<< Prev Page 2 of 3 Next >> Five hours after the homologation inspection, five cars were on their way to Daytona. In head-to-head qualifying, the 512 S and the 917 were disturbed by unfavourable weather. Andretti benefited from the situation and placed his 512 S on the pole position in its debut race, just like the 312 P had done in the previous year. All five Ferraris that were entered suffered from problems throughout the race and only the Andretti car managed to finish, in a reasonable fifth. A suspension failure had thrown it back from a seemingly secure second place. Carefully driven around the track, it was overtaken by one of the 917s in the second-last lap.
Ferrari probably learned more about the 512 in those 24 Hours at Daytona than they did in the previous two months of testing. The Ferrari almost made up in handling what it lacked in the power and weight department. Improving aerodynamics and fuel consumption were also on designer Forghieri's to-do list. An open spyder version shaved off around 25 kg, but it was not preferred by all drivers, especially in rainy conditions. Small lips were added on each side of the nose to increase downforce. Improved Fuel Injection brought the V12 engine up to Porsche power and fuel efficiency.
Four revised 512s faced four 917s for the next championship race at Sebring. Three of the four Ferraris featured spyder bodywork, with the Daytona finishing car still in its initial configuration. Showing his talents once more, Andretti qualified his 512 S on pole, followed by the seven remaining 'GT-cars'. From the start Andretti lead the field, only to be overtaken by three of the Porsches during a pit stop. This proved to be a short-lived as all three Porsches were overtaken after suffering various problems of their own, leaving the four Ferraris to lead the race. After a few more lead changes Andretti managed to overtake one of the 917s and the leading Porsche 908, to record the 512's maiden victory.
The championship now moved to Europe for five more races before the season's pinnacle, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Forghieri was keen on developing the car further, but was limited due to homologation restrictions. Reliability was incredible in those five races, with just one retirement from 17 starts. Unfortunately none of the finishes resulted in wins, but there were podium finishes none-the-less including a 2-3-4 finish behind a single 917 at the Monza 1000 km. The 512's handling was underlined by a third place finish at the Targa Florio, a track that favoured the nimble 3 litre prototypes.
Le Mans was the most important race of the season for Porsche. A Le Mans win would complete an arduous 20 year racing effort. More than on any other track, the car's top speed at Le Mans is crucial. Both Ferrari and Porsche produced special longtail versions which created less downforce, but in turn gave less drag for higher top speeds. Ferrari fielded four longtail works racers, but Porsche's leading JWA (Gulf) team was reluctant to switch to the longtail variant because of testing accidents. Again the Ferrari's were substantially heavier than both the regular 917 and the long tail versions.
Qualifying showed that the 512 S' 100 additional kilos were no real handicap as Vacarella recorded a lap time of just 0.3s behind pole sitter Elford in his longtail 917. Finishing had been Ferrari's strong point throughout the European season, but that quite abruptly ended at Le Mans. Vacarella's car lasted just 30 minutes. When rain began to slick the track shortly after, two of the remaining works cars fell victim of a multiple car mishap. Jackie Ickx took the lead in the remaining works 512 S, but around 2:00 am he hit a puddle and crashed out, killing a marshal in the process. Porsche finally won their Le Mans. The 1970 Le Mans was the only running of the race where works Ferraris and Porsches battled for victory; the end, and beginning of two eras. << Prev Page 2 of 3 Next >>
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Five hours after the homologation inspection, five cars were on their way to Daytona. In head-to-head qualifying, the 512 S and the 917 were disturbed by unfavourable weather. Andretti benefited from the situation and placed his 512 S on the pole position in its debut race, just like the 312 P had done in the previous year. All five Ferraris that were entered suffered from problems throughout the race and only the Andretti car managed to finish, in a reasonable fifth. A suspension failure had thrown it back from a seemingly secure second place. Carefully driven around the track, it was overtaken by one of the 917s in the second-last lap.