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#157 1967 German Grand Prix

2021-09-16 01:00

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#1967, Fulvio Conti, Translated by Gaia Bertinazzi, Federica Dondo,

#157 1967 German Grand Prix

Over 120 drivers will take part on Sunday the 16th of July 1967 in the seventh edition of the Cesana-Sestriere Trofeo Amoco uphill race, valid for the

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Over 120 drivers will take part on Sunday the 16th of July 1967 in the seventh edition of the Cesana-Sestriere Trofeo Amoco uphill race, valid for the European mountain championship. For the attractive event, the organizers of the Automobile Club of Turin put in place an impressive security service, multiplying the number of posts and race marshalls, mobilizing personnel, firefighters (many of them in firefighting suits), rescue vehicles. At Colle even a helicopter is ready to intervene promptly in case of need. And a large public force service is set up. After all, spectators are forbidden to stop along the route - 10.400 meters, with a difference in height of 683 meters - but only in the starting and arrival areas, upstream of the road. An unwelcome but also very convincing test of this meticulous apparatus took place in the official tests on Saturday the 15th of July 1967 (the only ones, since the furious downpour on Friday had abolished the first scheduled training session), when first Claudio Maglioli, then Nanni Galli complained about road accidents: the safety device was immediately triggered and the marshalls and the tow truck promptly intervened on the spot. Fortunately, there was no need for anything else, since the two riders were absolutely uninjured. Maglioli crashed into a wall and his Fulvia HF hit the road sideways; far more spectacular, and miraculously without serious consequences, was the accident in Galli, which, in taking a tight bend on a small bridge with his Alfa Romeo 33, just over a kilometer from the finish, touched the right shoulder with the front of the machine, which immediately overturned. The young Tuscan driver got out of the driver's seat by himself, his car was reduced to a wreck. Too bad, because in the two previous test climbs the 33 had shown great climbing skills, approaching the times of the very favorite Porsche. If the weather conditions are favorable on Sunday, it is likely that the strong German driver, who leads the European mountain classification, could do even better.

 

And in fact, the German driver Rolf Stommelen, at the wheel of a Porsche 2000 Prototype, wins the seventh edition of the Cesana-Sestriere Trofeo Amoco uphill race, valid for the European mountain championship. And he breakes the record (5'09 "6) held by Ludovico Scarfiotti, lowering it by seven seconds and three tenths: his average is 123.850 km / h. It was a great undertaking, which highlighted the great aptitudes of the young Stommelen (who also won a race like the Targa Florio this year) and the continuous progress of the 8-cylinder Porsche. Which also won the second place overall with Gerhard Mitter, the favorite on the eve, who probably owes the delay of two and a half seconds from his teammate to a not exactly happy start: it seems he had an initial difficulty in engaging the third gear, and in the absolute standings Stommelen, on a Porsche 2000, who completes the 10,400 meters of the route in 5'02 "3, at an average of 123.83 km / h. It is a real shame that the new edition Ferrari Dino of Scarfiotti and Klauss were missing, because we would have witnessed an exciting confrontation, and perhaps the five-minute wall would have fallen to climb the 10,400 meters that separate Cesana from the Colle. After all, after the official tests on Saturday, Porsche's sporting director, Von Hanstein, had said that hoping for at least one of his drivers to achieve this result, which would have been truly sensational. The third place in the general classification is for Nanni Galli, on the Alfa Romeo 33. The young Tuscan driver deserves more than a simple quote. As you will remember, Galli had smashed the car in the training, due to a road accident that miraculously resolved without consequences for the runner. During the night, Galli had requested a second 33 from Milan to still participate in the race, and the car had arrived in Cesana on time (but it was not prepared for the race, it was of the circuit type, heavier, and did not have suitable gears).

 

However, the organizers had authorized him to start on the sole condition that a thorough medical examination considered him to be in perfect psycho-physical condition, that is, that he was not affected by the slightest consequence of the accident on Saturday. The doctor examined the runner, the radiographs excluded any internal injury, even the slightest internal injury, and Galli was able to regularly start, obtaining the excellent position mentioned above, all the more deserving given the circumstances. While on one hand the episode exalts Nanni Galli's sporting spirit, on the other hand it testifies the scrupulousness of the organizers of the Turin Automobile Club, who set up the race with an extraordinary profusion of emergency vehicles. At a certain moment the Austrian Dieter Quester, official driver of the highly anticipated new BMW two-seater race, in a serpentine that precedes the finish line by not even two kilometers, slammed violently, when cornering, against an external protection: the front part of the BMW was crumpled but the pilot was able to safely get out of the cockpit. A few seconds later, the marshals were already around the car with fire extinguishers sprinkling it with fire extinguishing powder. There would have been no need, but very sad recent experiences have taught that the zeal of the rescuers is never excessive. Precisely because of Quester's car that cluttered the road, two riders - and among the best: Mario Casoni on Ferrari Dino and Peter Schetty on Abarth 2000 - are forced to slow down, compromising their respective rankings. The two complete the race anyway but rush back to the starting line asking to be able to repeat the test. The excellent race director Dr. Renzo Aimaretti quickly consulted with the stewards, and Schetty and Casoni were allowed to try again, finishing respectively in fourth and fifth place overall. In the afternoon, winners and losers were celebrated at the Principi di Piemonte, and awarded by the president of the A.C. of Turin, Dr. Emanuele Nasi.

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One of the historic motor racing races returns on Sunday: the Mugello Circuit. The race, valid for the constructors' world championship, takes place on a 66-kilometer course in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, in a succession of curves and ups and downs, on common roads. Runners will have to repeat it eight times for a total of over 500 kilometers. The departure and arrival are in Scarperia, a town a few kilometers from Florence. Given the characteristics of the circuit, the organizers have set up an impressive safety and rescue service. About fifty surveillance posts were placed along the route, each entrusted to a foreman assisted by a substitute and by numerous personnel assigned to signaling to the pilots and to the connections. These will take place through two distinct networks, one telephone and the other radio, in order to keep the race direction always aware of what happens on the track. Hundreds of agents, police officers and firefighters will be mobilized, many equipped with special fire-fighting suits. Health care will be entrusted to six doctors, ten ambulances and two military helicopters, for which about ten landing pads have been prepared. In particular, any serious injuries will be transported by ambulance to the helipads and from them to the Centro Traumatologico in Florence. Drivers from nine countries take part in the competition (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Sweden, Great Britain and Italy). In the foreground, the men of Ferrari, Porsche and Alfa Romeo. Scarfiotti and Vaccarella, Williams and Klass will take turns driving the two-liter Dino, Mitter-Schutz, Stommelen-Neerpasch, Siffert-Herrmann to that of the German cars, while De Adamich, Nanni Galli, Giunti, Lucien Bianchi, Colin Davis and Dini will bring the 33 of the Milanese company. In addition, there are many private drivers, such as Casoni and Mueller (at the wheel of a Ferrari P 4 of the Swiss Filipinetti team), Schlesser and Ligier (on a Ford Mark II), the Ligurians Cella and Taramazzo, the Turin champion Giulio Bona.

