REMEMBERING Vic Elford

Vic Elford died at his home in Florida on 12 March after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 86.

After emphatically putting the 911 on the international rallying map in 1968 by scoring the first of Porsche’s three Monte Carlo victories, Vic was selected for Porsche’s works sports car team. He was one of only two drivers (Rolf Stommelen was the other) who wasn’t intimidated by the first savagely powerful, but horribly wayward Porsche 917s. Co-driving with Richard Attwood, Vic came within 90 minutes of winning Le Mans in 1969 before the clutch housing failed. It was no surprise that of all 917 drivers, Vic was the first to lap La Sarthe at more than 150mph in 1970. Despite his prowess, outright victory with a 917 would elude him until the following year.

Born and brought up in Peckham, south London, the young Victor was a bright boy whose A levels in maths and physics earned him an engineering apprenticeship with the Gas Board. He then moved on as a design engineer in a construction company. But what he really wanted to do was motor racing: his father had taken him to Silverstone to the first British Grand Prix in 1948 and he was hooked. Despite the fact that Brands Hatch wasn’t far away, rallying seemed to offer more