1966 USA Grand Prix

 1966 USA Grand Prix

Racing data
8th of 9 races of the 1966 World Automobile Championship
Surname:	IX United States Grand Prix
Date:	2nd October 1966
Place:	Watkins Glen , USA
Course:	Watkins Glen International
Length:	399.762 km in 108 laps of 3.7015 km
Weather:	dry, cloudy, cool
Spectator:	~ 75000
Pole position
Driver:	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco
Time:	1: 08.42 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	John Surtees	Cooper Maserati
Time:	1: 09.67 min (lap 31)
Podium
First:	Jim Clark	Lotus BRM
Second:	Jochen Rindt	Cooper Maserati
Third:	John Surtees	Cooper Maserati

The 1966 US Grand Prix took place on October 2, 1966 at Watkins Glen International near Watkins Glen and was the eighth race of the 1966 World Automobile Championship .

Reports

background

Brabham won his first Constructors' World Championship

Jim Clark won his only race of the season

One month after the Italian Grand Prix , the first race of the season outside of the European continent took place. The organizers decided against it to pay entry fees, which were common in previous years. Instead, a total of $ 102,000 in prize money was set. For 1966 this is one of the highest sums that could be won in motorsport.

After Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti had already ended their season, Ferrari registered a car for Lorenzo Bandini . For him and Ferrari it was the last race of the season. In 1967 he only drove one more race in the automobile world championship. Honda ran two cars for the first time this season. Ronnie Bucknum drove his first race of the season alongside Richie Ginther , having worked for Honda in previous years. At Lotus , alongside regular drivers Jim Clark and Peter Arundell, Pedro Rodríguez drove a Lotus 33 in his third race of the season . Eagle reported two vehicles. Regular driver Dan Gurney drove the Eagle TG1 with a Weslake engine, while Bob Bondurant drove the second car with a Climax unit . He switched from Team Chamaco Collect to Eagle and drove his first race for this team. Phil Hill was originally registered instead of him, but he was hospitalized with a hernia and withdrew his report. After McLaren had paused two races, the team returned with team principal Bruce McLaren as a driver. For the first time, the McLaren M2B had the new Ford V8 3.0 engine installed. In the two previous races of the season, this unit was the reason for the break because it still caused too big problems.

In the teams with customer vehicles, the Chamaco Collect team started under the name Bernhard White Racing. His driver Innes Ireland drove a BRM P261 and contested his first race of the season. Reg Parnell Racing only registered one vehicle for Mike Spence for the US Grand Prix .

With Graham Hill , Clark, Ireland and McLaren four former winners took part in the race. Hill won the Grand Prix the three years before. BRM and Lotus had previously been successful three times and Cooper once among the designers. Jack Brabham was already established as world champion before the race. The constructor title was decided between Brabham and Ferrari. If Ferrari hadn't won the race, Brabham would have become world champion early, on the other hand, a second place was enough for the team to win the title.

training

The first training session took place on Friday and was scheduled for four hours. It was cold dry weather. At first there was a strong wind, which subsided towards the end of the session. Therefore, no fast times were possible in the beginning. Clark was in first place after the first hour, but drove in the car of his team-mate Arundell. After a short time, the BRM team brought their two vehicles back into the pits to make changes to the gearbox. Ginther's suspension was changed after he complained about it. He then drove fast laps and improved to second ahead of Surtees and Stewart. Both riders improved their times as the wind started to ease. In the last minutes of the practice session, Bandini set the fastest time and improved to first place, Surtees was only six hundredths of a second behind in second place, both drivers under 1:09 minutes. Hill also managed this in third place.

Before the second practice session, the track was wet from rain showers, but it dried quickly after almost all drivers did a few laps at low speed. Bonnier did not take part in order to save his engine. The Brabham team also spared their cars for the time being and only continued training after the conditions had improved. Clark drove different cars. McLaren had problems with understeer and restarting its engine. He drove several individual laps and then switched off the engine to test whether it could be restarted. Gurney's fuel tank was replaced overnight after a leak was discovered. At the BRM, there were problems with the gearbox during the training session, both drivers drove slower times than the day before. Clark didn't improve his times and switched back to his teammate Arundell's car shortly before the end. Surtees drove the same lap times as in the first training session, Rindt improved. However, he lost a lot of oil, so the engine on his bolide was replaced. Brabham participated in the final minutes of practice and set the fastest time. Clark finished his fastest lap shortly after him and improved to second. However, he then parked his car with engine problems and a lot of oil leaked. To take part in the race, the BRM team lent him one of his replacement engines, which were installed overnight.

For Brabham it was the third pole position in 1966, with which he achieved the most first starting positions of the season. Behind Clark, Bandini started from third in front of Surtees. Behind were Hill and Stewart's two BRMs. Hulme, Ginther, Rindt and Rodriguez completed the top ten. Arundell did not set a lap time, but he was allowed to take part in the race and started from last place.

run

On the day of the race it was cloudy, the track was dry and only a few drops fell over the course of the race. Work on Clark's car continued until shortly before the start of the race. Just a few minutes before the start of the warm-up lap, a valve was sealed because his Lotus was losing oil again. The start of the race was then delayed because the fans standing very close to the track had to be pushed back behind the barriers by the marshals.

