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| Jim Clark |
At the sharp end of the action, New Zealand-born Chris Amon was ready to showcase the 48-valve V12 powered Ferrari 312 whilst Honda, having missed the Canadian round some two weeks earlier, was set to field British ace John Surtees in its new RA300 -a thundering machine, affectionately known as the Hondola, which utilised the company's brutal new V12 motor on a lightweight Lola chassis that had been built for the Indianapolis 500. Meanwhile Dan Gurney's AAR Eagle-Weslake was equipped with a new, stronger engine which also showed promise. However, it was Jim Clark's unstoppable Cosworth-DFV engined Lotus 49 that proved to be the one to beat come qualification.
Setting out early in the opening session the Scottish farmer from Fife posted a phenomenal 1:28.5 seconds for his 3.57 mile lap of the Monza circuit - a stunning average speed of 145.2mph -whilst 0.3 seconds in arrears was Jack Brabham driving his eponymous BT24-Repco. Third on the grid was Bruce McLaren's BRM powered M5A closely followed by the Ferrari of Amon and Gurney's Eagle. Five different cars were to take the first five places on the starting grid for this Italian epic. As was typical for any race at the Autodromo Nazionale the start was utter chaos. The flag had not even had the chance to drop before Clark's fellow front-row men sped away with smoke pouring from their tyres. The field soon gave chase but by the end of the first lap it was Australian Brabham who held the lead closely pursued by Gurney and the Lotus of Graham Hill. Clarke, meanwhile, was in fourth having pushed his way back past McLaren's M5A, Jackie Stewart's BRM and Denny Hulme's Brabham-Repco following the opening melee. It was then Gurney's turn to briefly take control before Clark finally moved into the lead on the third lap. Gurney tried to stay in contact but was forced to retire on lap five when his Weslake V12 motor expired.
It was now the twin Lotuses of Clark and Hill that led the pair of Brabhams followed closely by Stewart who could see a battle royal unfolding behind him as McLaren, Amon, Surtees and Scarfiotti fought for position on every corner. Next to take the initiative was Hulme who put in a lap record of 1:28.9 to push his Brabham into the lead just as, further down the field, the great Jochen Rindt took advantage of the confusion to move his Cooper-Maserati into fifth. lulme's hold of the lead was brief as once more Clark applied the pressure and retook the initiative. Clark wanted this win and wanted it badly. But then disaster struck when, without any warning, the Lotus's handling became erratic and the back started drifting out on each corner. Clark had punctured whilst leading !
Hulme took the lead once more as the Scotsman dived into the pits for an unscheduled wheel change. But, whereas a modern F1 car's wheel can be changed in about half the time it takes you to read this sentence, in 1967 it was a more laboured affair. By the time he was able to rejoin the action Clark was a whole lap down behind his third placed Lotus team mate. Hill and Clark soon took advantage of their more powerful machinery to pass Brabham and it was left to the Englishman to jockey for position with Hulme. The lead changed between the two drivers six times within the next 15 laps but it was too much for Denny Hulme's Brabham and he was forced to retire on lap 30 having overheated.
Once again the Lotus duo took the initiative as Clark moved past Hill and put in lap after blistering lap - breaking the track record with a time equal to that which had earned him his pole position. Dragging along Hill in his slipstream, Brabham was left trailing by a country mile. With 58 of the 68 laps behind them Clark was set to overtake third placed John Surtees in the Honda when disaster struck once more but this time it was Hill's turn for misfortune as his engine expired in spectacular fashion. Unfazed, Clark completed his manoeuvre and all of a sudden found himself in second place behind Jack Brabham. With the bit firmly between his teeth he continued to push hard and, to the amazement of all watching he passed the Australian to take the lead on his 61st circuit having un-lapped himself.
Fate, however, was about to play a cruel hand. With just two corners remaining on the final lap the Lotus started to cough and splutter as the pumps desperately gasped for fuel that wasn't there and Clark could do nothing as he watched Surtees' Honda and Brabham's Repco come storming past in the closing yards to take the top two steps on the podium with just 0.2 seconds separating them. Clark's Lotus rolled in under its own momentum 23 seconds later.
Although Clark's drive may ultimately have been for little reward, there is no doubt that it was, and remains to be, one of the greatest achievements in the history of Grand Prix racing.