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#126 1964 British Grand Prix

2021-08-15 01:00

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#1964, Fulvio Conti, Nicoletta Zuppardo,

#126 1964 British Grand Prix

On Wednesday, July 1st, 1964, Ferrari announces to have finished its activity with Prototyped Gran Turismo vehicles and, as a consequence, to have lef

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On Wednesday, July 1st, 1964, Ferrari announces to have finished its activity with Prototyped Gran Turismo vehicles and, as a consequence, to have left the drivers who used to participate at this competitions free. The reason is simple: at the 1963 Paris Motor Show, Ferrari presented the vehicle which would have first accompained and then replaced the still succesful 250 GTO in Gran Turismo races. To celebrate the prestigious victory of the two Italian drivers in the most famous endurance race of the world, obtained by Scarfiotti and Bandini in June, the new car was called 250 Le Mans. To obtain the homologation of a car for the GT Championship is however necessary to build at least 500 models of those cars. This rule is valid for all the car companies, from the biggest in the world to the little constructors like Ferrari. The obstacle represented by the production of so many vehicles, that implies an important economic commitment, is circumvented by the demonstration to be able to build twenty of them (it is real that some Companies, after the homologation has been obtained, do not complete the construction of the remaining unities). And also who realizes one hundred vehicles does it in echelons, selling the cars built from time to time to finance the construction of the next ones. A few days before the 1st of July 1964, the engineer Schild arrives in Maranello. He is the boss of the technical-sporty services of the International Sport Commission, the institution who homologates the vehicles.

 

During his inspection, Schild counts seven 250 Le Mans finished, six 250 Le Mans in finishing at Scaglietti’s body shop, seven vehicles in the assembly line, four vehicles equipped with the engine and gearbox assembly, nine vehicles under construction at Scaglietti’s, and at the end four frames under construction at Vaccari’s, the workshop which provides the frames to Ferrari. In total, Schild counts thirty seven of them. To arrive to the one hundred units planned are missing sixty three. Ferrari confesses to Schild that a good number of vehicles have already been delivered to the clients, and the others have been brought to race in circuits as Daytona, Sebring, the Nurburgring, and Le Mans itself. However, at the precise request of Schild to know the total number of the vehicles built and to see the documents attesting the number of those already delivered, Ferrari opposes a refusal, saying that the important thing is to have demonstrated that the vehicle is built in series and in all seriousness. Back in place, Schild confirms in a report that the model 250 Le Mans is really produced. But he counted thirty seven vehicles and Ferrari does not want to specify the total number of the built ones, so he makes reference to another CSI meeting the homologation request. The meeting will be set Semptember 2 in Milan, the week of the Italian Gran Prix. But, at the same time, Ferrari decides to not take part to the 12 Hours of Reims that will be held on Sunday, July 5, 1964. This does not exclude the presence, at the French race, of some Ferrari vehicles, like the berlinettas Gran Turismo 750 Le Mans and 250 G.T. of the N.A.R.T. and Maranello teams.

 

The biggest competitions of the Manufacturers’ World Championship, with the Prototypes’ trophy, have always represented memorable successes for the Italian Company, winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring, of the 1000 Kilometers of Nurburgring and of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. These are the results with which Ferrari has led to an end its technical-sporty programme for what concerns the Prototypes vehicles. It is exactly the absence in an official form of the Ferraris that, on the eve of the 12 Hours of Reims, low-key replica of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, shakes the international press. Despite this, the modenese Company, after the first four tests, continues to occupy the first place in the final ranking of the discipline with 36 points; it follows Porsche with 30 points, Cobra with 26 and Alfa Romeo with 24. Ferraris will continue to hold the role of favourite, because of the various foreigner teams that use their material: first of all the North American Racing Team of Luigi Chinetti and the English team Maranello Limited. A particular attention is then directed at the couple made up by Nino Vaccarella, winner in Le Mans together with Jean Guichet, and Pedro Rodriguez, who will race on a Ferrari of the N.A.R.T. It is important not to underestimate the threat of the Ford-Cobras that, race after race, seem to be always more efficient, and whose mechanical skills seems to be suitable for the circuit of Reims. The intervention of the American giant in the sporty activity is getting more pressing and it seems difficult that in the long run the Ferrari can face it alone.

