During his lifetime (and to this day), Jo Siffert earned the respect of his peers and the public. The Germans admire him as a factory Porsche driver and one of the most eminent experts of the Porsche 917, which he drove at Le Mans, in the World Marques Championship and in North America in the Can-Am Challenge Cup. The Brits haven't forgotten he won his two Formula 1 victories with British teams and constructors.

Naturally, Jo Siffert was a star in his native Switzerland, a figurehead of his country at the time along with Clay Regazzoni and Herbert Müller, two other major Swiss drivers of the 1970s. "I met locals in his hometown of Fribourg at the end of May," adds Michel Janvier. "Whether relatives of Siffert or childhood friends, they all carry with them a bit of Jo. You have to go to that Swiss town to understand the deep devotion still felt nearly 50 years after his death. For Swiss citizens of a certain age, Jo Siffert is just as important today as someone like tennis champion Roger Federer. Coming from a bilingual city like Fribourg, German-speaking Swiss are very fond of him, as are many Germans thanks to his ties with Porsche. The Brits remember him from his seasons with Lotus and Cooper from 1961 to 1969 (excluding the Brabham years, Ed.) and the last season with BRM. The auction record set in August, 2017 at Pebble Beach by the ex-Siffert Porsche 917 and star of the film 'Le Mans' (a little more than 12 million euros, Ed.), has returned his legend to the headlines, via Steve McQueen. For many people who don't know Siffert, if you mention his link to the American actor, they get it. For the Swiss, he's part of daily life, like the radar outside of Geneva with his life-size photo, a street name here or a bust there."

Echoing illustrator Michel Janvier, writer Olivier Marin adds a telling anecdote as the last word in this series: "The day I went to Fribourg to meet with Philippe Siffert in 2012, it was during the Bédémania comic book festival nearby. As soon as the festival officials found out I was meeting the driver's son, I was asked time after time during over that weekend when the book was coming out! I think that sums up nicely the legacy Jo left behind and how much the Swiss still want to keep him alive."

ILLUSTRATION (Michel Janvier and Olivier Marin/Paquet Editions): At the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #60 Porsche 908 fielded by Jo Siffert ATE finished third thanks to Michel Weber, Mario Casoni and Reinhold Joest. Today, Joest's own team holds the win record at Le Mans. It's a fitting tribute to Jo Siffert who left us too early after an accident at a non-championship Formula 1 race on 24 October 1971.