Gijsbert van Lennep (born 16 March 1942, in

Aerdenhout Aerdenhout () is a village in the municipality of Bloemendaal, Netherlands. Located in the dunes between Haarlem and the beach town of Zandvoort, it ranks as the wealthiest town in the Netherlands. The name "Aerdenhout" means ''Andere hout'', Dut ...

, North Holland) is a Dutch

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

who competed in eight

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

races. However his main achievements were in

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing i ...

. He is a member of the untitled

Dutch nobility The Dutch nobility is a small elite social class constisting of individuals or families recognized as noble, and with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The existence of nobility was established in the Constituti ...

Career

Van Lennep drove for the Porsche sportscar team beginning in 1967. He shared the number 22

Martini Racing Martini Racing is the name under which various motor racing teams race when sponsored by the Italian company Martini & Rossi, a distillery that produces Martini vermouth in Turin. Martini's sponsorship program began in 1958 as Martini Interna ...

Porsche 917 The Porsche 917 is a sports prototype race car developed by German manufacturer Porsche to exploit the regulations regarding the construction of 5-litre sports cars. Powered by a Type 912 flat-12 engine which was progressively enlarged from ...

K with

Helmut Marko Helmut Marko (born 27 April 1943) is an Austrian former professional racing driver and current advisor to the Red Bull GmbH Formula One teams, and head of Red Bull's driver development program. Biography Marko was born in Graz, Austria. He wa ...

, winning the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

. They set a distance record, covering , which remained unbeaten until 2010. Also in 1971, the ''Stichting Autoraces Nederland'' (Foundation for Car races in the Netherlands) hired a

Surtees The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons (1970 to 1978) as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000. History The team was formed by John Surtees, a four-time 500cc motorcycle champion and the ...

TS7 for him to make his F1 debut in his home GP where he finished a creditable eighth in a very wet GP. The following year Van Lennep won the 1972 Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship driving a Surtees TS11 and a McLaren M18.Wolfgang Kopfler, Formula 5000 in Europe - Race by Race, 2004, pp.90-91 He also drove twice for the Williams GP team, earning his first World Championship point with sixth place in the

1973 Dutch Grand Prix The 1973 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on July 29, 1973. It was race 10 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Zandvoort returned to t ...

. With

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...

, he scored a second point in the 1975 German Grand Prix, making him the fifth most successful Dutch Formula One driver behind

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...

Jos Verstappen Johannes Franciscus Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a former (Formula One) racing driver. Verstappen was the German Formula Three champion and Masters of Formula Three winner in 1993. In Formula 1, Verstappen raced for seven different te ...

, Carel Godin de Beaufort and Christijan Albers. In 1973, he won the last

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 195 ...

, sharing the Martini Porsche Carrera RSR with Herbert Müller. He continued with

sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

, sharing a Porsche 936 Turbo with

Jacky Ickx Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times (second-highest of all time) and achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One. He greatly contributed ...

to win Le Mans 24 for a second time in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

, before retiring from racing.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

( key)

Complete European F5000 Championship results

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

References

Sources

Profile at www.grandprix.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lennep, Gijs Van 1942 births Living people People from Bloemendaal Dutch racing drivers Dutch Formula One drivers Williams Formula One drivers Ensign Formula One drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers Jonkheers of the Netherlands 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Sportspeople from North Holland Porsche Motorsports drivers