The organisation's regulations stipulate that there must be at least one week between one Grand Prix and the next. This is to avoid the most important races taking place in too quick a succession. The British have their race on Saturday and the rest of Europe on Sunday. Therefore, it is possible for the Dutch to organise their Zandvoort event one week after the British one, with an eight-day break. Thus, spectators will be able to enjoy both competitions in good weather conditions without breaking the rules. This also means that the teams will likely not have enough time to prepare properly for the Dutch race, especially if they have to return to Italy between one event and the next. This tight schedule has probably affected Ferrari to some extent. The Maranello team did not participate in the British Grand Prix held at Brands Hatch. Even though the two race days are eight days apart, the cars and mechanics must arrive in Zandvoort by Thursday evening. This way, they will be ready to participate in the Friday morning free practice sessions. Despite the rush and the 18-hour shifts the teams' mechanics are undergoing, the Dutch Grand Prix can boast a good number of entries. Bandini and Parkes will race with the Ferrari V12 they have already driven at Reims. The Italian cars feature some modifications to the rear suspension struts. The new struts are equipped with additional cast fins to allow a different position of the upper beam arms. The windshields are fitted with adjustable deflector fins on the upper side, while the cockpits are covered in dark. The lower front spars have been plated. In addition, there are tubular guards around the rear of the gearbox to protect the fuel pump, battery and ignition coils. Jim Clark of Team Lotus is still limited to using a 2-litre Coventry-Climax V8, fitted on the R14 chassis. Peter Arundell, on the other hand, will use the R11 one, with a B.R.M. side exhaust V-8 engine and B.R.M. gearbox. Dan Gurney will use a Coventry-Climax 2.7-litre V-4 engine fitted to his Eagle car. The performance of the Gurney-Weslake V12 engine, with so many rpms, becomes more exciting at the end of each free practice session. The B.R.M. team is bringing only two Tasman cars for Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart, who will use a 2-litre mid-mounted exhaust engine. H16 powered cars will not be used at Zandvoort: they will remain at the Lotus base to make gearbox improvements.
Jack Brabham will be using the Brabham-Repco V8 cars at Zandvoort, the same cars that were very successful at Brands Hatch. The Cooper-Maserati team has enough engines and car parts to participate in the race. However, it is not yet certain that the team is ready for the Grand Prix. In fact, a test schedule is planned, hopefully to take place between Friday and Saturday, mainly to improve the handling of John Surtees' car. John Surtees is the team's new No.1 driver. Bruce McLaren's team is a little more satisfied after managing to complete the Brands Hatch race. The British car still has the V8 Serenissima engine fitted. The rest of the pack is made up of private teams. Spence will drive Parnell's R3, powered by the B.R.M. V8 engine. Siffert will be at the wheel of the Walker-Durlacher car, equipped with a Cooper-Maserati V12 engine. Ligier will drive his own car, while Bonnier will use the red and white Cooper-Maserati rebuilt after the accident at Spa, Belgium. Anderson will race in the 4-litre Brabham-Climax. Finally, John Taylor will be at the wheel of David Bridges' Brabham-B.R.M. V8. The first free practice session, on the morning of Friday, July 22, 1966, does not last long due to the heavy, pouring rain. Besides making the track slippery, the rain also dampens the enthusiasm of all competitors. Last year, Jim Clark had set a lap record of 1'30"6 during the race. The Scot once again seems to be in good shape and sets the best lap time of 1'30"9, despite the difficult weather conditions. Zandvoort seems to be one of his favourite circuits and one of the most favourable for him. On this track it is possible to compensate for the lack of competitiveness of a slow car. He only has a 2-litre engine at his disposal, around 230 horsepower. On this track, however, he can really prove his driving skills. Surtees is second fastest, only a tenth slower than Clark, despite driving a Cooper-Maserati with a 3-litre engine. Mike Spence is also in good shape and finishes the session in third place, with a time of 1'31"6, at the wheel of the Lotus-B.R.M. with a 2-litre Parnell engine. In the afternoon, the weather gets better. The track dries up and the second free practice session can begin. Brabham and Hulme work very hard during this session and, without any problems or complaints, manage to get under the 1'30"0 mark. Let us recall that, in 1965, Jim Clark set a lap time of 1'30"6 in a 210 hp, 1/2 litre car.
