Jo Siffert

Jo Siffert
Formula One World Championship career
Siffer in 1968
Born	(1936-07-07)7 July 1936 Fribourg, Switzerland
Died	24 October 1971(1971-10-24) (aged 35) Kent, England
Nationality	Swiss
Active years	1962–1971
Teams	Privateer Lotus and Brabham, Rob Walker Racing Team, March, BRM
Entries	100 (96 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podiums	6
Career points	68
Pole positions	2
Fastest laps	4
First entry	1962 Monaco Grand Prix
First win	1968 British Grand Prix
Last win	1971 Austrian Grand Prix
Last entry	1971 United States Grand Prix

Joseph "Jo" Siffert (7 July 1936 – 24 October 1971) was a Swiss racing driver.

Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and friends, Siffert was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a dairy owner. He initially made his name in racing on two wheels, winning the Swiss 350 cc motorcycle championship in 1959, before switching to four wheels with a Formula Junior Stanguellini. Siffert graduated to Formula One as a privateer in 1962, with a four-cylinder Lotus-Climax. He later moved to Swiss team Scuderia Filipinetti, and in 1964 joined Rob Walker's private British Rob Walker Racing Team. Early successes included victories in the non-Championship 1964 and 1965 Mediterranean Grands Prix, both times beating Jim Clark by a very narrow margin. He won two races in Formula One for the Rob Walker Racing Team and BRM. He died at the 1971 World Championship Victory Race, having his car roll over after a crash caused by a mechanical failure and being caught under the burning vehicle. Siffert was married twice and to his second wife Simone during the height of his career in the late 1960s and at the time of his death. They had two children together, Véronique and Philippe.

Life and career

Formula One

Siffert at the wheel of a Porsche 906 in practice for the 1966 1000 km Nürburgring race

In 1968, Siffert drove into the F1 history books by winning the 1968 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in Rob Walker Racing Team's Lotus 49B, beating Chris Amon's Ferrari into second place after a race-long battle. This is regarded as the last GP victory by a genuine privateer.^[1]

Sports cars

While Siffert's status in F1 grew slowly, his fame came as a leading driver for the factory Porsche effort in its quest for the World Sportscar Championship. In 1968, Siffert and Hans Herrmann won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Porsche 907, marking the first major outright wins for the company, apart from a few earlier victories on twisty tracks.

Siffert in the Porsche 908.03 at the 1970 1,000 km Nürburgring

Siffert at the wheel of a Porsche 908

Siffert at the 1969 Dutch Grand Prix.

Later on, Siffert's driving displays in the Porsche 917 earned him several major wins in Europe. In addition, Siffert was chosen by Porsche to help launch its CanAm development programme, driving a Porsche 917PA spyder in 1969 and finishing fourth in the championship despite few entries.

In 1970 he teamed up with Brian Redman to drive a Porsche 908/3 to victory at the Targa Florio. That same year, Porsche bankrolled Siffert's seat in a works March Engineering F1 since the German company did not wish to lose one of their prize drivers to rival Ferrari. His association with March in F1 was disastrous, so he was pleased to join rival Porsche racer Pedro Rodriguez at BRM the following season.

Death

Siffert won the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, and was later killed in the non-championship World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch, Kent, England, the scene of his first victory in 1968. The suspension of his BRM had been damaged in a lap one incident with Ronnie Peterson, and broke later. This was not admitted by BRM until much later when it was accidentally divulged by a BRM ex-mechanic.^[2] The BRM crashed and immediately caught fire. Siffert could not free himself from the burning car.

This accident led to a rapid overhaul of safety, both in-car and on circuit. In the subsequent Royal Automobile Club (the UK organising and regulatory representative of the FIA at the time) investigation, it was discovered that the crash itself caused non-fatal injuries but Siffert had rather been killed by smoke inhalation. None of the trackside fire extinguishers worked, and it was found to be impossible to reach the car and extract Siffert because of the intense fire. On-board fire extinguishers (using BCF—bromochlorodifluoromethane, an aircraft product) became mandatory and also piped air for the drivers, direct into their helmets.

His funeral in Switzerland was attended by 50,000 people and a Gulf-Porsche 917 of Team John Wyer led the hearse and procession through the streets of Fribourg. Benoit was a period Formula 1 sports reporter and knew Siffert well. He was also present at Siffert's tragic last Brands Hatch race in 1971. The night before the race, Benoit took pictures of Siffert, his wife Simone and his mother Maria as well as a friend Jean Tinguely at an evening victory celebration.^[3] He then also took the very last picture of Siffert alive as he sat waiting in his BRM in the pole position on the starting line five minutes before the start of the race.

Legacy

In the final round of the 2007–08 A1GP season, at Brands Hatch, the A1 Team Switzerland car carried the message Jo 'Seppi' Siffert - 40th Anniversary - Brands Hatch. This commemorated his 1968 British Grand Prix victory at Brands Hatch.

