Vic Elford poses with the Porsche 907LH. Photo courtesy Porsche North America.
He’s one of the fastest, most disciplined and most versatile drivers in the history of international motorsport. Now the British endurance and rallying hero Vic Elford has been honored for a lifetime of achievement with the 2015 Phil Hill Award, presented by the Road Racing Drivers Club just prior to this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.
They called Elford “Quick Vic” for some very solid reasons. Born in London, Elford excelled in rallies and hillclimbs. He remains the last British driver to win the European Rally Championship (1967) and the Monte Carlo Rally (1968), achievements that prompted Porsche to hire him as a works endurance driver. He rewarded their confidence almost immediately, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1968, a year that also saw him take the Targa Florio and the Nürburgring 1,000km. He is one of only four drivers to score six major wins on the full-distance Nürburgring, the others being Rudolf Caracciola, John Surtees and Stirling Moss. Elford’s resume includes Formula 1, the Can-Am and Trans-Am series, and even NASCAR. He was a legend in the Porsche 917, becoming the first driver to lap Le Mans at an average speed of more than 150 MPH.
“In the early Sixties, late Seventies, if you wanted to get it done, Vic Elford was the guy you called,” said RRDC president Bobby Rahal. “When nobody wanted anything to do with the Porsche 917, Vic was the guy who raised his hand and said, ‘I’m there,’ and nearly won the Le Mans 24-Hour in 1969 in that car.”
The RRDC has presented the Phil Hill Award, named in honor of America’s first Formula 1 world champion, annually since 1993. The award’s criterion for recipients is outstanding service to the sport of road racing.
from Hemmings Daily - News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/1EAMjdO
Sourced by CA DMV registration services online. Renew your registration online in only ten minutes. No DMV, no lines, no hassles, and no appointments needed. Visit Quik, Click, pay, and print your registration from home.
0 comments:
Post a Comment