Under these circumstances, it is to be expected that all the top drivers will be able to go under the 1'30"0 mark in a car equipped with a 2 or 3-litre engine. Dan Gurney is in great shape. Despite the limitations of the Coventry-Climax V4 engine fitted on the back of his Eagle car, the American drives with such fury that it is a joy to watch from the grandstands. Meanwhile, Clark delivers an incredible performance with a 2-litre engine. As usual, Rindt drives very fast, while Surtees devotes himself to tuning the car instead of chasing fast times. Graham Hill does not look very competitive, despite the clear improvement of the car compared to last year. The Brabham-Repco V8 cars perform well on the Zandvoort circuit. Meanwhile, Brabham is quietly sitting in the garage after dropping a few laps under 1'30"0. Hulme sets a time of 1'28"7. After his teammate set such a time, Brabham promptly sets a time of 1'28"4 to prove who the No.1 driver is. Clark then sets a fast lap that equals Hulme's time. It is no surprise that Rindt sets a time of 1'29"2, as he has been working hard on the set-up of the car. Gurney's time of 1'29"4 does not need any comment either. Within a couple of laps, the American shows that the Eagle team lacks nothing in terms of fluency in the corners. The two Ferraris look competitive, but clearly lack a top driver. Although both Bandini and Parkes do their best, the young Italian only manages to set a time of 1'30"0. On Saturday, July 23, 1966, the last free practice session takes place at 3:30 p.m.. Shortly after the start, Bandini spins out after running across an oil slick on the track. The Italian driver damages his Ferrari and gets a slight wound on his right hand. Clark is testing the Lotus-B.R.M. equipped with an Arundell engine. Soon afterwards, Rindt takes to the track in the #3 Cooper, the team's backup car. Surtees continues to test to improve the #6 chassis and achieve an acceptable drivability. Meanwhile, Parkes compensates for Bandini's mistake by setting some good times in his Ferrari. While the Ferrari driver is setting these times, Clark, Gurney, Brabham, Hulme, Stewart and Hill prove their worth by breaking the 1'30' mark. Gurney, with an outstanding performance, gets an impressive time of 1'28"8, enough to start from the front row. Brabham drives even faster, with an amazing time of 1'28"1. Hulme is on full throttle, on the start/finish straight, when a connecting rod breaks and destroys the Repco V8 engine. The trace of oil, left on the track, will require some cleaning up by the marshals. As time passes, the overall pace on the track becomes much faster.
Surtees' Maserati suffers a mechanical problem that will cost him dearly, as will the Serenissima's engine in the back of the McLaren. Rindt is also trying to get another fast time when the Maserati's engine explodes. As a result, oil begins to leak from the exhaust. In the last four minutes of qualifying, Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart take to the track in their B.R.M cars. Gurney then decides to join them and sets a time of 1'28"8, thus proving the potential of the Eagle car. At the end of the qualifying session, eight drivers have lapped under 1'30"0. Such drivers, who will line up in the first four rows of the grid, have managed to either equal or improve on the previous lap record. However, the mechanics will have to work through the night to prepare the cars for the race. Brabham and Cooper mechanics, in particular, will need to fit new engines. Ferrari will have to rebalance Bandini's car after his spin. McLaren will have to resign themselves to being spectators for the race, because there is no Serenissima-branded spare engine. On Sunday, July 24, 1966, the race will be 90 laps long and will start at 2:30 pm. A lot of work is carried out in the pit lane before the start of the race. In particular, during the warm-up session, Rindt tests a new engine, as do the two Cooper drivers. Hulme also takes the opportunity to test the spare Repco V8 engine in the back of his car. At the end of the session, everything seems fine with Hulme's car. However, in the minutes before the start, the reverse selector switches snag and lock up the Hewland engine. The broken parts create a hole in the side of the carter. Brabham mechanics, as well as Hulme himself, quickly disassemble the gearbox and replace the broken parts. Then, they create a pot-mender-type aluminium patch to close the hole. With this solution, the car is completely repaired. Meanwhile, the Ferrari mechanics also try to repair Bandini's car as best as they can. The Cooper team solves the problems that emerged during the warm-up session. Surtees is given chassis #7 with the engine from chassis #3, while a new engine is fitted to Rindt's chassis #3. Seventeen cars are on the starting grid, ready for the formation lap. As the cars are lining up for the start of the race, there is a bit of panic down at the Cooper garage. Surtees asks the team to change the front left tyre because, according to him, it is not well balanced. His team then borrows tyres from the Walker team.
