Paperwork from the Past

Ah, the glory days of sports car racing were the early '70s when Porsche 910s and 917s battled with Ferrari 512s and 312s at Le Mans, the Nurburgring, and Watkins Glen. The cars can still be seen today at vintage racing events (or on a DVD "Le Mans" the film with Steve McQueen), but it's always interesting to have a peek behind the scenes of that era. Fortunately for us, some years ago, Watkins Glen International liquidated a great deal of their old records and now they're popping up in area antique stores at reasonable prices. Such an example are these entry papers my dad found in a shop downtown for the John Wyer Gulf-Porsche 917s and SEFAC Ferrari 312s in the 1971 6-Hours of Watkins Glen: (click to enlarge images)

Interestingly, the UK based Wyer team submitted their papers through the R.A.C. - Note various typos such as " (17k " on the visa slip and " MEXCIO " under Pedro Rodriguez's address.

And here, the Ferrari SEFAC (Scuderia Enzo Ferrari Auto Corse) papers. Amusing that even though the paperwork was being sent to the US, the letter is written in Italian. Ferrari also seems a lot more lax in general in terms of filling things out completely.

Roughly translated:
"To whom it may concern, we enclose your model registration for the 6 hours of Watkins Glen of July 24, 1971, drivers Jacky Ickx and Mario Andretti, and we confirm participation in the Can-Am race on July 25, 1971 with a car 312P and a Can-Am car."

 Finally, for the record, here are the stats from that particular event - note the changes in the Gulf-Wyer Porsche drivers:

Qualification:

1	6	Mark Donohue/David Hobbs	Ferrari 512M	1:07,740
2	1	Jo Siffert/Gijs van Lennep	Porsche 917K	1:08,510
3	40	Jacky Ickx/Mario Andretti	Ferrari 312PB	1:08,640
4	2	Derek Bell/Richard Attwood	Porsche 917K	1:08,970
5	14	Sam Posey/Ronnie Bucknum	Ferrari 512M	1:09,100
6	30	Andrea de Adamich/Ronnie Peterson	Alfa Romeo T33/3	1:09,220
7	33	Henri Pescarolo/Rolf Stommelen	Alfa Romeo T33/3	1:09,800
8	35	Vic Elford/Nanni Galli	Alfa Romeo 33TT3	1:11,000
9	48	Herbert Müller/George Eaton	Ferrari 512M	1:11,510
10	63	Alain De Cadenet/Lothar Motschenbacher	Ferrari 512M	1:12,730
11	43	Tony Adamowicz/Mario Cabral	Porsche 917K	1:15,380
12	21	Gregg Young/Jim Adams	Ferrari 512M	1:15,580
13	36	Nanni Galli/Vic Elford	Alfa Romeo T33/3	1:16,070
14	67	Pete Harrison/Tom Fraser/Bobby Rinzler/Skip Barber	Lola T212 Ford	1:17,580
15	87	Tony Dean/Steve Matchett/Chuck Parsons	Porsche 908/02	1:18,980
16	61	Hugh Kleinpeter/Tony Belcher	Lola T212 Ford	1:20,300
17	49	Robert R.Johnson/John Greenwood	Chevrolet Corvette	1:21,760
18	46	Mike Rahal/Hugh Wise/Horst Kroll	Porsche 906	1:23,140
19	59	Peter Gregg/Hurley Haywood	Porsche 914/6 GT	1:24,800
20	57	Dave Heinz/Don Yenko	Chevrolet Corvette	1:25,290
21	32	Jim Locke/Bob Bailey	Porsche 911S	1:26,000
22	68	Pat Keating/Levon Pentecost/Anthony Torgersen	Porsche 911S	1:26,300
23	64	Bob Baechle/Michael Summers/Fred Kepler	Chevrolet Corvette	1:26,320
24	50	Richard Hoffman/Frank Cipelle/John Greenwood	Chevrolet Corvette	1:26,340
25	80	Milt Minter/Rudy Bartling/Fritz Hochreuter	Porsche 911	1:26,600
26	31	Bert Everett/Bob Beasley	Porsche 911T	1:28,520
27	60	Robin Ormes/Bobby Brown/Bob Bondurant	Lola T70 Mk.3	unknown
28	41	Bill Schumacher/Bob McClure/Bob Kiefer	Chevrolet Corvette	unknown
28	16	Michael Keyser/Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911T	unknown

Results:

1	30	Andrea de Adamich/Ronnie Peterson	Alfa Romeo T33/3	279	6:00:25,000
2	1	Jo Siffert/Gijs van Lennep	Porsche 917K	277	+ 2 laps
3	2	Derek Bell/Richard Attwood	Porsche 917K	259	+ 20 laps
4	63	Alain De Cadenet/Lothar Motschenbacher	Ferrari 512M	253	+ 26 laps
5	49	Robert R.Johnson/John Greenwood	Chevrolet Corvette	229	+ 50 laps
6	59	Peter Gregg/Hurley Haywood	Porsche 914/6 GT	228	+ 51 laps
7	57	Dave Heinz/Don Yenko	Chevrolet Corvette	221	+ 58 laps
8	41	Bill Schumacher/Bob McClure/Bob Kiefer	Chevrolet Corvette	210	+ 69 laps
9	31	Bert Everett/Bob Beasley	Porsche 911T	168	+ 111 laps
10	68	Pat Keating/Levon Pentecost/Anthony Torgersen	Porsche 911S	162	+ 117 laps
DNF	36	Nanni Galli/Vic Elford	Alfa Romeo T33/3	258	Collision
DNF	67	Pete Harrison/Tom Fraser/Bobby Rinzler/Skip Barber	Lola T212 Ford	226	Collision
DNF	43	Tony Adamowicz/Mario Cabral	Porsche 917K	191	Not classified
DNF	46	Mike Rahal/Hugh Wise/Horst Kroll	Porsche 906	180	Not classified
DNF	14	Sam Posey/Ronnie Bucknum	Ferrari 512M	126	Starter motor
DNF	61	Hugh Kleinpeter/Tony Belcher	Lola T212 Ford	104	Engine
DNF	33	Henri Pescarolo/Rolf Stommelen	Alfa Romeo T33/3	97	Accident
DNF	64	Bob Baechle/Michael Summers/Fred Kepler	Chevrolet Corvette	90	Radiator
DNF	40	Jacky Ickx/Mario Andretti	Ferrari 312PB	55	Starter motor
DNF	6	Mark Donohue/David Hobbs	Ferrari 512M	53	Steering
DNF	87	Tony Dean/Steve Matchett/Chuck Parsons	Porsche 908/02	47	Fuel pump
DNF	32	Jim Locke/Bob Bailey	Porsche 911S	25	Wheel
DNF	48	Herbert Müller/George Eaton	Ferrari 512M	17	Collision
DNF	16	Michael Keyser/Bruce Jennings	Porsche 911T	13	Collision
DNF	50	Richard Hoffman/Frank Cipelle/John Greenwood	Chevrolet Corvette	6	Suspension
DNF	60	Robin Ormes/Bobby Brown/Bob Bondurant	Lola T70 Mk.3	2	Throttle cable
DNS	21	Gregg Young/Jim Adams	Ferrari 512M	0	Fuel leak
DNS	35	Vic Elford/Nanni Galli	Alfa Romeo 33TT3	0	Accident in practice
DNS	80	Milt Minter/Rudy Bartling/Fritz Hochreuter	Porsche 911	0