British race driver Vic Elford, born 10 June 1935, passed away, aged 86. Together with Frenchman Claude Ballot-Lena "Quick Vic" raced 365 GTB/4 Comp Daytona #16363 at the 1973 Le Mans 24 hours and placed 6th OA. May he rest in peace. Marcel Massini
Mark Donohue called the 917 Elford et al drove at Le Mans "Undriveable" yet Quick Vic drove them like a mad man. RIP Quick Vic.
Heartbreaking. I got to know Vic when he retired to south Florida and his lovely wife was selling books and DVDs on the internet. But I first met him at the Porsche Club of America Parade at Monterey in 1990, I think. Vic was there as a Porsche ambassador, and my wife and I spotted him sitting all alone at the Aquarium. Not being one to allow such an opportunity to pass, we simply walked over, introduced ourselves, and Vic could not have been more pleasant. Sadly I never got to see him race as my only opportunity was at the Laguna Seca CaAm in 1970. Vic’s Chaparral 2J had mechanical problems and did not start. Farewell….. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I think his drive in 1969 at Le Mans, where he kept the unstable long-tail Porsche 917 in front for many of the 17 hours that the car lasted, was one of the most epic drives of all time.
People associate him with sports cars, but he did drive a partial season for Cooper in F1 (sadly, their last) in 1968. His best finish was 4th in Rouen. He also did some F1 races for Colin Crabbe in 1969.
Another one of the old school who was no one trick pony. Raced and won in nearly anything with 4 wheels.
Very sad news. I met him a few times over the year's and he was always nice. I think he also was the voice on most of the "Speed Merchants" movie.
he won the Monte Carlo Rally in a 911, and Daytona 24 hours in a 907....in the same week! (1968) crazy. rest in peace, Quick Vic
Motor sport has lost a truly eclectic driver with the passing of Vic Elford. The 1968 season demonstrates that: he first won the Monte Carlo rally on a Porsche 911, then the Daytona 24 hours soon after on a 907, and also the gruelling Targa Florio, still in a 907. He also drove in F1 that year, obtaining a 4th place at the French GP. Vic Elford came to racing starting as co-pilot to amateur rally driver David Seigle-Morris; they soon switched places! Incidently, Jim Clark had followed the same path. Elford obtained good results with Ford and was lured to Porsche on the promise he would drive sportscars too, on top of their rally programme. He won at the Nurburgring 5 time, but never Le Mans, although he led the race a couple of times after obtaining poles, notably with the first long tail 917, a car notoriously unstable. When his contract with Porsche ended, Vic Elford drove freelance for different independent teams, like Scuderia Filipinetti and Chaparral. At one time he was involved in tuning Mazda sportscars. R.I.P. Vic.
Fantastic driver, fantastic man. Quick Vic ! To be top level competitive in 60s 70s sports car racing and die in your 80s in an achievement in itself.
RIP Vic Sad to hear, the passing of a legend, he had been unwell for some time. If you want to see Vic in action in his prime, I can highly recommend "The Speed Merchants" DVD by Toad Hall Productions. "The story of the 1972 Manufacturer's Championship as narrated by drivers Mario Andretti (Ferrari 312P) and Vic Elford (Alfa Romeo T33TT/3). Takes you behind the scenes at Daytona, Sebring, the Targa Florio, the Nurburgring and Watkins Glen. Also contains interviews with Brian Redman, Jacky Ickx and others. Complete with its own award winning original soundtrack, this offers outstanding racing footage for its time and is a tremendous Vintage Racing resource today." Image Unavailable, Please Login
Vic was clocked on the mulsanne straight at 380kph 50 years ago !!! ....and then he stopped to rescue a driver caught in his burning car.... for which he was given the order of chevalier by the french president ..... they dont make them this tough anymore ! RIP
I love that film. I haven't seen it for ages but I recall Vic's thoughts on Jo Bonnier's death and the inability to save him, being very moving. Essential viewing for anybody into 'our thing'.
I spent a day with Vic sometime between 1995 and 98 to interview him. He lived in Miami them and I was in Fort Lauderdale. Since we were both busy we decided to combine the audio recorded interview with the driving time involved with visiting Brian Redman's Targa 66 day at Moroso. So he picked me up, we did about an hour of audio interview to Moroso and another hour on the way back after having enjoyed chats with Brian and others. He had an extremely good memory and spoke very well. Funnily enough the other absolute best memory of all the people I ever interviewed was Gerard Larousse, coincidentally his co driver at Sebring 71 for the win and on other occasions. Gerard is actually my remote uncle in law, I will probably see him at Retromobile tomorrow, a man of very few words but very sharp mind. Anyway I do believe I still have the micro cassettes of Vic's interview somewhere in my storage. He lived an amazing era, scored some amazing wins and knew the Nurburgring Nordschleife as well as anyone. It was very special to spend time with him. Even though he was mostly known for his exploits in Porkers he had epic duels with Jean Claude Andruet in Daytonas at the Tour de France! RIP Sir.
I forgot to mention in my comments above that Steve and Tom Shelton hired Vic to be the lead service advisor…or was it service manager?….at their Land Rover dealership next to Shelton Sports Cars. Imagine rolling up in your Range Rover and there’s the legendary Vic Elford there to help! I always found Vic to be the consummate gentleman, vastly accomplished but humble and reserved. He will surely be missed….. Sincere condolences to Anita and Martin.
Even Fangio and Moss spent time in Fort Lauderdale, Gil de Ferran and four time Indy winner Helio Castro Neves live less than a quarter mile from each other, Peter Monteverdi had a house there, Derek Bell has a place in Boca just up the road...a very favored city by racing greats...
Yes, in fact Ft. Lauderdale was where I was introduced to Moss, at Robert Publicker’s house while recuperating from his Goodwood crash. Andy Granatelli had a home there too in the 1970s when STP was headquartered there. CART trauma specialist Steve Olvey, M.D., also.
nice article by Andrew Frankel I didn’t realize he ran a Brumos 928 (!) at Daytona in 1984 https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/obituaries/vic-elford-obituary-master-of-all-he-drove