 

Almost all the competitors arrive on the course on Tuesday the 18th of  July 1967, starting training. In particular, the teams of Porsche and Alfa Romeo have been testing for several days. The Germans, very organized, are about thirty. They have set up their headquarters in Covigliaio, a small town along the circuit, a few kilometers from the Futa Pass. In these unofficial training sessions they would have set the best times. After all, the race record belongs to them, to the Koch-Neerpasch duo. The two established themselves last year at an exceptional average of 107.369 km / h. The tests will take place on Saturday afternoon, starting from Scarperia at 12:00 a.m.  The race will start on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. On Friday the 21st o July 1967 the second phase of the verification and control operations of the cars that will participate on Sunday at the Mugello Circuit takes place in Florence, a test valid for the world automobile championship. On Thursday the Porsches were on stage: the two 8-cylinder prototypes on which Mitter-Schutz and Stommelen-Neerpasch will race, and the four Carrera 6s, which will be entrusted to Siffert-Hermann, Elford-Van Lennep, Koch-Glemser and Cella-Biscaldi, the only Italian crew of the German squadron. On Friday the Alfa Romeo 33, Ferrari Dino, Fords and Lancias will be presented at the checks of the Automobile Club of Florence, organizer of the race. There are Vaccarella, Klass, Nanni Galli and other riders who then returned to the course for the last training sessions. The most assiduous were the men of Ferrari Dino and Alfa Romeo, while the Porsche competitors, who have been at Mugello for several days, slowed down. On the route, 66 kilometers long, the points with uneven asphalt have been eliminated. Now the road is smooth and the gravel used to patch some sections has been absorbed by the tar. Here and there, on the walls and trees on the sides of the track, you can see the signs of training: red spots of paint and scratches.

 

While all the major teams were present, some defections took place among the minor competitors, so qualification tests are not necessary for the admission of the latter (only 120 drivers can participate in the race). Unfortunately, on Saturday 22 July 1967 the black series of motor sport continues. In tests at the Mugello Circuit, a world championship race, the German driver that Ferrari had hired at the beginning of this spring, Gunther Klass, 31, loses his life in an accident. Klass, which runs at a speed of 120 km / h, swoops into a tree shortly after the start, set in Scarperia, a village near Florence. Rescued and extracted from the car - a Ferrari Dino that should have been used only for training - and taken by helicopter to the Inail Trauma Center in Florence, Klass arrived there dead. The race takes place on roads normally reserved for traffic, through dozens of locations: sixty-six kilometers of path in a continuous alternation of curves and ups and downs, with the Giogo and Futa passes. It is a competition that recalls the famous Sicilian Targa Florio. Klass leaves Scarperia at 1:55 p.m. He is calm and smiling. He has just completed a first test lap on the Dino which he should have driven on Sunday paired with the English Jonathan Williams. He got out of it to get into a car called a forklift in sports jargon, a car destined, that is, for training. This is the Ferrari used by Ludovico Scarflotti in uphill competitions: a two-seater car with spider body and two-liter engine. The German driver, with his usual impetuous and exuberant style, climbs up the Giogo pass and then descends towards the valley. Here is Favale, a small town in the Tuscan-Emilian Appellino: the road reaches it on a slight slope. The mountain rises to the left; on the right, after a two-three meter deep escarpment, there is a triangular grassy clearing, closed on one side by the shed of a farm. On either side of the road a row of walnut trees. Ruggero Ricci, a 57-year-old employee living in Florence, is seated in front of his caravan, parked on the lawn next to the shed. He tells:

  

"I heard the sound of two gear changes, then the engine suddenly stopped. The car swerved, wheeled up, flew across the road, down the embankment. Just one moment and then it crumpled against a plant, from the driver's seat. The plant penetrated halfway into the passenger compartment, moving the driver to the passenger seat".

 

Ricci leaves the trailer and notices Klass lying on his side, with his body out of the car, inert. Other people also come. Among the firsts is Carlo Morelli, owner of the farm. Two or three of them free Klass. The rescue was very fast. From the checkpoint, located a few tens of meters from the point of the accident, one of the two helicopters arranged by the organizers was called in anticipation of such cases. The aircraft landed in an open space behind Carlo Morelli's warehouses. Klass, still alive, was placed on a stretcher, then applied to the exterior of the helicopter. The flight to Florence lasted a few minutes: six, seven, at most ten. Professor Panzinie, doctors Villani and Politini were waiting at the Trauma Center, warned by radio. Unfortunately, their intervention proved useless; Klass died on the journey. The report drawn up by the doctors says:

 

"The death occurred from cardiac arrest co. Klass had multiple fractures with left pneumothorax".

 
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Franco Lini, Ferrari's Sporting Director, decides to retire the team. He had phoned Enzo Ferrari in Maranello, who had agreed to this gesture of homage to the young German ace. Klass lived in Stuttgart with his mother. Divorced, he had a child of about ten years Klass had started racing in 1961, for Mercedes. He then moved on to Porsche, with which he became European Rally champion in the Gran Turismo category last year. He was strong in uphill racing and equally adept in speed tests. This year, with Ferrari, he had not been very lucky. He had gone off the road three times, as many he had overturned. The tragedy of Gunther Klass exacerbated the problem of the dangers of motor racing, which in 1967 already made nine victims among drivers. In the evening, the prefect of Florence, De Bernart, the commissioner, Savastano, the deputy chief, Matteucci, colonel Bozzi, of the Carabinieri Legion and the president of the Florentine Automobile Club, engineer Borracci, met in the prefecture. He ventured to suspend the test; then, faced with the casualty of the accident (the first fatal in the history of Mugello) and the efficiency of the rescue services, the authorities decided to have it carried out equally. A thousand men will be mobilized, including agents and police men, entrusted to the deputy commissioner Pupa; one hundred firefighters, many with fire suits, more than three hundred race and course marshals, dozens of special vehicles, half a dozen doctors and two helicopters. The race will start only if the spectators are in areas of absolute safety. In the absence of Ferrari, on Sunday 23 July 1967 Porsche conquered another affirmation of prestige on the Mugello circuit. Three white cars from the German manufacturer lined up at the finish line in Scarperia. Gerhard Mitter and Udo Schutz won, at the wheel of a Carrera 10 model with an 8-cylinder engine and 2200 cc of displacement, ahead of team mates Stommelen - Neerpasch, in a car of the same type, and Elford-Van Lennep, in a coupé 911 specially prepared for competitions. Mitter and Schiitz finish their effort in 4 hours 18'59"2, at the new record average of 122.695 km/h. No serious accident disturbed the race, on which the tragic death of Gunther Klass in Saturday's practice had thrown a shadow of sadness causing the withdrawal of the Ferraris.

