1967 French Grand Prix

Last updated
1967 French Grand Prix
Circuit Le Mans Bugatti.png
Race details
Date 2 July 1967 (1967-07-02)
Official name 53e Grand Prix de l'ACF [1]
Location Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, France
Course Permanent race track
Course length 4.430 km (2.753 miles)
Distance 80 laps, 354.40 km (220.24 miles)
Pole position
Driver Lotus-Ford
Time 1:36.2
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill Lotus-Ford
Time 1:36.7 on lap 7
Podium
First Brabham-Repco
Second Brabham-Repco
Third BRM
Lap leaders
  • 1967 French Grand Prix

The 1967 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans on 2 July 1967. It was race 5 of 11 in both the 1967 World Championship of Drivers and the 1967 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the first French Grand Prix to be held in Le Mans since the race in 1929, and as of 2024 is the only time the Bugatti Circuit has been used for the Grand Prix, though the circuit continues to host the French motorcycle Grand Prix.

Contents

The new Bugatti circuit used the main pit straight at Le Mans, which back in 1967 did not have the Dunlop Chicane, but then turned right at "La Chapelle" into an infield section comprising the third gear "Le Musée" left hander and the second gear "Garage Vert" corner which led onto the back straight, whose only distinctive feature was the "Chemin Aux Boeufs" left hand kink (now a left-right chicane) some two-thirds along, before heading back to the pit straight via the "S Bleu" and "Raccordement" corners near the entrance to the pits.

The Bugatti circuit was seen as somewhat boring and was universally unpopular with both drivers and crowds, with only a reported 20,000 attending the race. Some of the drivers were reported to have privately wished the race was run on the full 13.461 km (8.364 mi) long Circuit de la Sarthe, where the 5.7 km (3.5 mi) Mulsanne Straight was 1.3 km (0.81 mi) longer than the entire Bugatti circuit. At the time, circuit lengths of 10 km (6.2 mi) or longer were common in Grand Prix racing, including the 14.120 km (8.774 mi) Spa-Francorchamps used for the Belgian Grand Prix and the 22.835 km (14.189 mi) Nürburgring used for the German Grand Prix, so many drivers felt that using the full 24 Hours circuit should have been considered as the venue by the Automobile Club de France.

Race report

Graham Hill was on pole and led away for the first lap until Jack Brabham took over. On lap 7 Jim Clark took the lead and Hill passed Brabham to make it a Lotus 1–2. Hill then retook the lead until his crown-wheel and pinion failed on lap 14. The same problem caused Clark's retirement from the lead on lap 23, leaving Brabham ahead of Dan Gurney, Chris Amon and Denny Hulme. On lap 41 a fuel line broke on Gurney's car, making it a Brabham 1-2 and Amon's throttle cable broke several laps later. Brabham drove home serenely to win his first race in eight Grands Prix by 49.5 seconds from teammate Hulme, and over a lap in front of the BRM of Jackie Stewart.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
17 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill Lotus-Ford 1:36.2
23 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 1:36.3+0.1
39 Flag of the United States.svg Dan Gurney Eagle-Weslake 1:37.0+0.8
46 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jim Clark Lotus-Ford 1:37.5+1.3
58 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce McLaren Eagle-Weslake 1:37.6+1.4
64 Flag of New Zealand.svg Denny Hulme Brabham-Repco 1:37.9+1.7
72 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon Ferrari 1:38.0+1.8
812 Flag of Austria.svg Jochen Rindt Cooper-Maserati 1:38.9+2.7
915 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Irwin BRM 1:39.4+3.2
1010 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Stewart BRM 1:39.6+3.4
1118 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jo Siffert Cooper-Maserati 1:40.1+3.9
1211 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Spence BRM 1:40.3+4.1
1314 Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg Pedro Rodríguez Cooper-Maserati 1:40.5+4.3
1417 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bob Anderson Brabham-Climax 1:44.9+8.7
1516 Flag of France.svg Guy Ligier Cooper-Maserati 1:45.2+9.0
Source: [2]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
13 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 802:13:21.329
24 Flag of New Zealand.svg Denny Hulme Brabham-Repco 80+ 49.566
310 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Stewart BRM 79+ 1 Lap104
418 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jo Siffert Cooper-Maserati 77+ 3 Laps113
515 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Irwin BRM 76Engine92
614 Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg Pedro Rodríguez Cooper-Maserati 76+ 4 Laps131
NC16 Flag of France.svg Guy Ligier Cooper-Maserati 68+ 12 Laps15 
Ret2 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon Ferrari 47Throttle7 
Ret9 Flag of the United States.svg Dan Gurney Eagle-Weslake 40Fuel Leak3 
Ret12 Flag of Austria.svg Jochen Rindt Cooper-Maserati 33Engine8 
Ret8 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce McLaren Eagle-Weslake 26Ignition5 
Ret6 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jim Clark Lotus-Ford 23Differential4 
Ret17 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bob Anderson Brabham-Climax 16Ignition14 
Ret7 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill Lotus-Ford 13Differential1 
Ret11 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Spence BRM 9Halfshaft12 
WD1 Flag of Italy.svg Ludovico Scarfiotti Ferrari  
WD5 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Surtees Honda  
WD19 Flag of Sweden.svg Jo Bonnier Cooper-Maserati  
WD20 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra-Ford  
WD21 Flag of France.svg Johnny Servoz-Gavin Matra-Ford  
Source: [3]

Championship standings after the race

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References

  1. "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1967". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  2. "1967 ACF GP Qualification". www.chicanef1.com. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  3. "1967 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 "France 1967 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
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