1967 British Grand Prix race report - Team Lotus Dominate
Team Lotus Dominate
Silverstone, England, July 15th
The choice of the R.A.C. fell on Silverstone this year, so with the help of the B.R.D.C. and most of the country’s motor clubs the British Grand Prix was held on the wide open spaces of the airfield circuit. Entry was by invitation and all the big teams were represented along with more than the usual number of private owners, some newcomers being given a chance to try their hand at Grand Prix racing.
Brabham and Hulme were driving the two latest Brabham BT24 cars, as raced at the French G.P. except that the instrument panel layout was altered, to bring the instruments nearer the steering wheel. The reason for this was to gain a few extra inches of space for a larger scuttle tank as there was a possibility that the 80-lap race would cut things a bit fine on the existing tank capacity. Stewart was entered to drive the latest, slightly lighter and slimmer B.R.M. H16-cylinder car, Spence with one of the earlier ones and Irwin with the other early car. The first two drivers were entered by the Owen Organisation, and the third by Parnell, who also entered Courage to drive his 2-litre V8 Tasman B.R.M. As it turned out during practice mere was a lot of shuffling of cars and drivers among this quartet and the moves are indicated in the table of practice times. Clark and Hill had the two Lotus 49 cars of Team Lotus, 49/2 and 49/1, respectively, and since their last appearance the gearboxes had been considerably strengthened, as described in “Continental Notes” in this issue. Both Cosworth V8 engines had also been fitted with yet another system of linkage for the throttle-slide controls, in the search for better control of the 410 b.h.p. and both cars had a new method of clutch operation, with the hydraulic operating cylinder on the right of the crown-wheel casing and acting on an exposed push-rod running forwards. Surtees was alone with a Honda V12, outwardly unchanged from its last appearance at Spa but with a new and improved engine, and Amon was alone with the 1967 Ferrari V12, number 003, as it was at the French G.P. Gurney and McLaren were entered by Anglo American Racers with the two cars used at Le Mans, plastic pipes to the metering unit being an obvious modification. Gurney had the latest car, number 104, but the titanium front suspension rocker-arms were replaced by standard steel ones, not through any failure, but as an experiment in the search for improved rigidity; McLaren had the earlier car, number 102. Cooper were out in force with a full team of three cars, Rindt with a brand-new car, with the 36-valve V12 engine tried out at Monaco at the beginning of the season, Rodriguez with the 1966 car he normally drives and Alan Rees being given a try-out in the modified 1966 chassis with the inboard rear brakes, the car that is normally kept as a spare.
The remainder of the entry were private owners, Siffert having the Walker/Durlacher Cooper-Maserati V12 as usual, though it was fitted with an old borrowed engine as their own was awaiting an overhaul, Anderson having his Brabham-Climax 4-cylinder as lack of money prevents him acquiring a V8 engine. Bonnier had his red and white Cooper-Maserati V12, and Hobbs was entered by Bernard White Racing to drive White’s 2-litre B.R.M. V8. A new entry was that of Ligier with the 1966 Brabham-Repco V8 with which Hulme had won the Monaco G.P. earlier this season. The reason for Ligier having this very race-worthy motor car was quite simple; his money was the shape that Jack Brabham likes! To complete the entry there was the Swiss driver Silvio Moser with the Cooper-A.T.S. V8 built by Alf Francis for Fritz Baumann, a Swiss garage owner. It comprises the front half of the Cooper built to take the abortive Climax 16-cylinder, and a Francis rear end. Darlington made an entry with a 1966 McLaren, but it did not materialise.
Practice time consisted of two separate sessions on the Thursday before race day, and one on Friday, but a lot of teams had already been having private sessions on the Silverstone track so they should have been more than ready. The existing lap record was over a year old, standing to Brabham with the first of his Repco V8-engined cars at 1 min. 29.8 sec. set up in May 1966 so when practice began it was felt that any works driver should be able to improve on this and it was confidently expected that some might get as low as 1 min. 25.0sec.