 

There was no shortage of road exits, scuffles against trees and walls along the 66-kilometer course. But, this time, luck helped the competitors and organizers, who had mobilized hundreds of men to ensure that the competition ran smoothly. Rinaldo Parmigiani, a 38-year-old gentleman driver, owner of a car commission agent in La Spezia, ended up with his junior Alfa Romeo on an escarpment on the descent from Passo della Futa. It is 3:10 p.m., the driver is making the fourth lap. Immediately rescued, he is hospitalized at the trauma center in Florence, where he is found with a series of deep cuts and bruises. During the trip, which took place in an ambulance, he was subjected to blood transfusions. Practically, for the duration of the race, the telephones and radios of the surveillance service bring news of more or less minor accidents to the pits. Sometimes the conditions of the pilots are not immediately known, and anxiety is felt. On the first lap, for example, Mario Casoni, who with his Ferrari P4 is the only one capable of worrying the Porsches, has to stop the test due to a broken suspension. The driver is victim of a spin and stops completely unharmed. But until he returned on foot to Scarperia (the arrest took place six kilometers away), his teammates and fans were not calm. The protagonists of accidents were also the English Frazier (his Porsche disintegrated, the engine flew far), Marzi, Zuccoli and Capra. A competitor who prefers to hide under the pseudonym of Khangaru passes out as soon as he gets out of the car at the finish line from heat stroke. From a sporting point of view, the Mugello Circuit did not offer many emotions, indeed the Mitter-Schutz and Stommelen-Neerpasch cars march appeared to be safe and smooth. The victory confirms the excellent endurance and sealing qualities that the Stuttgart cars achieved this year. Mitter and Schutz form a close-knit couple. The first is 31 years old, the other is 29. Married, they have been racing with the Porsche for a long time. Mitter is also a mountain racing specialist: last year he won the European championship in that specialty. For them, the only opponents were Stommelen and Neerpasch. Stommelen, in the last lap, even beats the lap record: 31'22"3, at an average of 124.703 km/h.

 

The Alfa Romeo 33 which, once the Ferrari Dino retired in mourning for the death of Klass and disappeared Casoni's P4, appeared as the most qualified rivals of Porsche, they could not withstand the terrible stresses of the not exactly smooth roads on which the circuit was disputed. All three retired in the middle of the test, due to a series of suspension problems and the steering. Some reports. The start is at 1:00 p.m. The weather is splendid. The sun is very hot. Over 150.000 spectators are scattered along the route. Someone arrived on Saturday night, they chose a panoramic point and pitched their tents. The cars start from the Scarperia straight just a few seconds from each other. Among the 198 drivers who will have to alternate with the voter of the ninety-nine cars in the race there are also two young women, Jaquìe Bond Smith and Joey Cook,  both English. They ride in a Mini-Marcos, a small coupe that uses Morris mechanical groups. The first to complete the lap is the white Porsche of Udo Schutz. The German driver sets a decent time: 32'45"7, equal to an hourly average of 121.200 km/h. His teammate Neerpasch passes behind him, followed by the Alfa Romeo 33 of Andrea de Adamich and the Porsche of Koch and Leo Cella. Schlesser's big Ford Mark II proves to be not too comfortable on the narrow roads of the Apennines: he passes ninth, five minutes from Schutz. Mario Casoni's Ferrari P 4 does not pass, of course. Moments of anxiety and we will have to wait a while for news. During the third lap Schutz and his Porsche continue to drive smoothly. At this point he has covered the 198 kilometers of the race. The average is over 123 km/h. Neerpasch is always second. The two increase their advantage over their rivals. The three Alfa Romeos of Andrea de Adamich, Bianchi and Colin Davis lose ground. Colin Davis zigzags into the boxes and has to retire due to a broken steering. The Porsches, according to the plan prepared by Team manager Von Hanstein made a quick stop on lap four to change drivers: Mitter replaces Schutz and Stommelen takes over from Neerpasch. The cars also refuel with petrol. The race ends for the Alfa 33s: Nanni Galli and Giunti drop out due to a broken suspension.

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At the same time, in Belgium a rider loses his life, and another is seriously injured: this is the tragic outcome of the 24 Hours of Francorchamps one day after the fatal accident that occurred at the Mugello circuit in which the German Gunther Klass lost his life. The Dutchman Wim Loos, whose car rolls off the road, is thrown violently out of the cockpit; for an hour the doctors work at his bedside in a mobile operating room, but the driver dies while, on a helicopter, they are transporting him to the hospital. The injured is the Belgian Erio De Keyn, hospitalized in Liege hospital with serious chest injuries. The incidents occurred almost in the same place, during the night between Saturday and Sunday. Around three o'clock the fog invades the circuit, and consequently the visibility is rather poor. At this time, the Belgian De Keyn, driving an Alfa Romeo GTA, just before tackling a swerving curve touching the roadside and bouncing the car crashes into a field hitting a farm tractor violently. The conditions of the Belgian driver are considered very serious. Five minutes after this accident, less than a hundred meters away Loos's car, an Alfa Romeo GTV, rolls off the road; the driver, as mentioned, is thrown out of the cockpit. Immediately rescued, he was given artificial respiration; the doctors tried desperately to save him, but the poor Loos in the accident reports a broken chest and a lung perforation caused by the fractured ribs. The race is won by the Belgians Gaban-Pedro, at the wheel of a Porsche 911; the Alfa Romeo piloted by the Italian Pinto-Cavallari crew takes second place.

 

"This 1967 is one of the most unfortunate years of Ferrari and of motorsport".

 

Scuderia Ferrari Sporting Director Franco Lini exclaimed Saturday, after the death of the young German driver Klass in testing at Mugello. From the beginning of the year to Sunday 23 July 1967, ten riders fell on the tracks all over the world. Two were racing for Ferrari, precisely Klass and Lorenzo Bandini, who tragically died in Monte-Carlo in May. But, apparently, there is no time for a pause, a meditation. The calendar is full of commitments and events. Thus, Ferrari, after having retired in mourning from the Tuscan race, is already preparing the cars that will have to participate in the 500 Miglia of Brands Hatch, in England, and on 6 August 1967 at the German Grand Prix. The first competition is part of the International Prototype Trophy, of which it is the last seasonal episode, the other is the seventh round of the Formula 1 World Championship. Two races of the utmost importance. Ferrari, which has achieved only one great success so far (in Daytona, in February), does not intend to miss the appointment. Monday 24 July 1967, on the track of the Modena Autodrome. Chris Amon and Jonathan Williams run for a long time, alternating driving a 4000 cc prototype and a three-liter single-seater. Williams also got on a Dino Formula 2, whose official debut has not yet taken place due to the lack of adequate tuning. Three P 4s will go to England, the big cars protagonists of the Le Mans duel with Fords. They will be piloted by the Scarfiotti-Sutcliffe, Piper-Williams and Amon-Stewart crews. The latter can now be considered Ferrari, from which it will be used next year in Formula 1. Chris Amon will certainly participate in the German Grand Prix, but, according to some, he may not be alone: ​​a car would be entrusted to Jonathan Williams. In Monza, for the Italian Grand Prix, Scarfiotti, the brilliant winner of the 1966 edition, should also take part to the track on a single-seater. An intense program awaits Ferrari. The races continue, and rightly. The unfortunate series will have to end. Perhaps, we all hope, it is already over.

