Anthony Pritchard
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Anthony Pritchard » « W ljS ,! The Motor Racing Year By the same author Porsche Ford Versus Ferrari The Encyclopaedia of Motor Racing (with Keith Davey) British Racing Green Italian High-Performance Cars (with Keith Davey) Formula One Historic Motor Racing The Motor Racing Year Anthony Pritchard PELHAM BOOKS First published in Great Britain by PELHAM BOOKS LTD 52 Bedford Square London W.C. 1 1970 © 1970 by Anthony Pritchard All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Copyright owner 7207 0375 i Printed in Great Britain by Tonbridge Printers Ltd, Peach Hall Works, Tonbridge, Kent in Monotype 1 o on 11 Baskerville, on paper supplied by P. F. Bingham Ltd, and bound by James Burn at Esher, Surrey Contents Illustrations page 7 Author’s Note 11 Part X : The Grand Prix Tear i The Cars and Teams 15 2 The Evolution of Four-Wheel-Drive 28 3 The Drivers 34 4 The Championship Races: 45 South African Grand Prix 45 Spanish Grand Prix 49 Monaco Grand Prix 53 Dutch Grand Prix 58 French Grand Prix 62 British Grand Prix 67 German Grand Prix 73 Italian Grand Prix 80 Canadian Grand Prix 85 United States Grand Prix 88 Mexican Grand Prix 92 Grand Prix Championships 96 5 The Non-Championship Races 98 Reliability - A Comparative Table 107 Part 2 : The Sports Car Tear 109 6 The Cars and Teams 111 7 The Championship Races: 123 Daytona Continental 24 Hours Race 128 Sebring 12 Hours Race 129 BOAC ‘500’ Race r34 Monza 1000 Kilometres Race !39 Targa Florio 144 Spa 1000 Kilometres Race 148 Nürburgring 1000 Kilometres Race 153 Le Mans 24 Hours Race 157 Watkins Glen Six Hours Race 166 Austrian Grand Prix 169 Sports Gar Championship Results 173 Reliability - A Comparative Table 174 8 The R A C Sports Car Championship 175 9 Other Sports Car Races 179 Part 3 : Racing Round the World 183 10 The Indianapolis 500 Miles Race 185 11 The Formula 5000 Year 189 12 The Formula Two Year 196 13 The Formula Three Year 205 14 Tasman Racing 217 15 The Canadian-American Challenge Cup 221 16 The European Challenge Cup for Touring Cars 228 17 The Shell/RAC Hill Climb Championship 233 18 The European Hill Climb Championship 238 Illustrations In 1950 was held the first Drivers’ World Champion ship and victory in this and the British Grand Prix went to Nino Farina at the wheel of Alfa Romeo 158 cars. (Guy Griffiths) facing page 64 Nineteen years later victor in both the British Grand Prix and the Championship was Jackie Stewart. About the only thing in common between Stewart’s Matra and Farina’s Alfa is that both feature 8-cylinder engines. (Guy Griffiths) 65 Probably the most promising of the new four-wheel- drive Grand Prix cars is the Lotus 63, seen here with John Miles at the wheel. (Guy Griffiths) 96 At the British Grand Prix Derek Bell drove the new McLaren MgA four-wheel-drive car on its racing debut. (Guy Griffiths) 96 Frank Williams’ enterprising and risky plunge into Grand Prix racing with a BT26 Brabham has been more than Justified by the fine driving of Piers Courage. Here Courage is seen in the Monaco race in which he took second place. (Diana Burnett) 97 Until his serious crash in the German Grand Prix Vic Elford put up some fine performances with the McLaren belonging to Antique Automobiles. Here he is seen at Silverstone. (Guy Griffiths) 97 One of the most outstanding drivers of 1969 was Jacky Ickx who displayed the skill of a Moss or a Clark. Here he is in the German Grand Prix in which he scored a brilliant victory. (Nigel Snowdon) 104 Pugnacious-a rear end view of the V-12 Ferrari driven by Pedro Rodriguez in the British Grand Prix 104 The Matra International mechanics confer - a view of Stewart’s MS8o and the MS84 four-wheel-drive car at Silverstone during practice for the British Grand Prix Despite missing the French race to concentrate on development work and despite the presence of the ‘dollies’, the British race provided yet another disappointment for the disorganised and disheartened BRM team Long hair and corduroy cap make portraits of Stewart difficult, but this is a good effort by Nigel Snowdon Jacky I c k x - if the flat-12 Ferrari goes w e ll-is likely to provide a strong challenge to Ford power in 1970. (Nigel Snowdon) Jochen Rindt, fast and furious, but not often a race finisher. (Nigel Snowdon) Poor Jackie Oliver - rarely during 1969 did he get near a BRM that was either fast or reliable New Porsche model for 1969 was the 908 Spy der. These cars were immensely