British Porsche Racing Legend Quick Vic Elford Sadly Dies Aged 86
Sadly, this month we have seen the death of British Porsche racing legend Quick Vic Elford at the age of 86 at his home in Florida on the 13 March 2022.
Elford was one of the most successful and versatile works racing drivers to drive for Porsche. Victor Henry Elford dominated rallying and circuit racing all over the world for many years, especially in the late 1960s. His death is a great loss to the world of motorsports as Vic represented a very different type of driver who turned their hand to multiple disciplines with equal success.
“The news of his death represents a very sad loss for us. Our thoughts are with his family,” says Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board, Research and Development, Porsche AG.
“We thank Vic Elford for his passion and extraordinary dedication. He was one of the most multi-talented and successful racing drivers to have competed for and with Porsche.”
Porsche 911s And The Monte Carlo Rally
Born on the 10 June 1935 in Peckham, London, Vic was intelligent and had gained technical qualifications before he got a taste of racing with the World Sportscar Championship in 1964.
Only two years later in 1966, Vic drove to third place in the Tour de Corse in a Porsche 911 and the following year he won the Stuttgart-Lyon-Charbonnières rally.
He was also the winner of the first rallycross event to be held at Lydden Hill in Kent with a Porsche 911 R, supplied by British importer AFN. He went on to become the European Rally Champion too the same year. This success led him to be offered a contract as a full works driver.
1968 was the year that the fans decided that Elford was to be called Quick Vic responding to his incredible range of talents and the unique range of wins in that year. Vic won the Monte Carlo Rally in January, the 24 Hours of Daytona in February, the Targa Florio and the Nurburgring 1,000 kilometre in May.
Elford had a photographic memory and was able to give vivid and accurate accounts of all of the success he had, right up to the end of his life. He never forgot the exciting times he had with the Monte Carlo Rally.
The first event for Elford was with a Porsche 911 S in 1967 winning the class and a third place overall. In the following January of 1968, Vic was driving a Porsche 911 T which had 170 PS and weighed less than a ton. He started his rally to Monaco in Warsaw and finished second to Frechman Gérard Larrousse in a Renault Alpine who had a 14 second lead over Elford and co-driver David Stone.
The battle between Elford and Larrousse during the rally is one of legendary status.
“Before we reached Col de la Couillole, my co-driver said: ‘Relax. Last night we checked the roads for ice and snow. There might be less on the road but we know for certain there won’t be any more. So trust me; trust our notes. You know you’re the fastest in the mountains, so just drive.'”
Elford settled into the rally and did exactly as suggested, but the assumption about the snow wasn’t completely accurate. Some of the spectators who had come to watch had covered the tarmac with snow. Larrousse skidded on it, not Elford.
Vic recalled, “When we had recovered from this special test, I asked David: ‘How many corners could I have taken faster?’ ‘Two,’ he said. I thought it would be three.” Elford continued, “I chose racing tyres. With blind confidence in David, I went full throttle over an icy patch, going 200 km/h in fifth gear. At the time I smoked like a chimney, but after that drive it took me two or three attempts to light a cigarette – those 26 kilometres completely wiped me out.”
Elford never gave up smoking and never gave up on the Porsche 911 either, being fully committed to the car throughout his life.
“It’s the only car that’s adaptable enough to use in all possible circumstances. Snow, ice, tarmac, uphill, downhill, fast or slow – the 911 can do anything.”
Vic was a typically British gentleman in his humble nature, but he was well aware of what he was capable of.
He once said: “Could a Porsche 911 have won the Monte Carlo Rally without me? Yes – but not in 1968. I don’t think anybody else could have driven a 911 like I did at the time.”
Elford And Porsche Sports Prototypes
Elford wasn’t just successful with the 911, he was extremely fast in other Porsches too. Just one month after the Monte Carlo win, he won the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Porsche 907 LH, Long tail. In May Elford drove to an incredible victory at the Targa Florio in the 907 KH, Short Tail.
Vic said on many occasions, “The Targa Florio was always my favourite race.” Between 1967 and 1972 he raced six times in a row. He only won the 1968 event, but he got the fastest lap in all of the following rounds.
Elford appreciated the helpful Sicilians who were essential in achieving what he considered to be his greatest triumphs. “Shortly after the race started, I lost a wheel between Cefalù and Cerda. The spectators jumped from the wall, lifted up my lightweight car and I was able to put on the spare wheel. Just imagine how this looked: a British man in a German car winning in Italy.”
Vic had to stop again a few corners later as he lost another wheel. The fans came to his aid again and as he didn’t have a spare so not only did they pick up the car one of them unscrewed a wheel from his car and gave it to him.
Quick Vic was always particularly proud of a poster which was on the wall of his Florida home. It is an image of him with the words ‘Classifica Assoluta’ and below that ‘1. Elford Maglioli 907’. There is a Porsche logo on one side of the picture, which is unusual. The celebration was all about the driver not the manufacturer.
