1966 French Grand Prix

The 1966 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims on 3 July 1966. It was race 3 of 9 in both the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the "60th Anniversary race" of Grand Prix racing, which had started with the GP of France in 1906. It was also the 16th and last time the French Grand Prix was held on variations of French highways near Reims, following a three-year absence from the region. The race was held over 48 laps of the 8.35-kilometre (5.19 mi) circuit for a race distance of 400 kilometres (250 mi).

1966 French Grand Prix
Reims-Gueux
Race details
Date 3 July 1966
Official name 52e Grand Prix de l'ACF[1]
Location Reims-Gueux, Reims, France
Course Temporary road course
Course length 8.348 km (5.187 mi)
Distance 48 laps, 400.694 km (248.980 mi)
Weather Hot, dry
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 2:07.8
Fastest lap
Driver Lorenzo Bandini Ferrari
Time 2:11.3
Podium
First
Brabham-Repco
Second
Ferrari
Third
Brabham-Repco

The race was won by the 1959 and 1960 World Champion, Australian driver Jack Brabham, driving his Brabham BT19. It was Brabham's eighth Grand Prix victory and his first since the 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix, six years earlier. It was also his first win since establishing his Brabham team, and the first win for the Australian-developed Repco V8 engine. Brabham became the first driver to win a World Championship Grand Prix in a car bearing his own name. British driver Mike Parkes finished second in a Ferrari 312, 9.5 seconds behind, while Brabham's team-mate, New Zealander Denny Hulme, finished third in his Brabham BT20, albeit two laps down.

Brabham now led the Driver's Championship on 12 points, two ahead of Ferrari driver Lorenzo Bandini and three ahead of BRM's Jackie Stewart and Ferrari's John Surtees. The win was the first of four in succession for Brabham as he began his march towards his third world title.

Race summary

Jim Clark was a non-starter, recovering from an accident after he was hit in the eye by a bird during practice. Qualifying was firmly in the hands of Ferrari and especially Lorenzo Bandini with a pole set at 2:07.8 in his 3-litre 312/66, averaging 146.112 mph (233.780 km/h). After the start, Bandini duly led, with Jack Brabham in what would later be nicknamed his 'Old Nail' BT19 – which had a bit less straightline speed – following in his slipstream for a while. Mike Parkes, who had taken over at Ferrari from John Surtees acquitted himself well, duelling with Graham Hill for third place, becoming second when Hill's camshaft broke. When the Italian had to retire due to a broken throttle linkage, Brabham took first place at the finish – his first win since the 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix and the first driver to win a championship Grand Prix in his own car. It was also the last race ever at Reims-Gueux, the original venue of the Formula One French Grand Prix.

1950 World Champion Nino Farina died in a car accident while on his way to watch this race.[2]

Classification

Qualifying
Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 20 Lorenzo Bandini Ferrari 2:07.8 —
2 10 John Surtees Cooper-Maserati 2:08.4 +0.6
3 22 Mike Parkes Ferrari 2:09.1 +1.3
4 12 Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 2:10.2 +2.4
5 6 Jochen Rindt Cooper-Maserati 2:10.9 +3.1
6 38 Jo Siffert Cooper-Maserati 2:12.2 +4.4
7 8 Chris Amon Cooper-Maserati 2:12.4 +4.6
8 16 Graham Hill BRM 2:12.8 +5.0
9 14 Denny Hulme Brabham-Repco 2:13.3 +5.5
10 32 Mike Spence Lotus-BRM 2:14.2 +6.4
11 42 Guy Ligier Cooper-Maserati 2:15.4 +7.6
12 36 Bob Anderson Brabham-Climax 2:15.6 +7.8
13 2 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 2:15.6 +7.8
14 2 Pedro Rodríguez Lotus-Climax 2:16.5 +8.7
15 26 Dan Gurney Eagle-Climax 2:17.9 +10.1
16 44 John Taylor Brabham-BRM 2:19.2 +11.4
17 4 Peter Arundell Lotus-BRM 2:19.6 +11.8
18 30 Jo Bonnier Brabham-Climax 2:23.5 +15.7
Source:[3][4]

Race
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 12 Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 48 1:48:31.3 4 9
2 22 Mike Parkes Ferrari 48 + 9.5 3 6
3 14 Denny Hulme Brabham-Repco 46 + 2 Laps 9 4
4 6 Jochen Rindt Cooper-Maserati 46 + 2 Laps 5 3
5 26 Dan Gurney Eagle-Climax 45 + 3 Laps 14 2
6 44 John Taylor Brabham-BRM 45 + 3 Laps 15 1
7 36 Bob Anderson Brabham-Climax 44 + 4 Laps 12
8 8 Chris Amon Cooper-Maserati 44 + 4 Laps 7
NC 42 Guy Ligier Cooper-Maserati 42 + 6 Laps 11
Ret 2 Pedro Rodríguez Lotus-Climax 40 Oil Leak 13
NC 20 Lorenzo Bandini Ferrari 37 + 11 Laps 1
NC 30 Jo Bonnier Brabham-Climax 32 + 16 Laps 17
Ret 16 Graham Hill BRM 13 Engine 8
Ret 38 Jo Siffert Cooper-Maserati 10 Fuel System 6
Ret 32 Mike Spence Lotus-BRM 8 Clutch 10
Ret 10 John Surtees Cooper-Maserati 5 Fuel System 2
Ret 4 Peter Arundell Lotus-BRM 3 Gearbox 16
DNS 2 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax Accident (18)
Source:[5]

Championship standings after the race
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References
  1. "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1966". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  2. "Drivers: Giuseppe Farina". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  3. "1966 ACF GP Qualification". www.chicanef1.com. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  4. "1966 French Grand Prix". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  5. "1966 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  6. "France 1966 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
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1966 Belgian Grand Prix		 FIA Formula One World Championship
1966 season		 Next race:
1966 British Grand Prix
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1965 French Grand Prix		 French Grand Prix Next race:
1967 French Grand Prix
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1965 Belgian Grand Prix		 European Grand Prix
(Designated European Grand Prix)		 Next race:
1967 Italian Grand Prix
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