1966 BRDC International Trophy

NC UK BRDC International Trophy Silverstone Circuit 1952 to 1974.png XVIII BRDC International Trophy Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire 14 May 1966 Permanent racing facility 2.927 4.711 35 102.528 165.003 Jack Brabham Australia Brabham-Repco 1:29.8 Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 1:29.8 Australia Jack Brabham Australia Brabham-Repco John Surtees UK Ferrari Jo Bonnier Sweden Cooper-Maserati The 18th BRDC International Trophy was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 14 May 1966 at the Silverstone Circuit, England. The race was run over 35 laps of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, and was won by Australian Jack Brabham in the Brabham-Repco BT19. With no Race of Champions in 1966, the International Trophy formed the first major race of the European season, being run just a week before the start of the FIA World Championship in Monaco. The 1966 season was significant, as changes to the F1 formula had allowed an increase in engine capacity from 1.5L to 3L. This then was the first opportunity for many teams to test their new cars against top-line opposition. Pre-race The "return to power" caused some manufacturers significant problems, as the supply of suitable large-capacity engines was restricted.Diepraam Mattijs Mattijs Diepraam The start of the 3-litre era 8W Summer 2001 http://www.forix.com/8w/intltr66.html 2007-02-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20070224212556/http://www.forix.com/8w/intltr66.html 24 February 2007 live Only four teams managed to provide true 3-litre cars this early in the season. Regular front runners Ferrari and Lotus were both prepared with new vehicles, as was former World Champion Jack Brabham's eponymous team, fielding Australian Repco-Brabham V8 engines. The fourth team to have a 3L car was Cooper, however, their engine was far from new. The team's first monocoque chassis, the Cooper T81 was fitted with what was in essence Maserati's 1950s engine, which had seen success in the Maserati 250F, bored out to the new capacity limit.Hales Mark Mark Hales The Last Cooper Motor Sport LXXXII December 2006 50 BRM's new H16 engine was also slated to appear, but reliability problems resulted in Peter Arundell being forced to withdraw his Lotus-BRM prior to qualifying. Race Report From the beginning of practice it became apparent that the race would be a straight fight between the Ferrari of John Surtees and Jack Brabham's Brabham. The pair qualified at the head of the field, with Brabham taking pole by only 0.2 of a second. The race went the same way, with Brabham being forced to equal his pole time in order to stay ahead of Surtees's hard-charging Ferrari. Despite qualifying an impressive third, Jochen Rindt's Cooper developed mechanical troubles and dropped him back to fifth by the end of the race. However, the surprise of the field was the sister Cooper of Jo Bonnier - run by Bonnier's Anglo-Suisse Racing Team and painted in Swiss racing red and white - who managed to climb from sixth to take the third place on the podium. It would prove to be Bonnier's last podium finish in a Formula One car, after a prolific career dating back a decade. Close behind Bonnier, Denny Hulme managed to bring an ageing Brabham home in fourth. Results Pos. DriverXVIII BRDC International Trophy http://www.silhouet.com/motorsport/archive/f1/nc/1966/1966.html#int 2007-02-12 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20061025223905/http://www.silhouet.com/motorsport/archive/f1/nc/1966/1966.html 2006-10-25 Constructor Time/Ret. Grid 1 Australia Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 52:57.6 1 2 UK John Surtees Ferrari + 7.4 s 2 3 Sweden Jo Bonnier Cooper-Maserati 35 laps 6 4 New Zealand Denny Hulme Brabham-Climax 35 laps 5 5 Austria Jochen Rindt Cooper-Maserati 34 laps 3 6 UK John Taylor Brabham-BRM 33 laps 10 7 UK Bob Anderson Brabham-Climax 32 laps 9 8 Australia Paul Hawkins Lotus-Climax 31 laps 13 9 UK Vic Wilson BRM 24 laps 11 Ret Switzerland Jo Siffert Cooper-Maserati ret 14* Ret USA Richie Ginther Cooper-Maserati overheating 8 Ret UK Mike Spence Lotus-BRM engine 4 DNS France Guy Ligier Cooper-Maserati (12) * Qualified 7th, but started from the back of the grid in replacement car. References External links Race Report at A Second A Lap BRDC International Trophy 1966 1966 Syracuse Grand Prix 1966 International Gold Cup 1965 BRDC International Trophy 1967 BRDC International Trophy Category:BRDC International Trophy BRDC International Trophy BRDC BRDC International Trophy