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At midnight Saturday, July 4, 1964, it is given the green to the 12 Hours of Reims. A little after the start, the group of the thirty seven participants significantly decreases and, after four hours of locked battle, the five participants Ford, three Gran Turismo and two Cobra Protootypes, are already out-of-combat. Finally, in the last two hours, the race is limited to the two Ferraris driven by Graham Hill-Bonnier and Surtees-Bandini, who alternate to the command. So, the race of Reims, possible opportunity for the Ford’s Americans to take a revenge on the Ferraris, according to what the technicians said, in reality is a festival of the Italian cars, which occupied the first three places in the ranking with the couples Graham Hill-Bonnier, Surtees-Bandini and Scarfiotti-Parkes. Graham Hill has also beaten the lap record (of 8.301 km), realizing the record of 214.700 km/h in 2’19”2. There have been other records registered by the Italian cars, as the one on the distance, with 2448.933 km tracked in the 12 hours, and the one of the general average, that was raised to 204.077 km/h. The race is not free from accidents: at lap five, immediately after the start, the little R.B. driven by the Frenchman Jean-Pierre Beltoise, suddenly bursts into flames, while the driver goes out of track and is thrown a lot of metres away. He is immediately rescued and taken by helicopter to the hospital of Reims and, after that, given the seriousness of the case, to Paris, where are found out several injuries to the legs, to the pelvis and to the left arm, that probably will be amputated. The twenty-eight-year-old Frenchman comes from motorcycling, in which is still French champion for the categories 250 cm3 and 500 cc.

 

Two impredictable accidents involve Surtees and Bandini. The first is provoked by a misunderstanding that forces Surtees to prematurely stop to refuel; the secord, more severe, is determined by a technical-material matter: the English driver is pursuing Bonnier, from which he detaches for many seconds, but is forced to another stop for a puncture to the left front tyre. So the anglo-italian couple, a few meteres from the finish line, is deprived of every possibility of a recovery. So it is again the Ferrari, even if not of the official team, that has monopolyzed the race, showing to have Prototypes and G.T. vehicles equipped with great resistance. After the retire of the five Ford cars (three G.T. and two prototypes Cobra), the red racing cars of Maranello took home a lot of records, and at the end they won. Four first places in the ranking, lap and generale average records: it is with no doubt an incredible balance, that underlines the superiority of Ferrari. The drivers of the team from Maranello offered to the public a show of quality, managing to mantain the race at a high level of interest: it is to mention, in this regard, the duel that for a lot of hours had as protagonists, in the second part of the race, Hill-Bonnier and Surtees-Bandini. The victory categories obtained by Porsche (2000 cc) and Alpine Renault (1300 cc) rewarded the perseverance of the two Companies’ constructors. The participants are thirty-four, and among them there are big names of the world of racing. The race is interesting, even if the battle is confined to vehicles of the same power and origin, as the Lotus-Cosworth, cousins of the Brabham-Cosworth, Lola-Cosworth and Cooper-Cosworth.

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This is another reason why it is the drivers’ ability that determinates the positions, the ranking and the show. At the start, Jim Clark, current leader of the Formula 1 World Championship, undertakes a close fight against Brabham, Arundell, Ginther, Hulme, Spence, Rees and Hegbourne. The best ones alternates to the command of the race, running at 200 km/h and creating a plooton of eight cars that dart in front of the stands in a space that does not exceed fifty metres. It is finally Alan Rees on Brabham to check it out on everyone during the last laps, preserving some metres of advantage on the finish line. Also this race is troubled by an accident, that occurred just a few minutes from the end. Peter Arundell, who with his Lotus was part of the plotoon of the eight cars at the command, on the long straightline that precedes the curve of Thillisnois collides with the Lola driven by Ginther and goes out of track flipping with his car for several times. On the crash site arrives fast the Red Cross plane that carries Arundell to the hospital of Reims. The driver’s conditions are severe: a first medical exam reveals different injuries, among which one in the cranium, even if only other radiographic exams could define the extent of the damage. In the third and last competition held in Reims, the Englishman Stewart, on Cooper, wins the Formula 3 race. It is yet another affirmation of this young and promising driver. We are now midway through the 1964 World Championship: next step of this journey is the British Gran Prix that for the first time will be held on the circuit of Brands-Hatch, 4.265 metres long, that develops itself with continuous ups and downs and hairpin bends. The race also takes the name of European Gran Prix.

