Graham Hill having a squirt of Jack’s Brabham BT26A Ford in British GP practice, Silverstone, July 1969…
GH in a Brabham is not such a big deal; he raced F2 Brabhams with success for years, as well as Tasman Formula ‘Intercontinental’ Brabhams in the mid-sixties. Later, he was the pilot of Ron Tauranac’s intriguing ‘Lobster Claw’ BT34 in 1971, but he was a Lotus F1 driver in 1969, so ’twas a bit unusual to practice an opponent’s car.
Jack was still recovering from a testing accident at Silverstone in June when a Goodyear popped off a front rim, his car ploughed into an earth bank, his ‘equal worst accident’ with the Portuguese Grand Prix one in 1959. He lay trapped in the car with a badly broken ankle, Cossie V8 screaming at maximum revs until he punched the ignition cutout and extinguishers to minimise the chance of the pool of fuel in which he lay igniting. Eventually, a touring car, also on the quiet circuit mid-week, stopped and raised the alarm.
Jacky Ickx, driving the other Brabham, was late for Silverstone’s first session, all timed for grid positions in those days, so Tauranac had 2 cars idle.
Graham and teammate Jochen Rindt were peeved with Colin Chapman, to say the least, as the Lotus transporter was not in the paddock when the session got underway. Graham was ‘ready to rock’ all suited up, but had no car to do so and was more than happy to put in a few laps for Tauranac. Rindt remained in his ‘civvies’ and fumed as the rest of the field practised.
1969 was the year of 4WD experimentation for Matra, McLaren, Lotus and Cosworth.
Ultimately, very quickly in fact, 4WD was determined an F1 blind alley; the traction the engineers sought was more cost-effectively provided by advances in tyre technology. Goodyear, Firestone and Dunlop were all slugging it out in F1 at the time, none of ‘yer control formula bullshit then. The effectiveness of the ‘low wings’ mandated from the ’69 Monaco GP also played its part in getting grip.
Chapman’s issue was persuading his pilots to treat the Lotus 63 Ford, his 4WD design, seriously, to test it with a view to developing it rather than to humour him. 4WD was successful at Indy; Chapman’s ’68 Indy Lotus 56 ‘wedge’ was 4WD and came within an ace of winning the race, so was the ’69 Lotus 64, ignoring the misfortune surrounding both of these cars.
It was a challenge to get Rindt into the thing at all, but he did finish 2nd in the August 1969 Oulton Park Gold Cup. The result meant nothing, though, in front of him was Ickx’s Brabham BT26A, but all the cars behind were F5000 and F2 cars, not GP machines. Still, it was useful testing for Chapman if not for Rindt; his 4WD view was formed!
Chapman’s solution to his drivers’ recalcitrance was to sell two of his Lotus 49’s, one each to Jo Bonnier and Pete Lovely, leaving only one 49 in Team Lotus’ possession! A car you don’t have is a car you cannot drive. Said drivers were not best pleased.
When the showdown with Chapman occurred, and the speed, or lack thereof, of the 63 was clear, Col borrowed back the car he sold to Bonnier, GH raced that 49 and JoBo raced the 63. Chapman rescinded the contract with Lovely.
The ever restless Lotus chief didn’t give up on 4WD in Fl, the gas turbine powered Lotus 56 campaigned in some 1971 events had its moments and potentially a great day in the wet at Zandvoort until Dave Walker ‘beached it’.
The 49 raced on into 1970 and in ‘C’ spec famously won the Monaco GP in Rindt’s hands before the Lotus 72, Chapman’s new 2WD sensation, which made its debut at Jarama was competitive.
At Silverstone Hill, the 49 B raced to 7th, having qualified 12th, and Bonnier retired the slow 63 with a popped engine. John Miles, making his F1 debut, raced the other Lotus 63 to 9th. The young, talented Lotus engineer stroked the car home from grid 14.
Stewart won a thrilling high-speed dice on the former airfield with Rindt, only to be ruined when Jochen’s wing endplate chafed a rear Firestone. Some say it was the greatest British GP ever, on the way to his world title in a Matra MS80 Ford.
It would be interesting to know Graham’s opinion of the Brabham BT26 compared to his 49, the competitiveness of which, especially in Rindt’s hands not at all in doubt despite the 49’s middle age; it was a little over 2 years old in 1969.
I am a huge Graham Hill fan, he was well past his F1 best by the time I became interested in motor racing in 1972, but he was still quick enough to take F2, and Le Mans wins then, he was my kinda bloke, sportsman and champion. A statesman for his sport and country.
1969 was as tough a year for Hill as 1968 was great.
Jim Clark’s April 1968 death impacted Hill deeply on a personal level; they had been friends for years and Lotus teammates since the ’67 Tasman Series. Colin Chapman and Clark were like brothers, and whilst Colin struggled with his grief, Hill, in a tour de force of character and leadership, marshalled Team Lotus by their bootstraps and refocused them on the year ahead. The result, World Titles for Hill and Lotus by the season’s end.
The Tasman Series in early 1969 showed just how tough a year Graham was going to have within Lotus. Rindt joined them from Brabham, and whilst enjoying it, he had committed to Jack verbally to return to Brabham in 1970, and landed in the team in the year the Repco 860 quad-cam engine failed consistently.
Jochen had been in GP racing since mid-1964, was a consistent winner in F2 and had taken the 1965 Le Mans classic with Masten Gregory in a Ferrari 250LM, was regarded as one of the fastest guys around, if not the fastest, but had still not scored his first GP win. Graham was simply blown off by a guy with it all to prove. Jochen finally got the breakthrough win at Watkins Glen, the last round of the season, in which Graham had what could have been a career-ending shunt.
He spun mid race, undid his belts to bump start the car and of course was unable to redo them unaided; he spun again on lap 91, this time the car overturned, throwing him out and breaking both his legs badly.
What then followed was a winter of Hill’s familiar grit and determination to be on the South African GP grid in March 1970. He was and finished 6th in Rob Walker’s Lotus 49C Ford.
Quite a guy, G Hill.
Etcetera: Lotus 63 Ford…
Photo Credits…
Brian Watson…http://www.brianwatsonphoto.co.uk/FormulaOne/races/brit69.html#1, Vittorio Del Basso
Graham Howard ‘History of The Australian GP’
Tailpiece: Tauranac, Hill and the ‘Lobster Claw’ BT34 1971…
Finito…
primotipo... 