Laurent Missbauer visits Jo Siffert's grave and private museum
October 24 1971, Jo Siffert died in a tragic accident in Brands Hatch…
… and it has become a tradition to fans and former colleague race-pilots to visit the grave of Jo “Seppi” Siffert on the anniversary of his decease.
Swiss journalist Laurent Missbauer went to Fribourg on Saturday October 24 too to bring honor to the great man and race pilot Josef Siffert was, together with about 100 people, among them Kurt Ahrens and Philippe Siffert, son of Jo.
Jo Siffert was born July 7 1936 in Fribourg, Switzerland. At the age of 12, Jo Siffert visits the F1 Grand-Prix in Switzerland and decides to become a race-pilot, when he’s grown up. 9 years later he catches up the first motorcycle-races, and in 1958 he is co-pilot in a race for the German-Swiss Edgar Strub.
In 1960, at the age of 24 he’s competing in his first car-race, driving a one-seater Stanguellini. It is clear that Jo Siffert was a natural born talent, as one year later he gains victory in the European Formel Junior Championship in a Lotus 18, with equal points to the British Tony Mags. That same year, 1961, he’s 3rd in the 1000km of the Nürburgring in a Ferrari 330 TRC.
Siffert is driving his first F1 races for the Scuderia Filipinetti in a Lotus in 1962. One year later, after he left the Scuderia Filipinetti after the first race of the season, he gains his first F1 points in the GP of France.
1962 Siffert sees the chequered flag in a F1 race for the first time, in the GP of Syracuse before Jim Clarck. He will reach 14th place overall in F1 World Championship.
Seppi, as he is called by most friends and journalist, competes his first 24h of Le Mans in 1965 in a Maserati. That same year, he reaches 10th place in the F1 World Championship. 1966 Jo Siffert is a Porsche factory driver for the 1st time in the Le Mans 24 hours. He gains 4th place in a Porsche 906 together with Colin Davis
and he wins the Mountain race of St-Ursanne-Les Rangiers.
In 1967, Siffert writes motor sport history as he is the first person on a podium to shake the champagne, setting a worldwide tradition , still alive till today. For Porsche, he achieves 5 world records in a 911R. In F1 he completes the season with an 11th place.
1968 is a very successful year for Siffert winning the 24h of Daytona, the 12hour of Sebring , the 1000km of the Nürburgring und the Austrian GP in Porsches 907 and 908. In a private Lotus 49, team Robert Walker, he gains victory in the F1 at Brands-Hatch. This is a historical victory as it is the very last one for a private team and the first victory for a Swiss pilot.
1969 Siffert wins the World championship with Porsche, achieves 4th place in the Canam championship in a Porsche 917 and he becomes a BMW F2 driver.
In 1970, he drives a Porsche 908 to victory in the Targa Florio and he wins the endurance races in Spa and the Zeltweg in a Porsche 917. In Formula 2 he finishes first in the Rouen race, and he becomes world champion again with Porsche. 1970 wasn’t very successful for Siffert in F1 as he cannot classify in the March team.
In 1971 he becomes once again world champion with Porsche, and crosses the chequered flag 1st in the 1000km of Buenos Aires in a Porsche 917. He gains 4th place in the Canam championship in a Porsche 917 too. In a F1 race in Brands Hatch which was of no interest for the championship, Jo Siffert has a fatal accident in his BRM of which the suspension broke and the car crashed. The BRM caught fire immediately, and Siffert could not free himself from the car. Later investigation of the crash learned that the crash itself wasn’t mortal, but that Siffert died from smoke inhalation.
