The race showed a race long unprecedented battle between Jo Siffert and Pedro Rodriguez. Both where the masters in taming the beast - the Porsche 917. Lap after lap, both stayed wheel to wheel at above 320 km/h (200 mph). Their co-drivers Derek Bell and Jackie Oliver where staring in awe from the pits where they spent more time than in the cars. 

​

John Wyer's team principle David Yorke showed the "EZ" sign to his battling drivers, with litte effect. Jo kept chasing Pedro at a dramatic pace.

Yorke's only chance to tame both star drivers was by ordering Derek not to engage in a fight with Oliver and to keep positions. 

​

Siffert wasn't pleased and was seen with a black board at the end of pit lane to signal Derek to go for it. Derek - having set the pole time with a new lap record - was clearly faster but followed the team orders.

​

After 4 hours an 1 minute the crossed they finish line separated by just 0.4 seconds. They where 4 laps ahead the rest which translated into 56 km or 15 minutes gap.

​

While Jo Siffert missed the win, he claimed the fastest lap with a jaw-dropping 3:14,6 (almost 2 seconds faster than the pole time and more than 10 seconds faster than F1). This translates into an average lap speed of an astonishing 260.843 km/h (162.080 mph).