1970 Watkins Glen 6 Hours

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1970 Watkins Glen 6 Hours

The 1970 Watkins Glen 6 Hours was held on July 11 at the Watkins Glen International road course in New York. It was the ninth round of the 1970 World Sportscar Championship. The race covered six hours and the winning car completed about 1,140 kilometers.

Pre-race
Qualifying saw the Porsche 917K from John Wyer Automotive Engineering take pole position, driven by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman, edging out the Ferrari 512S of Mario Andretti and Ignazio Giunti. Porsche’s blue-and-white “hippie” livery cars were notable entries, and Martini Racing ran another 917K in a blue-green design. This event would be the last Watkins Glen 6 Hours run on the original circuit before it was rebuilt.

Race
At the start, Andretti briefly led before Siffert pulled away, then Rodriguez took the lead. Later in the race, Pedro Rodríguez’s Porsche 917K had a mishap while Rodríguez tried to switch off the headlights and instead turned off the fuel pumps. The car began to lose power, but Rodríguez realized the mistake, restarted the pumps, and charged back, setting the fastest lap and driving with Leo Kinnunen to win the race. The winning Wyer team finished 1-2, on the same lap, with the Ferrari of Andretti/Giunti completing the podium in third.

Official results (top 3)
1. John Wyer Automotive Engineering — Porsche 917K — Drivers: Pedro Rodríguez and Leo Kinnunen — 308 laps
2. John Wyer Automotive Engineering — Porsche 917K — Drivers: Jo Siffert and Brian Redman — 308 laps
3. Scuderia Ferrari SEFAC — Ferrari 512S Spyder — Drivers: Mario Andretti and Ignazio Giunti — 305 laps

Statistics
- Pole position: Porsche 917K (Siffert/Redman) — 1:06.3
- Fastest lap: Pedro Rodríguez, Porsche 917K — 1:04.9
- Distance/time: Winner completed about 308 laps (roughly 1,140 km) in around 6 hours
- Weather: Sunny

This was the last Watkins Glen 6 Hours on the original circuit, as the track was rebuilt for future races.