DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A family legacy can be both a blessing and a challenge for an athlete. Particularly a young race driver.
After all, doors to teams and partners may open a little more easily if your name is Andretti or Unser, Earnhardt or Petty, Fittipaldi or Taylor, Schumacher or Verstappen rather than John or Jane Doe.
What’s more, you can tap into the invaluable experience of a progenitor as you seek to hone your skills and, no less importantly, navigate the uncharted waters of a sport where the number of aspiring athletes dwarfs the number of available roster spots on top flight teams.
On the other hand … every time you climb into a race car you carry the weight of expectations that accrue with your family name. And when it comes to racing, weight is the enemy of speed.
Imagine then the challenges facing young Jeremy Siffert. His father Philippe may have achieved a modicum of motorsports success in his own right, racing Formula Fords, Formula 3, touring cars and a Porsche 911 GT2 in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans.
But it’s his grandfather Jo “Seppi” Siffert whose legacy is indelibly attached to the 22-year-old Swiss racer; a grandfather he never met, let alone turned to for sage career advice; a grandfather whose reputation was born of legendary exploits from Le Mans and the Targa Florio to Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen in iconic cars like the Porsche 908 and the fearsome Porsche 917… to say nothing of having been the last driver to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix for a privateer team (Rob Walker Racing Team, in a Lotus-Ford at the 1968 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch).
The 1968 season was a banner one for Jo Siffert. He won the Rolex 24 At Daytona with Vic Elford, Jochen Neerpasch, Rolf Stommelen and Hans Herrmann in a Porsche 907 and, a few weeks later, also triumphed with Herrmann in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
“There is, of course, his legacy,” says Siffert, whose helmet bears a distinctive Swiss flag design akin to his grandfather’s lid.
“The legacy of my grandfather is really big, and he really inspired me. It has its advantages and also the disadvantages to have him as a grandfather. The people still know him which can open me the door … to get me some attention.
“But the thing is you also have a bit more pressure than the others because sometimes people are wanting a bit more from you. I will try to do my best like he (did) but I’m not only focused on the past, I’m also focused on my future right now.”
Siffert’s future includes competing in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge as part of Gebhardt Motorsport’s Duqueine D08 Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) program. However after his series debut in Daytona, his 2026 program has undergone a change of plans.
Originally announced to run the VP Racing Challenge’s Airbnb Endurance Challenge rounds alongside Oscar Tunjo with a one-off sprint outing at Daytona in a third car, the team announced in mid-February a shift to run him in the sprint rounds instead.
“We had originally planned to participate in the (Airbnb) Endurance Cup, but due to a change in the program, I will ultimately be participating in the sprint races,” he said.
“I’m also really looking forward to racing in the sprint format, as I believe it will teach me to be a little more aggressive in racing situations.”
The original slate of endurance races would have been at Sebring International Raceway, Circuit of The Americas, VIRginia International Raceway and Road America. Siffert co-drove a Funyo SP05 EVO to a 13th place finish with Remy Bruoard at Sebring in last year’s Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Classic 12 Hour/Sebring Historics.
“I drove last year and I really liked the track because the bump(s) were different from Europe,” he explained. “Plus, it was the first time driving in the U.S.”
Now with his adjusted schedule, Siffert’s been to Daytona and will race at COTA’s national track (rather than the full-length Formula 1 circuit), the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The latter one is a special inclusion, as Siffert originally thought at Daytona he’d not get to race the flowing, high-speed, windy, fast, 2.54-mile Michelin Raceway track. Now he will.
Siffert graduated from karts to France’s Sprint Cup by Funyo and the Porsche Sprint Challenge Switzerland and then drove for Gebhardt Motorsport in the Prototype Cup Germany in a campaign highlighted by a fourth place at the Norisring.
It was surely no accident that Siffert’s No. 31 Gebhardt Young Driver Academy Duqueine D08 he steered to a pair of seventh places in his IMSA debut was decked out in a blue and orange paint scheme reminiscent of the Gulf Porsche 917 his grandfather and Brian Redman piloted to second spot in the 1971 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
“I think the design is great and it’s a nice tribute to my grandfather, who spent a significant part of his career in these colors,” he explained.
Now with his sprint program set as part of the Gebhardt Academy, Siffert will look to use his remaining races to build confidence and results for the future.
“The Gebhardt Young Driver Academy is a huge opportunity for me and will help me develop both on and off the track,” he said. “I am surrounded by the right people within the team, and we are working together to help me improve and become a complete racing driver in every respect.
“In the future, I want to develop as much as possible with Gebhardt Motorsport and go as far as possible with the team by helping them this season and with their future projects.”
