| 1967 BSCC Season | ||
|---|---|---|
| {{{image}}} | ||
| Season Information | ||
| No. Rounds | 10 (11 races) | |
| First Round | Race of Champions (Brands Hatch) | |
| Last Round | Guards Motor Show 200 (Brands Hatch) | |
| Manufacturers | Alfa Romeo, Austin, BMC, Chevrolet, Fiat, Ford, Hillman, Morris, Porsche | |
| No. Drivers | 48 | |
| Overall Drivers' Championship | ||
| First | Frank Gardner | 70 pt(s) |
| Overall Teams' Championship | ||
| First | Cooper Car Co. | N/A pt(s) |
| Class Championships | ||
| Class A | John Fitzpatrick | 62 pt(s) |
| Class B | John Rhodes | 58 pt(s) |
| Class C | Vic Elford | 40 pt(s) |
| Class D | Frank Gardner | 70 pt(s) |
| Season Guide | |
|---|---|
| 1966 | 1968 |
The 1967 RAC British Saloon Car Championship was the tenth edition of the championship, which saw Frank Gardner claim the first of his three championships.[1] 1967 was also the second year of the BSCC using Group 5 regulations.[1]
Over ten rounds, the BSCC would use Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Silverstone, Mallory Park and Oulton Park, and support several Formula One races in seven months.[2] Champion Gardner would claim victory in Class D in seven of the ten rounds, only surrendering victory to Jackie Oliver in the other three.[2]
John Fitzpatrick, John Rhodes and Vic Elford shared the remaining Class Championships, in a season which saw several memorable performances across the Classes. Several big names would also compete in 1967 including ex-F1 Champion Graham Hill, Jacky Ickx (both with Team Lotus), while the Cooper Car Company would field its usual compliment of Mini Coopers with manufacturer support.
Regulations[]
As with 1966, 1967 saw the entrants use FIA Group 5 machinery, with the majority of parts apart from the body shell being able to be changed from the original road car.[1]
Classes[]
Using the same system that had been established in 1961, a four class system was used, with cars competing in either class A, B, C or D, based on engine size. These differences are shown below.
| 1967 BSCC Season Classes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Class | Engine Size | |
| Minimum | Maximum | |
| A | None | 1,000cc |
| B | 1,001cc | 1,300cc |
| C | 1,301cc | 2,000cc |
| D | 2,001cc | None |
Points[]
The point system remained the same as 1966, with points awarded from first through to fourth in each class. Fastest lap was awarded a single point in each class as well.[3]
| 1967 BSCC Season Classes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | FL. |
| 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
The Championship also opted not to implement the dropped scores rule, which in previous seasons had confused the overall Championship result.
Round by Round[]
This section is for a round by round report for each race of the season.
First Round: Race of Champions (Brands Hatch)[]
The first race of 1967 was in support of the Race of Champions, a non-championship Formula One race, with the cars using the full length circuit.[4] The race was split into heats, with the first heat seeing Frank Gardner beat Graham Hill to victory overall (both won in their classes).[4] Vic Elford took his Porsche 911 (making its debut) to second in Class C, with John Rhodes claiming victory in Class B.[4]
Heat two saw Garder take victory, giving him victory on the aggregate score, while Hill held on to take second overall and first in class (the same on aggregate).[4] Jackie Oliver claimed second in Class D in his Ford Mustang, but because he retired in the first race was classed as retiring overall.[4] Elford claimed second in Class C (on aggregate), while Rhodes claimed victory in Class B.[4] The first victory in Class A went to Anita Taylor in her Ford Anglia, while Bernard Unett and Tony Lanfranchi took their Hillman Imps to second and third on aggregate.[4]
Second Round: Snetterton[]