 

The final test of the prototype world championship takes place on Sunday 30 July 1967, on the Brands Hatch circuit, south of London, that is of those cars with no limits in displacement and number that have found the most representative manufacturers in Ferrari, Ford and Porsche. Originally intended as a 500 Miglia, the race will last six hours, starting at 1:00 p.m. As is well known, Porsche leads the standings with 32 points, followed by Ferrari at one point behind and Ford at ten. The American manufacturerwas absent after testing on Thursday and Friday, so Ferrari is the favorite to win the title. Ferrari comes with three P 4s of 4000 cc, driven by Scarfiotti-Sutcliffe, Stewart-Amon and Williams-Hawkins. The German manufacturer lined up instead two 2200 cc models with Graham Hill-Rindt and Siffert-McLaren. Ford has no official crews entered in the race. But the field of competitors is formidable: there are, to name the best cars, the Lola-Chevrolets of Brabham-Hulme and Surtees-Hobbs, and the Chaparral of Phil Hìll-Spence. The British Ferrari dealership has a P 4 with Piper-Attwood. The British public, which no longer sees a final of Gran Turismo cars and prototypes since 1959, was also waiting with curiosity for the Alfa Romeo 33, but it is absent. The private Ford Mirage with Thomson-De Klerk makes its debut in England. In the two days of testing the Lola Chevrolet of Brabham-Hulme shines, which scores both times on the lap with a time of 1'36 "6 at an average of 158.410 km / h. On Friday, even the Lola Chevrolet of Surtees-Hobbs manages to achieve this laptime. By surprise, Phil Hill and Spence's Chaparral is placed in front of the Ferraris in 1'37 "4. With the cars of Maranello, Scarfiotti-Sutcliffe and Stewart-Amon run both Thursday and Friday in 1'37 "8. The third Ferrari has to his credit the time of 1'38" 2, the same as the Porsche of Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt. The contest promises to be exciting. While Lola Chevrolets are favored for the victory at Brands Hacht, Ferrari is favored for the trophy. The interest among the English manufacturers, as well as among the very sporting public, is enormous.

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Porsche, even if it loses, would have the consolation of having already secured the trophy for classes up to two liters. We recall that it will be the last time in Europe that cars with a displacement over 3000 cc run. In fact, the International Sports Commission has decided that from next year they will only be able to take to the track with cars of up to three liters. Saturday 29th July 1967 Brands Hatch is closed for security reasons. The organizers want not a single wildfire on the route. Sunday 30 July 1967, thanks to the second place of Jackie Stewart and Chris Amon, and to the placings of Scarfiotti-Sutcliffe and Williams-Hawkins, Ferrari overtook the Porsches in the 500 Miglia of Brands Hatch, thus winning the constructors' trophy for the grand touring category and prototypes without displacement limits, a sort of world championship of motoring. After this last and decisive test, the Maranello company found itself a share of 37 points against the 36 of the Stuttgart company, and 22 of the Ford. It is a very prestigious success against a fierce and valiant opponent after an exciting and, so far, unfortunate season. The 500 miles went to Phil Hill and Mike Spence's Chaparral, who completed 211 laps of the course in exactly six hours and twenty-six seconds, averaging 149.740 km/h, ahead of Stewart-Amon's Ferrari 330 P 4 by 58.4 seconds. But the real race, in a certain sense, was that for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth place, in which Siffert-McLaren, on Porsche, Herrmann-Neerpasch, again on Porsche, Scarfiotti-Sutclife , in a Ferrari P 4, and Williams-Hawkins, again in a Ferrari P 4 settled in the order. The triumph of the Italian company, even if only measured, was completed by the seventh place of Piper-Attwood's private Ferrari. Of the only ten cars that completed the grueling six-hour test, four were from Ferrari.

 

The ride was full of emotions. Both Ferrari and Porsche lined up three factory cars, but the favorites for the win were the Lola-Chevrolets of Surtees-Hobbs and Hulme-Brabham, which had set the best times during practice. But these two cars soon suffer engine disturbances, and disappear from the fight, first ending up in the rear, then retreating. It is therefore clear, at this point, that the fight would have been limited to the Ferraris, the Porsches and the only Chapparal in the race. For some time, Stewart-Amon's P 4 leads the race, then gasoline fumes disturb Chris Amon, who has to stop and give way to Stewart. Therefore the Chapparal passes so smoothly in the lead. The supporters of the Italians feel a thrill when, after about two hours of racing, taking advantage of a stop in the Ferrari pits, the Porsche takes second place. But the fear soon disappears. Amon and Stewart return to chase Chapparal by catching and detaching the German car, while Hawkins and Williams are in danger of having to retire when, at a bend, touching another competitor, they lose the rear hood of their car. But Hawkins, now driving, controls the car and, on the next lap, picks up the hood which the mechanics put back in place. Having concluded the championship for the grand touring and prototypes category in its favor, it seems that the intention of Scuderia Ferrari is to stop racing with Italian drivers, due to the lack of authentic professionals and due to the negative repercussions aroused by the death of Lorenzo Bandini, who disappeared in the terrible Munich accident. This would affect famous drivers such as Ludovico Scarfiotti and Nino Vaccarella. Driving the Formula 1 cars can be Chris Amon or Jackie Stewart. These are just rumors for now, but it seems that Enzo Ferrari has already made this decision. On Thursday 3 August 1967 a Ferrari representative declared:

 

"Today we do not have drivers in Italy who dedicate themselves solely and entirely to racing, for whom being behind the wheel of a Formula 1 single-seater or a prototype car is a job like any other. There are only amateurs, even if they are as good as Scarfiotti or Vaccarella. On the other hand, they cannot stand comparison with the rivals of the British school, Clark or Stewart, to name two. Nor are there any young riders capable of excelling ".

 

As for the negative repercussions for Bandini's death, it seems that Enzo Ferrari was very shaken by the position taken by certain non-sporting circles and by the intense emotion of the public. Moreover, a similar situation had already occurred in the past (for example, after the death of Eugenio Castellotti, in 1957) and even then the Modenese manufacturer had resorted to foreign pilots. The arrival of the Scottish ace Jackie Stewart is practically certain for next season, the revelation of the last two years, who will join the young 23-year-old from New Zealand Chris Amon. The two will take turns driving Italian cars in the Formula 1 World Championship (three-liter single-seater) and in the Prototypes trophy. The Maranello team will participate with only one car at a time and not with squadrons of three or more cars, as happened this year when Jackie Stewart drove the Ferrari on Sunday 30 July 1967 at Brands Hatcht.

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The events of the prototype sports championship, with the great struggle between Ferraris, Fords, Porsches and Chaparrals, have somewhat clouded what remains the highest expression of competitive motoring: the Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship, which in recent years prescribes engines with a maximum displacement of 3000 cc and a minimum weight of the mechanical means of 500 kilos. But now, once the confrontation between the Prototypes has been exhausted with the victory of Ferrari, the interest is centered again on the Grand Prix, starting with the Germany one, which will be held on Sunday 6 August 1967 on the Nurburgring circuit, one of the most complete race tracks and difficult ones in the world. The second series of tests valid for the 1967 World Championship also began with the German race. As is well known, a new classification criterion for championship races has been introduced for the first time: the Grand Prix have been divided into two groups, six in the first and five in the second; groups, six in the first and five in the second one; each driver will be counted the sum of the points won in the five and four best places, respectively for the two series. In this way it was intended to give the less fortunate drivers in the first part of the season the opportunity to catch up in the standings. The first round of races ended on Saturday 15 July 1967 with the British Grand Prix, and the New Zealander Denny Hulme and the Australian Jack Brabham found themselves on top of the standings, respectively with 22 and 18 points (both driving the car built by Brabham himself, equipped with a Repco engine); Rodriguez in a Cooper-Maserati is third with 12 points, Amon in a Ferrari fourth with 11 points, Clark in a Lotus-Ford and Stewart in a B.R.M. fifths with 10 points each. In consideration of the new regulation, the position of the two solid drivers of the Brabham-Repco is anything but unassailable, especially by Jim Clark, who among other things is the only driver to have won two world championships challenges this year, and which has the new Ford 8V engine in its Lotus, which is constantly increasing in efficiency.