The B.R.M. team were out promptly for the morning practice, the three 16-cylinder cars making a fine sound as they circulated, but Stewart was not convinced about the handling of the new car, and it was speculation as to whose old-type 16-cylinder car he would snatch away. Rindt was having to spectate as Cooper mechanics were still working flat out to complete the new car and it was hoped it would arrive in time for the afternoon practice. Brabham and Hulme were in fine form, as they usually are, and were setting the pace, the only driver to look like getting near them being Clark with the Lotus 49. However, the Lotus was misfiring badly and Chapman and Duckworth were completely baffled, for the engine had been perfect on the test bed. They were so preoccupied with this problem that there was no time to adjust either chassis to the circuit conditions and, all told, the Team Lotus efforts were a bit abortive, except that in spite of all the troubles Clark got round in 1 min. 27.8 sec. which compared favourably with Brabham’s time of 1 min. 26.6 sec., the Australian’s improvement of over three seconds over his 1966 time being very impressive. McLaren was not too happy with the Eagle-Weslake as the differential unit was not right; the unit was stripped down behind the pits to be modified. Like the Cosworth engine the Honda engine sounded terrible, never really running cleanly on all its cylinders, so taken all round it was surprising that the ten fastest were all below the old lap record, and Brabham spoilt his showing by breaking down at the end of practice when the fuel pump gave out.
This first practice had been from 11.30 am to 1 p.m. and the second session was from 4.50 p.m. to 5.50 p.m., the odd time being caused by the tight time schedule of the organisation in order to fit in numerous supporting events. For the afternoon practice Stewart changed cars with Spence, about which Spence was not too impressed for he had not done many laps before a front suspension mounting collapsed as he was braking for Copse Corner and he steered the sagging car on to the grass and ended his practice there. McLaren spent most of the time waiting for the modifications to his differential unit to be completed and for everything to be reassembled, and just managed one lap as practice ended. Gurney was going well, but not as well as he hoped, and was not too satisfied with the Eagle’s brakes. The Cooper team had given up hope of completing the new car before the Friday practice, so sent the first of the 1967 cars, the lighter chassis with Hewland gearbox, in order that Rindt could make some laps, but it only had an old V12 engine installed. Team Lotus were making a slight improvement to Clark’s car, but the engine still popped and banged and never ran properly on all eight cylinders; even so Clark made fastest time in 1 min. 26.5 sec., just beating Brabham’s morning time. The Honda was still sounding awful most of the time, though occasionally it would go by the pits sounding marvellous, firing smoothly on all twelve cylinders, but this would not last for long. Amon with the lone Ferrari was being very consistent and looking nice, but was simply not fast enough, though the car gave the impression of great strength and staying power. One hour was really too short for any serious improvements to be made so that the overall picture was much the same, with a fast pace generally speaking, but not as fast as expected.
The weather had been splendid for the Thursday practice, but Friday morning was dull and overcast with a suggestion of rain. Overnight Duckworth had solved the problem of the eratic mixture on the Cosworth engines. There was a minute bleed hole in the by-pass system of the fuel injection that was passing too much fuel and by blocking it off all the misfiring was cured. The blocking was done by the simple expedient of tapering an ordinary pin down to the diameter of this tiny hole and tapping it in until the hole was blocked off. With the possibility of rain in the offing all the serious contenders for the front of the grid were out immediately practice began at it 11 a.m. Rindt was driving the new Cooper with 36-valve Maserati engine and seemed very pleased with it, Stewart was back in the slim B.R.M., the front suspension repaired, and everyone seemed set for a last bid to get in the first four, to form the front row of the grid. Clark went out and did one of those impressive demonstrations of virtuosity combined with Chapman race-craft, that keeps these two ahead of most of their competitors. The Cosworth V8 was now really firing on all eight cylinders and Clark did his first lap at 1 min. 26.6 sec., virtually where he had left off the previous afternoon, and followed it with 1 min. 26.4 sec., then 1 min. 25.7 sec. and then got slightly baulked by a slower car and did 1 min. 26.1 sec. so he stopped at the pits, to find a smiling Chapman who said “That’s got the engine going properly, now we’ll try and make the car handle properly.” At this early stage there was no one else anywhere near this time, 1 min. 27.0 sec. being the general order of the day. Clark’s car was taken round to the back of the pits and all sorts of adjustments were made to the suspension geometry and this allowed some time for sorting out the second car for the team’s “new boy” Graham Hill. While all this was happening Stewart came in with the front wheels of the new B.R.M. leaning inwards at a very odd angle and the car was put away, the front suspension structure having collapsed. Racing numbers were changed around and Stewart took the 16-cylinder car that Irwin had been driving, while Irwin took the V8-engined car from Courage, who became a spectator.
