Life begins at Spa for Gulf
40 years since Redman and Siffert’s Belgian victory
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Gulf-branded Porsche 917's magnificent win at Spa-Francorchamps. The JWA Gulf Team of Great Britain's Brian Redman and Jo Siffert of Switzerland steered the car to victory.
Lining up alongside fellow Gulf driver Pedro Rodriguez and Belgium's Jacky Ickx of Ferrari as the main competitors, the event soon became a three-car race. So intense was the competition that the outright lap record was broken by each driver at least once during the day.
Redman and Siffert would eventually take the chequered flag with over two and a half minutes in hand, averaging 149.42mph for the distance on an inevitably wet Spa track. In doing so, they obliterated the previous 1000km record set at Spa by nearly 15 minutes.
In what is now considered to be the golden age of sports car racing, the love affair had begun two years previously in May 1968 as Redman and Ickx took the chequered flag in the Ford GT40.
Ickx still stands alone as the most prolific competitor in the history of the course, emerging victorious in 1967, 1968, 1974, 1982 and 1983.
There was more joy for Gulf in 1971 as Jackie Oliver and Mexican Rodriguez, also driving the Porsche 917, took first, breaking Redman and Siffert's record in the process.
In 1973, the all-British team of Derek Bell and Mike Hailwood also came away victorious in their Mirage M6-Ford, further cementing the dominance of those cars sporting the iconic powder blue and orange.
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