34 S
2.0
38 United Kingdom Red Rose Racing United Kingdom John Bridges
United Kingdom Peter Lawson
Chevron B16 Ford 1.6L I4 28

Did Not Finish

Class No Team Drivers Chassis Engine Laps
S
2.0
66 West Germany Nikolaus Killenberg West Germany Nikolaus Killenberg
West Germany Georg Bialas
Chevron B8 BMW 1.9L I4 24
P
3.0
20 United Kingdom John Wyer Automotive Engineering Switzerland Jo Siffert
United Kingdom Brian Redman
Porsche 908/03 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 22
P
1.6
38 United Kingdom Daren Cars Ltd. United Kingdom Jeremy Richardson
United Kingdom Allistair Cowin
Daren Mk.2 Ford 1.8L I4 22
S
2.0
70 Switzerland Andre Wicky Racing Team West Germany Willy Meier
Italy Mario Ilotte
Porsche 910 Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 21
S
2.0
68 United Kingdom Worcestershire Racing Association United Kingdom John Bamford
United Kingdom Peter Creasey
Chevron B8 BMW 1.8L I4 20
S
2.0
23 West Germany Hans-Dieter Blatzheim West Germany Hans-Dieter Blatzheim
West Germany Ernst Kraus
Porsche 907 Spyder Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 19
S
2.0
64 United Kingdom Intertech Steering Wheels United Kingdom Tony Goodwin
United Kingdom Peter Taggart
Chevron B8 BMW 1.9L I4 15
GT
+2.0
81 West Germany Hediri Racing Austria Peter Peter
West Germany Dieter Eymann
Shelby GT350 Ford 4.7L V8 13
P
3.0
12 United Kingdom Keith Grant United Kingdom Peter Gaydon
United Kingdom Keith Grant
Brabham BT8 Climax 2.7L V8 12
P
3.0
16 West Germany Michael May West Germany Hannelore Werner
West Germany Mike Kranefuss
Ford Capri RS Turbo Ford 2.3L Turbo V6 12
P
2.0
32 United Kingdom Philips Autoradio Racing United Kingdom Guy Edwards
West Germany Roger Enever
Astra RNR2 Ford 1.6L I4 12
P
3.0
6 Italy Autodelta SpA West Germany Rolf Stommelen
United Kingdom Piers Courage
Alfa Romeo T33/3 Alfa Romeo 3.0L V8 11
P
3.0
21 United Kingdom John Wyer Automotive Engineering Mexico Pedro Rodríguez
Finland Leo Kinnunen
Porsche 908/03 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8 11
S
5.0
54 West Germany Gesipa Racing Team West Germany Helmut Kelleners
West Germany Jürgen Neuhaus
Porsche 917K Porsche 4.5L Flat-12 9
S
2.0
72 United Kingdom Martin Blackie United Kingdom Martin Blackie
United Kingdom Peter Humble
Chevron B8 BMW 1.9L I4 7
GT
2.0
100 West Germany Martini BMW West Germany Karl-Heinz Becker
West Germany Friedheim Theissen
Porsche 911S Porsche 2.0L Flat-6 7
P
3.0
16 Argentina Oreste Berta Argentina Luis Di Palma
Argentina Carlos Marincovitch
Berta LR Ford DFV 3.0L V8 5
P
3.0
14 United Kingdom Oreste Berta United Kingdom Max Wilson
United Kingdom Mac Daghorn
Lola T70P BRM 3.0L V12 4
S
2.0
75 United Kingdom Northern Ireland Cars United Kingdom John L'Amie
United Kingdom Tommy Reid
Porsche 910 Porsche 1.9L Flat-6 4
S
5.0
57 Italy SpA Ferrari SEFAC Italy Ignazio Giunti
Italy Arturo Merzario
Ferrari 512S Ferrari 5.0L V12 2

Statistics

References

World Sportscar Championship
Previous race:
1000km of Spa
1970 season Next race:
24 Hours of Le Mans
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