After an incredible race long duel, Jim Clark beat Chris Amon in the sprint to the line to win the 33rd Australian Grand Prix by half a length. Amon was unrelenting in his pursuit of Clark, the gap only getting as large as one second at the start and later when Amon was held up while lapping Piers Courage. Clark and Amon thrilled the crowd after the disappointing early retirement of Jack Brabham, who after making a bad start chased the leaders for 21 laps.
The meeting was run in above century heat, giving the international teams a chance to apply lessons learned at Kyalami in January. During the week-end cars sprouted fuel radiators, open sides and external tubular water pipes.
Sandown Park was very hot for the opening of practice on Friday but the session was cut short when the stewards stopped practice to allow the promoters time to complete repairs to the circuit. The session proved little apart from the fact that the surface had deteriorated markedly since last year and that the high temperatures were going to cause overheating troubles to both cars and drivers.
After one-two’s at Surfers Paradise and Warwick Farm the Lotus team were well pleased with the form of the Lotus 49s. The cars were brought to Sandown exactly as they had run at the Farm, and Clark and Hill’s only task was to select the right gear ratios for the circuit.
Similarly Amon’s Ferrari was in “Farm Trim”. The 4-valve motor had performed satisfactorily at Warwick Farm after its post Surfers overhaul and Amon was most keen to use it on the fast Sandown Circuit. He now had two spares as the second 3-valve motor arrived from its factory rebuild in Italy.
Jack Brabham was all set to win his fourth Australian Grand Prix. Since Warwick Farm his new tyres and new motor had arrived. The motor was still the single overhead-cam type but the block was 11.4 inches shorter and was cast in magnesium. It made the Brabham look much neater as the exhaust system was of the “old fashioned” type, coming out low on the outside of the Vee.
Goodyear had finally got their latest rubber out of Australian Customs so Brabham was welcomed back to the fold
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after his defection to Firestone. The tyres were those used in the South African Grand Prix but were not quite as wide as the Lotus Firestones.
Pedro Rodriguez was another ‘Goodyear man’ to return to the fold. The BRM team brought three cars, two V12s and one V8 but Pedro very quickly proved the V8 was not competitive. The V12s were unchanged, Attwood’s gearbox had been overhauled but the fuel system troubles seemed to be solved.
When Frank Gardner’s Alfa V8 motor was examined after Warwick Farm it was found to be severely damaged so the replacement was fitted during the week.
Denny Hulme had continued his programme of chassis development in an effort to make the 1600cc Brabham as quick as Piers Courage’s similarly powered McLaren. He had not been outstandingly successful as his equal slowest on Saturday morning showed.
Amon was quickest in the shortened Friday practice session. His best was 1m 6.9s, well outside the 1m 5.7s. record of Jack Brabham. After Amon were Clark, Harvey, Rodriguez and Frank Gardner. The condition of the circuit prevented fast laps and eventually practice.
On Saturday morning Clark improved to 1m 6.9s. but Amon was slower with 1m 7.2s. Despite not having run on Friday, Brabham got down to 1m 7.4s very quickly. Leo Geoghegan was far quicker than his local rivals with 1m 7.6s. Behind Geoghegan were Gardner, 1m 8.2s.; Rodriguez, 1m 8.8s.; Hill, 1m 9.2s.; Attwood, 1m 9.4s.; Courage, 1m 9.5s.; Harvey, 1m 9.6s.; and Hulme, Cusack and Bartlett with 1m 10.2s.
Brabham and Amon got going very quickly in the second session. Pole position was obviously going to be disputed between these two and Clark, but before the latter could get down to his morning times he had a tyre go down. Although Brabham could not equal his lap record of 1m 5.7s. he was quickest with 1m 6.7s. Amon was one-tenth slower but by the time Clark got going again the circuit was very slippery and he could not reply. Courage was able
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to knock one second off his previous best, getting down to 1m 8.5s.
Brabham did not go out during the last session, but Amon, Clark and Hill were all determined to bump him from pole.
The two Lotus Ford drivers attempted to tow each other around but the condition of the circuit beat them. All they could do was improve Graham Hill’s best time to 1m 7.3s. Clark’s best in this session was 1m 7.2s. while Amon’s was 1m 7.4s.
Leo Geoghegan was surprisingly quickest during the last session. His most competitive 1m 7.0s put him ahead of Graham Hill on the pole side of the second row. When practice closed 0.3 seconds covered Brabham, Amon, Clark and Geoghegan.
As the start-finish line at Sandown is half-way along the main straight, the first quarter mile of the race becomes a drag race into Shell Corner. It is doubtful whether the man on pole has the better position, having the shorter ; run to the left-hander, or whether the man on the outside has the advantage, being closer to the right line.
After a briefing on the dummy grid the 13 drivers completed three-quarters of a lap to the grid proper. From the start Clark was marginally ahead of Amon, Hill overwhelmed Brabham. Amon followed Clark through Shell and was himself followed by Hill, Brabham, Gardner and Geoghegan.
