VIC ELFORD 1935-2022

They don’t make them like ‘Quick Vic’ Elford any more. His career could be neatly summarised by nine days in January 1968: in a Porsche 911 the reigning European Rally Champion claimed the Rallye Monte-carlo before hot-footing it across the Atlantic to win the Daytona 24 Hours in a 907 – the only Brit alongside Jochen Neerpasch, Rolf Stommelen, Hans Herrmann and Jo Siffert. By the end of May he’d added the notorious Nürburgring 1000km, again with Siffert but this time in a 908, and the Targa Florio in a 907 despite a calamitous first lap. Then in July he made his Formula One debut (aged 33), finishing fourth at Rouen – his best result in 13 starts, a fair chunk of his total single-seater outings. Seven months for Elford; a career for many.

Those limited Grand Prix appearances, too few for a man of such natural talent, go some way to explaining Elford’s criminally underrated status. By the 1970s he had tamed the Porsche 917 as well as anyone – certainly quicker than most – and was one of even fewer who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at jumping into its driver’s seat. He could (and should) have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans at least once – but fortune handed him none.

He was awarded a Chevalier de l’ordre National du Mérite after he stopped his Alfa Romeo and ran into the (empty, unbeknown to him) cockpit of a burning Ferrari Daytona in 1972 – an accident that took the life of his friend Jo Bonnier – and that would be the south Londoner’s final full season at the wheel. Later moving to America, he remained adored by Porsche throughout and was a fixture of anything the factory did to celebrate its history. The sports-racing and rallying great died on 13 March at the age of 86 after a long battle with cancer. Truly, they don’t make them like Quick Vic any more. Jack Phillips