(ANSA) – ROME, MARCH 13 – The former London driver Vic Elford, for years a protagonist of the circuits and beyond, passed away today at the age of 86. In 1968 he won the Monte Carlo Rally, the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 1000 km of the Nuerburgring and the Targa Florio, the classic Sicilian race that was held on the Madonie track, paired with Umberto Maglioli. In his career he too triumphed at Sebring and Le Mans (class successes in 1967 and 1973). The news of his death was spread, with a tweet, by the mechanic and great friend of him, Marshall Pruett. For some time, Elford had been suffering from an incurable disease.
He was named ‘Chevalier de Ordre national du Mérite’ by the then French president Georges Pompidou, for his “courage and heroism”. Elford, in fact, was the protagonist of a dramatic episode at the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, while he was driving an Alfa Romeo: after being overtaken by his colleague Jo Bonnier, at the wheel of a Lola, he saw the latter go off the road in an attempt to overtake a Ferrari 365 Daytona. Arrived at the scene of the accident, he got out of his car to throw himself into the flames to save the two colleagues, believing them still trapped in the cars. With great surprise, opening the door of the Ferrari, however, he found the passenger compartment empty: he had not noticed that the driver had already taken refuge beyond the guard rail, but only then did he notice that the wreckage of the Lola was among the trees and that Jo Bonnier, on the other hand, was not saved. (HANDLE).
Source: Ansa
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