Jeff Allison: Head Shots Part 1

Story and photos by Jeff Allison

I recently finished a project to put my “head shots” of drivers in one place and thought maybe the readers of VeloceToday might enjoy seeing some. I began photographing races in 1959 with my last “real” race, i.e., not vintage, in 1997. I didn’t take many “head shots” in my early years as I thought it was an affront to the drivers. However, as time went on, I loosened up (a telephoto lens helped) and began to photograph drivers as well as cars. Most were photos of opportunity while wandering the paddock and pits when I wasn’t out on the track.

Here are some of my favorites…

CARLO CHITI
Sometimes one finds a gem when not looking for one. I was focused on the massive tires and rear plumbing of the works (Autodelta) 3.0-liter V8-powered Alfa Romeo T33/3 when I took this photo. Later I noticed the legendary Italian racing car and engine designer Carlo Chiti (eyeglasses) sitting against the pit wall. Examples of his notable designs are the Ferrari 156 F1 (sharknose) in which American Phil Hill won the 1961 Formula 1 drivers’ title, and the flat-12 Alfa-Romeo engine that won the 1975 (33TT12) and 1977 (33SC12) Championship of Makes titles. Chiti died in 1994 after a long and distinguished career, including stints at Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, ATS and Minardi.

MARIO ANDRETTI AND JACKY ICKX
Wow, what a strong driver pairing. They were driving a works 3.0-liter, flat-12 Ferrari 312 P(B) in 1971. The engine displacement limits would change from 5.0 to 3.0 liters in 1972, and Ferrari was racing the 312 P(B) in 1971 to develop it for the 1972 season. An all-around and versatile American driver, Andretti (left) helped Ferrari win the 1972 world sports car championship with the 312 P(B). He was the Formula 1 drivers’ champion with Lotus in 1978 and the Indy car champion four times. The 84-year old Andretti remains one of America’s favorites and is still active in the racing community, serving on the board and as an advisor to the Cadillac Formula 1 program planned for 2026.

Belgian Ickx won eight Formula 1 races but was best known for his prowess in sports racing cars, winning 39 races, including six wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours, in the world sports car championship and helping Ferrari and Porsche to manufacturers’ titles. Ickx continues to appear at motor racing events celebrating his career.

DEREK BELL AND JO SIFFERT
Another strong driver pairing. This time from J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd. (Gulf-Porsche) representing the Porsche factory. Englishman Bell (left) dabbled in Formula 1 with no wins but is acknowledged as one of the best endurance drivers. In the world sports car championship, he raced works cars for Porsche, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo, winning 22 races that included Le Mans five times, Daytona three times and Spa, Buenos Aires, Kyalami, Nürburgring, Brands Hatch and Monza. He won 18 races in International Motor Sports Association GTX and GTP cars – most notably with Al Holbert in the iconic GTP Lowenbraü Porsche 962. Bell is retired from racing and has been the grand marshal at several motor racing events.

Siffert was not unlike Bell in that he excelled in sports racing cars and not so much in Formula 1 – two wins in ten years. He helped Porsche move from a class winner to an endurance champion in the world sports car championship, driving Porsche 907, 908 and 917 models for the factory and the J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd. (Gulf-Porsche) team representing the Porsche factory. He won races at Buenos Aires, Daytona, Monza, Nürburgring, Österreichring, Sebring, Spa, Targa Florio and Watkins Glen – 13 wins in three years. In 1971, he raced an open cockpit Porsche 917 in the Can-Am as a precursor to Porsche’s dominant turbocharged 917/10 and 917/30 in 1972 and 1973. Siffert died in a meaningless non-championship Formula 1 and Formula 5000 event, the Rothmans World Championship Victory race, in a BRM P160 at Brands Hatch, England on October 24, 1971.

DAVID YORKE AND PEDRO RODRIGUEZ
J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd. (Gulf-Porsche) team manager Englishman David Yorke talks with Mexican driver Pedro Rodriguez. Yorke was an experienced team manager for Vanwall, winning the 1958 Formula 1 constructors’ title, as well as Wyer’s Ford GT40 teams that won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1968 and 1969 and Wyer’s 917s, winning the world sports car championship for Porsche in 1970 and 1971.