The impending rain did not materialise so everyone who could go last was doing so, Brabham, Hulme, Gurney and Amon being the outstanding ones, though Hill was beginning to get the second Lotus 49 to his liking. After the adjustments to 49/2 Clark went out again, not to flog round and round in the hope of getting a good lap time at some lucky point, but with a pre-planned number of laps, which the whole of Team Lotus have become used to. Before the suspension adiustments he had got down to 1 min. 25.7 sec. and he started off at 1 min. 27.0 sec. to get the feel of the car and track, and his next lap was 1 min. 25.6 sec., then he had to pass some slower cars and did 1 min. 26.4 sec., but followed with 1 min. 25.5 sec. and 1 min. 25.3 sec. and then came in well satisfied. Chapman was equally satisfied with his number one driver and felt that they were beginning to make progress with the Lotus 49. The two Brabham drivers and Gurney were very close to one another and battling for second fastest time, while now and then the Honda was showing signs of going properly, but it was never really competitive in spite of the ability of Surtees. The lone Ferrari was still sounding strong and reliable and Amon was improving though he was doing a great number or laps. Clark’s fastest lap of 1 min. 25.3 sec. was an average speed of 123.53 m.p.h. (198.8 k.p.h.) and the pattern was that anyone who could not lap at least at 120 m.p.h. was not in the running, Rindt just getting the new Cooper-Maserati V12 into this select company with 1 min. 27.4 sec. (120.56 m.p.h.).
Towards the end of practice Hill was beginning to get his Lotus 49 going like Clark’s and he got his time down to 1 min. 26.0 sec. on two consecutive laps, a long way off Clark’s performance by Grand Prix standards. but nevertheless second fastest overall. He was not too happy with the feel of the car, it being a bit “twitchy,” so he settled for 1 min. 26.0 sec. and returned to the pits, but as he was in the pits approach-road a rear radius arm mounting gave way, which had the effect of making the car turn sharp right. It struck the bank and demolished the front of the car, the right front wheel and suspension being ripped off, as was the radiator, while the chassis was badly torn where the front wheel unit had pulled off. This accident splintered a wooden advertising sign and made a mess on the track so practice was postponed for ten minutes while the bits were swept up. Clark was out at the time and as he came in he ran over some of the wreckage and a piece of hardboard with nails in it stuck in his front offside tyre and punctured it! This was the end of Team Lotus activity for the day; they went away to think and work. However, in the remaining half-hour no one beat their times so Clark and Hill were first and second on the grid, with the two hard-working Brabham team drivers alongside them. All Team Lotus wanted was another car, but another one did not exist, although 49/3 and 49/4 were under construction back at Norwich, so the wrecked car was taken back to base and the most fantastic job of construction began.
All 21 drivers who practised were accepted for the start, there being no question of qualifying, but the grid was reduced to 20 as there was no spare B.R.M. for Courage, as Stewart was sticking to 8302, the car that Irwin had started practice with, Spence was back in 8303, the latest 16-cylinder car was abandoned, and Irwin had the only V8 B.R.M. owned by the factory. Team Lotus had not been the only team with a lot of work to do, for at the end of the afternoon on Friday there was a short un-timed practice session for those who wanted it, McLaren had been giving his Eagle-Weslake a last run when a connecting-rod broke! There was an all-night work-session to get the spare engine installed. At Norwich the Lotus mechanics were at work building a new car; all that was in existence when they arrived was a bare chassis monocoque with the brake pipes fitted. As this was to have been 49/3, a much modified car that would, in effect, be a Mark II version of the Lotus 49, nothing fitted anything and lots of parts had to be made. In addition the rear radius arm mounting failure had been traced to a faulty weld and was not a design failure, so the mountings on 49/1, and the car being built, were all strengthened with gusset plates.