The British driver uses them to get the car on the grid before the time limit. Seven cars are fitted with Firestone tyres, six with Goodyear tyres and four with Dunlop tyres. The entered cars are also distinguished by the oil company that supplies them with petrol. There are eight cars supplied by BP, four by Shell, four by Exxon and one by Mobil. It is just after 2:30 p.m. when the 17 cars begin to move towards the starting grid. Everyone is ready for the start, with the sun high and a strong wind inevitably blowing in from the sea. The circuit is quite rubber-coated and slippery due to overuse during qualifying. The flag bearer finally waves the flag, signalling the start of the race. Smoke begins to pour out of the cars. The roar of the engines begins to grow as the drivers in the first rows accelerate to enter the Tarzan chicane. Clark does his best to ensure that the 2-litre engine can match the performance of the 3-litre. Despite his immense talent, the Scottish driver is unable to fully compensate for the engine power difference and is caught between the two Brabham-Repco. Brabham is far behind, but Hulme is unable to overtake Clark. The Lotus driver does not give an inch to his opponent. For three laps he manages to maintain second place. Hulme then manages to find a way to overtake the Scot. Then they work magnificently together with Brabham to stop Clark and keep at least third place. It is crucial that the two Brabham drivers, with their 3-litre engined cars, manage to keep Clark at a distance. Indeed, despite the Lotus driver's brilliant form, the two Brabham drivers manage to block him without affecting their race pace. This fight allows Graham Hill to get closer to the leaders. In the first part of the Dutch Grand Prix, Brabham and Hulme lead the race closely followed by Clark and Hill. Behind the top four, the first problems with reliability and driver errors can be seen. Halfway through lap 3, Rindt makes a wrong gear change and ends up spinning in the sand dunes. Shortly afterwards, on lap 11, Parkes makes the same mistake and the Ferrari crashes violently into the stalled Cooper-Maserati, causing extensive damage to the red car. There is no radical change in the situation as the laps go by. A mistake by either Brabham or Hulme could favour an overtake by Clark. Indeed, the Team Lotus driver has no intention of giving up and is only kept back by Hulme's skilful defence. Parkes manages to hold on to 5th place until he is forced to withdraw. Stewart and Gurney are just behind him, ahead of Surtees.