The field headed to Snetterton for round two of the year, with the field competing in the more conventional single race format.[5] Oliver claimed his first BSCC victory in his Mustang, beating Gardner (with whom he shared the fastest lap) and Roy Pierpoint in their Ford Falcon Sprints.[5] Hill kept his Team Lotus Cortina with the larger cars, taking a clear victory in Class C.[5] With team mate John Miles the only other finisher in Class C, the pair took a clear lead in the championship, after the two Italian driven Alfa Romeo 1600 GTAs of Roberto Bussinello and Giovanni Galli and the Porsche of Elford were involved in an accident.[5]
John Handley took the honours in Class B, although he spent the majority of the race in a battle with Class A leaders John Fitzpatrick and Taylor.[5] Rhodes attempted to help his team mate in the Cooper Car Co. car, but could only finish second in Class B behind the Class A Anglias, while also battling with the Class B Ford Anglia Supers of Mike Young and Nick Brittan.[5] Unett completed the Class A podium.[5]
Third Round: Silverstone[]
An icy Silverstone greeted the field on Easter Monday at the third meeting of the year, with cars sent spinning from the start.[6] Oliver claimed his second victory in as many races, once again beating Gardner, who also faced a challenge from Hill in the Lotus.[7] Pierpoint and Richard Bond battled for the final podium place in Class D (Pierpoint coming out on top), while Miles was once again the only other finisher in Class C.[7]
Young took the Anglia Super's first victory of the year, only just keeping ahead of the Anglia/Imp battle in Class A.[7] Lanfranchi was beaten by Fitzpatrick in the lead Anglia/Imp battle, while Taylor swept her Anglia infront of Unett for third.[7] Gordon Spice held off the second Anglia Super in Class B of Brittan, while the Cooper Car Co. cars were off the pace.[7]
Fourth Round: The "Ovaltine" Trophy Race (Silverstone)[]
Gardner was able to claim his second victory of the year, as the teams gathered for the Ovaltine Trophy race at Silverstone.[8] He benefitted from the retirement of Oliver, who suffered a fuel feed issue, while Elford was given a clean run to victory after the retirements of Hill and Miles in their Lotuses.[8] Well behind the winning car was the Chevrolet Camaro of Tom Lynch (the only other finisher in Class D).[8]
Behind the leading two came the first three in Class B, with Rhodes and Handley claiming a one-two for the Cooper Car Co., while Spice completed the podium.[8] Fitzpatrick beat the two Class B Anglias in taking victory in Class A, well ahead of Lanfranchi and Unett in their Imps.[8] Trevor Taylor, standing in for Anita, claimed fourth in Class A.[8]
Fifth Round: Mallory Park[]
Mallory Park hosted the fifth meeting of the year, with the field split into two for the races.[9] In the first race, Rhodes and Handley claimed their second one-two of the year, on a day where the Mini re-established its claim to Class B, with the two Anglia Supers of Young and Brittan retiring early on.[9] Spice completed the podium, with Chris Montague, Steve Neal and Tony Fall allo challenging him during the race.[9] Fitzpatrick once again beat the Imps to victory in Class A, with the returning Anita Taylor trying to come up from behind the Alan Fraser Racing machines, but could not get past them.[9]
Classes C and D battled in the second race, with Gardner and Oliver beating Jackie Ickx to victory.[9] Ickx set the fastest lap of the weekend in his pursuit of the larger cars, but was unable to weave his way past, with Brian Newton using an ex-Team Lotus car to take second in Class C.[9] Brian Muir was slowly coming to terms with the Falcon he was driving on behalf of Gawaine Baillie, claiming third in Class D, while Willy Kay claimed his first podium in Class C.[9]
Sixth Round: Martini Trophy Meeting (Silverstone)[]