Bandini won the start, overtaking both Clark and Brabham. Brabham fell behind Clark and Ginther on the first lap and was fourth ahead of Surtees. Behind them were Stewart, Hill and Hulme. Bandini extended his lead over Clark on lap two, while Ginther was overtaken by Brabham and Surtees. Ginther then dropped another six ranks. McLaren, on the other hand, was last after a bad start and improved into midfield on the first laps of the race. Bonnier pitted early in the race with technical problems. In the further course of the race he stopped several times because of this and drove very slowly.

Surtees took the lead on lap nine, Brabham overtook Bandini one lap later, while Clark was just behind. There was a greater gap to fifth-placed Stewart. Behind it, Hulme drove ahead of Rindt, Spence and Siffert. In midfield, McLaren and Rodriguez touched in a duel, which damaged Rodriguez's car nose. A short time later she broke off the car. Bondurant evaded and was then pushed to continue the race. He was disqualified for this. Rodriguez pitted twice over the next few laps because his engine no longer held the required temperature without a nose. The temporary adhesive tape did not help, however, after a third stop the engine would not start any more and it retired. Hulme also pitted after he was overtaken by Rindt because his car had an elevated oil temperature. He fell back to the bottom of the field and was eliminated on lap 18. Gurney also parked his vehicle due to several technical problems.

At the top, Brabham took the lead. While lapping Arundell, Surtees collided with him, both drivers spun off the track. After a pit stop, the drivers continued the race, Surtees three laps behind. Ginther was also in the pits, he needed several tries for each switching process. Bandini overtook Brabham and was back in the lead. The distance between the two drivers on Clark grew continuously. Hill pitted on lap 21 for a transmission repair and continued the race in eighth before Bucknum overtook him. Hill later dropped out with a differential problem. Bandini led in front of Brabham until he parked his car on lap 35 due to an engine failure. The Brabham team was thus early world constructors champions. Brabham then led ahead of Clark and Stewart, both of whom were well behind him. Spence, Siffert and McLaren dueled for fourth place. At this point in the race, Surtees was setting new lap records after the next and overtaking the leaders, but was still one lap behind. Spence pitted on lap 40 and continued the race after a battery swap and dropped out 34 laps later. Bucknum was also at the pits, three of his exhaust pipes were burned except for a short piece. The team let him drive on, but his engine power was reduced, so that he later gave up.

Halfway through the race, both BRM drivers retired within two laps with Hill and Stewart, leaving only twelve cars in the race. Brabham led by a narrow margin over Clark. Rindt was third, one lap behind. Siffert, McLaren, Surtees was the next order. On lap 55 it was again the leader who retired. With an engine failure, Brabham pitted and finished the race. Clark took the lead and held it until the end of the race.

It was the only win of the season for Clark and Lotus. Clark won the US Grand Prix for the second time after 1962 , and Lotus for the fourth time. Rindt crossed the finish line in second place, one lap behind, while Surtees completed the podium in third place. For the second time in the season, the winner lapped the entire field, which Brabham previously achieved at the Dutch Grand Prix . Siffert was the third Cooper driver to reach the points. The other points went to McLaren and Arundell. Ginther and Bonnier saw the checkered flag, but were not classified as they were too far behind the leaders.

In the drivers' standings, Rindt improved to second place in front of Surtees and Clark, while Hill fell three places back to fifth. Brabham won his first world title in the Constructors' World Championship. Ferrari secured second place.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Team Lotus	01	Jim Clark	Lotus 43	BRM 3.0 H16	F.
			Lotus 33	Climax 2.0 V8
	02	Peter Arundell	Lotus 43	BRM 3.0 H16
			Lotus 33	Climax 2.0 V8
	11	Pedro Rodríguez	Lotus 33	BRM 2.0 V8
Owen Racing Organization	03	Graham Hill	BRM P83	BRM 3.0 H16	G
	04th	Jackie Stewart
Brabham Racing Organization	05	Jack Brabham	Brabham BT19	Repco 3.0 V8	G
	06th		Brabham BT20
	06th	Denis Hulme	Brabham BT20
Cooper Car Company	07th	John Surtees	Cooper T81	Maserati 3.0 V12	F.
	08th	Jochen Rindt
Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	09	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari 312/66	Ferrari 3.0 V12	F.
Bernhard White Racing	10	Innes Ireland	BRM P261	BRM 2.0 V8	D.
Honda R&D Co.	12	Richie Ginther	Honda RA273	Honda 3.0 V12	G
	14th	Ronnie Bucknum
Anglo American Racers	15th	Dan Gurney	Eagle T1G	Weslake 3.0 V12	G
	16	Bob Bondurant		Climax 2.7 L4
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	17th	Bruce McLaren	McLaren M2B	Ford V8 3.0 V8	F.
Reg Parnell Racing	18th	Mike Spence	Lotus 25	BRM 2.0 V8	F.
Rob Walker Racing Team	19th	Joseph Siffert	Cooper T81	Maserati 3.0 V12	D.
Anglo Suisse Racing Team	22nd	Joakim Bonnier	Cooper T81	Maserati 3.0 V12	F.

