Jo Siffert and his big little fan
07/07/2011
Jo Siffert would have been 75 years old today. A good reason to look back.
In 1969, when I was nine years old, I visited Jo Siffert's merchandising store in Fribourg with my father, where the photo was taken.
My father was lucky enough to be able to follow Seppi's entire career live. They had met in Monaco at the beginning of the sixties. Siffert had run out of money and urgently needed gas for the return trip. My father lent him a few francs and 50 Swiss francs. This money was well invested for the future. Seppi was eternally grateful to him and paid him back twice and three times over by being available for my father at almost any time. We met him several times in his garage in Fribourg and I feel honored to have known him personally.
I had a funny experience with him in Lucerne. He was signing autographs for his sponsor at the time, Heuer, in a watch store on Pilatusstrasse. I really wanted to go and my father said: "Give him my best regards and you'll get as many autographs as you want".
After standing in line for ages, I finally stood in front of him and said clearly: "Another best regards from my father".
I was very disappointed because Siffert hadn't recognized me and so I didn't get any more than anyone else. How was Siffert supposed to recognize me in the large crowd of fans, since I hadn't even mentioned my father's name?
I remember Seppi not only as a sensational racing driver, but also as an exceptionally nice person.
And I'm delighted that my friend Marcel Fässler achieved the feat that Siffert narrowly missed out on this year, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans!
To mark his 75th birthday, Zwischengas has published a look back at his life .