Practice times
No. Driver Car Thursday a.m. Thursday p.m. Friday
1 J. Brabham Brabham-Repco V8-BT24-1 1.26.6 1.27.7 1.26.2
2 D. Hulme Brabham-Repco V8-BT24-2 1.27.6 1.27.9 1.26.3
3 J. Stewart B.R.M. H16, 3-litre-8304 1.29.1 – –
3 J. Stewart B.R.M H16, 3-litre-8303 – 1.29.2 –
3 J. Stewart B.R.M H16, 3-litre-8302 – – 1.28.7
4 M. Spence B.R.M H16, 3-litre-8303 1.28.8 – 1.28.3
4 M. Spence B.R.M H16, 3-litre-8304 – 1.30.7 –
5 J. Clark Lotus49-Cosworth V8-49/2 1.27.8 1.26.5 1.25.3
6 G. Hill Lotus49-Cosworth V8-49/1 1.28.7 1.29.2 1.26.0
7 J. Surtees Honda V12, 3-litre 1.29.9 1.29.6 1.27.2
8 C. Amon Ferrari V12, 3-litre-0003 1.28.1 1.28.2 1.26.9
9 D. Gurney Eagle-Weslake V12-104 1.28.6 1.27.3 1.26.4
10 B. McLaren Eagle-Weslake V12-102 1.29.3 2.01.5 1.28.1
11 J. Rindt Cooper-Maserati V12-F1-2-67 – – 1.27.4
11 J. Rindt Cooper-Maserati V12-F1-1-67 – 1.29.0 –
12 P. Rodriguez Cooper-Maserati V12-F1-6-66 1.29.6 1.29.0 1.27.9
14 A. Rees Cooper-Maserati V12-F1-3-66 1.32.3 1.31.1 1.30.3
15 C. Irwin B.R.M. H16, 3-litre-8302 1.32.4 1.30.0 –
15 C. Irwin B.R.M. V8, 2-litre – – 1.29.6
16 P. Courage B.M.R. V8, 2-litre 1.31.6 1.30.4 1.31.6
17 J. Siffert Cooper-Maserati V12-F1-2-66 1.32.4 1.32.0 1.31.0
18 G. Ligier Brabham-Repco V8-1966 1.35.4 1.34.8 1.34.9
19 R. Anderson Braham-Climax 4-cyl., 2.7-l. 1.30.7 – 1.30.8
20 D. Hobbs B.R.M. V8, 2-litre 1.30.9 1.31.8 1.30.1
21 R. Darlington McLaren-Climax V8 – – –
22 S. Moser Cooper-A.T.S V8, 3-litre 1.37.8 1.35.2 1.32.9
23 J. Bonnier Cooper-Maserati V12-F1-5-66 1.32.0 – –
On race day 120,000 people turned up to see the race, and a large proportion seemed to be in the paddock so the arrival of the Lotus transporter with Clark’s strengthened car and Hill’s brand-new car, built from parts of the crashed car and new parts, was rather fraught with difficulty. Chapman summed up this remarkable achievement of providing Hill with a car for the race by saying “Sixteen of us did three weeks’ work overnight” and racing mechanics do not get paid overtime!
Starting Grid
2: D. Hulme (Brabham-Repco V8) 1 min. 26.2 sec. 1: J. Brabham (Brabham-Repco V8) 1 min. 26.0 sec. 6: G. Hil (Lotus-Cosworth V8) 1 min. 26.0 sec. 5: J. Clark (Lotus-Cosworth V8) 1 min. 25.3 sec.
7: J.Surtees (Honda V12) 1 min. 27.2 sec. 8: C. Amon (Ferrari V12) 1 min. 26.9 sec. 9: D. Gurney (Eagle-Weslake V12) 1 min. 26.4 sec.
4: M. Spence (B.R.M. H16) 1 min. 28.3 sec. 10: B. McLaren (Eagle-Weslake V12) 1 min. 28.1 sec. 12: P. Rodriguez (Cooper-Maserati V12) 1 min 27.9 sec 11: J. Rindt (Cooper-Maserati V12) 1 min. 27.4 sec.
20: D. Hobbs (B.R.M. V8) 1 min. 30.1 sec. 15. C. Irwin (B.R.M V8) 1 min. 29.6 sec. 3: J. Stewart (B.R.M H16) 1 mn. 28.7 sec.
17: J. Siffert (Cooper Maserati V12) 1 min. 31.0 sec. 19: R. Anderson (Brabham-Climax 4-cyl.) 1 mn. 30.7 sec. N/S 14: A. Rees (Cooper-Maserati V12) 1 min. 30.3 sec.
18: G. Ligier (Brabham-Repco V8) 1 min. 34.8 sec. 22: S. Moser (Cooper-A.T.S V8) 1 min. 32.9 sec. 23: J. Bonnier (Cooper-Maserati V12) 1 min. 32.0 sec.
Non-Starter: P. Courage (B.R.M. V8) 1 min. 30.4 sec.
