British GP 1967

British GP, 1967

Having retired when running 1-2 in the French GP with identical transmission problems, the Team Lotus drivers were keen to sort out the problem and modifications were carried out in time for the British GP a fortnight later. Denny Hulme had collected 22 points in the first five races while Jim Clark had managed only 10 and he was lagging behind Jack Brabham (16), Pedro Rodriguez (12) and Chris Amon (11). The scoring system mean that the season was divided into two parts and drivers could count only the best five results from the first six races and the best four from the remaining five. The pressure was on Lotus to finish as the Lotus-Cosworth was clearly the fastest car.

Clark and Graham Hill proved that again at Silverstone where they qualified first and second, Clark almost a second faster than the two Brabhams which completed the front row of the 4-3-4 grid, Jack Brabham having lapped slightly faster than Hulme. It was not all plain sailing however as Hill had suffered a suspension failure and severely damaged his car at the end of practice. The second row featured Dan Gurney's Eagle-Weslake, Amon's Ferrari and John Surtees's Honda. The third row consisted of Jochen Rindt and Pedro Rodriguez in their Cooper-Maseratis, Bruce McLaren in the second Eagle and Mike Spence in the fastest of the BRMs, the regulars being joined by a private entry for F1 new boy David Hobbs. The grid also featured Formula 2 star Alan Rees in a third Cooper-Maserati.

A new Lotus was built up overnight and at the start Clark took the lead from Hill although Brabham overtook Hill for second on the second lap. Clark had no intention of fighting with Brabham, however, and began to build a lead while Hulme worked his way up after a poor start to be fourth by lap nine. He then picked off Brabham, who had been overtaken again by Hill, and went after the two Lotuses. On lap 26 Hill, by then used to his new car, took the lead from Clark but that lasted only until lap 55 when Hill slowed with a rear suspension problem. He pitted for repairs and was sent off again but retired 10 laps later with engine failure. On this occasion, however, Team Lotus's preparation skills were not in doubt and Clark duly won the race by 13 seconds. Hulme was second and Amon third, the Ferrari driver having passed Brabham in the closing laps.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
1 5 Jim Clark Lotus-Cosworth 49 80 1h59m25.600s  1 
2 2 Denny Hulme Brabham-Repco BT24 80 1h59m38.400s  4 
3 8 Chris Amon Ferrari 312 80 1h59m42.200s  6 
4 1 Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco BT24 80 1h59m47.400s  3 
5 12 Pedro Rodriguez Cooper-Maserati T81 79  9 
6 7 John Surtees Honda RA273 78  7 
7 15 Chris Irwin BRM P261 77  13 
8 20 David Hobbs BRM P261 77  14 
9 14 Alan Rees Cooper-Maserati T81 76  15 
10 18 Guy Ligier Brabham-Repco BT20 76  21 
r 19 Bob Anderson Brabham-Climax BT11 67 Engine 17 
r 6 Graham Hill Lotus-Cosworth 49 64 Engine 2 
r 4 Mike Spence BRM P83 44 Ignition 11 
r 9 Dan Gurney Eagle-Weslake T1G 34 Clutch 5 
r 22 Silvio Moser Cooper-ATS T77 29 Engine 20 
r 11 Jochen Rindt Cooper-Maserati T86 26 Engine 8 
r 3 Jackie Stewart BRM P83 20 Transmission 12 
r 10 Bruce McLaren Eagle-Weslake T1G 14 Engine 10 
r 17 Jo Siffert Cooper-Maserati T81 10 Engine 18 
r 23 Jo Bonnier Cooper-Maserati T81 0 Engine 19 
ns 16 Piers Courage BRM P261  Car Raced By Irwin 16