 

On the other hand, Ferrari's position continues to be rather delicate: its twelve-cylinder single-seater is undergoing improvement and is also approaching the weight limit of 500 kilos, a very important factor in relation to the engines used by all manufacturers, which provide powers not unlike each other. But the Maranello team, after the tragic death of Lorenzo Bandini, found itself grappling with a serious shortage of drivers, aggravated by the accident that knocked out Mike Parkes. Having placed Scarfiotti in partial quarantine, whose divorce from Enzo Ferrari seems likely, the only left to defend the colors of the brand is Chris Amon. Too little to face opponents such as Lotus, B.R.M., Cooper-Maserati, Brabham, Honda, American Eagle, even if the New Zealander turned out to be a driver of constant performance,  one of those, to be clear, who always arrive at the bottom without splitting. This is demonstrated by his current position in the ranking of the World Championship. During the three weeks since the last Grand Prix, the teams have been very busy either stocking up on chassis and engines, or conducting tests at Goodwood, Silverstone, Zandvoort or the Nürburgring itself, and most teams arrive in time for the first tests taking place during the morning of Friday, August 4, 1967. Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme have the two 1967 cars, the BT24-1 and BT24-2, at their disposal, while the Australian driver also has his old 1965 car on standby. Team Lotus also carries three cars: Jim Clark will race with the 49/2 conduci ran in Zandvoort, and Graham Hill with the 49/1, the car that crashed during practice at Silverstone, which has now been fixed. Knowing the ravages the Nürburgring can inflict on a team, the Lotus guys have also the 49/3 available as a mule-car.

 

Since the large Allen screw on the rear suspension of Hill’s machine had broken (or not been fixed properly) in Silverstone, these important bolts have been replaced by a fixed pin with a self-locking nut that holds the top connection in place, since there’s a lock nut on the pin itself, which is wired for safety. Another change involves removing all ignition accessories – and their mounting plate – from the top of the gearbox. These were moved into the engine vein, between the four rear vents. Jochen Rindt drives the Cooper equipped with the new 36-valve Maserati engine and the Hewland gearbox, while the first of the 1967 cars is kept as a reserve, and Pedro Rodriguez will continue to use the 1966 car, although it is now equipped with a Hewland gearbox instead of the ZF one. Thus, all the production Coopers now use the latest Hewland gearbox. John Surtees drives the first of his two Hondas, with the most up-to-date and improved engine, where the only obvious exterior change is a new and less complicated exhaust system. Chris Amon has two Ferraris to choose from: the 0005 is the newest and lightest, and is equipped with a new gearbox and the latest version of the proven V12 engine. While not giving more power than before, the new engine is lighter and the new gearbox follows the model of the one mounted on the Formula 2 car, with the selector rod at the top of the box flowing forward through the engine vein to an oscillating lever behind the driver’s seat, this lever is controlled by a lever on the right side in the passenger compartment. The spare car is the 0003, which has remained unchanged from previous races, which uses the gearbox of the previous type, with the selector rod sliding along the right side and through the chassis stabilizer. Dan Gurney and Bruce McLaren will have Eagle-Weslake V12 cars number 104 (for the American driver) and 102 (for the New Zealand driver) at their disposal.

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The 104’s engine is new but equipped with the previous type of fuel injection, where the injector nozzles are above the throttle rails. This system gives better power diffusion, at the expense of a small leak at the top end, than the system used on the 102, where the injectors are under the throttle guides and splash upwards. The B.R.M. team is asked by AvD, which organizes the race, to bring cars equipped with 3-liter engines, inviting them otherwise not to show up: so the British team presents itself with four cars equipped with H16 engines. Jackie Stewart will use the newest machine, the 1151, lighter and thinner than the others, with an earlier model, the 8302, as a reserve. Mike Spence will drive a car from an earlier model, the 8303, as well as Chris Irwin, with the 8302, the latter enrolled by Tim Parnell’s team. Jo Siffert, as usual, will drive the Rob Walker team Cooper-Maserati, whose engine has been best rebuilt, given the lack of new parts from Maserati. Jo Bonnier is present with his Cooper-Maserati and Guy Ligier’s money seems suitable for Jack Brabham, as the French driver has the former factory car he competed with at Silverstone, now painted blue. To give some national sponsorship, the BMW factory is allowed to run one of its Lola Formula 2 chassis, equipped with a 2-liter 16-valve engine and driven by Hubert Hahne. Considering the length of the Nürburgring, the AvD invites a handful of Formula 2 cars and drivers to participate in a separate race, which takes place alongside the German Formula 1 Grand Prix.

 

This entry includes eight cars with 16-valve Cosworth FVA engines and one with BMW engines, including two Brabhams driven by Gerhard Mitter and Alan Rees (of the Winkelmann team), two Matras driven by Jo Schlesser and Jacky Ickx (with Ken Tyrrell’s team’s car), two Protos cars driven by Kurt Drivers who had participated in the 1.000-kilometer ADAC race in the first half of the year know the new corners introduced in the Tiergarten section of the circuit, as they approach the start and finish area, which aim to reduce the speed of the cars when crossing the pit area. Given the trend, these curves are now called Brems Curves. Considered the best time of last year set by Jim Clark during practice, of 8'16"5, it is initially thought that a time of 8'25"0 could represent a good reference time; however, the fact that that time had been recorded in an old car with a 2-liter Climax V8 engine and that a lot of technical progress has been made since then, It is to be expected that times may be lower. The first practice session of the 1967 German Grand Prix takes place during the morning of Friday, August 4, 1967. Initially, it looks like you lap on the short circuit, which includes the pit straight, the south corner and the straight behind the pits, crossing a gate in the fence, before returning to the pit straight again. This short circuit is useful because so a driver can make sure that his car works properly before leaving to make a full lap; moreover, it means that you do not have to complete the whole lap before passing in front of the timekeepers, which happens instead if you immediately get out of the pits and follow the lap of the complete circuit.

