1967 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1967 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 18 June 1967.[1] It was race 4 of 11 in both the 1967 World Championship of Drivers and the 1967 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 28-lap race was won by Eagle driver Dan Gurney after he started from second position. Jackie Stewart finished second for the BRM team and Ferrari driver Chris Amon came in third. Excluding the Indianapolis 500, this is the only win for a USA-built car as well as one of only two wins of an American-licensed constructor in Formula One.[2][3] It was also the first win for an American constructor in a Grand Prix race since the Jimmy Murphy's triumph with Duesenberg at the 1921 French Grand Prix.

1967 Belgian Grand Prix
Race details
Date18 June 1967
Official nameXXVII Grand Prix de Belgique
LocationSpa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps, Belgium
CoursePermanent racing circuit
Course length14.120 km (8.770 miles)
Distance28 laps, 395.36 km (245.56 miles)
Pole position
DriverLotus-Ford
Time3:28.1
Fastest lap
DriverUnited States Dan GurneyEagle-Weslake
Time3:31.9
Podium
FirstEagle-Weslake
SecondBRM
ThirdFerrari
Lap leaders

Race report

Jim Clark led off the grid from pole position and maintained that position for the first 11 laps and was 20 seconds ahead of Jackie Stewart and Dan Gurney when he had to come into the pits for a plug change, which cost him two minutes. Stewart built up a comfortable lead, helped even further when Gurney had to come into the pits with fuel pressure problems, losing another 20 seconds. However, it was now Stewart's time for mechanical problems as his gearshift was faltering. Gurney set a new lap record to catch and pass him 8 laps from the end and gain a maiden victory for the beautiful magnesium and titanium Eagle car. The light weight and advanced aerodynamics of the car made it very fast, and Gurney shattered Tony Brooks' record Grand Prix average of 143 mph (set some 8 years earlier) on his way to victory. The Eagle was timed at 196 mph on the back straight, an extraordinary speed for a car with an engine producing (at that time) something less than 400 h.p.

Mike Parkes had a horrendous crash on the first lap at the exit of Blanchimont after losing control (on oil spilled from Stewart's BRM); his Ferrari rolled a number of times and he was thrown out of the car. Doctors considered amputating his legs and he was in a coma for a week. He survived, but had broken both of his legs. Parkes never raced in Formula One again.[4]

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
121 Jim ClarkLotus-Ford3:28.1
236 Dan GurneyEagle-Weslake3:31.2+3.1
322 Graham HillLotus-Ford3:32.9+4.8
429 Jochen RindtCooper-Maserati3:34.3+6.2
51 Chris AmonFerrari3:34.3+6.2
614 Jackie StewartBRM3:34.8+6.7
725 Jack BrabhamBrabham-Repco3:35.0+6.9
83 Mike ParkesFerrari3:36.6+8.5
92 Ludovico ScarfiottiFerrari3:37.7+9.6
107 John SurteesHonda3:38.4+10.3
1112 Mike SpenceBRM3:38.5+10.4
1239 Jo BonnierCooper-Maserati3:39.1+11.0
1330 Pedro RodríguezCooper-Maserati3:39.5+11.4
1426 Denny HulmeBrabham-Repco3:40.3+12.2
1517 Chris IrwinBRM3:44.4+16.3
1634 Jo SiffertCooper-Maserati3:45.4+17.3
1719 Bob AndersonBrabham-Climax3:49.5+21.4
1832 Guy LigierCooper-Maserati4:01.2+33.1
Source:[5]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
136 Dan GurneyEagle-Weslake281:40:49.429
214 Jackie StewartBRM28+ 1:03.066
31 Chris AmonFerrari28+ 1:40.054
429 Jochen RindtCooper-Maserati28+ 2:13.943
512 Mike SpenceBRM27+ 1 Lap112
621 Jim ClarkLotus-Ford27+ 1 Lap11
734 Jo SiffertCooper-Maserati27+ 1 Lap16 
819 Bob AndersonBrabham-Climax26+ 2 Laps17 
930 Pedro RodríguezCooper-Maserati25Engine13 
1032 Guy LigierCooper-Maserati25+ 3 Laps18 
NC2 Ludovico ScarfiottiFerrari24Not Classified9 
Ret25 Jack BrabhamBrabham-Repco15Engine7 
Ret26 Denny HulmeBrabham-Repco14Engine14 
Ret39 Jo BonnierCooper-Maserati10Engine12 
Ret22 Graham HillLotus-Ford3Clutch3 
Ret7 John SurteesHonda1Engine10 
Ret17 Chris IrwinBRM1Engine15 
Ret3 Mike ParkesFerrari0Accident8 
Source:[1]

Championship standings after the race

Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 Brabham-Repco18
2 Cooper-Maserati14
13 Ferrari11
14 Lotus-Ford10
65 Eagle-Weslake9
Source: [6]

  • Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References


Previous race:
1967 Dutch Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1967 season
Next race:
1967 French Grand Prix
Previous race:
1966 Belgian Grand Prix
Belgian Grand PrixNext race:
1968 Belgian Grand Prix