The Grand Prix of Great Britain was due to start at 3 p.m. and during the morning while the crowds poured in there were supporting races and a parade of old cars and old drivers, some combinations of car and driver being very authentic such as Chiron in a Bugatti, Duncan Hamilton in a D-type Jaguar, Tony Brooks in a Vanwall, Baron de Graffenried in Maserati, Fangio in a W196 Mercedes-Benz and Moss in a 300SLR Mille Miglia-type Mercedes-Benz with the writer of this report as his passenger, as he was during the winning drive in 1955. Before the Grand Prix began the competitors were allowed some warm-up laps and as fuel consumption was critical with some cars there was a lot of “topping up” before assembling on the grid and the assembly of the cars on the “dummy grid” was a bit chaotic. Hill’s car being over-filled and spilling petrol into the cockpit, McLaren tightening an oil union under the Weslake engine, and Gurney trying to change a wheel, but being prevented by officials. By 3.04 p.m. all was more or less under control and the 20 cars moved forward onto the proper starting grid to get away in the most wonderful roar of sound and clouds of rubber smoke, as everyone unleashed their power and sought to gain grip. The two green and yellow Lotus 49 cars shot away from the pack side-by-side, surely convincing the most sceptical onlooker that they are the most potent Grand Prix cars we have ever seen. Clark was leading comfortably at the end of the first lap, followed by his team-mate, with Brabham, Amon, Gurney, Stewart, Hulme and the rest in hot pursuit, all except Bonnier who failed to complete the opening lap. Hill was haying to get used to an untried car and in consequence, Brabham, who was in terrific aim, got by into second place on the second lap. As they all went by Spence came into the pits with a merry little bonfire burning just behind his head! The ignition wiring and transistor box were alight from electrical heat, but the flames were quickly extinguished and mechanics started to fit a new unit. Clark was steadily pulling away from everyone but behind him there was a fierce battle raging between Brabham, Hill, Amon, Gurney and Hulme, there being hardly any distance between all five of them. Stewart had failed to keep up with this bunch and was closely followed by Rodriguez, Surtees and McLaren. After only six laps Clark had a measurable lead while the others were as close as ever, though Hulme was obviously not content to be at the back and on lap 7 he passed Gurney and on lap 9 he passed Amon. The pits were still busy, for Rindt could see oil smoke in his mirrors and stopped to find out why; it was oil from the catch-tank dropping on the exhaust pipes so he was sent away, but he returned again before he was convinced and started racing, by which time he was well behind everyone.
As Hulme had passed Amon on lap 9; Hill had passed Brabham and at ten laps Clark led his team-mate by the length of the pit area, but Brabham, HuIme, Amon and Gurney were right behind the second Lotus. There was already a long gap before Rodriguez appeared, followed by McLaren, Stewart and Surtees, then came Irwin all on his own, with Hobbs, Rees, Ligier, Anderson, and Moser bringing up the rear and on this lap Siffert retired the Walker Cooper-Maserati with engine trouble. Spence rejoined the race at this point and Rindt was going well, but both were a long way behind. It was obvious that Hill had got the feel of his untried Lotus 49 for he now began to pull away from the two Brabhams and close the gap on Clark, who was cruising round in the lead. The circuit was very oily and slippery and though Hulme made a new lap record on lap 3 at 1 min. 27.0 sec., the pace was now down to 1 min. 30 sec. by the leader. Hill continued to close up on Clark, while Brabham still led Hulme and Amon led Gurney, no one else really being in the race, though McLaren had got the second Eagle-Weslake in front of the Cooper-Maserati of Rodriguez but on lap 13 there was an ominous cloud of smoke from the Weslake engine and at the end of the 14th lap McLaren pulled into the pits to retire with a broken connecting-rod. Clark had lapped Moser on lap 12 and on lap 14 Anderson was caught by the leading Lotus, while the next lap saw Ligier a lap behind. Hulme was not content to follow his team leader, so he went by on lap 14, into third place, and Hill was closing rapidly on Clark. At 20 laps, which was quarter-distance, Clark and Hill were one behind the other and well ahead of Hulme, while Brabham was closely followed by Amon and Gurney, while Stewart retired at the pits with transmission trouble, leaving Rodriguez on his own in seventh place, followed by the Honda and Irwin still on the same lap as the Lotus cars, Hobbs and Rees having been lapped. The Team Lotus cars were now putting on something of a demonstration, being so comfortably ahead of any opposition that there was no need to try too hard. Hulme was well away from the trio following him, they being in the same order, of Brabham, Amon and Gurney, though the Eagle was showing signs of not keeping up. The new Cooper-Maserati had been going well, lapping at speeds that were competitive, but now the engine made a nasty noise and Rindt switched it off and parked the car on the grass at Copse Corner. On lap 26 Hill went by Clark and took the lead and the Lotus number one driver dropped back a bit but kept station, there being no point in running too close, and by lap 30 Clark was three seconds behind Hill, but most of this was due to Hill having lapped the Honda on lap 29 at a convenient spot and Clark having to wait for a further opportunity. Gurney’s Eagle was in trouble with a slipping clutch and was losing contact with Amon’s Ferrari, so this left Brabham and Amon in close company. The Brabham-Repco V8 was vibrating badly and this had broken the rear-view mirrors, so Brabham could conveniently avoid seeing Amon so close behind! Gurney’s trouble was getting worse and after 34 laps he retired at the pits, with clutch slip that could not be cured. This left only six cars on the same lap, the two Lotuses way out on their own, Hulme in third place, followed closely by Brabham and Amon, with Rodriguez a long way back in sixth place, but going well.
