1977 6 Hours of Silverstone

thumb|Map of the Silverstone Circuit (1975–1986) The 1977 Six Hours of Silverstone, officially named the Kosset World Manufacturers 6 Hours, Silverstone, was the third race1977 Silverstone 6 Hours Motorsport Database https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1977-silverstone-6-hours/ 2026-08-23 Motor Sport Magazine en-GB of the 1977 World Championship for Makes. It took place at the Silverstone Circuit, Great Britain on 15 May 1977. It was open to Group 5 Special Production cars, Group 4 GT cars, Group 3 GTs, Group 2 Touring Cars, and Group 1 Touring Production cars. The race was won by Jochen Mass and Jacky Ickx driving a works Porsche 935/77; it was the first victory for the new 1977 variant of the 935. Car Graphic CG877E 935-77、初勝利 935-77, first victory ja 197, issue 8/77 25 July 1977 Nigensha Publishing Co., Ltd. 168 As with most races during this time, it was dominated by Porsche, with 13 of the 14 top finishers being Porsches. Fastest non-Porsche was the 2-litre BMW 320i driven by Swede Ronnie Peterson and German Helmut Kelleners, qualifying seventh and finishing in fourth.Car Graphic 8/77, p. 167. Report The works, Martini-liveried Porsche was a new build; the first 935/77 had been deemed beyond repair after its crash at Mugello two months earlier. The new car was mostly identical, the only change on the twin-turbo, 650 PS kW hp 0 935 being minor modifications to the intercooler openings ahead of the front wheels. Taking pole and winning the race was sweet revenge for the previous year, when damaging the clutch in the start meant Ickx and Mass finished 51 laps down on the winning BMW. The only cars to challenge Porsche's dominance in Group 5 were the BMW 320i of Peterson/Kelleners, and the single, privateer Aston Martin V8. The Aston Martin was entered as a test session ahead of Le Mans 24 Hours, the car's main aspiration. Fastest of the non-works Porsche 935s was the Kremer Racing car driven by Bob Wollek and John Fitzpatrick, in spite of their car having been severely damaged when it crashed with the Martini Porsche 935/77 at Mugello. Kremer had rebuilt the damaged chassis, which exhibited different handling characteristics in left- and right-hand turns as a result. Kremer simply installed rear wings which were different side-to-side to counteract this. Next fastest were the two cars entered by Georg Loos' Gelo Racing de Gelo Racing Team team, the first car driven by Stommelen and Hezemans and the second by Schenken and Bell. The Schenken/Bell car's engine broke down partway through qualifying and they borrowed a used one from the Facetti/Finotto 935 fielded by the Jolly Club team. The used engine blew up in spectacular fashion, however, after 61 laps. J.C.T. Silverstone 6-hour Race https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-1977/33/silverstone-6-hour-race/ 2026-08-23 33 June 1977 Motor Sport Magazine en-GB The last 935 to start was a new entry, in the form of a Kremer-tuned car entered by Kannacher and driven by Franz Konrad and Peter Hähnlein. The only real Porsche competitor was the Peterson/Kelleners BMW 320i. This was not a works car, rather a Faltz-prepared machine built for Germany's G5 championship. Peterson set the seventh fastest qualifying time, behind the six Porsche 935s and ahead of a gaggle of 934s, even though he had to keep the engine below 9,000 rpm, well below the 9,800 redline. There were also numerous Ford Capri IIIs starting in the Series Production Touring (Group 1) category, as well as the one Aston Martin V8 fielded by Robin Hamilton with a minimum of factory support. The car was designed to race in GT (Group 4) and its bodywork was only minimally altered. After qualifying, however, it became apparent that the car needed a significantly larger rear wing to deal with high speed instability and the car thus had to be reclassified in Group 5. The V8 engine gave a "glorious Can-Am sound" and 520 bhp kW 0 at 6,500 rpm, but being large