 

The British Gran Prix has never had a particular location, and this year it should have had the title of European Gran Prix, so the RAC has not only decided to handle it on its own, instead of delegating it to BRDC or BARC, but has also choosed the location of Brands-Hatch. The undoubted protagonists will be Graham Hill and Clark, at the first two places of the world ranking respectively with 20 and 21 points, behind them Ginther and Gurney; eighth place for John Surtees, with just 6 points. But if we considerate the results and the victories of the last titled races, we can say that all the mentioned drivers still have the possibility to conquer the title, while only Ferrari needs to obtain excellent results during the next races, otherwise the detachment from the first places in the ranking would become unbridgeadble. The team from Maranello will participate to the British Gran prix with two vehicles: the 156 given to Bandini and the 158 V8 given to John Surtees. The Eglish driver’s job is not easy, but he can be able to upset the predictions since the technics have finally developed the powerful engine of the 8-cylinder car. The man to beat remains Jim Clark, who will be on his Lotus. Graham Hill and Ginther pqarticipate on the wheel of their B.R.M. P 261, McLaren and Phil Hill with the two Coopers, while the two Lotus equipped with the B.R.M. V8 engine of the team Parnell will be given to Hailwood and Amon. Ireland and Taylor run with two BRP-B.R.M., while the Brabham hopes to repeat the success of Rouen with Gurney and the driver-constructor himself Brabham. Bad news from the Lotus team, which has lost his second driver: Peter Arundell is dead following the injuries sustained in the accident of Reims.

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On Thursday, July 8, 1964, during the first day of practice, there is a serene atmosphere and the track is dry, when the vehicles start the tests at 10.00 a.m. The team Ferrari has only a car available, driven by Surtees, with a V6 engine; the car is the same used at the start of this season, before the V8 was ready. The other absent is the new experimental four-wheel-drive B.R.M, that Atwood was supposed to be driving. This car developed a series of problems during the tests and is undergoing a change. All the other competitors take to track, except for Frank Gardner with his little Brabham F.2 equipped with Lotus-Cortina Ford 1500 cm3 engine. The Lotus team has two vehicles available, with Clark who utilizes the Tupe 33 and Spence, who replaces Arundell, on the modified Type 25. After picking a piece of gravel along a suction tube in Rouen, sockets have been again covered with a grid, and Clark’s car mounts the fuel high-pressure pump outside, on the right side of the car, while in Spence’s car is mounted on a bracket behind the ZF gearbox. The B.R.M. team has the same three cars of Rouen, with Graham Hill who chooses the first 1964 vehicle, having the last spare one. All three use the first gearboxes and mount the air intakes, neatly grouped, in an open case, keeping all the air hot from the engine outside the sockets. The two Brabhmas of Brabham and Gurney are the same of the previous races, but Gurney’s engine does not have anymore the control of mixture in the cokpit coupled with the injection group. After the terrible Gran Prix of Rouen, the BRP team gets back in order, with Ireland on the wheel of the last single-piece car, now straightened after the Silverstone accident in May. Taylor uses the car that he already had in France, because its little damage has been repaired in time. Hailwood and Amon drive the Parnell Lotus-B.R.M. V8 cars, and the team deals with the previous Lotus-B.R.M. V8 of Revson, while Bonnier can choose one of the two vehicles of Robert Walker. 

 

Siffert and Anderson drive their 1964 Brabhams, with new frictionless Hewland drive shafts in the rear part, with interior flexible universal joints that allow the use of shafts without sliding joints. Raby runs with his 1963 Brabham with B.R.M. V8 engine and Trintignant has his first V8 B.R.M., while John Taylor drives a well prepared Gerard F.3 Cooper, with Lotus-Ford engine and Hewland gearbox. This is the first official event on the circuit of Brands Hatch, so there are not lap times, except for the old lap record with two litres vehicles, of 1'40"2, and the times set at the beginning of this year, during a day of non-official practice. The day is intense for everyone, not only because it can give the first indications, but also because, as an apparent additional incentive, are up for grabs 100 bottles of champagne on a table near to the starting line for the driver who will set the fastest lap of the morning. During the morning, there are some unlucky accidents. Revson breaks the support of the left rear hub while entering in the Paddock Bend, and Phil Hill’s Coper remains firm. Clark runs some laps with Spence’s car, and McLaren tries Hill’s Cooper. Little after midday Trevor Taylor is very near to 1’40”, when his feet slides off the brake pedal entering in Hawthorn Bend and crashes heavily. The car remains seriously damaged and Taylor is very lucky to have just bruises and nothing broken. This slows the practice for a while, so the closing time is extended. The battle for the bubbles continues between the Lotus and the Brabham, and behind them the B.R.M. Ferrari and the Cooper, but in the end Gurney is the winner and he does a lot of laps in less of 1’40"0. The American driver ends the practice recording a time of 1’38”4, followed by Brabham and Clark, who record a time of 1’38”8.