 

Bruce McLaren delays arriving in the paddock because on his car the fuel injection measuring unit is not working properly, while Graham Hill is busy adjusting his Lotus to his liking and, to quote Colin Chapman, attaching pieces of rubber rubber bands everywhere. For this reason, neither driver can do a full lap. The other riders set off to tackle the complete circuit, but times are very slow and no one seems well prepared, not even the Honda that has been on the circuit all week, so much so that the best time is that of Jacky Ickx (with 8'27"5) in a Formula 2 car. In the end Denny Hulme manages to score a time of 8'25"4, and John Surtees overtakes it scoring a time of 8'25"0, but none of the tests carried out are quite stimulating. In addition, many pilots find that their cars stay in the air for longer than they should, perhaps because the suspension adjustments are wrong, or the cars are simply going faster than last year. Jim Clark’s Lotus 49 encounters an unusual problem: the brakes behave strangely, because they are too effective. Thanks to the excellent cooling offered by the ventilated discs and the fact that they are positioned by capturing airflow, they do not reach the optimal working temperature and the pads vitrify the discs. During the lunch break Jim Clark’s car is equipped with solid, thin brake discs, instead of thick, ventilated ones, and harder pads are used, while Graham Hill’s machine keeps the discs ventilated and uses softer pads. During afternoon practice the times improve considerably because the teams organize themselves better, but Jacky Ickx catches the eye thanks to a time of 8'14"0 aboard the small Matra Formula 2 and this remains for a long time as a fast lap. Team Lotus’s comparative brake tests are useless because Graham Hill’s car can only make half a lap before the gearbox crashes due to lack of oil.

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The Lotus 49 #3 is brought up from the paddock and prepared for new tests. Jim Clark improves his lap times, but the car is far from in place, so it remains for Denny Hulme to do something to set a better time than Jacky Ickx with his Formula 2 car. However, Denny Hulme only improves time by 0.5 seconds compared to the Matra. Mike Spence is struggling due to a broken gearshaft: Honda breaks the engine outlet shaft, while Jack Brabham has such a bad time to make his skin crawl, when a bolt breaks on his left rear suspension. For the first time, the Australian driver takes a particularly difficult section of the circuit at maximum speed, when the rear suspension fails, resulting in the wheel twisting to the side and the end of the anti-roll bar pierces the tire, sliding the car on just three wheels and on the chassis. Jack Brabham comes out shaken but unharmed, with the car not too damaged. No one of the Formula 2 riders comes close to the time of Jacky Ickx, who uses his knowledge of the Nürburgring circuit and his courage to embarrass most of the Formula 1 category entrants. The combination of the small, lightweight and handy Matra chassis with 200 horsepower Ford-Cosworth engine is ideal for the German circuit, as many corners can be taken at top speed, while more powerful cars need to be driven by limiting throttle opening and with more caution. In addition, the Tyrrell-Matra is well prepared and works great, unlike most Formula 1 cars that don’t work properly or are not manoeuvrable. Although they are making progress, time is running out, as only the Saturday morning rehearsal session remains to take place. Saturday, August 5, 1967 turns out to be as negative as Friday for the participants in the German Grand Prix. Jack Brabham is on track with his old car, while the new one is still being prepared, Pedro Rodriguez is about to make a lap with the last Cooper when the clutch starts working at times, Mike Spence breaks his belt while driving because of his B.R.M.’s left dispenser and Team Lotus tries to get Jim Clark’s car started and stopped properly.

 

Graham Hill leaves using the spare car and is warned that the brakes are different. These are experimental brakes, so in no time it crashes heavily in the descent towards Adenau, having misjudged his braking in a fast corner. The accident causes extensive damage to the Lotus 49/3 but the rider escapes injuries thanks to the solidity of the monocoque structure. Go back to the pits, where he is not well received. No one makes real progress when it comes to lap times, although Bruce McLaren manages to match Dan Gurney’s best lap and Jackie Stewart completes a good one with the newest of the B.R.M. The fastest lap still remains that of Denny Hulme, in 8'13"5, with Jacky Ickx resisting second place with a time of 8'14"0. With only thirty minutes of practice left, Team Lotus believes it has brought Clark’s car as close as possible and that it’s time to try to do the fastest lap. His first lap launched is 8'08"0, while the second is 8'04"1 and after this last attempt he stops. Lotus is still not at its best, but it has finally given everyone a measure of comparison. With tests coming to an end, Graham Hill has only done four laps instead of the five required and with one Lotus 49 destroyed in the bushes and another broken in the paddock, there’s only one thing to do, which is get him to take a careful ride with Clark’s car. He breathes a great sigh of relief when Hill manages to complete his lap and thus qualifies for the start. Meanwhile, others are also in trouble: Jochen Rindt stops at the circuit when the flywheel of the spare Cooper-Maserati comes off by splitting the crankcase, destroying the starter and ripping through the chassis. He only completed four laps, but since they find him nowhere and having abandoned his damaged car, he is officially inserted as non-starting. Spence runs into further mechanical problems, this time involving a sprocket and a broken sprocket, but his number is imprinted on the spare B.R.M. and the British rider is able to continue testing. Chris Amon, with the updated Ferrari, stops along the circuit with a faulty fuel pump.

 

The problems also affect Guy Ligier, who only made two slow laps on Friday, given the malfunction of his Repco V8 engine. After an innumerable amount of wasted time, it turns out that a mechanic has set the ignition timing to the wrong sign on the flywheel. When the car was bought, no one had reported the existence of two different timing marks on the flywheel and that one of these was not usable. Practice ends at 1:00 p.m. and during the afternoon Formula Vee cars run and some national touring car races are held, so that Ferrari, Cooper and Lotus cannot recover their cars until after 6:00 p.m. This is great proof of mismanagement by the Automobile Club von Deutschland, which then brings great confusion, complete with screams in various languages. This delay results in a lot of uninterrupted work preparing the cars for the race. Also, when you officially realize that Jochen Rindt has not made his qualifying laps, the rule is canceled and the Austrian driver is reinserted to the starting grid. As Formula 2 cars will have their own race, they must have their own starting grid behind Formula 1 cars. But there will be one less competitor, since Redman is forced to return home for personal reasons and you can't find a replacement driver. The German Grand Prix, the seventh round of the Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship, starts at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 6, 1967. Cars depart under a bright sun through the tunnel from the paddock and heat up for a few minutes around the short pit circuit. Brabham’s BT24 car is whole again and the tear in the chassis has been repaired. Hulme is ready from second place on the grid. Clark is on board the 49/2 still with the thin unventilated discs, which proved to be the best, while Graham Hill is back in the 49/1, with the gearbox equipped with the latest magnesium side plates replacing the temporary cast iron ones. Rindt rides the lightweight Cooper, powered by a 36-valve Maserati engine and alloy disc wheels manufactured, while Rodriguez will race his usual 1966 car, with Cooper disc front and McLaren magnesium rear wheels.

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Honda is the same as the tests and Amon will be on board the lightened Ferrari V12: with the new gearbox and zirconium alloy engine you achieve a total weight saving of over 59 kilos. Gurney and McLaren are aboard the Eagles, as expected, and Stewart is in the last B.R.M., Spence in 8302 and Irwin in 8301, all with 16-cylinder engines. The front row of the grille includes four cars of very different design: Lotus 49, Brabham-Repco, B.R.M. H16 and Eagle-Weslake, proving that there is no sign of a monopoly by a single team, which fascinates spectators and satisfies the organizers. The seventeen Grand Prix cars and eight Formula 2 cars are lined up on a fictitious grid and then moved forward for the starting signal. When the German flag is lowered, Clark and Hulme accelerate wheel to wheel for the first few meters, then the 400 horsepower of the Cosworth engine take advantage and Clark manages to take the lead of the race. As the cars flow through the south corner, Graham Hill is pushed on the grass by Formula 2 drivers who are with him at the bottom of the grid. It is not surprising that with the wheels on the grass you block a brake and turn around on himself and only fortunately he does not clash with anyone, continuing the race from the bottom. The rehearsals of the Grand Prix indicated Jim Clark as a great favorite for the final victory, and the former World Champion is not asked and plays the role of first actor in the race: at the start he starts in the lead and already at the first lap of the fifteen scheduled he lowers the Nürburgring record achieving the time of 8'22"5, equal to 163.6 km/h average.  Incited by the 150.000 spectators present, the Scottish driver continues to push and soon completes the first lap with a lead of one and a half over Hulme, Gurney, Brabham, McLaren, Surtees, Stewart and Amon.