and very heavy at 1.5 t lb 3 it only managed to qualify in 15th position, out of 31 starters. No matter, this race was essentially a practice run for the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Aston was painted red/white/blue, representing the Union Jack, in honour of Queen Elizabeth. The Jolly Club team, aside from the Porsche 935 starting in fifth, also fielded a Ford Escort Mk II RS 1800, fitted with a two-litre, Novamotor-tuned Cosworth BDA engine and starting in the Group 5 category. While qualifying 11th, much faster than several much more powerful Porsche 911 Carrera RSRs and the aforementioned Aston Martin, their race ended early with broken steering. https://www.racingsportscars.com/chassis/photo/Escort-G5-Finotto%23.html Photos of Chassis Escort-G5-Finotto# Racing Sports Cars Race One significant change over the previous year was that the cars were given a rolling start, behind the Rover 3500 pace car, which helped eliminate the risk of a repeat clutch failure for the Martini Porsche. Unlike the previous year, Mass was the starting driver, and he took the lead from the get go.Car Graphic 8/77, p. 169. The privateer entries remained in contact with Mass however, with Wollek and Stommelen battling for second - until Wollek had to make an unplanned pit stop for new tires on lap 32 and Stommelen briefly had a clear track. Stommelen then hit a hare, damaging the nose cowl and blocking a brake cooling duct, slowing him down in turn. While Mass was not much faster, these minor issues, coupled with less precise pit stops, allowed the factory team to begin building up a lead and also let Finotto/Fachetti move up to second place. The Kremer team also had a wheel gun damaged by a loose nut early on and had to change the nuts on this wheel manually for the remainder of the race. After a while, however, the Kremer and GeLo cars made their way back past the Jolly Club car, whle Peterson and Kelleners had climbed to fifth through a steady, uneventful run. A little past the four-hour mark, the works car had to make a stop to change brake pads; these had been wearing out quicker than unexpected, likely a result of the finned wheel covers although these were designed to cool down the brakes. The stop took three-and-a-half minutes, enough to put the Kremer car into the lead. Mass then passed Wollek when the latter stopped for fuel, only to have this reversed when the Porsche had to refuel. Mass' pace then allowed him to pass on the track on the 203rd lap, holding on to this lead until the end. When there was a sudden heavy downpour near the end, Mass stayed out on slicks while everyone else pitted, putting up a series of fast laps in wet conditions. When the Porsche team eventually forced him in to change to rain tires, he had built up a three-lap lead. Peterson/Kelleners made their way past the Jolly Club 935 to finish the race in fourth, after the Kremer and GeLo entries. The Aston Martin V8, meanwhile, ran until the end but was not classified, having finished only 115 laps because of an oil leak in the differential, caused by overheating. One team of brave amateurs, British motoring journalists Clive Richardson and Jeremy Walton, took part in a Samuri Conversions-prepped Datsun 240Z on a minimal budget (they did not have even spare tyres). Clive Richardson Secondhand Car Test with a Difference https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-1977/32/secondhand-car-test/ 2026-08-25 32 June 1977 Motor Sport Magazine en-GB The car was a five-year old example with more than 100000 km mi on the clock, having been bought from a fish-and-chip shop owner not long before the race. https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/12170/lot/619/the-ex-win-percyclive-richardsonjeremy-walton-6-hour-relay-car-lal1972-datsun-240z-coupe-chassis-no-hs3001914-engine-no-l24-071782/ Auction listing Lot 619: The ex-Win Percy/Clive Richardson/Jeremy Walton, 6-Hour Relay Car 'LAL', 1972 Datsun 240Z Coupé Bonhams