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b} Both the Lotus 43 and the Lotus 33 were registered for both drivers. Jim Clark drove both the Lotus 43 and the Lotus 33 in the practice sessions, Arundell only the Lotus 43. In the race, Clark drove the Lotus 43 with the number 1, Arundell the Lotus 33 with the number 2.
2. ↑ Jack Brabham drove the Brabham BT19 both in practice sessions and in the race.

Classifications

Starting grid

Item	driver	constructor	time	begin
01	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	1: 08.42	01
02	Jim Clark	Lotus BRM	1: 08.53	02
03	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	1: 08.57	03
04th	John Surtees	Cooper Maserati	1: 08.73	04th
05	Graham Hill	BRM	1: 08.87	05
06th	Jackie Stewart	BRM	1: 09.17	06th
07th	Denis Hulme	Brabham-Repco	1: 09.28	07th
08th	Richie Ginther	Honda	1: 09.37	08th
09	Jochen Rindt	Cooper Maserati	1: 09.63	09
10	Pedro Rodríguez	Lotus BRM	1: 10.40	10
11	Bruce McLaren	McLaren-Ford	1: 10.57	11
12	Mike Spence	Lotus BRM	1: 10.73	12
13	Joseph Siffert	Cooper Maserati	1: 10.97	13
14th	Dan Gurney	Eagle-Weslake	1: 11.03	14th
15th	Joakim Bonnier	Cooper Maserati	1: 11.40	15th
16	Bob Bondurant	Eagle-Climax	1: 12.40	16
17th	Innes Ireland	BRM	1: 12.63	17th
18th	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	1: 12.70	18th
19th	Peter Arundell	Lotus Climax	no time	19th

run

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Fastest lap	Failure reason
01	Jim Clark	Lotus BRM	108	0	2: 09: 40,110	02
02	Jochen Rindt	Cooper Maserati	107	0	+ 1 lap	09
03	John Surtees	Cooper Maserati	107	1	+ 1 lap	04th	1: 09.67
04th	Joseph Siffert	Cooper Maserati	105	0	+ 3 rounds	13
05	Bruce McLaren	McLaren-Ford	105	0	+ 3 rounds	11
06th	Peter Arundell	Lotus Climax	101	1	+ 7 rounds	19th
-	Innes Ireland	BRM	96	0	DNF	17th		alternator
-	Richie Ginther	Honda	81	1	NC	08th		unclassified
-	Mike Spence	Lotus BRM	74	1	DNF	12		ignition
-	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	58	1	DNF	18th		Power transmission
-	Joakim Bonnier	Cooper Maserati	57	3	NC	15th		unclassified
-	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	55	0	DNF	01		Engine failure
-	Jackie Stewart	BRM	53	0	DNF	06th		Engine failure
-	Graham Hill	BRM	52	0	DNF	05		differential
-	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	34	0	DNF	03		Engine failure
-	Denis Hulme	Brabham-Repco	18th	1	DNF	07th		Oil pressure / engine damage
-	Pedro Rodríguez	Lotus BRM	13	2	DNF	10		Starter
-	Dan Gurney	Eagle-Weslake	13	0	DNF	14th		coupling
-	Bob Bondurant	Eagle-Climax	05	0	DSQ	16		were pushed

World Cup stands after the race

The first six of the race got 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 points. Only the five best results from nine races counted. In the constructors' championship, only the points of the best placed driver on a team counted.

Driver ranking

Item driver constructor Points 01  Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 39 02  Jochen Rindt Cooper Maserati 22 (24) 03  John Surtees Ferrari / Cooper Maserati 19th 04th  Graham Hill BRM 17th 05  Jim Clark Lotus-Climax / BRM 16 06th  Jackie Stewart BRM 14th 07th  Denis Hulme Brabham-Repco 14th 08th  Mike Parkes Ferrari 12 09  Lorenzo Bandini Ferrari 12 10  Ludovico Scarfiotti Ferrari 9

Item driver constructor Points 11  Mike Spence Lotus BRM 4th 12  Bob Bondurant BRM 3 13  Joseph Siffert Cooper Maserati 3 14th  Bruce McLaren McLaren-Serenissima / Ford 3 15th  Dan Gurney Eagle-Climax 2 16  Richie Ginther Cooper Maserati 2 17th  John Taylor Brabham-BRM 1 18th  Bob Anderson Brabham-Climax 1 19th  Peter Arundell Lotus Climax 1

Constructors' championship

Item constructor Points 01  Brabham-Repco 40 (43) 02  Ferrari 31 (32) 03  Cooper Maserati 24 (26) 04th  BRM 22nd 05  Lotus BRM 13 06th  Lotus Climax 8th 07th  Eagle-Climax 2 08th  McLaren-Ford 2 09  Brabham-BRM 1 10  McLaren Serenissima 1 11  Brabham-Climax 1

Web links

• Results at motorsport-total.com
• Photos at f1-facts.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "1966 United States Grand Prix race report: Clark prevails at last" (motorsportmagazine.com on May 28, 2020)