 

Needless to say, Ickx leads the Formula 2 section and is already ahead of Hahne, Siffert, Bonnier, Hill, Ligier and Irwin who are in cars with larger engines. Already from this opening lap problems begin and Mitter retires, while Hobbs stops at the pits with the BMW engine that doesn't work well. There are also problems for drivers leading the race: Clark doesn’t know he has a puncture in his right tyre that is slowly losing pressure. Lotus is unstable in corners and Clark is working to keep it under control, but he believes the problem is caused by full gasoline and new tyres, a condition in which he had not been able to practice. Clark then moderates his pace to stay ahead of Hulme and Gurney, without driving to the limit, which is why the second lap is completed with the Lotus rider not far ahead of Brabham and Eagle, with the latter well ahead of the rest of the drivers. Meanwhile Bruce McLaren overtakes Jack Brabham and takes fourth place, and both Stewart and Amon beat John Surtees’ Honda, while young Jacky Ickx joins the Japanese car, after overtaking Rindt, Spence and Rodriguez. Siffert is stationary in pits with a blocked throttle pedal and split water pipe, and Chris Irwin enters the pits with a perforated left rear tire. At the pit he gives his mechanics another wheel and the British driver returns to the race, but there is a moment of panic when Irwin presses the start button and nothing happens because the Bendix remains stuck. A mechanic gives a dry shot with the jack handle by unlocking it and the engine comes to life.

 

Meanwhile Jim Clark is still in the lead, but Lotus is becoming increasingly difficult to drive and the Scottish driver feels something wrong, so that although he maintains the lead over Hulme and Gurney, he finishes the third lap practically outside the cockpit, trying to figure out what the problem is arising from Lotus’ right rear corner. The large Firestone left rear tire looks fine because the pressure leaks slowly and the wheel retains its shape, but it’s soft, which makes the car very unstable, especially in left corners. This forced slowdown in the pace of the leaders allows Ickx to record a fast lap in 8'21"8, and on the fourth lap Clark can no longer cope with the strange maneuverability of Lotus, so slows down and lets Hulme and Gurney pass. At this stage, Dan Gurney takes the opportunity to overtake both Clark and Hulme, leading the race. This is not the only problem on the track: Mike Spence enters the pits at the end of lap three with a sprocket and a broken pinion in his B.R.M. and the car is pushed into the parking lot of the cars stopped at the end of the pits. Hobbs is back on track again with a poor BMW engine, while Schlesser stops before climbing to Karussel with the clutch torn. It can be seen from the applause that there are many Americans among the spectators, who rejoice when Dan Gurney takes the lead with Eagle, but their triumphal screams turn into groans when it is announced that Bruce McLaren has stopped at the circuit with the second Eagle in a dense cloud of smoke and oil. The car touched the asphalt, and as a result tore the oil recovery tube under the cup. The great smoke released by the car raises fears of a fire, but fortunately it's just burnt oil and the pilot is unharmed.

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Dan Gurney leads the race, ahead of Denny Hulme. While both complete the fourth lap, most competitors overtake Jim Clark, who drives slowly, wondering what doesn’t work on his Lotus. As soon as he turns the Karussel, the Scottish rider notices that his right front wheel is tilted at a strange angle, so he struggles back to the pits and is forced to retire. At the end of the first four laps the order sees Dan Gurney (Eagle) leading the race, followed by Denny Hulme (Brabham), Jack Brabham (Brabham), Jackie Stewart (B.R.M.) and Jacky Ickx (Matra F2). The young Belgian rider, in fact, managed to overtake Amon and Surtees, who drive a 3-liter Ferrari and a 3-liter Honda respectively. At the end of the fourth lap Jim Clark manages to reach the pits with his right front wheel tilted inward and notices that the inside of the suspension balance is severely bent, as if the coil spring/shock absorber unit had touched the ground before the entire wheel travel had been absorbed and the impact forces had bent the barbell. The car is taken to the paddock where Duckworth inspects it and finds the right rear tire with only 0.7 kg/cm2 under pressure, and the Firestone guys find a hole in the cover caused by a pointed object picked up from the track. Having taken the lead, Gurney sets a new lap record in 8'18"2 and at the end of the fifth lap increases the lead to eight seconds over Hulme's Brabham-Repco. At the end of the fifth lap the order behind Gurney sees Hulme followed by Stewart, Brabham, Ickx, Amon, Surtees, Rodriguez, Hahne, Hill, Oliver, Rees, Ligier, Hart, Irwin and Hobbs, but Rindt is missing, as the steering rack and pinion have broken and the Austrian driver was forced to retire. During the fifth lap Jackie Stewart is also forced to stop, due to the rupture of the sprocket and pinion.

 

Graham Hill has been in clear difficulty from lap one and does not bother any other competitor, but as he faces the very fast descent to the left after Flugplatz, the front of Lotus becomes unstable and the British rider almost gets off the road. Hill slows down right away and notices that the right front wheel is wobbling, so he goes back to the pits. The problem stemmed from the wheel nut that loosened (or hadn’t been tight since the start of the race): so, after the mechanics tighten it and check the other front tyre, Graham Hill rejoins the race. Pedro Rodriguez also returns to the pits with the right rear wheel hanging dangerously, because a suspension ball joint broke on the threaded neck. But since there is no other damage, another component is mounted and the Mexican rider resumes the race. Dan Gurney continues regularly leading the race, lengthening his lead and bringing him to fifteen seconds over Hulme, after the American driver on board of the Eagle completes his sixth lap in 8'15"1, setting another record. This convinces Denny Hulme that he can’t keep up with Dan Gurney, so he slows down a bit, as Jack Brabham is in third place but much further behind him. However, Jack Brabham is embarrassed by Jacky Ickx, who is right behind him and seems completely confident, in fourth place overall. The rest of the cars are scattered, while the official BMW breaks the front suspension of the Lola chassis. Graham Hill thinks all his problems are over, but he’s wrong, because during lap eight the Allen screw that holds the suspension structure at the top left tied to the left head of the Cosworth engine unscrews and everything collapses, unlike Silverstone where only the cross link had been disassembled. This should not be taken as a condemnation of the use of Allen screws, but of the difficulty of locking these round-head screws, or ensuring that a single overloaded mechanic has not tightened them properly.