At half-distance the whole race had settled down, which was made obvious by the personal “chit-chat” between the commentators on the public address system, for up to this point they had been too busy reporting the happenings to indulge in chatter. The situation remained unchanged for 10 laps, with Hill and Clark in complete command of the race, then an appreciable gap before Hulme came by, but he had Brabham and Amon right behind him. Amon was trying hard to get by but Brabham was making sure that that did not happen and he was doing a fine job of protecting Hulme from any attacks from the Ferrari. Amon was having a bad time, with stones and dust being thrown up from the Brabham rear wheels as they “carelessly” cut corners, to say nothing of a fair amount of oil being sprayed over the front of the Ferrari from the Repco engine. Brabham was pulling some really crafty moves when lapping slower cars, such as when he “elbowed” his way past Surtees going in to Copse and Amon was baulked by the Honda. Through all this Amon was learning fast and seeing that a good Grand Prix driver is not exactly a friendly fellow when someone is in his way. Rodriguez was lapped by the leaders on lap 47 and apart from Surtees all the tail-enders had been lapped twice.
On lap 55 observers at Beckett’s corner reported that Hill’s Lotus had stopped with collapsed suspension and there was consternation in the Lotus pit in case it was a repeat of the practice trouble. Clark came round on his own while Hill drove slowly along to the pits, the left rear wheel leaning in drunkenly. The large Allen screw which locates the inner end of the top transverse link had fallen out. Chapman spotted what had happened immediately and in about 60 seconds another bolt was screwed in and Hill was back in the race, but he had lost two laps while motoring slowly along, and he was now seventh; but going strongly once more. Clark cruised relentlessly on in the lead, with Hulme now second, a comfortable distance ahead of Brabham, who still had Amon in his wake, and occasionally alongside, for the young New Zealander was beginning to have a go at getting by, but this was no easy task for Brabham never helps anyone to beat him. Just ten laps after he rejoined the race Hill was passing the pits when there was a loud “plop” from the engine and he switched off and pulled onto the grass, on the outside of Copse Corner, walking back to the pits to report a broken engine. The Brabham/Amon deadlock was continuing and they lapped the Honda for the second time, while Clark was lapping Ligier for the third time, and at 71 laps Rodriguez lapped the Honda, the Japanese machine was running so badly and was also handling badly with a faulty self-locking differential. Amon was keeping the pressure on Brabham in a magnificent drive, but the wily Australian was not going to let him get by. As they started their 76th lap Amon made a do-or-die effort going into Woodcote Corner and it came off. As the two cars came out of the corner they were side-by-side, with Amon on the inside, and his efforts through the corner gave him that little edge on Brabham as they accelerated past the pits. Almost in front of the Ferrari pit Amon was in front and as he led Brabham round Copse Corner for the first time since the start of the race there was a burst of cheering from the Ferrari pit staff.
