Gijsbert "Gijs" van Lennep (; born 16 March 1942) is a Dutch racing driver who competed in eight Formula One races. However, his main achievements were in sports car racing. He is a member of the untitled Dutch nobility.

Career

Van Lennep drove for the Porsche sportscar team beginning in 1967. He won the , an annual award presented by Porsche AG to recognize the world's most successful privateer racing driver competing with Porsche machinery in a customer racing team, in 1970. He shared the number 22 Martini Racing Porsche 917K with Helmut Marko, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1971. They set a distance record, covering , which remained unbeaten until 2010.

Also in 1971, the Stichting Autoraces Nederland (Foundation for Car races in the Netherlands) hired a Surtees TS7 for van Lennep to make his F1 debut in his home GP where he finished a creditable eighth in a very wet GP. The following year Van Lennep won the 1972 Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship driving a Surtees TS11 and a McLaren M18.Wolfgang Kopfler, Formula 5000 in Europe - Race by Race, 2004, pp.90-91 He also drove twice for the Williams GP team, earning his first World Championship point with sixth place in the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix. With Ensign, he scored a second point in the 1975 German Grand Prix, making him the fifth most successful Dutch Formula One driver behind Max Verstappen, Jos Verstappen, Carel Godin de Beaufort and Christijan Albers.

In 1973, van Lennep won the last Targa Florio, sharing the Martini Porsche Carrera RSR with Herbert Müller. He continued with sportscar racing, sharing a Porsche 936 Turbo with Jacky Ickx to win Le Mans 24 for a second time in 1976, before retiring from racing.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1970 A.A.W. Racing Team David Piper Porsche 917K S5.0 112 DNF DNF 1971 Martini International Racing Team Helmut Marko Porsche 917K S5.0 397 1st 1st 1972 Ecurie Bonnier Switzerland Jo Bonnier Gérard Larrousse Lola T280-Ford Cosworth S3.0 213 DNF DNF 1973 Martini Racing Team Herbert Müller Porsche 911 Carrera RSR S3.0 328 4th 4th 1974 Martini Racing Team Herbert Müller Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo S3.0 331 2nd 2nd 1975 Gelo Racing Team John Fitzpatrick Manfred Schurti Toine Hezemans Porsche 911 Carrera RSR GTS 315 5th 1st 1976 Martini Racing Porsche System Jacky Ickx Porsche 936 S3.0 349 1st 1st

Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pts 1971 Stichting Autoraces Nederland Surtees TS7 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN NC 0 Team Surtees Surtees TS9 USA 1973 Frank Williams Racing Cars Iso-Marlboro IR Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR NED GER AUT ITA CAN USA 19th 1 1974 Frank Williams Racing Cars Iso-Marlboro FW Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA NC 0 1975 HB Bewaking Team Ensign Ensign N174 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED 19th 1 Ensign N175 FRA GBR GER AUT ITA USA

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results (key) Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 1972 Speed International Surtees TS11 (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ROC BRA INT OUL REP VIC 1973 ShellSPORT Luxembourg Lola T330 (F5000) Chevrolet 5.0 V8 ROC INT

Complete European F5000 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pts 1972 Speed International Racing Surtees TS11 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 BRH MAL SNE BRH NIV SIL MON OUL MAL BRH SIL BRH BRH 1st 65 McLaren M18 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 OUL 1973 ShellSPORT Luxembourg Lola T330 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 BRH MAL SIL SNE BRH OUL MAL MIS MAL MON SIL BRH OUL JYL ZAN SNE BRH 10th 59

References

Sources

Profile at www.grandprix.com