Jo Siffert

Jo Siffert

Siffert in 1968
Born	(1936-07-07)7 July 1936 Fribourg, Switzerland
Died	24 October 1971(1971-10-24) (aged 35) Kent, England
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Swiss
Active years	1962–1971
Teams	Privateer Lotus and Brabham, Rob Walker Racing Team, March, BRM
Entries	100 (96 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podiums	6
Career points	68
Pole positions	2
Fastest laps	4
First entry	1962 Monaco Grand Prix
First win	1968 British Grand Prix
Last win	1971 Austrian Grand Prix
Last entry	1971 United States Grand Prix

Joseph Siffert (French:

Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and friends, Siffert was born in

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

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.^[4] The BRM crashed and immediately caught fire. Siffert could not free himself from the burning car.

In the subsequent Royal Automobile Club (the UK organising and regulatory representative of the FIA at the time) 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.^[5] A fire marshall stated that if the fire extinguishers worked correctly then they could have reached Siffert within 20 seconds.^[6]

This accident led to a rapid overhaul of safety, both in-car and on circuit. On-board fire extinguishers (using BCF—bromochlorodifluoromethane, an aircraft product) became mandatory and also piped air for the drivers, direct into their helmets.

His 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. Benoit was a period Formula 1 sports reporter and knew Siffert well. He was also present at Siffert's tragic last Brands Hatch race in 1971. The night before the race, Benoit took pictures of Siffert, his wife Simone and his mother Maria as well as a friend Jean Tinguely at an evening victory celebration.^[7] He then also took the last picture of Siffert alive as he sat waiting in his BRM in the pole position on the starting line five minutes before the start of the race.

Legacy

In the final round of the

Racing record

Career summary

^‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Notes

• ^1 – 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

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1965	J.H. Simone	Jochen Neerpasch	Maserati Tipo 65	P +5.0	3	DNF	DNF
1966	Porsche System Engineering	Colin Davis	Porsche 906/6L Carrera 6	P 2.0	339	4th	1st
1967	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907/6L	P 2.0	358	5th	1st
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 908	P 3.0	59	DNF	DNF
1969	Hart Ski Racing	Brian Redman	Porsche 908/2L	P 3.0	60	DNF	DNF
1970	John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Brian Redman	Porsche 917K	S 5.0	156	DNF	DNF
1971	John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Derek Bell	Porsche 917LH	S 5.0		DNF	DNF
Source:[9]

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

Other results

• Targa Florio: 1st, 1970
• Coppa Cittá di Enna: 1st, 1968
• 12 hours of Sebring
  : 1st, 1968
• 24 hours of Daytona
  : 1st, 1968
• 6 Hours of Nürburgring: 1st, 1968, 1969
• 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: 1st, 1969, 1970
• 1000 km of Zeltweg
  : 1st, 1968, 1969, 1970
• 1000 km of Monza
  : 1st, 1969
• 1000 km of Buenos Aires
  : 1st, 1971
• 6 Hours of Watkins Glen: 1st, 1969
• 1000 km of Brands Hatch
  : 1st, 1968

References

Sources

• Lareida, Men (director) (2005). Jo Siffert. Live Fast, Die Young (DVD). Hugofilm.

F1 Results include information from the following sources:

• ISBN 184584016X
  .
• "The Formula One Archives".
• "F2 Register - The Formula 1, Non-Championship Races". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joseph Siffert.

• Official Jo Siffert web site (German and French) by Philippe Siffert, Jo's son Archived 27 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
• Jo Siffert fan page authorized by Simone Siffert, Jo's second wife
• Biography at der Blick (German)

Preceded by Jochen Rindt

Formula One fatal accidents 24 October 1971

Succeeded by Roger Williamson