Portuguese GP 1959

Portuguese GP, 1959

The Cooper-Climax was becoming increasingly competitive as the season developed and in qualifying for the Portuguese GP around Lisbon's Monsanto Park Stirling Moss was fastest in his Rob Walker Cooper with the factory cars of Jack Brabham and Masten Gregory second and third. Fourth on the grid was Rob Walker's second car with Maurice Trintignant driving. Jo Bonnier was the fastest non-Cooper runner in fifth place in his BRM. Ferrari was struggling with Dan Gurney sixth and Phil Hill seventh while Tony Brooks was 10th.

In the race Moss took the lead during the first lap with Brabham, McLaren, Gregory and Gurney chasing him. Ferrari lost Phil Hill early on when he spun and pitted when he rejoined his namesake Graham Hill spun his Lotus into the path of the Ferrari, severely damaging both cars. Moss continued without drama but second-placed Brabham spun avoiding the twice-lapped Mario Cabral and hit a telegraph pole. This launched the car back onto the track and Brabham was thrown out. He landed in the middle of the road and was narrowly missed by Gregory when he arrived on the scene. The accident promoted McLaren to third but he suffered a transmission failure and so third place went to Gurney.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
Stirling Moss Cooper-Climax T51 62 2h11m55.410s  
Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax T51 61  
16 Dan Gurney Ferrari D246 61  
Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax T51 60  
Harry Schell BRM P25 59  
10 Roy Salvadori Aston Martin DBR4 59  12 
Ron Flockhart BRM P25 59  11 
Carroll Shelby Aston Martin DBR4 58  13 
14 Tony Brooks Ferrari D246 57  10 
10 18 Mario Araujo de Cabral Cooper-Maserati T51 56  14 
Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax T51 38 Transmission 
Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax T51 23 Accident 
Jo Bonnier BRM P25 10 Engine 
15 Phil Hill Ferrari D246 Accident 
11 Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 16 Accident 15 
12 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 16 Gearbox 16