The 1967 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 18 June 1967. 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.Penske achieved a victory at the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix having raced with an American licence, but the car was built at the British base in Poole. Though American-owned, the British-based Shadow achieved a victory at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix having raced with a British licence. See the and the 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.
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.
Classification Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap1 21 Jim Clark Lotus-Ford 3:28.1—2 36 Dan Gurney Eagle-Weslake 3:31.2 +3.13 22 Graham Hill Lotus-Ford 3:32.9 +4.84 29 Jochen Rindt Cooper-Maserati 3:34.3 +6.25 1 Chris Amon Ferrari 3:34.3 +6.26 14 Jackie Stewart BRM 3:34.8 +6.77 25 Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 3:35.0 +6.98 3 Mike Parkes Ferrari 3:36.6 +8.59 2 Ludovico Scarfiotti Ferrari 3:37.7 +9.610 7 John Surtees Honda 3:38.4 +10.311 12 Mike Spence BRM 3:38.5 +10.412 39 Jo Bonnier Cooper-Maserati 3:39.1 +11.013 30 Pedro Rodríguez Cooper-Maserati 3:39.5 +11.414 26 Denny Hulme Brabham-Repco 3:40.3 +12.215 17 Chris Irwin BRM 3:44.4 +16.316 34 Jo Siffert Cooper-Maserati 3:45.4 +17.317 19 Bob Anderson Brabham-Climax 3:49.5 +21.418 32 Guy Ligier Cooper-Maserati 4:01.2 +33.1 Source:
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 36 Dan Gurney Eagle-Weslake 28 1:40:49.4 2 9 2 14 Jackie Stewart BRM 28 + 1:03.0 6 6 3 1 Chris Amon Ferrari 28 + 1:40.0 5 4 4 29 Jochen Rindt Cooper-Maserati 28 + 2:13.9 4 3 5 12 Mike Spence BRM 27 + 1 lap 11 2 6 21 Jim Clark Lotus-Ford 27 + 1 lap 1 1 7 34 Jo Siffert Cooper-Maserati 27 + 1 lap 16 8 19 Bob Anderson Brabham-Climax 26 + 2 laps 17 9 30 Pedro Rodríguez Cooper-Maserati 25 Engine 13 10 32 Guy Ligier Cooper-Maserati 25 + 3 laps 18 2 Ludovico Scarfiotti Ferrari 24 + 4 laps 9 25 Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 15 Engine 7 26 Denny Hulme Brabham-Repco 14 Engine 14 39 Jo Bonnier Cooper-Maserati 10 Engine 12 22 Graham Hill Lotus-Ford 3 Clutch 3 7 John Surtees Honda 1 Engine 10 17 Chris Irwin BRM 1 Engine 15 3 Mike Parkes Ferrari 0 Accident 8
Notes
This was Dan Gurney's fourth Formula One World Championship Grand Prix win and the third with a different team. Gurney became only the second driver to win a Grand Prix driving for his own team - after Jack Brabham. This was also the first win for his team Eagle, for an American constructor and for a Weslake-powered car. Gurney's win with Eagle was the third first win he achieved for the teams he drove for. At the 1962 French Grand Prix, Gurney had won Porsche's first and only Grand Prix win. At the 1964 French Grand Prix, he won Brabham's first Grand Prix win, only to win for the first time for Eagle now.
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings PosDriverPoints 1 Denny Hulme 16 2 Pedro Rodríguez 11 2 3 Chris Amon 11 1 4 Jim Clark 10 13 5 Dan Gurney 9Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Brabham-Repco 18 2 Cooper-Maserati 14 1 3 Ferrari 11 1 4 Lotus-Ford 10 6 5 Eagle-Weslake 9Source:
Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References