Just two weeks after the Targa Florio victory Vic was back driving a Porsche 980 KH with Jo Siffert in the Nürburgring 1,000 kilometre race. The pair outclassed the competition and Vic repeated this success in 1970 and in 1971.
Being a true gentleman Vic demonstrated this in Bastia, November 1968 just before the start of the Tour de Course. Peter Falk, then head of Porsche’s head of racing development had a quiet chat with Elford, his top works driver.
“We need a French driver for rallies like this. Who would you take?” Elford thought about recommending his good friend Jean-Francois Piot, but he knew an even better driver: “Take Gérard Larrousse.”
Falk took Elford’s advice and Porsche never regretted the decision. In 1969 Larrousse won the Tour de Corse, the Rallye Neige & Glace and the seven-stage Tour de France Automobile in a Porsche 911 R.
Elford's Enthusiasm For The Porsche 917
Elford was openly enthusiastic about the 911 but he was also a huge fan of the 917. Initially it was not an easy car to handle, but that didn’t deter Elford and he went on to drive six different 917 models in 16 different races from 1969 to 1971 which included Le Mans.
Though he never managed to claim a victory at the famous 24 hour race coming close in 1971 with Gérard Larrousse in a 917 LH for 21 hours until a technical failure brought their race to an end.
“It was definitely a nasty beast because the engine was so heavy,” Elford recalled. “The gearbox was mounted behind the engine. Due to twisting, shifting gears became more and more problematic during the race and, when taking the Mulsanne curve, we had to admit defeat because the gearbox was so damaged.”
The last time Elford drove a 917 was in 1973. “We borrowed a 917/30 from the factory for the Interserie race in Hockenheim. I had never driven a turbo racing car before then, so I had to prove in tests at Weissach that I could drive a car like that. I actually broke the lap record there and went on to win the race too. I just loved that car.”
Vic started with the only 917 at Sebring in 1971 and got first place. He was admitted into the Sebring Hall of Fame.
Steve McQueen Le Mans, Fomlua One And CanAm
Due to Vic Elfords’ abilities with the 917 and his reliability Steve McQueen hired him to film the high speed scenes in the 1970 film Le Mans.
Acknowledged and one of the great motorsport films for enthusiasts it was quite a difficult during the filming with plenty of racing incidents, though Elford emerged from the ordeal unscathed.
Vic even had a stint in Formula One with 13 races over a three year period from 1968 to 1971. He also tired is hand at CanAm racing and the Trans-Am series in the USA. Off road events in Africa. He even raced on big Nascar ovals too.
In 1972, he was awarded the Chevalier of the National Order of Merit by the French President as he stopped during a race at Le Mans to rescue a driver from his burning car. True sportsmanship was something that seemed to be with many drivers in that period, but Vic going above and beyond risking his own personal safety to help another.
Retirement And Beyond
Vic Elford officially retired from professional racing in 1974 and in 1975 embarked on a new career working with the Inaltera racing car project before going on to manage the ATS F1 team.
Moving to the US in 1984 he managed the Porsche Owners Driving School and the Porsche Driving Experience. He detailed this experience in two books, ‘The Porsche High-Performance Driving Handbook’ and ‘Reflections on a Golden Era in Motorsports’.
Even as Vic got older, he was still keen to get behind the wheel and drove a Porsche 911 in the Tour de Course Historique in 2017. He also drove with other Porsche legends Herbert Linge, Gérard Larrousse and Jean-Pierre Nicolas, having another go at the special tests of the Monte Carlo circuit in 2018.
Vic was known for his broad smile and intelligence, but also for his love of the French and their way of life.
“France is probably the only country – besides the US – with such varied geography, topography, climate and weather conditions for every type of rally,” he once enthused. “There is also such a welcoming culture in Savoy, the Alps, the Pyrenees – the whole ‘Camaraderie Française’, which can’t be found anywhere else in the world.”
Vic Elford leaves behind his French wife Anita and a huge fan base amassed over many years.
Porsche AG says goodbye to one of the most likeable and successful racing drivers of all time.
Highlights of Vic Elford's Racing Career
1967: European Rally Champion in a Porsche 911 S
1967: First race at Le Mans, finishing first in class and seventh overall in a Porsche 906K Carrera 6
1967: Winner of the first rallycross event in history in a Porsche 911 R
1968: Winner of the 1,000 kilometre race on the Nürburgring in a Porsche 908
1968: Winner of the Monte Carlo Rally in a Porsche 911 T
1968: Winner of the Targa Florio in a Porsche 907 KH
1968: Winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Porsche 907 KH
1968 –1971: Thirteen starts in Formula One
1969: Winner of the Nürburgring 1,000 kilometre race in a Porsche 908
1970: Winner of the Nürburgring 1,000 kilometre race in a Porsche 908
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