1961 Belgian Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1961)

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1961belgiangrandprix1.jpg

Phil Hill leads teammate Wolfgang von Trips.

Status: Partially Found

The 1961 Belgian Grand Prix was the third race of the 1961 Formula One Season. Occurring on 18th June at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the race was ultimately won by Ferrari's Phil Hill, in a successful outing for the Italian team as it achieved a 1-2-3-4 finish.

Background

The 1961 Belgian Grand Prix was the tenth running of the event under the Formula One calendar,[1][2] with the race lasting 30 laps.[3] The 21st Belgian Grand Prix overall,[1] the event is typically held at Spa, although Nivelles and Zolder have also occasionally hosted the race.[2] After being left out of the Formula One calendar for the 2003 and 2006 Seasons, the race has been annually held at Spa-Francorchamps since 2007.[1]

Heading into the race, the race organisers invited sixteen entries who qualified automatically, and a further nine to battle for the three remaining starting positions and starting money.[4] Among those who needed to qualify included Ferrari's third driver Richie Ginther.[4] In addition, Ferrari provided an older car for the Equipe National Belge team, with Belgian driver Olivier Gendebien in the seat and having automatically as one of the 16 invites.[5][6][4][3] Qualifying itself started disastrously when Lotus-Climax's Cliff Allison suffered a serious accident as he approached the Blanchimont Corner, rolling the car and inflicting leg injuries that ended his career.[6][5][4][3] The accident spread debris and oil and water across the road, forcing qualifying to be halted for almost 40 minutes so that it could be cleared up.[4] ESPN summarised Allison as a prospect who suffered terrible bad luck throughout his career.[6]

When it resumed, Ferrari were again performing competitively, despite having to reduce the lean-in on the rear wheels to avoid over-heating the rear treads.[4] The move actually improved the cars' performance at Spa, Hill achieving pole position with a time of 3:59.3.[4][5][6][3] Teammate Wolfgang von Trips qualified second, with Gendebien making it a Ferrari 1-3.[4][5][6][3] Cooper-Climax's John Surtees prevented a Ferrari 1-4, with Ginther fifth as he spent time learning the course.[4][5][3] Among the drivers present included Lotus-Climax's Innes Ireland, who returned after sustaining a leg injury at that year's Monaco Grand Prix, qualifying 18th out of 25 drivers.[5][4][3] Aside from Allison, three other drivers withdrew as they would not receive any starting money.[5][4][3] The race organisers allowed the two non-qualifiers, Porsche's Carel Godin de Beaufort and Lotus-Climax's Lucien Bianchi, to start anyway, resulting in a field consisting of 21 competitors.[4][3][5]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix commenced on 18th June.[3] Before it proceeded, Director of the Race M Rene Baken warned the drivers to keep things clean at the start.[4] Thus, nobody jumped the start, with BRM's Graham Hill briefly taking the lead in the first corner after starting sixth.[4][6] However, he would be quickly passed by Phil and the other Ferraris, with Gendebien moving up to second despite having a less powerful V6 engine.[4][6][5][3] Von Trips was ahead of Genedebien by lap 3, with the four Ferraris clearing the rest of the field, Graham now battling with Cooper-Climax's John Surtees for fifth that involved several passes.[4][5][6] Genedebien managed to pass Hill, and was the race leader for laps 6 and 7.[4][6] However, he ultimately allowed Hill and von Trips through as he accepted their Ferraris had superior performance and keeping at this pace would risk ruining his engine.[4][5][6] Hill and von Trips now controlled proceedings, overtaking one another throughout the race and being 12 seconds ahead of Gendebien.[4][5][6][3] Ginther meanwhile was getting closer to the yellow Ferrari, while Graham continued battling Surtees.[4][5]

Ginther passed the Belgian driver by lap 13, and eventually closed the gap to the leading Ferraris by lap 24.[4][5][6] None were to be troubled by any non-Ferrari, with Graham dropping out of contention for fifth after suffering a split exhaust pipe on lap 19, before retiring on lap 24 following an ignition failure.[4][5][6][3] Elsewhere, Hill crossed the line to claim victory and eight points in the Drivers' Championship.[4][5][6][3] Von Trips took second, Ginther was third, while Gendebien remained in fourth to achieve a 1-2-3-4 finish.[4][5][6][3] Surtees took fifth, with Porsche's Dan Gurney settling for sixth despite catching the Cooper late-on.[4][5][3] In the Drivers' Championship standings, Hill led by 19 points, one ahead of von Trips.[6]

Availability

According to Issue 1,962 of Radio Times, the BBC provided a report on the race on 21st June 1961 as part of Sportsview, with the 35-minute broadcast also containing a preview of the Second Ashes Test between England and Australia, as well as news on cycling and horse racing.[7][8] The broadcast has yet to resurface, although newsreel footage and a colour documentary from Smiths Industries are publicly available.[9]

Gallery

Videos

Colour footage from the Smiths Industries film.

Silent British Pathé newsreel of the race.

Amateur footage of the race.

Images

  • Programme for the race.

    Programme for the race.

  • Hill ahead of Gendebien.

    Hill ahead of Gendebien.

  • Hill ahead of von Trips as they reach La Source Hairpin.

    Hill ahead of von Trips as they reach La Source Hairpin.

  • Hill during the race.

    Hill during the race.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ultimate Car Page listing all Belgian Grand Prix. Retrieved 23rd Sep '22
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chase Your Sport detailing the history of the Belgian Grand Prix. Retrieved 23rd Sep '22
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the event. Retrieved 23rd Sep '22
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 Motor Sport providing a detailed race report. Retrieved 23rd Sep '22
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 Grand Prix summarising the event. Retrieved 23rd Sep '22
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 ESPN summarising the race. Retrieved 23rd Sep '22
  7. ↑ BBC Genome archive of Radio Times issues detailing the BBC coverage of the race as part of Sportsview. Retrieved 23rd Sep '22
  8. ↑ List of Formula One television broadcasts noting the BBC provided highlights of the race. Retrieved 23rd Sep '22
  9. ↑ Archived Motorfilms detailing the Smiths Industries film of the race included as part of Motorfilms Quarterly Volume Three. Retrieved 23rd Sep '22
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