The starting grid at the Silverstone 6 Hours in 1977 was dominated by turbo-charged Porsches. The first 6 cars on the grid were 935 Turbos. Seperated from the heavy-duty machines in Group 5 by a lone Group 5 BMW was the first of the Group 4 (“GT”) Porsche 934 RSRs. Entered by Jolly Club and driven by Vittorio Brambilla and Gianpiero Moretti, the Italian team and drivers were well positioned for what promised to be a tough race!
A British journalist attending the event complained, “The trouble with these Porsches is that they are too reliable.” This tongue-in-cheek comment betrays the fact that the race was anything but dull. There is no doubt it was a Porsche walkover, with the German cars taking 13 of the top 14 finishing position, but fierce battles were waged throughout the field.
The torrid pace led to lengthy pitstops for fuel and repairs; heavy brake wear forced regular pad changes. In the end, Brambilla and Moretti scored a decisive GT class victory, having put their nearest competition a full two laps down!