Sports car, rally, Formula One, and endurance racing legend Quick Vic Elford passed away on Sunday, March 13th. Aged 86, the motorsport phenom succumbed to his prostate cancer after over a year of battling with the vicious disease.
Elford touched many Porsche fans’ lives over the decades, as he remained a life-long ambassador for the brand with which he won many of his greatest battles. I personally met the brave Briton a handful of times, and he was always a delight. The vintage car world will be a darker place without his shining smile in it. Rest well, Vic. I can only imagine your version of heaven includes the champagne and laurels of a victory circle.
Elford was one of those legendary racers who could step aboard any kind of race car and make it fast. Perhaps that is most indicative by his all-time great 1968 season in which he won the Rally Monte Carlo in a Porsche 911 in January, flew to Florida to win the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Porsche 907 the following weekend, and then combined the two disciplines by running a 907 to victory on the treacherous public road course of the Targa Florio, plus a victory at the Nurburgring 1000km sharing a car with Jo Siffert. And that’s to mention none of his Le Mans wins, Sebring 12 Hour wins, and rallycross wins. Elford also competed in everything from Formula One and Can Am to NASCAR’s famous Daytona 500 and the Trans Am championship.
Vic was best known for his time with Porsche, but he wasn’t picky about what he drove. If someone would provide him a quick car, he’d jump at the opportunity to race it anywhere and everywhere. He also competed for Ford, Triumph, Lancia, Alfa-Romeo, Ferrari, Chaparral, Shadow, Cooper, Lola, Chevron, Subaru, McLaren, and Chevrolet in major international championships all over the world, among others.
Vic Elford was one of the outrageous talents of the 60s and 70s, and will be remembered as a legend of the sport for generations to come. Our hearts go out to his friends and family in this difficult time. May they find some solace in the fact that he lived an extremely fast life, and hopefully got the most out of it.