9 replies to this topic

[Dolph]

Just for fun I have a question: what is the largest number of drivers winning the same race?

I have one to offer myself:

1997 24 hours of Daytona was won by seven drivers:

Rob Dyson
James Weaver
Butch Leitzinger
Andy Wallace
John Paul Jr.
Elliott Forbes-Robinson
John Schneider


That's crazy, isn't it!? How did they go from 2 drivers to needing 7 to complete the 24 hours? And why is usually 3 selected for a 24 hours race? Is it regulated? They used to do it with 2 drivers in the early days, didn't they.

[bsc]

In the early days, there were some drivers that completed (or attempted...) 24hr races single handed. The regulations tend to vary from race to race; for instance, at Le Mans no driver can drive for 14hrs meaning that two car can share. The most recent example that I can recall of this was in 2009 when Charles Zsolsman Jnr and Andre Lotterer shared an Audi R10 (Narain Karthikeyan was entered in the car, but injured himself before the start).

[fbarrett]

So did all seven of those winners get Rolexes?

If so, there was probably a rules change for the next year's race.

[buckaluck]

Well that many drivers seems extreme they must have felt confident that they would win spreading the win over that many drivers (they are great drivers mind you ) it odd that they would
pay that many drivers? I've seen 3-4 driver line ups but didn't catch this one at 7 drivers I would think you would save money with 2-3 so maybe these drivers in their later years for some took a big pay cut
to just be there can anyone confirm the pay they got for if they race and pay if they win? They only got to drive 3.42 hours.

Mike

[Catalina Park]

I did a 24 Hour race with 7 other drivers. Somehow I still managed to drive for nearly 13 hours.

[Lee Nicolle]

I did a 24 Hour race with 7 other drivers. Somehow I still managed to drive for nearly 13 hours.

But your just greedy!

[D-Type]

I expect the bulk of the prize money would go to the entrant and be based on the position of the car. If any prize money was awarded to the drivers, obviously the money for 1st place would be split between them - presumably it would be up to the drivers how it was split. One team (Aston Martin I think) used to split the drivers' share of the money equally between all team drivers, whether they finished or not, to discourage racing against each other and to reward the efforts of a driver who acted as 'hare' to break the opposition.
Rolexes - if the Rolex publicists had any sense they would present each driver with a Rolex and milk the publicity on the grounds of "How hard done by they were, but being an honourable company they had to honour their commitment" - the implication being they'd honour their guatantee if the dog ate your watch or your lady friend/ wife threw it out of a 20th floor window in a fit of pique.
As to "Why have seven drivers?". Was it the case that drivers of the winning car all scored the samechampionship points and as Daytona was the first race it gave them all an equal opportunity depending on how the rest of the season panned out? Or was it simply a very very hot day?

[Emery0323]

At the same event, 29 years earlier:

The winning Porsche 907 and the 1968 Daytona 24hrs was credited to five drivers (Vic Elford, Jochen Neerpasch, Rolf Stommelen, Jo Siffert, Hans Herrmann). Not as many as in 1997, obviously, but quite unusual in an era when 24hour races only required only a two-man crew.

There was no drivers championship in endurance racing then. Presumably, the Porsche team management (von Hanstein?) wanted to keep all their stars happy and "share the wealth" in giving them all credit for the win. It was a Porsche 1-2-3, so they were under no pressure.

[2F-001]

In the case of the 1968 race, Siffert and Hermann were also credited with second place in another team car (an oddity which has become the basis of a rather over-used quiz question over the years); I believe the rules were later revised to preclude such an anomaly. I wonder what the 'podium etiquette' would be? In other cases, drivers of retired cars have joined the crew of another team car.

I don't recall details of the 1997 race, but I'm thinking that something similar may have happened there - that maybe all seven didn't start the race necessarily intending to share the same car.

[Emery0323]

In the case of the 1968 race, Siffert and Hermann were also credited with second place in another team car (an oddity which has become the basis of a rather over-used quiz question over the years); I believe the rules were later revised to preclude such an anomaly. I wonder what the 'podium etiquette' would be? In other cases, drivers of retired cars have joined the crew of another team car.

That's right, the drivers not originally entered in the winning car were entered in other team cars. Since Daytona is really a NASCAR track, there was no podium, but I do recall contemporary magazine reports (Road & Track) showing all five drivers in the winners circle being photographed together as a group.