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Graham Hill takes the car back to the pits and it is taken away in silence. Meanwhile Denny Hulme moves further and further away from Jack Brabham, bringing gap to 42 seconds at the end of lap ten. Chris Amon, with the only Ferrari in the race, has little knowledge of the very difficult circuit (174 corners per lap, as well as a chicane added this year on the straight that precedes the finish line), but slowly becomes familiar and manages to emerge. After lap 10 the New Zealand driver decides he has been behind Jacky Ickx’s Matra Formula 2 long enough, and as Ferrari begins to be more competitive with less fuel load and partially worn tyres, it stands between Brabham and Ickx, behind Gurney, Hulme and Brabham, and begins to put pressure on the old Australian driver, as he had done at Silverstone. Meanwhile Chris Irwin enters the pits with a broken clutch: in order to repair the car, the mechanics take the parts to make replacements from Mike Spence’s abandoned car. Meanwhile it is fed into the gasoline tank, because the consumption is remarkable, but the team is fined 200 marks for violating sports rules. This new rule banning refueling during the race was recently written by the FIA, without anyone saying it very clearly. At the end of lap eleven the situation of the race remains unchanged, with Dan Gurney 46 seconds ahead and running for victory, having convinced Denny Hulme that the Brabham-Repco V8 is not up to the Eagle-Weslake V12. Far further back follow Jack Brabham, Chris Amon and Jacky Ickx, while John Surtees is further away. Jackie Oliver (Lotus F2), Bonnier and Rees (Brabham F2) followed in seventh place, with the other competitors being voiced by Gurney.

 

During lap 12 Jacky Ickx no longer follows Chris Amon's Ferrari because the lower part of the right front spherical joint breaks on the threaded stem and collapses the suspension, although the car can still be driven and brought back to the pits, where it is retired, much to the relief of a number of Formula 1 drivers. It seems that nothing can stop Dan Gurney from winning, because the Weslake engine works wonderfully, the Eagle performs well and there is no need to fatigue anything or for the rider to put too hard, but at two-thirds of the thirteenth lap a gimbal of a drive shaft breaks, and the broken shaft, moving irregularly, cuts off an oil tube. Dan Gurney takes the Eagle to the side of the track, just before the Karussel climb, not far from where Schlesser had previously stopped, and sits down to watch Denny Hulme who - inherited the lead of the race - can run towards victory. At this point a gripping duel is ignited between Jack Brabham and Chris Amon: the latter continuously approaches the Australian driver-mander and for the remaining laps the New Zealander driver desperately tries to overtake the Australian driver. At the beginning of the last lap it seems that Chris Amon can be able to reach his opponent, but Brabham defends himself well and manages to keep second place for just half a second ahead of the Ferrari driver. If Chris Amon knew the hustle and bustle that Scuderia Ferrari’s sporting director Franco Lini is doing in the pits in the meantime, shouting revenge and cursing the entire Brabham Racing Organisation, and begging the organizers to disqualify Brabham for not letting Amon pass, he would feel very encouraged. Team Brabham staff, meanwhile, just smile, and say:

  

"It's a car race, man and our man is ahead".

 

Denny Hulme wins the German Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, covering the fifteen laps in 2 hours 5'55”7, averaging 163.3 km/h; Hulme precedes Jack Brabham over Brabham-Repco by 40 seconds, as there is nothing Chris Amon can do but finish third, as mentioned, half a second behind the Australian driver, who smiles happy to see his teammate receive the laurel of the winner. However, the test of the young New Zealander driver Chris Amon is excellent, and he improves from race to race. It’s another 1 minute and 46 seconds before the arrival of fourth place finisher, John Surtees. The fifth, Jo Bonnier on Cooper-Maserati, is one lap behind, as is Ligier, on Brabham-Repco, who crosses the finish line in sixth place. With this victory Denny Hulme strengthens himself at the helm of the World Championship standings with 37 points, ahead of Brabham, who has 25 points, Jim Clark and Chris Amon, with 19 points, Pedro Rodriguez at 14 points, and Jackie Stewart, with 10 points. The victory of the New Zealander Denny Hulme in Germany, in the seventh round of the Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship, proposes a technical theme that is not new but always interesting in the events, of what is the highest expression of competitive motoring. Formula 1 in force since last year, prescribes engines with a maximum displacement of 3000 cc, and for cars a minimum weight of 500 kilograms (including water and oil but without fuel). The main manufacturers currently have engines with power at 400 horsepower, and at the minimum weight indicated they are all close; the only driver-builder Jack Brabham, who uses an eight-cylinder derived from an American engine as standard, is quite far from these powers, even looks like about forty horses less.

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Yet his cars win or are always in the top, and even at the Nurburgring they took the top two positions, with Hulme and Brabham himself. The fact is that the single-seaters built in a small London workshop are probably the lightest of all, and in particular they possess handling and tightness at such a strong distance that even a driver of not excellent class like Denny Hulme to establish himself in a completely convincing way: in May in the Monaco Grand Prix, and now in the Germany one; moreover, one month later at the Nurburgring they sold the brightest cars of the moment, Jim Clark’s and Graham Hill’s Lotus-Fords; he sold Dan Gurney’s American Eagle that seemed set to success, and the other competitors never shone. Instead, the two Brabhams made their usual very regular run, without losing a beat. Once again it was a lesson in modesty, the demonstration of what the less flashy but certainly more positive qualities of such exasperated mechanical means as Formula 1 single-seaters conical. A positive note, however, came this time also from Scuderia Ferrari, which forced to field only one car in the race, presented itself very well prepared and in clear technical and performance progress compared to the most recent performances. After the Prototype Trophy victoriously ended, the Maranello team can now focus its efforts on Formula 1, and the results should not be missing, despite the impossibility of entrusting its cars to great drivers. Chris Amon, the 23-year-old New Zealander driver who finished third a short distance from Jack Brabham, still improves from race to race, and it must be added that his knowledge of the tremendous Nurburgring circuit was relative. Meanwhile, Hulme has strengthened himself at the helm of the world standings: it will not be easy to undermine him in the four races that still remain, only one of which will be held in Europe.

 

The Italian and European Grand Prix, scheduled at Monza on Sunday, September 10, 1967; the others will be held in Canada, Sunday, August 27, 1967, in the United States, Sunday, October 1, 1967 and in Mexico, Sunday, October 22, 1967. Nino Vaccarella, one of the Italian drivers in disagreement with Enzo Ferrari, wins the Grand Prix Città di Enna in Pergusa. Vaccarella, who no longer got into the race since the dispute of the last unfortunate Targa Florio, drives a non-Italian car, and chose a Ford, one of Ferrari's traditional rivals. Vaccarella was the protagonist of a strange episode. As the starter was about to kick off, the Sicilian driver’s Ford GT 40 started. Vaccarella on the momentum had traveled a kilometer and continued on the circuit making a full lap and then returned to the starting line. New alignment and this time the Brescia team car also started regularly but immediately taking the head. The jury that met in a hurry decides to penalize Vaccarella by one minute, and the punishment will be communicated to the pilot only with the signal signs from the garage. Meanwhile, however, it has passed a lot and Vaccarella has now dubbed all the competitors when we see a significantly lower gap reported than that counted by himself, albeit in an approximate way. Only when he crosses the finish line Vaccarella will finally understand how things really are, but the success is also very clearly his. Behind Vaccarella are Dieter, Facetti and Taramazzo all driving the Porsche Carrera 6, and another Palermo driver who races under the pseudonym Ben Hur, behind the wheel of a Ferrari Berlinetta.


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