The end of the race was in sight and there was no hope of Amon catching Hulme in spite of what the excitable commentators said, for Brabham had done his protection job well. Clark led Hulme home by some 13 seconds, which does not sound much but it was a comfortable win for Clark and the Lotus 49. The whole of Team Lotus were almost too overcome to rejoice; they didn’t know whether they wanted to cry or just lie down and go to sleep — it would have been a gloriously comfortable sleep, for there is nothing so satisfying as seeing your car win a race, and it had been a most convincing victory. Only Hulme, Amon and Brabham were on the same lap, but Rodriguez had driven very well to finish fifth in the old Cooper-Maserati, only one lap behind. Irwin and Hobbs had driven very smoothly and consistently in cars that had little hope of keeping up and Rees was satisfied at finishing in his first Grand Prix race. — D. S. J.
Results:
20th British Grand Prix—Formula One-80 laps-376.8 kilometres, Warm and dry
1st: J. Clark (Lotus 49-Cosworth V8) (Entrant: Team Lotus) 1 hr. 59 min. 25.6 sec. 189.32 k.p.h. (117.64 m.p.h.)
2nd: D. Hulme (Brabham-Repco V8) (Entrant: Brabham Racing Organisation) 1 hr. 59 min. 38.4 sec.
3rd: C. Amon (Ferrari V12) (Entrant: SEFAC Ferrari) 1 hr. 59 min. 42.2 sec.
4th: J. Brabham (Brabham-Repco V8) (Entrant: Brabham Racing Organisation) 1 hr. 59 min. 47.4 sec.
5th: P. Rodriguez (Cooper-Maserati V12) (Entrant: Cooper Car Co.) 79 laps
6th: J. Surtees (Honda V12) (Entrant: Honda Racing) 78 laps
7th: C. Irwin (B.R.M. V8, 2-litre) (Entrant: R. H. H. Parnell) 77 laps
8th: D. Hobbs (B.R.M. V8, 2-litre) (Entrant: Bernard White) 77 laps
9th: A. Rees (Cooper-Maserati V12) (Entrant: Cooper Car Co.)
10th: I. Ligier (Brabham-Repco V8) (Entrant: Guy Ligier) 76 laps
Fastest lap: D.Hulme (Brabham-Repco V8), on lap 3 in 1 min. 27.0 sec.— 194.92 k.p.h. (121.12 m.p.h.).
Retired: J. Bonnier (Cooper-Maserati V12), lap 1, engine; J. Siffert (Cooper-Maserati V12) lap 10, engine; B. McLaren (Eagle-Weslake V12) Iap 14. engine; J. Stewart (B.R.M. H16) lap 20, transmission; J. Rindt (Cooper-Maserati V12) lap 27, engine; S. Moser (Cooper-A.T.S. V8). lap 29, no oil pressure; D. Gurney (Eagle-Weslake V12) lap 34, clutch trouble; M. Spence (B.R.M. H16), lap 44, ignition; G, Hill (Lotus-Cosworth V8) lap 65, engine; R. Anderson (Brabham-Climax 4-cyl) lap 68, engine.
20 starters—10 finishers.
Silverstone Sayings
After the race the first three cars were impounded and weighed iust as they had finished; the Lotus weighed 1,162 lb., the Brabham 1,152 lb. and the Ferrari 1,288 lb. WIth the Cosworth V8 giving 410 h.h.p. this represents a figure approaching 800 b.h.p./ton for the Lotus at just over 10 cwt., which makes it accelerate.
* * *
Three times Hill has taken the lead in a race with the lotus 49 and three times he has failed to finish, at Zandvoort, Le Mans and Silverstone; perhaps it would pay him to settle for second place, and finish.
* * *
Rodriguez was justifiably upset at the R.A.C. for they spelt his name with a “q” instead of a “g” in the stickers that were attached to the sides of his Cooper.
* * *
The old car and driver Parade was very badly stage-managed. A pity some V.S.C.C. members were not co-opted to organise it.
* * *
There was a distinct element of noisy Brands Hatch among the marshals which did not go down well in the gentle and peaceful Silverstone setting.
* * *
The Group 4 sports cars in the supporting race were paid £4 a lap starting money, which did not impress the entrants when they saw 120,000 paying customers. A GT40 Ford probably costs £4 in running costs in the first 100 yards.
* * *
There was a radar trap timing the cars on the approach to Woodcote. Clark was “timed” at 162 m.p.h. on his opening lap and later his speed was said to vary between 135 m.p.h. and 143 m.p.h. Hulme and Brabham were never given over 150 m.p.h. Hill was only credited with 145 m.p.h. No wonder we don’t approve of the Police using radar!