Running in support of the Martini Trophy race for sports cars, the BSCC grid competed in the morning, with several drivers, including race winner Gardner, set to compete in the sports car race. Gardner had a relatively simple victory, claiming fastest lap with Oliver finishing second after a race long battle with Muir.[10] Paul Hawkins (standing in at Team Lotus) claimed victory in Class C, having had to overtake second place Vic Elford on his way, with team mate Miles finishing third (the Porsche splitting the two Cortina Mk II Lotuses).[10]
In Class B, Handley took victory, after contact between Rhodes and Pierpoint's Mustang caused both to retire with punctures.[10] He did have to fight off the British Vita Racing duo of Tony Fall and Harry Ratcliffe for victory, with the Anglias unable to keep with them.[10] Class A also saw the Anglia's struggle, although Fitzpatrick would battle with Unett for the lead, before slipping behing the former's team mate Lanfranchi.[10]
Seventh Round: British Grand Prix (Silverstone)[]
The BSCC returned to Silverstone for the fourth time in 1967, this time supporting the British Grand Prix of 1967.[11] The front row of the grid saw Gardner, Oliver, Muir and debutant Lucien Bianchi line up together, although no one could stop Gardner's march to victory, quickly establishing a lead for himself.[11] Oliver swung his Mustang around every corner to fend off Muir, while Bianchi fell away, eventually falling behing team mates Hawkins and Miles, and Elford's Porsche (who split the Team Lotus cars by taking second).[11]
Class B saw a race long duel between Steve Neal and Rhodes emerge, with Neal emerging as the victor.[11] Handley, left to trail the pair, claimed third, ahead of the Unett Imp in Class A, who defeated the Anglia of Anita Taylor for victory in the closing stages.[11] Other then Taylor's second, it was a bad day for the Anglias, with the two Superspeed cars and Taylor's team mate Fitzpatrick retiring.[11]
Eighth Round: Lombank Trophy (Brands Hatch)[]
The field returned to Brands Hatch to fight for the Lombank Trophy, with Oliver claiming victory in a race with late drama, as championship leader Gardner plummeted from first to tenth with a puncture on the last lap.[12] Hugh Dibley brought the lumbering Camaro round to second in Class D, holding off Muir in his Falcon (Gardner was classified as fourth in class).[12] They were, however, behind the leading pair in Class C, with Ickx and Elford in a tussle which saw the Team Lotus car beat the Porsche for victory.[12] Miles completed the Class C podium, but he was, once again, well behind, caught in the battles of Classes A and B.[12]
Young finally managed to drag the Anglia Super to victory for the first time since the second Silverstone meeting, getting ahead of Rhodes' factory car in the closing stages.[12] Neal completed the podium in his Equipe Arden entry, although he was behind the leading Class A battle between Fitzpatrick and Unett (with Fitzpatrick coming out as the victor).[12] Taylor completed the podium in her Anglia in Class A.[12]
Ninth Round: XVI Gold Cup (Oulton Park)[]
The XVI Gold Cup, an annual race held at Oulton Park for Formula Two cars, was supported by the BSCC for the seventh year in a row. As with the Mallory Park meeting, the classes were split with A and B competing in the first race of the day. The two Cooper Car Co. cars were again able to take a one-two, with Rhodes claiming victory after Handley had to fight through the pack.[13] Spice completed the podium on a day when the three Superspeed cars all suffered engine issues and retired.[13] In Class A, Fitzpatrick was able to fend off the ever improving Imp of Unett, while Taylor completed the podium, unable to help her team mate.[13]
In the Class C and D race, a four way battle emerged for victory, with Gardner, Muir and Pierpoint using Falcons, and Oliver in his Mustang.[13] Hugh Dibley had challenged the Ford quartet early on in his Camaro, but a collision caused enough damage that he had to retire, leaving the group to battle at the front.[13] Gardner was able to claim victory and all but win the title (he would only need to take fastest lap at the next round to win the championship), while Oliver managed to swing his Mustang infront of Muir's supercharged Falcon.[13] Elford claimed his third victory of the year in the Porsche, after Hill and Ickx retired with brake failure.[13] Behind him came Brian Robinson and Brian Newton, who used ex-Team Lotus Cortinas to beat the Alfa Romeo of Geoff Breakell.[13]