Amon immediately gave warning to Clark that if he was going to win the 33rd Australian Grand Prix he would have to
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fight for it. As Clark led around the kink, called Mobil Corner, for the first time Amon put the Ferrari in the Lotus’ slipstream. The cars roared up long hill at the back of the circuit nose to tail and as they neared the crest Amon pulled out to overhaul the Lotus. The cars were level at the top but Jim kept his foot down and forced Amon to drop back as they raced down toward Dandenong Road. Brabham was overtaken by Gardner on the first lap. Across the line for the first time the order was Clark, Amon, Hill, Gardner, Brabham, Geoghegan, Rodriguez, Cusack, Courage, Bartlett, Attwood, Hulme and Harvey.
Clark and Amon quickly detached themselves from Graham Hill, the gap between the Lotus-Ford and the Ferrari being almost non-existent as they completed lap two.
Frank Gardner pulled out of Hill’s slipstream at the end of the straight for the second time and grabbed third. Graham replied immediately by using Gardner’s slipstream to snatch back third as they raced up the hill.
After two laps Denny Hulme dropped to last when he pitted to have a loose spark plug refitted in the FVA Ford motor.
On the completion of two laps Clark’s Lotus-Ford led by two cars’ lengths from Chris Amon’s Ferrari. Graham Hill’s Lotus was five seconds behind Amon and was leading Gardner by one second and Brabham by two. Brabham really got going on the third lap and moved past Gardner and set out after Hill. He caught the Londoner and slipped by on the straight after four laps.
Cusack had moved by Rodriguez and got by Geoghegan into sixth on lap six. When Brabham took third he was five seconds behind Clark, by lap nine he was four seconds down. Amon was still in Clark’s slipstream but the Lotus and Ferrari could not hold their lead on the Brabham-Repco. Brabham continued his chase and got to within 0.6 seconds of Amon on lap 16. He was unable to close this gap any further.
As Clark drove down the straight Amon followed directly behind but Brabham elected to keep to the inside of the circuit. He found that his motor was overheating and the trouble was aggravated by following Amon closely.
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Much to the disappointment of the spectators it was the gap between Amon and Clark which began to close, not the gap between Brabham and the leaders.
Brabham began to lose ground on the 20th lap and pulled into the pits after 21. He decided it was not worth risking the motor to continue so the crowd saw yet another Brabham retirement.
By this stage the gap between Amon and Hill was half a minute. Clark and Amon were still in close company while Hill and Gardner were actively disputing the place vacated by Brabham.
Hill’s Lotus-Ford led Gardner’s yellow Alec Mildren Brabham Alfa from laps 5 to 18. Gardner got through but led only three laps until Hill went down the straight.
Amon became more daring with Brabham’s retirement, and began to examine all the places on the circuit where he might get by. The Ferrari had more mid-range acceleration on the uphill back straight so Amon was repeatedly able to rush up in Clark’s slipstream and pull out alongside as they neared the top. Each time the Lotus’ top end power came in just soon enough to allow Clark to outspeed Amon over the crest.
The pattern was similar on the main straight. Amon’s approach from behind was so rapid he gave the appearance Clark could not keep him behind. Each time the Ferrari would be alongside the Lotus, either a little ahead or a little behind, when the V8 Ford was able to take the Lotus ahead.
Amon tried to pull out early, as they crossed the start-finish line and as they approached the braking area but each time Clark was able to precariously hold his position.
On lap 33 the officials credited Amon with leading across the start-finish line but as ever, it was Clark who led into Peters.
The gap between Clark and Amon was not more than 0.3 seconds at any point of the circuit. Graham Hill’s Lotus Ford trailed the Ferrari by 46 seconds while Gardner’s Brabham Alfa was one second behind Hill. Piers Courage in the McLaren FVA was six seconds further behind and was leading Leo Geoghegan’s Lotus Repco, by 11 seconds.
In very nearly heart-stopping performance, Chris Amon maintained this incredible pressure on Clark. Lap charts showed Clark’s No. 6 monotonously holding first place, but they were of course incapable of telling the true story of the race.
Gardner got by Hill again on the back straight on lap 52 but Graham only followed him for one lap before retaking third.
As Clark led on to the straight for the last time, Amon was a few lengths behind. As they raced towards the line the Ferrari rushed up in the Lotus’ slipstream. Amon pulled out and made his final bid for the race. He was alongside, about two feet behind and gaining rapidly when Clark was five lengths from the line.
In the last few yards the power from the Ford motor was able to check the advance of the Ferrari and open the lead of the Lotus to half a length. The officials gave Clark’s margin as one-tenth of a second. Hill and Gardner were 50.2 behind, the Brabham being 0.2 behind the Lotus.
Piers Courage drove a lonely race into fifth place one lap behind Clark. Leo Geoghegan lost his sixth place to Dickie Attwood late in the race when he was slowed by his misfiring and a lack of fuel.
| RACE RESULTS | ||
| POSITION | LAPS | TIME |
| 1. Clark | 55 | 1:02’40.3 |
| 2. Amon | 55 | 1:02’40.4 FL:1’07.0 |
| 3. Hill | 55 | 1:03’39.6 |
| 4. Gardner | 55 | 1:03’39.8 |
| 5. Courage | 54 | . |
| 6. Attwood | 53 | . |
| 7. Geoghegan | 53 | . |
| 8. Bartlett | 53 | . |
| 9. Hulme | 50 | . |
| Brabham | 21 | DNF:Engine |
| Cusack | 21 | DNF:? |
| Harvey | 16 | DNF:Gearbox |
| Rodriguez | 10 | DNF:Engine |