* * *
In practice for the historic parade Duncan Hamilton was “pressing on” in a D-type Jaguar when he was “overtaken by a girl in a Ford Anglia.” Guess who?
* * *
The Supporting Events
The day started with a Formula Three event and with no Matras taking part the home-products were able to win. Charles Lucas had a spin but regained ground impressively to join the leading pack, and drove a nicely judged race to take the lead on the run into the finish.
Formula Three-G.K.N. Screws & Fasteners Ltd. “Push Rod” Trophy, 20 laps-95 kilometres
1st: C. Lucas (Lotus-Ford) 33 min. 21.0 sec. 169.49 k.p.h. (105.32 m.p.h.)
2nd: T. Lanfranchi (Merlyn-Ford) 33 min. 21.2 sec.
3rd: C. Williams (Brabham-Ford) 33 min. 24.6 sec.
4th: P. Westbury (Brabham-Ford) 33 min. 25.0 sec.
5th: P. Gethin (Brabham-Ford) .. 33 min. 25.2 sec.
6th: M. Nunn (Lotus-Ford) 33 min. 25.4 sec.
Fastest lap: P. Gethin (Brabham-Ford) in 1 min. 37.2 sec.-174.46 k.p.h. (108.41 m.p.h.).
Then followed a face for sports cars with a fine array of Ford GT40, Ferrari LM and Porsche Carrera Six cars as well as a row of Lotus Elans. Hawkins (Ford GT40) looked to have an easy win, as Lucas (Ford GT40) muffed his start, but the former had a piston break and the latter spun into the Woodcote ditch as he was taking second place from Liddell (Ford GT40). All this left Attwood with an easy win with Ronnie Hoare’s 275LM Ferrari.
Sports-cars-W. D. & H. 0. Wills Trophy-20 laps-95 kilometres
1st: R. Attwood (Ferrari 275LM) 32 min. 22.0 sec.–174.65 k.p.h (108.52 m.p.h.)
2nd: B. Liddell (Ford GT40) 32 min. 56.0 sec.
3rd: A. Dean (Porsche Carrera Six) 33 min. 06.0 sec.
4th: W. Bradley (Porsche Carrera Six) 33 min. t9.4 sec,
5th: C. Crabbe (Ford GT40) 33 min. 26.4 see.
6th: T. Drury (Ford GT40) 34 min. 03.0 sec.
Fastest lap: P. Hawkins (Ford GT40) in 1 min. 35.0 sec.–178.50 k.p.h. (110.92 m.p.h.)
Finally there was a mixed saloon-car race in four categories, naturally dominated by the Ford Falcons and Mustangs, hotly pursued by Hawkins in the latest Lotus-Cortina works car with Cosworth 1,600-c.c. FVA Formula Two engine driving through a Cortina gearbox. Hawkins kept well ahead of Elford (Porsche 911), who was having a close race with Lucien Bianchi in the second works Lotus-Cortina with Formula Two engine. However this one lost all its fuel pressure.
Touring Cars (Group 5)-The Ovaltine Trophy-20 laps—95 kilometres
1st: F. Gardner (Ford Falcon V8) 34 min. 37.4 sec.–163.27 k.p.h. (101.45 m.p.h.)
2nd: J. Oliver (Ford Mustang V8) 34 min, 39.2 sec.
3rd: B. Muir (Ford Falcon s/c V8) 34 min. 41.6 sec.
4th: P. Hawkins (Lotus-Cortina FVA) 35 min. 52.8 sec.
5th: V. Elford (Porsche 911) 19 laps
6th: J. Miles (Lotus-Cortina twin-cam) 19 laps
Fastest lap: F. Gardner (Ford Falcon), in 1 min. 41.4 sec.–167.24 k.p.h. (103.92 m.p.h.).
Class Winners:
Up to 1,000 c.c.: B. Unett (Hillman Imp).
1,001 to 1,300 c.c.: S. Neal (B. M .C. Mini).
1,301-2,000 c.c.: P. Hawkins (Lotus-Cortina).
Over 2,000 c.c.: F. Gardner (Ford Falcon).
Pit Stop. — Hill (Lotus 49) coming into the pits. The arrow shows the mounting hole from which the vital Allen screw came out, letting the L. H. transverse strut drop down and the top of the hub carrier lean inwards. The wheel was pulled upright, the link held in place, another bolt put in and Hill was off.