Bandini is followed by Siffert, Spence, Anderson and Arundell, while Bonnier is lapped by the leaders after only 11 laps. On lap 17, the grid order undergoes a major change. Hulme's car engine has ignition problems during his pitstop, and he is forced to withdraw. This leaves Brabham alone against a very competitive Jim Clark: Graham Hill had previously put him under pressure. Behind this pair, Gurney is able to defend fourth place from Stewart, until his engine begins to leak water and overheats. The American driver returns to the pits to top up the water. Suddenly, on lap 26, a fuel line also breaks. The Eagle engine shuts down, bathed in a cloud of smoke. Driving on the limit, Clark does everything he can to stay close to Brabham. Within a couple of laps, the two drivers start lapping the slower cars. This is a good opportunity to overtake the clever Australian driver. After 23 laps, Brabham and Clark manage to gain a lap over Bandini, Siffert and Spence, who are engaged in a fight among themselves. On the same lap, the two drivers find themselves ahead of Spence and Siffert, who also must be lapped. As the latter are lapped, Clark manages to pass Brabham. Such a move unleashes the cheering of the Lotus fans. Over the next two laps, the Scottish driver makes the most of this opportunity to gain a good lead over the Australian, who is still stuck behind the lapped drivers. Surtees is first to be lapped, but in doing so Clark drives the Cooper-Maserati to the edge of the track. Clark is really in great shape. Despite the 3-litre engine car he has at his disposal, Brabham cannot counter the Scot's immense driving ability. Stewart is the next driver to be lapped. Clark wastes no time in doing so. Every single overtake allows him to gain even more ground over Brabham, who is more cautious. On lap 40, Graham Hill is the only one lapped by both Clark and Brabham. The Lotus driver has a lead of about half the start/finish straight over the Brabham-Repco. He manages to maintain this lead also on the following lap. Clark's driving completely overshadows all the other contenders. At this point in the race, the only real heated battle is between Spence and Bandini. Surtees' race pace does not increase after he is lapped by his former teammate. It is then reported that the problem with Hulme's car is due to the distributor assembly, an electromechanical device used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have a mechanical ignition. This part is replaced during the pit stop, which lasts a couple of minutes.
In the following laps, Spence is slowed down by Surtees' Cooper-Maserati. This allows Bandini to build up a small lead. However, shortly afterwards, a front brake blocks on the Ferrari. This way, Spence promptly catches up and overtakes the Italian driver. Despite this technical problem, Bandini continues his race but loses time to Anderson, Ligier, Taylor and Siffert, who are consistently lapping much faster than him. Siffert is forced to return to the pits to top up the water in the radiator. Bonnier is now in last position. Hulme re-enters the track but is too far back to have a say in this race. So, he withdraws on lap 33. On lap 43, Surtees also has to withdraw due to a flat battery and alternator. We are now two-thirds of the way through the race. Clark suddenly loses control of his Lotus just before the last chicane. The Scottish driver reports having heard a violent thud and felt a terrible roughness. Therefore, one might think that the problem that led to the spin is due to a possible failure of the transmission system. However, as the Lotus driver accelerates up the hill, everything seems to work fine. Clark continues to feel a strange roughness from the back of his car but decides to continue the race anyway. What he does not know is that the dumper in front of the drive shaft, which is located directly behind his seat, is broken. What is most dangerous is that pieces of the shock absorbers fly off due to the centrifugal effect and damage the water pump outlet. As a result, coolants begin to leak from the Lotus. Brabham takes advantage of this situation to gain some ground on Clark's Lotus. The Scot driver is trying to postpone the inevitable moment of Brabham's overtaking as much as possible with a more vigorous driving style. On lap 65 there is a moment of confusion. Clark is lapping Hill, but at the same time Hill is lapping Stewart, who at the same time is busy lapping Bandini. However, fortunately this moment does not cause any major drama. The race can continue without any further problems, but Brabham is now right behind Clark. On lap 65, the Australian driver takes the lead of the race with an overtaking move on the Lotus driver. Shortly afterwards, the latter is forced to stop. While returning to the pits, the Scot shows some magnificent braking skill on the limit, despite the high speed. After stopping at the designated spot, Team Lotus mechanics pour water on the engine. Stop lasts a while.
