Description
By: Vic Elford .
Vic Elford began his career in rally cars and was a factory driver for BMC and Ford. In 1966, he initiated his long-lasting relationship with Porsche by persuading Porsche's racing director Huschke von Hanstein that the new 911 would make a fine rally car—and that Vic should drive it. Vic rewarded von Hanstein's belief in him with a series of impressive performances that led to his transition to road racing.
A stunning succession of wins in 1968 established Vic's reputation for breathtaking speed and an ability to excel in all types of competition. First he won the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally in January with the 911, achieving a record time so unbelievably fast, the initial reaction from competing teams was that there had been a timing error. The next weekend Vic won the Daytona 24 Hours in a new Porsche 907 LH on his first visit to the track. A month later he was second at Sebring in a short-tail 907. Then in May, at the Targa Florio, Vic overcame an 18-minute deficit to win by nearly three minutes, setting a new lap record and race record. Two weeks later Vic won the 1000
Kilometers at Nurburgring, a track where he excelled, driving the new Porsche 908. Then in July, in his first Fl race, Vic took a badly outclassed Cooper T86B from last on the grid to fourth place in a soaking-wet French Grand Prix.
Vic offers the reader an insider's view of drivers and teams, and of a racer's life during the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to his perspective on the sport, Vic also illuminates the in-between moments that were part of traveling from one race to the next, including driving flat-out along the coast of Greece after missing a ferry to catch up with his team, buying precious Czech crystal and transporting it by rally car, and clearing a congested city intersection in Italy using firecrackers.
In his fast-paced autobiography, Vic chronicles the world of motorsports in the 1960s and 197os as only someone who experienced it can.
