As the 1960s drew to a close, motorsport fans and spectators were being treated to some memorable races and even more remarkable cars (a fact underlined by current values of the original race cars and even replicas). A round of the world sports car endurance championship was held at Brands Hatch in Kent, originally titled the BOAC 500 in respect to the number of miles covered during the course of six hours (later changed to the BOAC 1000km).
BOAC
Although the circuit was relatively short and narrow compared to the majority of circuits that were built on souless flat ex-airfields, its location in a naturally hilly landscape created a challenging track with elevation changes and sweeping cambered bends. Almost without exception it was loved by the drivers since it offered some unique challenges in the manner of the Nurburgring, albeit on a smaller scale. At the time the championship was contested by large-engined sports cars from manufacturers such as Ferrari, Ford and Lola as well as entries from Alfa Romeo, Chevron and Porsche that used 3-litre and 2-litre engines. It was cars such as the Lola T70, Ford GT40 and Ferrari 312P and P4 with their ground-shaking 5-litre engines that drew the crowds but the nature of the Brands Hatch circuit, with fewer long fast straights, allowed the 2-litre cars, especially those from Porsche, to compete for outright victory instead of merely a class win. The Porsche 908/02 factory-entered cars were well prepared, reliable and very quick; on the shorter circuits their handling more than compensated for their lower power output. In 1969 Porsche entered a team of four such cars in the BOAC 500 and all four finished in the top six places. To underline their superiority, the Porsches took the first three places with the fourth car in sixth, behind a works Ferrari 312P and a JW Automotive-entered Ford GT40. The best of the Lola T70s came home eighth but several Lola teams withdrew before the end of the race following a huge accident when the suspension of Jo Bonnier’s T70 broke. The 1969 season heralded the beginning of the end of the Ford GT40 and, eventually, Ferrari in sports car racing as Porsche began a long period of dominance. The photograph shows the victors of the 1969 BOAC 500, Brian Redman (left) and the Swiss driver Jo Siffert (right) on their lap of honour, complete with their laurels, as they pass South Bank whilst perched in the back of an Aston Martin DB6 Volante.
From ‘Moments in Motorsport’ by Trevor Legate.
