Jo Siffert
Joseph "Jo" Siffert was a Swiss racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to. Siffert won two Formula One Grands Prix across 10 seasons.
Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and friends, Siffert was born in Fribourg, 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 1964 and 1965 Mediterranean Grands Prix non-Championship Formula One races, both times beating Jim Clark by a very narrow margin. He won two World Championship races, one for the Rob Walker Racing Team and one for BRM. He died at the 1971 World Championship Victory Race, a non-Championship Formula One 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
Early life
Siffert was born in 1936 in the town of Fribourg, Switzerland, 35 km from Bern to a poor family. Aged 12, Siffert and his father went to Bern to see the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix at the Bremgarten circuit, and it was at this event where Siffert wanted to be a racing driver.Formula One
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. In 1971 as a BRM team driver he scored his second Formula One Championship race victory at the Austrian Grand Prix held at the Österreichring.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.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, Siffert 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 was 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. The BRM crashed and immediately caught fire. Siffert could not free himself from the burning car.In the subsequent Royal Automobile Club investigation, it was discovered that Siffert had only suffered a leg fracture in the initial crash but because three fire extinguishers failed to work properly no rescuers could reach Siffert for five minutes and he died of smoke inhalation. A fire marshall stated that if the fire extinguishers worked correctly then they could have reached Siffert within 20 seconds.
This accident led to a rapid overhaul of safety, both in-car and on circuit. On-board fire extinguishers became mandatory and also piped air for the drivers, direct into their helmets.
Siffert's 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.
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.Racing record
Career summary
Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship pointsComplete Formula One World Championship results
;Notes- – 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
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship pointsComplete World Sportscar Championship results
- Dagger = Won class
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 1961 | Robert Jenny | Ferrari 500 TRC | Ferrari Straight-4 | S 2.0 | SEB | TGA | NÜR 6 | LMS | PES | ||||||||||
| 1963 | Scuderia Filipinetti | Ferrari 250 GTO | Ferrari V12 | GTIII | DAY | SEB | TGA | SPA Ret | NÜR 3 | MZ1 | CON | WIE | CLF | SLD | RTT | ||||
| 1963 | Jo Siffert | Lotus | BRM | GTIII | OLV NC | MZ2 | TDF | BHP | |||||||||||
| 1964 | Team Schiller | Porsche 904 | Porsche Flat-4 | GTII | DAY | SEB | TGA | SPA | NÜR 8 | LMS | RMS Ret | SLD | ENN | CRA | MZA | BH1 | BH2 | MLY | |
| 1964 | Shelby American | Shelby Cobra | Ford V8 | GTIII | DAY | SEB | TGA | SPA | NÜR | LMS | RMS | SLD 23 | TTR | CRA | BHP | ||||
| 1964 | Maranello Concessionaires | Ferrari 250 GTO | Ferrari V12 | GTIII | DAY | SEB | TGA | SPA | NÜR | LMS | RMS | TDF DSQ | - | ||||||
| 1965 | J. Simone | Maserati Tipo 65 | Maserati V8 | P+5.0 | DAY | SEB | MZA | TTR | TGA | SPA | NÜR | LMS Ret | RMS | BHP | |||||
| 1966 | Charles Vögele | Porsche 906 | Porsche Flat-6 | IMC | DAY | SEB 6 | MZA 5 | TGA | SPA | NÜR Ret | HOC | ||||||||
| 1966 | Porsche System | Porsche 906 | Porsche Flat-6 | IMC | LMS 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 1966 | Charles Vögele | Porsche 906 | Porsche Flat-6 | ISCC S1 | SEB | TGA | NÜ1 | MUG Ret | ENN | CRA | NÜ2 | ||||||||
| 1966 | Porsche System | Porsche 906 | Porsche Flat-6 | ISCC S1 | ZEL 2 | - | |||||||||||||
| 1967 | Porsche System | Porsche 910 | Porsche Flat-6 | P+2.0 | DAY 4 | SEB 4 | MZA 5 | SPA 2 | TGA 5 | NÜ1 Ret | MUG 59 | BRH 3 | ENN | NÜ2 | |||||
| 1967 | Porsche System | Porsche 907 LH | Porsche Flat-6 | P+2.0 | LMS Ret | ||||||||||||||
| 1968 | Porsche System | Porsche 907 LH | Porsche Flat-8 | P | DAY Ret | ||||||||||||||
| 1968 | Porsche System | Porsche 907 | Porsche Flat-8 | P | SEB Ret | BRH 1 | TGA 18 | ||||||||||||
| 1968 | Porsche System | Porsche 908/01 | Porsche Flat-8 | P | MZA Ret | NÜR 1 | SPA | WGN Ret | ZEL 1 | LMS Ret | |||||||||
| 1969 | Porsche System | Porsche 908 LH | Porsche Flat-8 | P 3.0 | DAY Ret | MZA 1 | SPA 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1969 | Porsche System | Porsche 908/02K | Porsche Flat-8 | P 3.0 | SEB Ret | BRH 1 | TGA | NÜR 1 | WGN 1 | ||||||||||
| 1969 | Porsche System | Porsche 908/02 LH | Porsche Flat-8 | P 3.0 | LMS Ret | ||||||||||||||
| 1969 | Porsche System | Porsche 917 | Porsche Flat-12 | S 5.0 | ÖST 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 1970 | John Wyer Automotive Engineering | Porsche 917K | Porsche Flat-12 | S 5.0 | DAY 2 | SEB 4 | BRH Ret | MZA 12 | SPA 1 | LMS Ret | WGN 2 | ÖST 1 | |||||||
| 1970 | John Wyer Automotive Engineering | Porsche 908/03 | Porsche Flat-8 | P 3.0 | TGA 1 | NÜR Ret | |||||||||||||
| 1971 | John Wyer Automotive Engineering | Porsche 917K | Porsche Flat-12 | S 5.0 | BUE 1 | DAY Ret | SEB 5 | BRH 3 | MZA 2 | SPA 2 | ÖST Ret | WGN 2 | |||||||
| 1971 | John Wyer Automotive Engineering | Porsche 908/03 | Porsche Flat-8 | P 3.0 | TGA Ret | NÜR 2 | |||||||||||||
| 1971 | John Wyer Automotive Engineering | Porsche 917LH | Porsche Flat-12 | S 5.0 | LMS Ret |