Pedro Rodriguez driving the winning Gulf/Wyer 917 in the 1971 24 Hours of Daytona. Note the tire marks on the side of the car indicating some close quarters racing. Rodriguez would die just 6 months after this photos was taken while driving a Ferrari 512M in a sports car race in Germany.
Pedro Rodriguez, arm high and waving, rides atop the winning Porsche with his mechanics. He and Jackie Oliver have just added another win for Porsche in the 1971 24 Hours of Daytona. Rodriguez also won in 1970 driving a Gulf/Wyer Porsche 917K.
Pedro Rodriguez and Jackie Oliver enjoying the spoils of victory in the winner’s circle at 1971 24 Hours of Daytona. To the right of Rodriguez is Miss Universe and Jackie Oliver seems to be engrossed in the charms of Miss Speed Weeks (the blond with the big hair and white boots). That young lady was a classmate of mine at Daytona Beach Junior College and she said one of the major hassles of being Miss Speed Weeks was all the married men who made unwelcome advances. Have things changed that much since 1971?
The winning Martini & Rossi Porsche 917K of Vic Elford and Gerard Larrousse in the 1971 12 Hours of Sebring.
The #1 Gulf/Wyer Porsche of Jo Siffert and Derek Bell in the pits prior to the 1971 12 Hours of Sebring. The car finished fifth and 16 laps behind the winning Martini & Rossi 917 of Vic Elford and Gerard Larrousse. This is a colorized version I made of my original photo.
To see an additional picture gallery celebrating the Porsche 917 anniversary, visit Porsche 917 Turns 40 – Photo Gallery.
[Source: Louis Galanos]
About Louis Galanos
Great pictures and story. Thanks SCD and Louis. Hopefully one or more of these will be at Monterey next weekend.
Great job Lou. Tremendous photos and a detailed factual report of a fantastic car that raced in the years that, for me, are unforgetable.
Lou Galanos produces some great stuff. The recollections are so enhanced by his photos.
Ed McDonough
UK
Great photos of a great car – thanks
Nathan
Really enjoyed the pics and the story! Way better than (what I remember) of the magazine coverage of the day. Thanks for posting!
A fantastic article on my favorite Porsche and the black and white and color photographs were hypnotic. Now I want to go home and watch the superb “Steve McQueen Movie LeMans”. It seems that the Porsche 917 and Steve McQueen will always be intertwined. I hope more superb articles will appear soon and how about articles on the Ferrari 512M & 512S? Thank you for the great articles and for the excellent site.
Ahh… the glorious days when Porsches ruled. 16 Le Mans wins. I just wonder if new horizons are in the offing now that Mr. Piech has Porsche under him. Maybe we’ll see the great marque back in Le Mans again with factory prepared cars. Great pictures of the legendary Langhecks Mr. Galanos. Thank you for sharing them. Also usual, many thanks to Sports Car Digest. Kudos.
This is a truly wonderful tribute to a truly iconic race car. Kudos to who ever collected these photos and put this collection together.
Tom Bucher
I also atended te 1970 and ’71 Daytona races. I was 16 and 17 at the time and these were some of the most thrilling times of my life. I have been a dyed in the wool Porsche fan since then. I noticed above that Mr. Galanos was a University of Florida graduate and retired teacher. My father was a professor in the college of education at the U. of F. (which prepares state of Florida teachers) from the early 60′s to the late 80′s. Perhaps they knew one another.
Anything is possible Tom. I graduated with my MEd. in 1973 and I may have had a class with him. However, after almost 40 years I can’t remember if I did. Sorry.
I just got done reading your article. Thanks for sharing your great photos and memories of these events!
For an old fart,(56) like me, it’s a trip home…..
Is Louis a relation of Mark Galanos on CNN?
No relation to him or the designer James Galanos. Didn’t know how many folks with the Galanos name existed out there until I Googled the name. My father came from Greece to this country in 1918 and may have been very active with the ladies early in the 20th century. Thus all the folks with the Galanos name.
))
This is one of the best illustrated histories of the 917 I’ve ever read, given the amount of space that could be given to it. Thanks, SCD.
Couldn’t agree more. Thank you Louis and SCD.
I too was there when I was 12 and 13. I also went to Sebring those years. The long pit stops and catches were some of the most thrilling moments in racing history.
I ran into Mario Andretti 2 years ago and asked him about the 917 vs the 512. He told me the Ferrari (s) had no chance as the aero on the Porsche was that much better.
Car no 2 the 1971 Daytona winner, is alive and well in Belgium and sometimes it goes to the UK. It won a number of other races in 1971 It is in working order and comes out to play on nice summer days. Jackie Oliver gets a drive.
The composite photo shows the old thing out on a nice summer day at Goodwood., Jackie Oliver driving. But it doesnt have the Daytona banking glass roof. It was filled in for later races. There were 12 917s there that weekend.
Good shots, I went to all the races in your article and have many pictures of the same cars. It’s hard to beat the sound of those 917 engines. Those pits at Sebring were a long way from first class. Thanks for the history.
Are you implying that the two Daytona races that Pedro Rodriguez won were pure luck? The way you describe them, somebody else should have won except for their bad luck.
Anyway thanks for the great photos.
It couldn’t have been pure luck considering how difficult the car was to drive, as many have said it was.
Great site. I was researching for some model building. I produced the 2 hour DVD from Amelia Island, The Legendary Porsche 917″. 5 drivers and engineer John Horsman telling about the development of the 917. How can I get your readers to know it is available?
Thanks,
Dennis
If there’s a DVD available, how and where can I get it?
Dennis Koleber: Sports Car Digest (SCD) would be the perfect place to promote the DVD. You need to contact the folks at SCD and also leave a comment here mentioning where it can be obtained. Like James Broks I am also interested.
Hello, I don’t suppose you might have the name for Miss Speed Weeks ’71? You can search for COM07464 or COM07472 at the linked website or next week at http://www.floridamemory.com/PhotographicCollection/
Thanks.