1967 Belgian Grand Prix

1967 Belgian Grand Prix
Race details
Date	18 June 1967
Official name	XXVII Grand Prix de Belgique
Location	Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps, Belgium
Course	Permanent racing circuit
Course length	14.120 km (8.770 miles)
Distance	28 laps, 395.36 km (245.56 miles)
Pole position
Driver	Jim Clark	Lotus-Ford
Time	3:28.1
Fastest lap
Driver	Dan Gurney	Eagle-Weslake
Time	3:31.9
Podium
First	Dan Gurney	Eagle-Weslake
Second	Jackie Stewart	BRM
Third	Chris Amon	Ferrari
Lap leaders

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.

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

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	21	Jim Clark	Lotus-Ford	3:28.1	—
2	36	Dan Gurney	Eagle-Weslake	3:31.2	+3.1
3	22	Graham Hill	Lotus-Ford	3:32.9	+4.8
4	29	Jochen Rindt	Cooper-Maserati	3:34.3	+6.2
5	1	Chris Amon	Ferrari	3:34.3	+6.2
6	14	Jackie Stewart	BRM	3:34.8	+6.7
7	25	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	3:35.0	+6.9
8	3	Mike Parkes	Ferrari	3:36.6	+8.5
9	2	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari	3:37.7	+9.6
10	7	John Surtees	Honda	3:38.4	+10.3
11	12	Mike Spence	BRM	3:38.5	+10.4
12	39	Jo Bonnier	Cooper-Maserati	3:39.1	+11.0
13	30	Pedro Rodríguez	Cooper-Maserati	3:39.5	+11.4
14	26	Denny Hulme	Brabham-Repco	3:40.3	+12.2
15	17	Chris Irwin	BRM	3:44.4	+16.3
16	34	Jo Siffert	Cooper-Maserati	3:45.4	+17.3
17	19	Bob Anderson	Brabham-Climax	3:49.5	+21.4
18	32	Guy Ligier	Cooper-Maserati	4:01.2	+33.1
Source: [5]

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
NC	2	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari	24	+ 4 laps	9
Ret	25	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	15	Engine	7
Ret	26	Denny Hulme	Brabham-Repco	14	Engine	14
Ret	39	Jo Bonnier	Cooper-Maserati	10	Engine	12
Ret	22	Graham Hill	Lotus-Ford	3	Clutch	3
Ret	7	John Surtees	Honda	1	Engine	10
Ret	17	Chris Irwin	BRM	1	Engine	15
Ret	3	Mike Parkes	Ferrari	0	Accident	8
Source: [1]

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 Pos Driver Points 1 Denny Hulme 16 2 Pedro Rodríguez 11 2 3 Chris Amon 11 1 4 Jim Clark 10 13 5 Dan Gurney 9 Source: [6]

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 9 Source: [6]

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

References

1. "1967 Belgian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
2. "Eagle Eye: The Eagle Gurney-Weslake F1 Effort". Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
3. 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.
4. Franka. "Mike Parkes - The Imp Site". www.imps4ever.info. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
5. "1967 Belgian GP Qualification". www.chicanef1.com. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
6. "Belgium 1967 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.

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