Chichester, Goodwood 24 June 2005 The team was black flagged on three occasions for sloshing fuel across the track from a faulty breather, losing over half an hour (14-15 laps) in the pits. They went on with the race but were not classified in the end, having finished the race four laps shy of the cutoff, still on the same slicks they had been using since the start. Official Results Position Class Nr. Team Driver Car Laps completed 1 Gr. 5 1 GER Martini International Racing GER Jochen MassBEL Jacky Ickx Porsche 935/77 231 2 Gr. 5 3 GER Porsche Kremer Racing FRA Bob WollekUK John Fitzpatrick Porsche 935 228 3 Gr. 5 6 GER Gelo Racing GER Rolf StommelenNED Toine Hezemans Porsche 935 223 4 Gr. 5 51 GER Faltz SWE Ronnie PetersonGER Helmut Kelleners BMW 320i 216 5 Gr. 5 11 GER Kannacher GT Racing GER Franz KonradGER Peter Hähnlein Porsche 935 215 6 Gr. 5 8 ITA Jolly Club ITA Carlo FacettiITA Martino Finotto Porsche 935 212 7 GT 9 ITA Jolly Club ITA Vittorio BrambillaITA Giampiero Moretti Porsche 934 209 8 GT 10 SUI GVEA CHE Claude HaldiGER Reinhold Joest Porsche 934 207 9 Gr. 5 31 SWE Kenneth Leim SWE Kurt SimonsenSWE Kenneth Leim Porsche Carrera RSR 206 10 GT 33 GER Hahn Sportwagen GER Klaus UtzGER Armin Jahn Porsche Carrera RSR 200 11 Gr. 5 35 UK Chandler Ibec Team Lloyds UK Mike FraneyUK Ian Bracey Porsche Carrera RSR 196 12 Gr. 5 14 ITA Gabriele Gottifredi ITA Girolamo CapraITA Angelo CogatoITA Gabriele Gottifredi Porsche 934 195 13 GT 12 FRA ASA Cachia FRA Claude Ballot-LénaFRA Jean-Louis LafosseFRA Philippe Dagoreau Porsche 934 195 14 GT (series) 36 UK Tony Wingrove UK Pete LovettUK Tony Wingrove Porsche Carrera 191 15 T (series) 41 UK Gordon Spice UK Gordon SpiceUK Peter Clark Ford Capri III 189 16 T (series) 42 UK Bob Gathercole UK Win PercyUK Stuart Rolt Ford Capri III 188 17 T (series) 43 UK Brian Robinson UK Brian RobinsonUK Les Blackburn Ford Capri III 183 18 T (series) 39 UK Nu-Luxe Foam UK John MyerscoughUK Phil DowsettUK Stuart Patterson Ford Capri III 179 19 T (series) 40 UK Hammonds Sauce UK Chris CraftUK Alain de Cadenet Ford Capri III 175 Not classified 20 GT 47 UK Spike Anderson UK Clive RichardsonUK Jeremy Walton Datsun 240Z 158 21 T (series) 49 UK Americana Jeans Monoposto UK Gerry MarshallUK Tony LanfranchiUK Barrie Williams BMW 3.0 Si 157 22 Gr. 5 58 UK Janspeed Racing IRL Alec PooleNED Han TjanUK John Handley Datsun Sunny 128 23 Gr. 5 22 UK Robin Hamilton UK Robin HamiltonUK David Preece Aston Martin AM V8 115 Retired 24 Gr. 5 5 GER Gelo Racing Team AUS Tim SchenkenUK Derek Bell Porsche 935 61(engine) 25 GT 32 UK Mike Fisher UK Brian ClassicUK Mike FisherUK Frank Sytner Porsche Carrera 60(clutch) 26 Gr. 5 54 ITA Jolly Club ITA Umberto GranoGER Siegfried MüllerITA Martino Finotto Ford Escort RS1800 50(steering) 27 T 55 UK Ken Coffey UK Ken CoffeyUK Cyd WilliamsUK Marc Smith Ford Escort RS 2000 38(piston) 28 Gr. 5 19 UK Stratstone UK Tim GossUK Mike GiddenUK Bob Neville MGB GT V8 23(engine) Did not start DNS Gr. 5 15 ITA Marco Capoferri ITA Marco CapoferriITA Duilio Ghislotti Porsche Carrera RSR Turbo Clutch damagedduring qualifying Listed but did not compete Teams, drivers, and cars which had entered the race but did not appear. Class Nr. Team Driver Car Gr. 5 16 AUT Memphis Team International AUT Sepp Manhalter BMW 3.5 CSL T (series) 38 IRL Tony Brennan IRL Tony BrennanIRL Jody Carr Ford Capri T (series) 44 UK Esso GB UK Vince WoodmanUK Jonathan Buncombe Ford Capri Class victors Class Driver Driver Car Overall classification Gr. 5 GER Jochen Mass BEL Jacky Ickx Porsche 935/77 Winner overall GT (Gr. 4) ITA Vittorio Brambilla ITA Giampiero Moretti Porsche 934 7 GT (series, Gr. 3) UK Pete Lovett UK Tony Wingrove Porsche Carrera 14 Touring (Gr. 2) no finisher in Group Touring (series, Gr. 1) UK Gordon Spice UK Peter Clark Ford Capri III 15 References Category:1977 World Championship for Sports Cars Category:1977 in British motorsport Category:6 Hours of Silverstone Category:May 1977 sports events in the United Kingdom