successful and dominated the BOAG ‘500’, Targa Florio, Nürburgring and Watkins Glen races. This is the car shared by Elford and Attwood at Brands Hatch. (Guy Griffiths) The closing laps at Le Mans in 1969 provided one of the most exciting finishes in the history of the race. Here the second-place Porsche of Herrmann holds a narrow lead through the Esses over the winning Ford with Jacky Ickx at the wheel. (Guy Griffiths) A t Le Mans the new 4.5-litre Porsche 917s were achieving close to 240 mph on the Mulsanne Straight, but they lacked the stamina to stay the distance. The car driven by Elford and Attwood which led the race for many hours is seen braking for the Esses. (Guy Griffiths) 160 Another new Prototype contender in 196g was the Mirage raced with both BRM and Cosworth engines. Here the BRM-powered version is seen on its debut in the BOAG ‘500’ race with Jacky Ickx at the wheel. (Guy Griffiths) 160 At Le Mans in 1969 Ferrari raced his Tipo 312P cars with very pretty hard tops. This car driven by Rodriguez and Piper succumbed to transmission trouble. (Guy Griffiths) 161 Dirt-streaked, but still in fine fettle — the 3-litre Matra of ‘Nanni’ Galli and Robin Widdows which finished seventh at Le Mans. (Guy Griffiths) 161 Denis Hulme with his M8B McLaren in the Can-Am Mid-Ohio race. Team-mates Hulme and McLaren once again completely dominated the series. (Pete Lyons, Autosport) 168 John Surtees with the revolutionary Chaparral 2H at the Edmonton Can-Am race. (Pete Lyons, Autosport) 168 Gethin’s McLaren M10A, which dominated the early races in the Formula 5000 Championship, is seen at the Easter Oulton Park meeting. (Guy Griffiths) 169 David Hobbs in the same race with his TS5, a model that improved in both speed and reliability as the season progressed. (Guy Griffiths) 169 On test at Silverstone before the Formula 5000 season started is Sid Taylor’s Lola T142. Here Robin Widdows is at the wheel. (Guy Griffiths) 184 The Winkelmann Team was a strong force in Formula Two in 1969 with their Lotus Mk 59 cars. In the German Grand Prix Rolf Stommelen was given a drive and finished fourth in the Formula Two class. (Nigel Snowdon) Line-up of the leading contenders in Formula Three at the British Grand Prix m eetin g-T im Schenken and his Sports Motors-entered Brabham, Reine Wisell and the works Chevron and Ronnie Peterson and his Tecno. (Nigel Snowdon) Author’s Note The aims of this book are simple in concept but much more difficult in execution. It is intended to provide a comprehensive review of motor racing in 196g. The problem was not what to include, but what to omit, and I apologise to any reader whose branch of this great sport has been omitted. I still believe that, despite the ever- increasing commercialism, it is a great sport built on skill, enthusiasm, courage, determination and team-spirit. Even though I was never a boy scout, I hope it stays that way! One further point; this book does not contain anything new except my opinions - and it was not meant to. As usual, I am exceedingly grateful to Keith Davey for his unfailing help, without which this book would never have appeared. Part One The Grand Prix Year Part One The Grand Prix Year I The Gars and Teams Motor racing at its best is closely fought from the beginning of the season to the end, with no driver and no car having a definite edge over rivals. To add spice to this mixture there should be at least one exciting new car appear during the season and at least one Grand Prix victory by an underrated driver. These are the factors that made the 1951 Grand Prix season with its race after race duel between Alfa Romeo and Ferrari and the unexpected victory at Silverstone by Gonzalez rank as an outstanding motor racing year both at the time and in historical perspective. Likewise 1954, when the brand-new Mercedes and Lancia cars appeared and of the Championship races two each were won by Ferrari and Maserati and four by Mercedes, was a great season by any standard. 1969 provided an enJoyable season of races, sometimes closely fought, sometimes Matra-dominated, but little unexpected hap pened. A t the end of 1968 it was obvious, mishaps apart, that Stewart would win the 1969 Championship, that Graham Hill was past his best and that the men to watch were Rindt and Ickx. Everyone knew that four-wheel-drive cars were on their way — although they have taken rather longer to sort out than one would expect - and that motor racing would be increasingly and depress- ingly commercial.