F1's great drives: Jim Clark - 1967 Italian Grand Prix

In ‘66, Brabham’s Repco engine had been the power unit to have. With Monza being a power circuit, Clark’s prime grid position confirmed that, on pace at least, the DFV engine was looking a wise choice for’67 and beyond.

The entry that day was a roll call of grand prix greats. Along with Clark and Brabham, Bruce McLaren (McLaren-BRM), Chris Amon (Ferrari), Dan Gurney (Eagle-Weslake), Denny Hulme (Brabham-Repco), Jackie Setwart (BRM), Graham Hill (Lotus), John Surtees (Honda) and Jochen Rindt (Cooper-Maserati) also lined up. Opponents not to be underestimated.

The start procedure became slightly confused. Normal protocol was to roll the cars forward from a “dummy grid” once an initial flag was waved, then wait for a second flag to signify the start of the race proper.

In his race report, Jenks remarked “there was a tension in the air that said ‘this is going to be a fantastic start’”. The tension proved to be a bit much for some on that day at Monza, as experience and composure seemed to go out the window.

Clark was typically unruffled by early setbacks. On lap two he passed both Hill and Brabham, then set his sights on the lead.

As the first flag fell, Jack Brabham decided to throw caution to the wind. The Australian simply put his foot down and went for it.

In a flash the rest of the grid followed suit, blasting off before the start signal was actually given. The only driver who didn’t, was Jim Clark.

Not having his car at peak revs for what was supposed to be a short trundle to the real grid, the Scot found himself swamped by his competitors. He collected himself and regained some ground as they sped round the circuit. By the time things shook out on the first lap, he was fourth.

Brabham had hared off at the start but Dan Gurney hunted him down and took the lead halfway through lap one. Graham Hill was close behind in third.

Clark was typically unruffled by early setbacks. On lap two he passed both Hill and Brabham, then set his sights on the lead.

On the next lap Clark took Gurney. In the space of three laps he’d already gone from pole, to near disaster, to retaking the lead once again.

For one lap Gurney kept up with the Scot, his Weslake engine not short on power. However the all-out blast at the “Temple of Speed” proved too much for the American’s power unit and it failed on lap four.

Clark’s mastery behind the wheel combined with the superiority of his car and engine made it look like things might well be straightforward from here on in. He had a clear road ahead of him on a sunny day in Monza.

It was not to be.

Many would have considered the Lotus driver’s race dead in the water. The Scot had other ideas.

On lap 11, Clark’s Lotus 49 began to develop some unusual handling characteristics. The gap he had built over the chasing pack began to shrink.

As was usual for Clark, instead of pitting, he decided to adjust his driving style to the problem.

Hulme, who had moved into second, then passed the stricken Clark on lap 10. Clark, despite an ailing car, managed to squeeze back in front on the next lap, but it became apparent he was fighting a losing battle.

Brabham soon closed in also, nipping inside Clark’s Lotus at the Parabolica. As he did so, the Australian pointed to the Scot’s right-rear wheel, alerting him to a puncture.

Then, as the cars headed into the Curva Grande, his engine cut out completely.

In the blink of an eye, Clark’s Lotus twitched alarmingly with Surtees and Brabham both displaying lightning quick reactions to avoid – and pass – the Scot.

The two carried on dicing for the rest of the lap. As they approached the final corner, Brabham threw his car up the inside of Surtees’ Honda.

Surtees, knowing that the inside line offered little grip due to being covered with sand to cover an earlier oil spill, felt that Brabham was more than welcome to it.

“Black Jack” duly ran wide and Surtees successfully performed a textbook cutback, getting his Honda ahead as they sped onto the pit straight. It was a drag-race to the finishing line.

Brabham followed Surtees all the way to the flag. He pulled out from the slipstream and nearly managed to get ahead, but Surtees just pipped him – by 0.2sec. It was one of the closest finishes in F1 history.

So where was Clark? The Lotus hadn’t completely died on him, and the Scot managed to coax his ailing car round the last lap and come home third – 23 seconds after the leading pair.

The Team Lotus pit were at a loss when the Brabham and Honda cars appeared sans Clark, “It was just a sort of total disbelief when he didn’t cross the line first, when he didn’t appear,” says Huckle. “We thought ‘what’s happened?’ Then he comes trundling over the line, spluttering and popping and that’s where he ended up – third!

“The Italian crowd went absolutely mad and surrounded the car. The Italian fans, they rated him as a driver, really appreciated what he did. There was a great crowd of people around the car, they just hoicked him out of it and carried him off shoulder high. We couldn’t get near him!”

It had been a thrilling race, with journalists and fans alike proclaiming it one of the greatest, if not the greatest, World Championship grand prix ever seen.

Once the chaos subsided, the Team Lotus inquest began and the fault that prevented Clark from taking victory was traced to a fuel feed issue. Huckle says that they also found another less well-documented mechanical problem that he’d been contending with for most of the race.

“When we checked the car after the race, the near-side front wishbone mount had fractured,” he said. “The front wishbone was moving backwards and forwards (as a result). He was that sort of driver, he would adapt to what it was, to how it was.

“He never gave up. You knew that while he was still going, there was still a chance. That’s how the feeling was,” his mechanic, Huckle puts it.

Never had this been more demonstrated by Jim than in this, one of F1’s Great Drives.