Tenth Round: Guards Motor Show 200 (Brands Hatch)[]
The final meeting of the year was marked by the news that Team Lotus had pulled out of the championship, selling their cars to Robinson and Tony Dean before the meeting.[14] Yet, no one could beat Gardner, who slid his Falcon to victory in the wet at Brands Hatch, taking the title by eight points.[15] In a 200 mile race, Oliver was the most impressive, however, having recovered from an early race spin which put him two laps down to claim second, while Muir completed the podium a lap down.[14][15] Robinson put his new equipment to good use (with support from Dean's team), claiming victory in Class C, ahead of Newton and the Alfa Romeo of Breakell (whom took the first podium for that car).[15]
Class B saw another Rhodes-Handley one-two, which gave the Cooper Car Co. their first team's championship, with the cars on the pace of Robinson for most of the race.[14][15] Harry Ratcliffe completed the Class B podium in his British Vita Racing entry, with the three Superspeed Anglias being retired.[15] Fitzpatrick claimed another victory in Class A (although Gardner's victory prevented him from taking his outside chance of the title).[15] Unett and Lanfranchi completed the final Class A podium of the season, after the ever impressive Taylor retired with gearbox failure.[15]
Entries[]
A table of entrants may be entered here, using the following table:
| 1967 BSCC Entries | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nat. | Entrant | Nat. | Name | Rounds |
|
Alan Fraser Racing Team Hillman Imp |
|
Peter Harper | 10 |
|
|
Keith Holland | 8 | ||
|
|
Tony Lanfranchi | 1-7, 9-10 | ||
|
|
Bernard Unett | All | ||
|
|
John Aley Fiat Abarth 1000 TC |
|
Paul Hughes | 1 |
|
|
Team Broadspeed Ford Anglia |
|
John Fitzpatrick | All |
|
|
Anita Taylor | 1-3, 5-10 | ||
|
|
Trevor Taylor | 4 | ||
| ▲ Class A ▲ | ||||
|
|
Alexander Engineering Co. Morris Mini Cooper S |
|
Chris Montague | 2, 4-7, 9-10 |
|
|
British Vita Racing Morris Mini Cooper S |
|
Tony Fall | 5-6, 9 |
|
|
Harry Ratcliffe | 6, 10 | ||
|
|
Cooper Car Company Morris Mini Cooper S |
|
John Handley | All |
|
|
John Rhodes | All | ||
|
|
Equipe Arden Morris Mini Cooper S |
|
Steve Neal | 5, 7-10 |
|
|
McKechnie Racing Organisation Austin Mini Cooper S |
|
Barrie Williams | 1, 4 |
|
|
Mick Clare BMC Mini Cooper S |
|
John Wales | 8 |
|
|
Superspeed Conversions Ltd. Ford Anglia Super |
|
Nick Brittan | All |
|
|
Chris Craft | 7-10 | ||
|
|
Mike Young | All | ||
|
|
Privateer BMC Mini Cooper S |
|
Mac Ross | 3 |
|
|
Privateer Morris Mini Cooper S |
|
Gordon Spice | All |
| ▲ Class B ▲ | ||||
|
|
AFN Porsche 911 |
|
Vic Elford | 1-4, 6-10 |
|
Autodelta S.P.A. Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA |
|
Roberto Bussinello | 2 |
|
|
Giovanni Galli | 2 | ||
|
|
A.G. Dean Racing Lotus Cortina |
|
Tony Dean | 9-10 |
|
|
Clapham Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA |
|
Geoff Breakell | 9-10 |
|
|
Team Lotus Lotus Cortina Mk II |
|
Lucien Bianchi | 7 |
|
Paul Hawkins | 6-7 | ||
|
|
Graham Hill | 1-4, 8-9 | ||
|
|
Jackie Ickx | 5, 8-9 | ||
|
|
John Miles | 1-8 | ||
|
|
Team Surtees Lotus Cortina Mk II |
|
Roger Clark | 9 |
|
|
VMW Motors Lotus Cortina |
|
Vince Woodman | 5, 10 |
|
|
Privateer Porsche 911 |
|
Terry Hunter | 10 |
|
Privateer Lotus Cortina |
|
Willy Kay | 5, 9 |
|
|
Privateer Lotus Cortina |
|
Brian Newton | 3, 5, 8-10 |
|
|
Privateer Lotus Cortina |
|
Brian Robinson | 9-10 |
|
|
Privateer Lotus Cortina |
|
Keith Wright | 5 |
| ▲ Class C ▲ | ||||
|
|
Alan Mann Racing Ford Falcon Sprint |
|
Frank Gardner | All |
|
|
Curtis Smith Racing Ford Mustang |
|
Robin Smith | 9 |
|
|
DP Racing Ford Mustang |
|
Jackie Oliver | All |
|
|