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On Friday morning, the practice continues at 10:00 o’ clock in perfect conditions, and the group of competitors is enriched by the presence of of the interesting four-wheel-drive B.R.M. driven by Attwood. Revson’s Lotus has been fixed on time, while Trevor Taylor drives the Lotus 24 of the BRP team with B.R.M. engine. In Great Britain arrives a Ferrari with V8 engine for Surtees, because Bandini takes the car with V6 engine. Clark drives his old Lotus 25 modified, and meanwhile the Cooper team has discovered that the loss of power in Phil Hill’s car is due to phase shifts issues on the activation of the engine. There will be no champagne for the best time of the morning, but it will be more important the final outcome, and the conquest of the first line of the starting grid, because it will be really difficult to try to pass the other competitors on the circuit of Brands Hatch: no one of the drivers who aims at the victory can afford to not be in the front row. This observation, more than any imaginative presentation or photography on the newspapers, excites the drivers who will battle at the British Gran Prix. Graham Hill is determined to reduce his time by doing a lot of laps, so as Clark, who takes advantage of all the dock and the raised curbs, just to record the best time. Differently, McLaren does not permit to his Cooper to step too far out of line, and also Phil Hill seems unwilling to let his car get too close to the limit of grip. Ginther does not seem to be happy of his car or the circuit, while Spence tries to learn the secrets of the track and of his vehicle, aware of being the subsituted of Arundell. The four-wheel-drive B.R.M. is rigorously on probation, and it is silly to expect wonders from a car so new, especially with the sensible Attwood at the wheel, while Bob Anderson surprises everyone with some fast times. His revised rear part improves a lot the manovrability of his Brabham, and the driver has some fun trying to approach some official drivers.

 

As the morning progresses the rhythm increases, and drivers as Clark, Graham Hill and Gurney start to use the borders of the circuit with more frequency. If we considerate that the average driver approaches a curve with twelve inches from the border to the exit of a new curve, the fastest drivers reaches the point where they have the gums on the border of the track at the entrance of the curve, putting a front wheel on the black and white curb while they slip the entrance trough the peak, and then they slip out of the corner with a rear wheel, raising stones and dust. The fight for the pole position is resolved between Clark, Gurney and Graham Hill, with Brabham and Surtees always present and not far. Anderson surprises everyone by going down 1’40”, equalizing McLaren’s time, most of all because his Coventry-Climax engine is one of the first carburetor models. Clark uses both the Lotus vehicles making full use of all the circuit, and also Graham Hill uses both of his B.R.M.s. During the practice, the British driver - descending on Paddock Bend - gives to the public heart-stopping moments, retaking control of the car at the foot of the hill. The practice ends with Jim Clark managing to precede Graham Hill, both on board of their previous vehicles, with Gurney in third position, followed by Brabham and Surtees. On Sunday, July 11, 1964, twenty-three drivers of the twenty-five subscribed take sides at the start. The start is given according to the American system: the cars slowly go to their places and, a little after their stationing, the flag is lowered. This system avoids that the cars remain stopped for a failure, becoming an obstacle for the following ones.

 

Contrary to the previous days, on Saturday the climate is wet but fortunately the weather clears up before the race starts, leaving the track dry. The 135.000 spectators expected and the horrible traffic jams do not materialise, so there are favourable conditions. After some preliminary races for sedans and GT cars, and a demonstration of militarism from the British army, the British Gran prix and European Gran Prix is now near. Clark decides to use the modified Lotus 25, with the 1963 ball and socket type of the rack of the wheel, and the 1964 vertical pin bolts for the arms of the rear radius. The car preserves the high pressure injection pump, mounted in front of the radiator. Graham Hill chooses his previous monococque 1964 B.R.M., while Gurney is happy of the Brabham used during all the season. For the spectators who do not know who is driving his own car, the organizers put big labels on the sides of the cars identified by the drivers’ names. At this last ones is allowed a preliminary warm-up lap on the circuit, before the car are lining up on the grid, coming closer to the starting line a few seconds before the lowering of the flag. While the group goes on the starting line, Amon’s clutch does not activate regularly, and Siffert is forced to steer rudely to the left to avoid the Parnell Team Lotus. Doing so, the Swiss driver hits Gardner’s Brabham F2, which folds and forces the driver to retire. Meanwhile, the first rows of the grid move away, and Clark and Gurney descend side to side to the Paddock Hill. Clark can hear the squeal of Gurney’s tyres in his left ear, but none of them is giving up and clashed wheels they head around Druid Corner, the tight hairpin on the right. Clark is on the inside, so he manages to arrive first to the curve and takes the lead.

