1965 British Grand Prix

1965 British Grand Prix

After the British GP a lot of people overlooked the fact that Jim Clark has now won our own grand prix four times in a row, and what is more, on three different circuits in1962 at Aintree, in1963 at Silverstone, in1964 at Brands Hatch. and now at Silverstone again. It was only 10 years ago that Stirling Moss made history by being the first British driver to win the British GP. and two years later he made more history with Tony Brooks by winning it with a British car: now Clark’s four wins have all been in a Lotus-Climax V8. I wonder if some of us are getting complacent and not appreciating that we are seeing history being made.

The psychological aspect of racing plays a great part, and to see the number one Lotus in front of you must be demoralising, especially if you are driving on the limit just to keep it in sight. With four cars on the front row, any of them could have got to Copse Corner first in the wheelspinning ‘drag race’ that took place, and for once it was not Clark. but he soon put things right. It’s one thing to beat him to the first corner and another thing to stay in front. This was not a typical Clark race, for though he led on every lap, he did not take the lead at the first corner as he normally does, and he can be beaten, but not consistently. This year the RAC timekeepers were timing practice laps to one-tenth of a second, rather than to the nearest one-fifth. This is still inadequate, as instanced by Ginther, Stewart and Surtees all recording 1min 31.3sec. I feel the time is ripe to take a leaf out of the Indianapolis book and have four-lap qualifying runs on a clear track. This could easily be done at Silverstone, replacing the practices for the supporting races. for if handled properly it could be as attractive to spectators as F3 or sportscar races. Yours DS J THE LATE DENIS JENKINSON WAS OUR FAMOUS CONTINENTAL CORRESPOWENT FOR OVER 40 YEARS