Gawaine Baillie Ford Falcon Sprint |
|
Brian Muir | All |
|
|
Robert Ashcroft Ford Falcon Sprint |
|
Peter Gethin | 7 |
|
|
Privateer Ford Falcon Sprint |
|
Richard Bond | 1-3 |
|
|
Privateer Chevrolet Camaro |
|
Hugh Dibley | 7-9 |
|
|
Privateer Chevrolet Camaro |
|
Tom Lynch | 4-5, 7 |
|
|
Privateer Ford Falcon Sprint |
|
Roy Pierpoint | 1-6, 8-10 |
|
Privateer Ford Mustang |
|
Bryan Thompson | 3, 5, 7, 9 |
| ▲ Class D ▲ | ||||
Final Standings[]
| 1966 British Saloon Car Championship Standings | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Name | Rounds | Class | Pts. | |||||||||
| BHRC | SNET | SILV | SSOT | MALP | SSMT | SBGP | BHGI | OPGC | BHGM | ||||
| 1st | Frank Gardner | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 4th | 1st | 1st | D | 70 |
| 2nd | John Fitzpatrick | 4th | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 3rd | Ret | 1st | 1st | 1st | A | 62 |
| 3rd | John Rhodes | 1st | 2nd | Ret | 1st | 1st | Ret | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | B | 58 |
| 4th | Jackie Oliver | Ret | 1st | 1st | Ret | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | D | 54 |
| 5th | Bernard Unett | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | A | 54 |
| 6th | John Handley | 3rd | 1st | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 5th | 2nd | 1st | B | 52 |
| 7th | Vic Elford | 3rd | Ret | Ret | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | Ret | C | 40 | |
| 8th | Tony Lanfranchi | 3rd | Ret | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | Ret | Ret | 3rd | A | 30 | |
| 9th | Graham Hill | 1st | 1st | 1st | Ret | Ret | Ret | C | 24 | ||||
| 10th | Brian Muir | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | D | 24 |
| 11th | Gordon Spice | 2nd | Ret | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 6th | 5th | Ret | 3rd | Ret | B | 24 |
| 12th | Mike Young | Ret | 3rd | 1st | Ret | Ret | 4th | Ret | 1st | Ret | Ret | B | 22 |
| 13th | Roy Pierpoint | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 4th | Ret | D | 16 | |
| 14th | Brian Robinson | 2nd | 1st | C | 14 | ||||||||
| 15th | Steve Neal | 5th | 1st | 3rd | Ret | Ret | B | 12 | |||||
| 16th | Nick Brittan | Ret | 4th | 3rd | 4th | DNS | 5th | Ret | 4th | Ret | Ret | B | 10 |
Champions[]
Gardner hence claimed the fourth straight victory for a Ford built car at the final meeting of the year, and the first driver's championship for himself.[14] Fitzpatrick finished second overall and claimed Class A, while John Rhodes claimed the honours in Class B, with his team, the Cooper Car Company, taknig the Lombank Entrant's Trophy of 1967.[14] Elford took the Class C title in his 911, courtesy of the absence of early class leader Graham Hill in the final races.[3]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1967%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedWiki - ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1967%20BSCC%20Class.html
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1967%20Race%20of%20Champions.html
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1967%20Snetterton%20BSCC.html
- ↑ http://archive.motorsportmagazine.com/article/july-1967/17/194909a9-232e-4010-bdd5-2bddddd9d393/british-saloon-car-championships
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1967%20Silverstone%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1967%20Silverstone%20Ovaltine.html
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1967%20Mallory%20Park.html
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1967%20Silverstone%20Martini.html
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1967%20Silverstone%20GP.html
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1967%20BH%20Lombank.html
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1967%20Oulton%20Park%20GC.html
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 http://www.mountgreen.co.uk/resources/Brands_29_Oct_67.jpg
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1967%20Brands%20Hatch%20MS200.html