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At the end of the first lap the situation is orderly, with Clark in the lead, followed by Gurney (Brabham), Graham Hill (B.R.M.), Surtees (Ferrari) and Brabham (Brabham). At the end of the first lap there is a short detachment between the leaders of the race and McLaren, who leads the rest of the group. The leaders remain in the same sequence also at the end of the second lap, while Siffert starts to recover positions, passing Raby. At lap 3, the Brabham’s fans are deluded by the fact that Gurney is forced to pit again, with smoke coming from the ignition harnessess. It is only during the eighth lap that he will be able to join the other competitors, with the new electrical components mounted and the electrical short resolved, but there is obviously little hope that the driver can return among the first. Clark continues to lead the ranking preceding Hill, but without getting away from him, because even if the race starts with a time of 1’40"0, during the next laps the drivers lower the rhythm, recording times of 1’45"0 because of the presence of oil on the circuit left by some competitors; even if the commissars and the spectators fail to take notice of the presence of oil on the circuit, the drivers at the command can feel it, so they slow down the rhythm. At lap four, Hailwood goes out of track at the end of the hill of Druids Corner, and tears an oil pipe under the car because of a strange object on the grass; even if he tries to continue the race, during lap sixteen he is forced to stop. Meanwhile, he oils the circuit.

 

At lap seven, McLaren stops on the short straightline behind the boxes, with the gearbox broken. Clark is in the lead, followed by Graham Hill. The two get away from Surtees and Brabham. McLaren is out, so Bandini is in fifth position. Are further apart Phil Hill, Bonnier, Anderson, Ginther, Spence, Taylor, Ireland and John Taylor, all close to each other, with Baghetti, Siffert and Maggs in line, and Raby delayed, after a small pit stop. At lap fifteen, Hill presses Clark, while at lap sixteen Brabham pits to see if there is a rear tyre flat, because at a certain point the vehicle suddenly went sideways. After verifying that there is nothing bad, the Australian driver returns to race, resuming his fourth place. But during the nineteenth lap he pits again, this time faster, because he is sure that there is something broken in the rear axle. This time Bandini manages to pass on the finish line before Brabham can convince himself that everything is going well, and goes back to the race, this time in fifth position. At the end of the first twenty laps, Clark still has Graham Hill at his heels, but both continue to race at slow pace, creating a 10-seconds detachment from Surtees, who has a 44-seconds advantage on his team mate Bandini. Brabham is fifth, still believing that something in his car is not working well, and Phil Hill, who with Bob Anderson presses him hard. Behind them Ireland, Ginther and Spence continue to fight, followed by John Taylor in his Cooper-Ford, the last not to be doubled by the leaders.

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Trevor Taylor is forced to abandon the race during the twenty-third lap, because the heat in the vehicle manages to overpower him, bringing him to not feeling well. Meanwhile, Bonnier, Phil Hill and Anderson move away from the group and start a three way fight, from which the Swedishman will retire when he will be forced to fastly pit. Apart from the duel Phil Hill/Anderson, nothing changes during the next seven laps, while the track gradually dries and the rhythm slowly increases. When Clark and Hill arrive behind the couple Phil Hill/Anderson, during a double overtaking, the Scottish driver manages to fastly pass the two competitors, leaving Graham Hill squeezed between two slower cars. Taking the opportunity, Clark starts to increase the rhythm, opening a gap between his Lotus and the following B.R.M., so that when Graham Hill manages to pass the slower cars, which is only a matter of another curve, Clark has gone away. Also Brabham is doubled by the first two, while the rhythm decreases under 1’40"0. Graham Hill hardly tries to recover the lost ground, crossing the arms in some curves and sweating, but the British driver does not manage to get close to Clark. While the rhythm increases, the gap opens slowly but inesorably, until when, during lap fourty, so at medium distance, Clark takes his advantage on Graham Hill to two seconds. Surtees is still third, with tewnty-seven seconds of delay, and he is the only one that manages to mantain the same rhythm of the leaders. A lot of racers, instead, are doubled for the second time. Meanwhile, try as he might, Phil Hill cannot getting rid of Anderson, the bright green Brabham that always presses the Cooper, and also Ireland, Spence and Ginther are still fighting hard. Siffert, Baghetti and Revson are following, while Maggs pits again because of a failure at the gearbox, during lap thirty-seven. Also Raby stops during the same lap, because of the failure of the rear axle that made him come out immediately after he entered a new section of the circuit, fortunately without damages. A little after, it is also Revson’s Lotus-B.R.M. that stops because of the failure of the differential, during lap fourty-three. 

