Joseph Siffert (; 7 July 1936 – 24 October 1971) was a Swiss

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 ...

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

Fribourg, Switzerland , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () ...

, the son of a dairy owner. He initially made his name in racing on two wheels, winning the Swiss 350 cc motorcycle championship in 1959, before switching to four wheels with a

Formula Junior Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...

Stanguellini. Siffert graduated to Formula One as a privateer in 1962, with a four-cylinder

Lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

Climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

. He later moved to Swiss team

Scuderia Filipinetti Scuderia Filipinetti (also French name ''Ecurie Filipinetti'') was a Swiss motor racing team that competed in sports car racing and occasionally in Formula One between 1962 and 1973. It was founded by Georges Filipinetti (1907-1973) to support Swi ...

, and in 1964 joined Rob Walker's private British Rob Walker Racing Team. Early successes included victories in the non-Championship

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and 1965 Mediterranean Grands Prix, both times beating

Jim Clark James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...

by a very narrow margin. He won two races in Formula One for the Rob Walker Racing Team and

BRM British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM wo ...

. He died at the

1971 World Championship Victory Race The Rothmans World Championship Victory Race was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 24 October 1971 at Brands Hatch, Kent. The race was to be run over 40 laps of the circuit, but was stopped on lap 15 following the fatal accident suff ...

, having his car roll over after a crash caused by a mechanical failure and being caught under the burning vehicle. Siffert was married twice and to his second wife Simone during the height of his career in the late 1960s and at the time of his death. They had two children together, Véronique and Philippe.

Life and career

Early life

Siffert was born in 1936 in the town of Fribourg,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, 35 km (22 mi) from

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

to a poor family. Aged 12, Siffert and his father went to Bern to see the

1948 Swiss Grand Prix The 1948 Swiss Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Circuit Bremgarten, near Bern, on 4 July 1948. Despite racing for nearly two hours, at the finishing line Frenchman Jean-Pierre Wimille was only 0.2 seconds behind the race winner, the I ...

at the Bremgarten circuit, and it was at this event where Siffert wanted to be a racing driver.

Formula One

In 1968, Siffert drove into the F1 history books by winning the

1968 British Grand Prix The 1968 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Brands Hatch, Brands Hatch Circuit on 20 July 1968. It was race 7 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufactu ...

at Brands Hatch in Rob Walker Racing Team's

49B, beating Chris Amon's

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

into second place after a race-long battle. This is regarded as the last GP victory by a genuine privateer. In 1971 as a

team driver he scored his second Formula One Championship race victory at the

Austrian Grand Prix The Austrian Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Österreich) is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, –, and then returned to the Formula One calendar in . History The A ...

held at the Österreichring.

Sports cars

While Siffert's status in F1 grew slowly, his fame came as a leading driver for the factory

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

effort in its quest for the World Sportscar Championship. In 1968, Siffert and Hans Herrmann won the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

and the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...

in a Porsche 907, marking the first major outright wins for the company, apart from a few earlier victories on twisty tracks. Porsche 908 - Josef Siffert 1970-05-31

1971-05-29 Joseph Siffert, Porsche 908-3 (Gegengerade)

Later on, Siffert's driving displays in the

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 ...

earned him several major wins in Europe. In addition, Siffert was chosen by Porsche to help launch its CanAm development programme, driving a

PA spyder in 1969 and finishing fourth in the championship despite few entries. In 1970 he teamed up with Brian Redman to drive a Porsche 908/3 to victory at the Targa Florio. That same year, Porsche bankrolled Siffert's seat in a works March Engineering F1 since the German company did not wish to lose one of their prize drivers to rival Ferrari. His association with March in F1 was disastrous, so he was pleased to join rival Porsche racer Pedro Rodriguez at

the following season.

Death

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. 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. A fire marshall stated that if the fire extinguishers worked correctly then they could have reached Siffert within 20 seconds. This accident led to a rapid overhaul of safety, both in-car and on circuit. On-board fire extinguishers (using BCF—

bromochlorodifluoromethane Bromochlorodifluoromethane (BCF), also referred to by the code numbers Halon 1211 and Freon 12B1, is a haloalkane with the chemical formula C F2 Cl Br. It is used for fire suppression, especially for expensive equipment or items that could be d ...

, 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-

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. 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 2007–08 A1GP season, at Brands Hatch, the

A1 Team Switzerland A1 Team Switzerland is the Swiss team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series. The team were the A1 Grand Prix champions for the third season, 2007-08. Management A1 Team Switzerland is owned by Max Welti. History In the inaugural se ...

car carried the message ''Jo 'Seppi' Siffert - 40th Anniversary - Brands Hatch''. This commemorated his

victory at Brands Hatch. Siffert 20150828 175746

Racing record

Career summary

Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ;Notes * – Formula Two cars occupied fifth to tenth positions in the

1969 German Grand Prix The 1969 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on 3 August 1969. It was race 7 of 11 in both the 1969 World Championship of Drivers and the 1969 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Twelve Formula Two ...

, 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

(

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

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(

) (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 The Coppa Cittá di Enna was a sports car race held at the Autodromo di Pergusa near Enna, Italy. The race began in 1950 as a non-championship event, before joining the World Sportscar Championship in 1962. Between 1968 and 1981, the race bou ...

: 1st, 1968 *

12 hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...

: 1st, 1968 *

24 hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

: 1st, 1968 * 6 Hours of Nürburgring: 1st, 1968, 1969 * 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps: 1st, 1969, 1970 *

1000 km of Zeltweg The 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring (originally known as the 500 km Zeltweg) was an endurance sports car event held near Spielberg, Austria. Originally based at the Zeltweg Airfield, the race moved to the Österreichring and was lengthened to a 1 ...

: 1st, 1968, 1969, 1970 *

1000 km of Monza The 6 Hours of Monza (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Monza and known after 1966 as "Trofeo Filippo Caracciolo") is an endurance race, mainly for sports cars, which is held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. Overview Desp ...

: 1st, 1969 *

1000 km of Buenos Aires The 1000 km Buenos Aires was an endurance sports car event held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The race mostly run on the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, although it would run the Costanera circuit in 1957. Besides a single race in Cara ...

: 1st, 1971 * 6 Hours of Watkins Glen: 1st, 1969 * 1000 km of Brands Hatch: 1st, 1968

References

Sources

* F1 Results include information from the following sources: * * *

External links

Official Jo Siffert web site (German and French) by Philippe Siffert, Jo's son

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110712212444/http://www.blick.ch/sport/formel1/artikel29881 Biography at ''der Blick'' (German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Siffert, Jo 1936 births 1971 deaths 12 Hours of Reims drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers BRM Formula One drivers Deaths by smoke inhalation Formula One race winners March Formula One drivers People from Fribourg Racing drivers who died while racing Rob Walker Racing Team Formula One drivers Scuderia Filipinetti Formula One drivers Siffert Racing Formula One drivers Sport deaths in England Swiss motorcycle racers Swiss racing drivers Swiss Formula One drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers Sportspeople from the canton of Fribourg Porsche Motorsports drivers