‘Iconic’ is a much overused word these days, and it’s a particular bugbear for one of my team here at Motor Sport. But sometimes it’s a word that’s hard to avoid. Sometimes it’s the first thing that springs to mind when presented with a certain image. And if anything deserves this hallowed status it has to be the Gulf Porsche 917 on the cover of the August issue, perhaps the greatest racing car ever built – depending on your point of view.
Like everything of the ‘greatest ever’ nature, it is purely subjective, of course. It’ll depend on your age, your bias towards sports cars or Formula 1, and so on. And the same came be said for our assertion that 1970, a year of thrills and turmoil in equal measure, is ‘Year Zero for the Modern Age’.
We thought long and hard about such a tag when we decided to theme an issue around a single season, 40 long years ago. It seemed to fit. Rampant commercialism and concerns about safety really took hold in the final years of the 1960s, but certainly on the point of safety this was the year when people finally started to listen to Jackie Stewart. After 1970, the sport had to change.
As Nigel Roebuck writes in his introduction to our special section, this was the year when F1 drivers managed to change the venue of the German Grand Prix from the Nürburgring to Hockenheim at less than six weeks’ notice – all in the name of safety. The deaths of Bruce McLaren, Piers Courage and, later in the season, Jochen Rindt focused the drivers like never before on their attitudes to the sport. Rindt’s own mixed feelings on racing are captured in this issue with an extract from David Tremayne’s new biography. The Austrian would become F1’s only posthumous World Champion. But had he lived, the dangers and loss of close friends appear to suggest he would have retired anyway.
It went beyond safety. 1970 was the start of a new decade where the whole world changed dramatically – in some respects for the better and in others for the worse. The 1960s are often depicted, rightly or wrongly, as the end of the age of innocence. In a decade that featured the assassination of a US president and the futile war in Vietnam that’s perhaps too trite. Nevertheless, it’s a fact that nostalgia for the ’60s remains stronger than for any other decade. Nostalgia for the ’70s is popular, but it’s also remembered as a tougher, more cynical decade. The colour and extravagances of the world today can be traced back 40 years, to a time when the old values, fashions and expectations were being overtaken by new attitudes – with a harder edge. As usual, motor racing ran in parallel to the world at large. Life would never be the same again.
We chose the Gulf 917 as the image most linked to the year even though the monster was actually born a year earlier. It didn’t even win Le Mans in the blue and orange colours. But it’s so familiar, so of the time and – aided by Steve McQueen – so of that specific year.
Perhaps you might disagree with our ‘Year Zero’ premise. If there were such a thing, maybe you’d care to argue it was 1968, or ’69 or ’71… We’ll be awaiting your comments. But in the meantime, whatever your feelings, I hope you enjoy a group of features that will surely entertain you. Just check out this line-up: Rindt, Stewart, Amon, Rodríguez, March, BRM, Porsche 917s – and of course that man McQueen. With that lot, you can’t go wrong!
I’d argue for 1977 as the year zero of the current era, with the ground effect Lotus, the Nurburgring vanishing forever as a GP venue, a Cosworth winning Indianapolis, proper TV coverage of Grands Prix appearing, and the turbo Renault.
But like you say you can’t go wrong with a 917. Perhaps someone can persuade Top Gear to run one around their track? I’d love to know how it compares to modern supercars.
Watching the videos that John Wyer produced for the 1970 Gulf season, that image of Jo Siffert overtaking Pedro Rodriguez – his teammate – at Eau Rouge, at a crazy speed, on the inside! That is one image I cannot forget, even if I was born 20 years later, almost…
I’d agree with the year 0 assessment. Mostly because I feel like the Gulf livery paired with the absolutely incredible technology, danger and glamour associated with that particular car was like a sledgehammer to a plate of glass. Truly shattering.
Mario
Some might say that 1970 was the last year of the ’60′s however it did seem the dawning of a new age in some respects although 1968 will always seem to me as year zero being the year we lost Jimmy Clark just as 1994 will have the same resonance for others. However while 1970 took Bruce, Piers and Jochen it also gave us Brabham’s last hurrah which could have turned out rather differently if he had won the Monaco and British GPs which he both lost on the last lap, it also gave us Max the manufacturer (of Marches) and the last beautiful Ferrari F1 car until Barnard’s 1990 creation and the most successful Lotus F1 design which was raced until 1975. Imagine today’s Red Bull or McLaren design racing until 2015….
it was certainly a year of change for me as i was born! but in general id say 1959-60 was when the magic died in motor racing. the last of the big front engined f1 cars became dinosaurs, beaten by kits that only with 50 years hindsight look anything like beautiful. the lift and drift style drivign was largely replaced by a point and squirt style and the drivers became more cynical and less appealing.