 

During the next laps, Phil Hill starts to decrease the rhythm, giving Anderson the chance to get away, while Clark reaches the trio made up by Ireland, Spence, Ginther. Once again, the Scottish driver takes this opportunity to gain ground on Graham Hill, managing to do it, while Hill remains blocked again. The British driver is forced to assist Jim Clark’s driving, committed to apply the maximum effort in the next four curves, opening the gap to five seconds. But this is a precarious advantage, so Jim still works hard to mantain it because Graham Hill does not give up. Slowly but inexorably, Brabham gains ground on Bandini, even if the Italian boy is driving very well, mantaining the fourth place. The two follow Surtees, in third position, but cannot keep up with the first. With the track dry, Clark takes over and at lap 61 he establishes a new lap record in 1’39"4, raising of eight seconds his advantage on Graham Hill. During the next laps, Bandini dismisses Brabham’s attacks, but the Australian driver is unstoppable. At lap sixty-six, Brabham overtakes Bandini and in the next lap Phil Hill overtakes Anderson, while Ginther manages to take the command in the trio of competitors that are changing positions since a lot of laps. At lap seventy-three, Clark establishes a new lap record, in 1’38"8. However, in the last laps the Scottish driver decides to slow the rhythm, taking to only three seconds the advantage on Graham Hill. The British and European Gran Prix is won by Jim Clark, followed by Graham Hill. Even if Clark led the race from the first lap to the finish line, this has not been an easy victory, because Graham Hill worked hard to press him all the time. Surtees finished third alone, not satisfied of his Ferrari’s performance, followed by Jack Brabham, who had to do a very challenging race to obtain the fourth place, in front of Bandini, while Phil Hill arrives sixth to the finish line, just in front of Anderson. Gurney ends in thirteenth position, because he could not recover nothing on the leaders after the pit-stop, while John Taylor is fourteenth, after joining the group after his gearbox had been fixed.

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It is clear that the British Gran Prix has acquired, since the first moments, so since the pits of Gurney and Brabham, a very precise physiognomy. Clark authoritatively won, even if his advantage on Graham Hill at the end is only of 2.8 seconds. The Scottishman continues to lead the world ranking and he is carried in glory with Colin Chapman, the Lotus’ constructor, and his mechanics. With this victory, the actual World Champion has also reiterated his class’ rights and the aspiration to the conquest of the world title for the second consecutive time. The 28-years-old “flying Scottishman” says that the British Gran Prix has been one of the most difficult in his career:

 

"I have always seen Graham behind me, I gave it all: I have never suffered the tension like this time".

 

Ferraris looked good, Surtees’ V8 and Bandini’s V6, and to them goes the consideration of best vehicles of the race. There has been a good demonstration of competitiveness from the British driver, who has proven to be able to compete with his Ferrari against the overseas cars. It is not a case that the sportive director of the Scuderia Ferrari, Eugenio Dragoni, says to be satisfied of the result obtained in England:

 

"There is the car, the question is not to get it into place, then it will beat also the most tried and tested British vehicles".

 

The decisive fact of the race has been the accident occurred to the Brabhams: Gurney dogged Clark and Hill with Surtees behind him, while Brabham was in contact point with Bandini. The two Ferrari drivers have been spaced by the couple at the command because of the temporarily disappearance of the two competitors. The high average of 151.50 km/h and the lap record, in 1’38”8, for a lap average of 155.40 km/h, shows the race’s balance and its protagonists’ ardour. Bad for the B.R.M. of Maggs and Baghetti: the first, after slowly getting demoted to the last position, retired at lap 37 for some gearbox problems, while the second is twelfth in the ranking, that is third last, because a race conduct regular but too quitter. Also the Coopers did not meet the expectations: McLaren has been forced to abandon the race because he had the engine seized after just seven laps, while his team mate, Phil Hill, managed to reach the sixth place stealing him from the young Anderson, the most brilliant of the indipendent drivers, after an hard fight. At this point, the World Championship ranking is dominated by Clark with 30 points, followed by Graham Hill with 26, third on a par Ginther and Brabham with 11, and fourth Gurney and Surtees with 10 points.


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