Jo Siffert memorial bust outside Palexpo complexe (Geneva Feb.1997)

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Pts
1962	Ecurie Nationale Suisse	Lotus 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	NED	MON DNQ												NC	0
	Ecurie Filipinetti	Lotus 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4			BEL 10			GER 12
	Ecurie Filipinetti	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8				FRA Ret	GBR		ITA DNQ	USA	RSA
1963	Siffert Racing Team	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON Ret	BEL Ret	NED 7	FRA 6	GBR Ret	GER 9	ITA Ret	USA Ret	MEX 9	RSA				14th	1
1964	Siffert Racing Team	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON 8													10th	7
	Siffert Racing Team	Brabham BT11			NED 13	BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 11	GER 4	AUT Ret	ITA 7
	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11										USA 3	MEX Ret
1965	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8	RSA 7	MON 6	BEL 8	FRA 6	GBR 9	NED 13	GER Ret	ITA Ret	USA 11	MEX 4				12th	5
1966	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P60 2.0 V8	MON Ret													14th	3
1966	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12		BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR NC	NED Ret	GER	ITA Ret	USA 4	MEX Ret					14th	3
1967	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	RSA Ret	MON Ret	NED 10	BEL 7	FRA 4	GBR Ret	GER Ret	CAN DNS	ITA Ret	USA 4	MEX 12			12th	6
1968	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	RSA 7													7th	12
		Lotus 49	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8		ESP Ret	MON Ret	BEL 7	NED Ret	FRA 11
		Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8							GBR 1	GER Ret	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	USA 5	MEX 6
1969	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA 4	ESP Ret	MON 3	NED 2	FRA 9	GBR 8	GER 11†	ITA 8	CAN Ret	USA Ret	MEX Ret			9th	15
1970	March Engineering	March 701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA 10	ESP DNQ	MON 8	BEL 7	NED Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 8	AUT 9	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	USA 9	MEX Ret	NC	0
1971	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P153	BRM P142 3.0 V12	RSA Ret													5th	19
1971	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P160	BRM P142 3.0 V12		ESP Ret	MON Ret	NED 6	FRA 4	GBR 9	GER DSQ	AUT 1	ITA 9	CAN 9	USA 2			5th	19

†Formula Two cars occupied fifth to tenth positions in the 1969 German Grand Prix, however drivers of these cars were not eligible for championship points. The points for fifth and sixth were awarded to the drivers of the eleventh and twelfth placed cars.

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
1962	Ecurie Nationale Suisse	Lotus 22	Ford 109E 1.5 L4	CAP	BRX 6	LOM	LAV	GLV
	Ecurie Nationale Suisse	Lotus 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4						PAU 7	AIN	INT	NAP	MAL	CLP
	Scuderia Filipinetti	Lotus 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4												RMS 9			MED 4	DAN	OUL	MEX	RAN	NAT
	Scuderia Filipinetti	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8													SOL Ret	KAN
1963	Ecurie Filipinetti	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	LOM DNS	GLV	PAU Ret	IMO 2	SYR 1	AIN	INT
1963	Siffert Racing Team	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8								ROM DNP	SOL Ret	KAN	MED 5	AUT Ret	OUL 11	RAN
1964	Siffert Racing Team	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	DMT	NWT	SYR DNS	AIN	INT 11
1964	Siffert Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8						SOL 7	MED 1	RAN
1965	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8	ROC 6	SYR Ret	SMT Ret	INT	MED 1	RAN 5
1966	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8	RSA 2
1966	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12		SYR Ret	INT Ret	OUL
1967	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	ROC 3	SPC	INT 3	SYR 3	OUL
1967	Lola Racing	Lola T100	BMW M12 2.0 L4						ESP Ret
1968	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Lotus 49	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC DNS	INT Ret	OUL
1969	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC 4	INT 11	MAD	OUL
1971	Jo Siffert Automobiles	March 701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG 6	ROC
	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P160	BRM P142 3.0 V12			QUE 6		INT Ret	RIN	OUL	VIC 4
	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P153	BRM P142 3.0 V12				SPR Ret

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1965	J.H. Simone	Jochen Neerpasch	Maserati Tipo 65	P +5.0	3	DNF	DNF
1966	Porsche System Engineering	Colin Davis	Porsche 906/6L Carrera 6	P 2.0	339	4th	1st
1967	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907/6L	P 2.0	358	5th	1st
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 908	P 3.0	59	DNF	DNF
1969	Hart Ski Racing	Brian Redman	Porsche 908/2L	P 3.0	60	DNF	DNF
1970	John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Brian Redman	Porsche 917K	S 5.0	156	DNF	DNF
1971	John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Derek Bell	Porsche 917LH	S 5.0		DNF	DNF

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos.	Pts
1967	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T100	BMW M11	SNE	SIL Ret	NÜR Ret	HOC	TUL	JAR	ZAN	PER	BRH	VAL 9		NC	0
1968	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T102	BMW M11	HOC	THR	JAR	PAL	TUL	ZAN	PER	HOC Ret	VAL 18			NC	0
1969	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T102	BMW M11	THR Ret	HOC	NÜR 2	JAR	TUL							NC	0^‡
1969	Bayerische Motoren Werke	BMW 269	BMW M11						PER Ret	VAL					NC	0^‡
1970	Bayerische Motoren Werke	BMW 270	BMW M11	THR Ret	HOC	BAR	PAL	PER 2	TUL 11	IMO Ret	HOC				NC	0^‡
1971	Jo Siffert - Chevron Racing Team	Chevron B18	Cosworth FVA	HOC	THR Ret	NÜR 10	JAR	PAL DNQ	ROU	MAN	TUL	ALB	VAL	VAL	NC	0

^‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

References

↑ "8W – What? – R R C Walker Racing Team". Retrieved 2008-04-19.
↑ Benoit, Roger (24 December 2005). "Jo Siffert (7. Juli 1936 - 24. Oktober 1971)". blick.ch (in German). Der Blick. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
↑ Benoit, Roger (24 December 2005). "Jo Siffert (7. Juli 1936 – 24. Oktober 1971) Das Scheckheft des Todes". blick.ch (in German). Der Blick. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2016.

Sources

Lareida, Men (director) (2005). Jo Siffert. Live Fast, Die Young. (DVD). Hugofilm.

F1 Results include information from the following sources:

Whitelock, Mark (2006). 1½-litre Grand Prix Racing 1961-1965. Veloce Publishing Ltd. ISBN 184584016X.
"The Formula One Archives".
"F2 Register - The Formula 1, Non-Championship Races".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joseph Siffert.

Preceded by Jochen Rindt	Formula One fatal accidents October 24, 1971	Succeeded by Roger Williamson

Winners of the Daytona Sports Car Classic

run as the Daytona 3 Hour Continental (1962–63) Daytona 2000 (1964–65) 6 Hours of Daytona (1972) 24 Hours of Daytona (1966–71 / 1973 / 1975–present)

Five-time	Hurley Haywood Scott Pruett

Four-time	Peter Gregg Pedro Rodríguez Rolf Stommelen Bob Wollek

Three-time	Derek Bell Butch Leitzinger Juan Pablo Montoya Brian Redman Memo Rojas Andy Wallace

Two-time	Mauro Baldi João Barbosa Terry Borcheller Scott Dixon Christian Fittipaldi Elliott Forbes-Robinson A. J. Foyt Al Holbert Jan Lammers Ken Miles John Paul Jr. Lloyd Ruby Scott Sharp Wayne Taylor Didier Theys Al Unser Jr.

One-time	Allmendinger Amon J. Andretti Ma. Andretti Angelelli Ballot-Léna Bandini Barber Beretta Bergmeister Bernhard Boesel Bouchut Bourdais Boutsen Brown Brundle Buckler Collard Dalziel Derani Dismore D. Donohue M. Donohue Dupuy Durán Duxbury Dyson Elford Fellows Field Fitzpatrick Franchitti Fréon García Garretson Gentilozzi Graves Gurney Hand Hasemi Helmick Henn Herrmann Hezemans Hill Hoshino Ickx Jelinski Joest D. Jones P. J. Jones Kanaan Kimball Kinnunen Kneifel Krages Larson Lässig Lavaggi Law Lienhard Luyendyk Martin McMurray Mears Merl Millen Moran Moretti Neerpasch Negri Nielsen O'Connell Oliver Ongais Pace Papis C. Parsons Paul, Sr. Pescarolo Pew Pilgrim B. Rahal G. Rahal Rice Robinson Rockenfeller Schneider Schrom Siffert Suzuki Unser, Sr. Van der Merwe Van Overbeek Weaver Wendlinger Werner Wheldon Wilson

Winners of the 12 Hours of Sebring

Six-time	Tom Kristensen

Five-time	Rinaldo Capello

Four-time	Frank Biela Allan McNish

Three-time	Hans-Joachim Stuck Mario Andretti Marco Werner

Two-time	Bob Akin Geoff Brabham Derek Daly Andy Evans Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio II Olivier Gendebien Hurley Haywood Hans Herrmann Phil Hill Al Holbert Jacky Ickx Stefan Johansson JJ Lehto Emanuele Pirro Brian Redman Eric van de Poele Fermín Vélez Andy Wallace Phil Walters

One-time	Aïello Alboreto Baker Baldi Barbosa Barbour Behra Bernhard Bianchi Bonnier Bourdais Gary Brabham Brown Castellotti Collard Collins Daigh Dalmas Davidson de Narváez Derani Dumas Duval Dyer Earl Elford Fässler Fitch Fittipaldi Fitzpatrick Foyt Franchitti Frisselle Garretson Gartner Gené Giunti Gray Gregg Gurney Hall Hawthorn Helmick Herbert Heyer Jarvis Kaffer Keyser Kulok Lapierre Larrousse Leven Lloyd Ludwig Luyendyk Maglioli Mass McFarlin McLaren Mendez Miles Millen Moffat Moretti Morton Moss Mullen Müller Nierop O'Connell Oliver Pace Panis Parkes Paul, Jr. Paul, Sr. Pescatori Peter Pruett Rahal Robinson Rojas Ruby Scarfiotti H. Sharp S. Sharp Siffert Surtees Taylor Theys Tréluyer Vaccarella Van Overbeek Wollek Woods Wurz

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 64803231 ISNI: 0000 0000 1045 746X GND: 118765337 HDS: 16391

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