1970 Season (Part IV) 

 NINTH RACE - 6 HS. OF WATKINS GLEN 

SPORTS SYNTHESIS 

 Note published in the  Parabrisas Corsa  Magazine Nº221 on July 14^th, 1970 - Page 12 

The impressive "Blitzkrieg" Porsche also devastated at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen.

Commanded by the pair of Gulf’s celestial nine-seventeen’s, directed by John Wyer, the complex teams of Germans cars, divided in teams of greater or smaller potential, won practically the final standings, except for a heroic pair of Ferraris who did not lower their arms even though everything was lost.

At the end of the 6 hours, both of Wyer cars arrived first and second with a three lap advantage on the third place Ferrari of Andretti-Giunti, but in spite of the great mechanical superiority demonstrated by the products of Stuttgart, the race could have been won by the third place, because of the dangerous rivalry that has settled between the pairs the Rodriguez-Kinnunen and Siffert-Redman, who almost give the race to Ferrari just two hours after the race had begun.

Evidently the Porsche surpasses the Ferrari but Mario Andretti is a decisive factor to shorten the differences of the Italian cars with the Germans. The guy of Pennsylvania works like the thousand wonders, and returned to be the axis of the spectacle when he managed to qualify between both of Wyer´s cars, integrating the front row, right next to Siffert and delaying Rodriguez to the second row.

At the start of the race, he took the lead with decision – for the enthusiasm of the 75,000 spectators who cheered for the Italic-American- and only after several laps; the great candidates, with evident power advantage, overtook him.  

From there, Andretti and Giunti who was revealing to be an ascending promise, could not fight more for the lead, but they were not either bothered in their comfortable third position for the rest of the race, and hoping for any unexpected to charge forward. This could have happened after the first two hours of the race. Rodriguez tried unsuccessfully from the start to surpass the racing line of Siffert and the battle was continued between Redman (leader) and Kinnunen, in spite of the restrictions of John Wyer and David Yorke (Team Gulf bosses).

Then, once again with Siffert and Rodriguez driving the twin 917´s, Rodríguez began to burningly harass Seppi, and when they reached the Big Bend, dangerous right-hander curve, that ends to the entrance of boxes, he tried to pass Siffert through the kerb, hooking the front wheel of Siffert´s car. A disaster by a true miracle did not take place, and in spite of the contact, both cars could continue without losing his positions, although Seppi had to enter boxes to change the wheel at issue, that had been destroyed.

With the impatient Mexican leading, and Siffert closely escorting him, followed by a remote Andretti, the race followed its development with some spectacular “off tracks" but without desertions of much importance, abundant health in the motors – worthy faults did not take place- and a singsong calm in the positions, that did not vary until the end.

Larrousse, Van Lennep - little and nothing affected by the death of its partner Laine - and Jacky Ickx contributed the showy racing that characterizes them. This last one took the Ferrari to the grass, in an explosion that extended about two hundred meters, returning to asphalt when it already seemed impossible to avoid the base of the Dunlop bridge.

At the end, the Rodriguez-Kinnunen duo won four out of eight races monopolized until this date by Porsche in the World Championship of Makes and although they did not reach the numbers of Siffert-Redman achieved in the ' 69, they were devoted definitively like the pair of the year in Sports Prototypes. Pity the harshness that they had to resort to this time; had it came out wrong, the lion would have eaten them, or better put, the Ferrari.

 See the race statistics

 PORSCHE IN WATKINS GLEN 200 miles - CAN AM Series  

July 12th,1970

Al día siguiente de el sábado en que se disputaron las 6 hs. de Watkins Glen 1970, en la que los Porsche 917 barrieron otra vez a las rojas Ferrari 512,  se concretaron las 200 Millas de Watkins Glen pero de la categoría Can Am. Porsche que miraba con mucha simpatía a ésta categoría, aprovechó la oportunidad de medirse con los monstruos del Grupo 7 y presentó varios 917. 
El final de ésta carrera encontró a cinco Porsche 917 entre los siete primeros clasificados.  

In the next pics, (sent by Philippe Moriniere), we can see the 917 #1 of Siffert and #32 of Attwood in action.
The pics show an interesting detail: There's a vertical panel behind the rear wheels, obligatory according to the Can Am rules of the time, which were not use in World Championship of Makers

 TENTH RACE - 1000 KM. OF ZELTWEG 

SPORTS SYNTHESIS

A new version of the Ferrari 512S was entered. Siffert-Redman won the race, followed by Andrea De Adamich-Henri Pescarolo with an Alfa Romeo.

 See the race statistics

 FINAL STANDINGS OF THE WORLD MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP 1970 

References: 

1.Daytona - 2.Sebring - 3.Brands Hatch - 4.Monza - 5.Targa Florio - 6.Spa - 7.Nürburgring - 8.Le Mans - 9.Watkins Glen - 10.Zeltweg

In blue font, the selected competitions. (Only the seven best scores of the year were computed)  

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