Rodriguez won two Formula 1 races but excelled in sports racing cars, winning for Porsche at Le Mans, Daytona, Monza, Spa and the Österreichring in the world sports car championship. He lived for racing and died racing in a fiery crash in an Interserie race at the Norisring (West Germany) in a private Ferrari 512 M on July 11, 1971.

JACKIE OLIVER
My attempt at an artsy fartsy photo by framing Englishman Jackie Oliver in the open rear deck of a Porsche 917K. He never won in Formula 1, but the versatile Oliver won Sebring and Le Mans (Ford GT40s) in 1969 and Daytona (Porsche 917K) in 1971 for J.W. Automotive Engineering Ltd. (Gulf-Porsche) and was the Can-Am champion in a UOP Shadow DN4-Chevrolet V8 in 1974.

JOHN MECOM JR. AND MARK DONOHUE
Mecom operated the Mecom Racing Team from 1960 through 1967 with sports racing cars, world sports car championship sports racing cars, Indy cars and even Formula 1 He provided Chevrolet Corvette, Ferrari, Lola, etc. cars to Roger Penske, Pedro Rodriguez, A.J. Foyt, Jackie Stewart, Augie Pabst and others. In 1971, he was the owner of the New Orleans Saints football team. Next to Mecom is wife Katsy as they visit their friend Roger Penske in the pits. Mecom lives in retirement in the Houston area and is happy to answer questions about obscure facts about Mecom Racing.

American Mark Donohue prepares to go out for Friday practice in the Penske/White Racing Ferrari 512 M. Donohue was a fierce (read focused) competitor on the track and was as good an engineer as he was a driver. Illustrating his versatility, he drove Indy cars, winning the Indy 500 in 1972; Trans-Am cars, helping Penske Racing to championships in 1968, 1969 and 1971; sports racing cars, winning the United States Road Racing Championships in 1968 and 1969 in a Penske Racing Lola Mk III-Chevrolet V8; NASCAR; Formula 1; Formula 5000; and the Can-Am. He was primarily responsible for developing the over-1000HP, turbocharged Porsche 917s that won the Can-Am titles in 1972 and 1973. He died after an accident in a Penske Cars March 751-Ford at the Grand Prix of Austria at the Österreichring on August 19, 1975.

MARILYN MOTSCHENBACHER AND DENNY HULME
McLaren Can-Am driver Hulme chats with Marilyn, the former Miss Powerine (the Powerine Oil Co., a petroleum refinery business) and television actress Marilyn Fox. At the time, she was the wife of stalwart, independent Can-Am entrant Lothar Motschenbacher. She was the unofficial den mother of the Can-Am participants.

New Zealander Hulme was a very versatile and successful driver, competing in Formula 1, Formula 2, Indy cars, saloon/touring cars, trucks, Can-Am and world sports car championship races. He won eight Formula 1 races and was the drivers’ champion with Brabham in 1967. With the dominant Bruce McLaren Racing team in the Can-Am series, he was the champion in 1968 and 1970 and runner-up on four occasions. After retiring, he returned to racing in touring cars. He suffered a heart attack in a BMW M3 at the Bathurst 1000, Australia’s premier touring car race, on October 4, 1992.

FRANÇOIS CEVERT
I was standing in line at a kiosk to get practice lap times and was chatting with Cevert about coming to the U.S. to drive the V8-engined brutes of the Can-Am compared to the more delicate Tyrrell Formula 1 car. What a friendly and engaging guy and what a loss to motor racing when he was killed a year later in a Tyrrell at Watkins Glen. Cevert would have replaced Jackie Stewart as the number one driver at Tyrrell in 1974.

FRANÇOIS CEVERT AND JACKIE OLIVER
I thought this was a poignant photo as the two drivers get away from the hustle and bustle of the event for some privacy. At the time, Oliver (right) raced for the UOP Shadow Racing Team in Can-Am and F5000 and McLaren in Formula 1. Cevert raced in Formula 1 with Tyrrell, sports racing cars for Matra-Simca in 1972 and 1973 and was in his first year in the Can-Am in 1971 with the Young American Racing Team in a McLaren M8F-Chevrolet V8.

Next up, Penske, Gurney, Vaughn and more