I only know any of this 3rd hand and it may have been way different in reality but the classic golden age of racing seems not to have lost any lustre.
There have been many ground zeroes in F1 – and motor racing as a whole – but the absolute turning point was January 1st, 1968, the day on which car advertising/sponsorship was fully allowed for the first time. Immediately, F1 (and most other forms of motor sport) became a business, and stopped being a sport. If I remember correctly (I usually don’t), the Lotus Tasman cars were the first British cars to carry advertising in the Gold Leaf colours. The decision to allow this overt commercialism changed everything and leads directly to F1 (and others) today. Whether we treat this one decision as ground zero is a matter of individual opinion. But, while 1970 was a year of substantial and substantive change, 1968 was the year that a single decision changed everything – forever.
I agree 100%.1970 was the year thar aerodinamics took control of the sport, the Lotus 72 and the Porsche 917 show the way.
TV transmissions begun seriously and marketing and sponsors become one obligation.
The sport become professional.
Rgds
One day in the early ’70s, I stumbled across a TV re-run of Le Mans, McQueen’s masterpiece, and my addiction to motorsports was sealed forever.
Those images of the 917s were etched in my soul. I still watch the video occasionally, now with my grandkids(!), just to refresh my senses.
Yep; the 917 gets my vote.
Zero year is exemplified by two names. Cooper / Chapman.
Damien, your article encompassed more than just motor racing and for that there is no other year than 1968, the year hope died, along with many political hopes and idealists- the riots, the well known ones and less well known ones, the murders, so much – also for me 1968 started with that fantastic cover picture of the new gold leaf team lotus 49t with a smiling suntanned and happy Jimmy Clark in Autosport [ i stil have that copy] and ended so sad and tragically- have we ever recovered?
Purely in Motor Racing terms yea, 1970- the CSI finally listened and we reduced the nu,mber of completely uneccessary deaths and my gratitude to Sir Jackie for his and others [Lord Stanley please can we can an article for his hard work] will be eternal- and the grunt – those porsche’s and ferrair’s yeeha – the professionalism entered a world-wide surge- fantastic – sad – tragic but fantastic
In my opinion almost any year during the 60s could be as significant. The sport of racing changed during those 10 years more than it ever had before in a comparable period. From front engines to mid/rear engines, from crude aerodynamics to ground effect wings (courtesy of GM and Jim Hall in Group 7), from narrow to ultra-wide tires, race cars evolved to the basic look they still have today. In just ten years. I will agree that 1970 was one of the best years, except for the deaths of so many top drivers.
For a taste of 1970:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLP4zhnVwvI
The cars of 1970 are what makes it the zero year. 917′s and Ferrair 512′s, the F1 cars, the variety of Can Am cars, the factory involvement in the Trans Am series along with Indy cars and start of F5000 it was truly an amazing year and the beginning of modern racing. You can’t say that about the year prior or after.
AJ Ball:
FYI, 1977 wasn’t the first Cosworth win at Indy. That year was Foyt, in his own Coyote chassis, powered by the “Foyt” engine (the four-cam Ford Indy engine introduced in 1964 and subsequently taken over by Foyt).
Yes true, I got my years mixed up there. Al Unser won in 1978 with the Lola Cosworth. Suppose you could say that Foyt’s last win represented the last gasp of the old American guard before the second British invasion (back in the days when Indianapolis had different chassis and engines. What an amazing concept…)
Actually perhaps this magazine could do a feature on the 1978 Indy 500? It seems to be one of those years that’s forgotten in the history books. All that a Google search produces is pictures of the Corvette pace car.
You might be happy to know that I have very recently done a long and riveting interview with Al Unser Senior in which he tells some hair-raising tales of life in the Unser dynasty and on the ovals.
Now I just need to be polite to His Excellency the Editor in the hope that he will like it enough to put it into our magazine.
The Unsers of Albuquerque are a singular chapter in the history of North American motor racing, a story of triumph, tragedy and true grit. Sounds like a movie trailer……..
RW
RW- wow –
Mr Editor – please ?
the unsers were always special big al was awesome at indy and the struggles between little al and little mikey were incredible – it would really be great to read this RW
Damien: I think your choice of the 917 is perfect. If I’m not mistaken a 917 held the absolute lap record at leMans until this last race. I wish I could recall the driver though. There were so many talented ones that drove 917′s.
I think 1970 was a pivotal year, but like others have commented not the only one. 1968, 1966 (switch to 3 litre) and 1977 (ground effects) all made for turning points for the sport.
1970 is the year that know best from Jackie Stewart’s account of in his book “Faster”. It is a depressing read as the world champion becomes more cynical in his view of his sport from the events othat one season.