The situation is now completely reversed. Clark is now one lap behind Brabham, but still has a clear lead over Hill. Despite the long stop, the damage on the Lotus car is serious. The Climax engine, at the rear of the car, is almost worn out and could break down at any moment. The only thing Clark can do is to keep racing and hope that the engine does not explode. Meanwhile, Anderson's race is unfortunately over due to a suspension problem. On lap 83, Graham Hill overtakes Clark for second place. Brabham is just one lap away from winning his third consecutive race. Clark is forced to return to the pits for the second time so his mechanics can top up the water in the radiator. It seems unlikely that the Lotus will be able to finish the race. At the chequered flag, a triumphant Jack Brabham wins the race ahead of Hill and Clark. The Lotus driver managed to get on the podium despite driving very slowly to the chequered flag. Stewart finishes in fourth place, a couple of seconds behind Clark. It will take more than an hour for the timekeepers to decide who will be on the podium, either Clark or Stewart. Spence and Bandini complete the top five. Siffert had to withdraw. In the end, Bonnier managed to get ahead of Ligier, although the timekeepers were at first convinced that Taylor had overtaken him as well. Everyone is happy to celebrate yet another victory for the Brabham-Repco V8 3-litre car. Although to be fair, Jack Brabham had to do some deep digging to achieve this result. Clark is undoubtedly the moral victor. At least, he gets the satisfaction of knowing that he is still the No. 1 driver in the world, despite not having the best car at his disposal. Let us also think of Jack Brabham who made fun of the media and of his critics who considered him too old for the sport. He was pretending to limp before removing his beard to smile for the cameras and then jumping on the Brabham-Repco. After this race, let's take a brief look at the Cesana-Sestriere race. Ludovico Scarfiotti, at the wheel of the 2000-horsepower Ferrari Dino, finally ends Porsche’s dominance by winning the sixth edition of the European Mountain Championship. Scarfiotti recorded an overall time of 10'26"7, over the two qualifying sessions, and an average speed of 119.483 km/h. This is three seconds faster than Gerhard Mitter's time.
The German driver, Scarfiotti's most formidable rival, is driving the eight-cylinder Porsche. Hans Herrmann is the third fastest, 22 seconds slower than the Italian. However, it is Mitter who sets the fastest overall time, taking advantage of Scarfiotti's spin. In the second qualifying session, the Italian driver crosses the finish line with a time of 5'09"6 at an average speed of 121.930 km/h. This is an incredible result for two main reasons. First, he exceeded the average speed of 120 km/h, an important achievement considering he was at an altitude of 10,400 metres on the mountain. Second, setting this time demonstrates Scarfiotti's impressive driving ability, but also the qualities of the Ferrari Dino compared to the other cars that are more powerful (the Porsches deliver around 240 horsepower compared to the Dino's 225-230). Scarfiotti therefore needs to win the Cesana-Sestriere Trofeo Amoco to compete for the European Mountain Championship. He already won the title in 1962 and 1965. Mitter won the first three races (at Rossfeld, Mont Ventoux and Bondone). On the other hand, Ludovico - who came second at Rossfeld - was unable to participate in the last two races due to the temporary suspension of Ferrari's motorsport activity. The championship regulations take into account the best five results of each driver to draw up the final classification (including the last four races at Cesana-Sestriere, Freiburg, Ollon Villar and Gaisberg). This considered, Scarfiotti has no choice: to be crowned champion, the Italian must win the next three races. The Cesana-Sestriere race starts at 11:00 a.m. It is a beautiful sunny day, with a light breeze. A perfect moment. More than 15,000 people came to watch this race. They are scattered all over the race course, but kept off the roads thanks to the perfect security service provided by Dr. Farrito. In line with Automobile Club Torino tradition, the organisation is perfect. The day begins with the Formula 3 race, followed by the Prototype Sport and Gran Turismo races. The cars taking part in the GT race are the only ones that will not drive up the mountain twice. Then it is time for the 2nd Formula 3 race. The motoring day ends with the spectacle of the Gran Turismo race. During the evening, the drivers receive their prizes from Engineer Fiodi, president of the A.C. Torino sports commission, and Dr. Marcello Farina-Sansone, director of the organisation. With this victory, the driver from the Marche region climbs to third place in the standings with 15 points, behind Mitter (33) and Herrmann (20).