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1963 Brands Hatch 6 Hours

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Layout of the Brands Hatch (1960-1975)

'The Motor' International Six Hour Saloon Car Race [1] was the third round of the 1963 European Touring Car Challenge, and was held at Brands Hatch on the Grand Prix circuit, on 6 July.[2][3]

This, the second Motor-sponsored Six-Hour saloon car race, was run in appalling conditions, like the 1962 event. The large crowd of approximately 15000, witnessed the favourite, a 7-litre Ford Galaxie driven by Dan Gurney and Jack Brabham flounder in the wet and the Jaguar Mk II dominate the race. Victory went to Roy Salvadori and Denny Hulme from Peter Lindner and Peter Nöcker after the winners on the road, Mike Salmon and Pete Sutcliffe, were disqualified for engine irregularities.[4]

Report

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Entry

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A fine entry of 39 cars were accepted for the event, across five classes. However, scrutineering meant trouble for those Ford Galaxies which had disc brakes; Gawaine Baillie was only allowed to start the meeting on the promise of photographic evidence of the brake mounting – otherwise he would be disqualified. John Willment Automobiles was not prepared for this and withdrew their Galaxie. Of the cars accepted, 37 cars practised.[2][3]

Qualifying

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Grid positions were determined by engine capacity rather than practice times. As a result, the record books show John Sprinzel on pole, in his 7-litre Ford Galaxie. However, the fastest time in practise was set by the pairing of Dan Gurney and Jack Brabham in their Galaxie.[2][3]

Race

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The start with the slow car of John Sprinzel on pole, brought Mike Salmon into second place in Jaguar Mk. II following the early leader, Gawaine Baillie’s Galaxie, ahead of the American Dan Gurney (Galaxie) and John Coundley (Jaguar Mk II). Handicapped by wrong tyres, Gurney spun at South Bank, but somehow the whole field avoided him. After two laps, Baillie had dropped to third, giving way to Salmon and Peter Lindner, while Gurney spun again. By the fourth lap, Gurney came in for a tyre change on the rear – before the start, he could only change the fronts.

The terrible conditions made for an interesting race; Lindner nearly lost his Jaguar Mk. II, and he was not the only one. Albert Powell hit a bank, but continued after repairs, and Mick Clare rolled his Mini. After the pit stops, at the three-hour mark, the leaders were Roy Salvadori, Salmon, Lindner (all Jaguars), Jack Sears, Jimmy Blumer (both in Cortinas with Tom Trana in sixth, in his Volvo. The quick pit stop of the Atherstone Engineering Jaguar moved Salmon into the lead, its lead now over a lap. Salvadori/Denny Hulme were second, Sears fourth and Lindner/Peter Höcker fifth.

At 8:30pm, six hours after the race started and 166 laps of the Grand Prix circuit, the chequered flag dropped and the pairing of Salmon/Pete Sutcliffe won the race, with Salvadori/Hulme second, Lindner/Höcker completing the podium, just ahead of Sears/Bo Ljungfeldt with Trana/Carl-Magnus Skogh fifth. Once again scrutineering revealed problems for the winner: the Jaguar Mk. II was disqualified for having oversized inlet valves. The winner’s average speed was published as 73.477mph.[2][3][4]

Classification

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The Motor 6 hours

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Class Winners are in Bold text. Please note that race winner, was not declared class winner.

Pos. No. Class Drivers Entrant Car - Engine Laps Reason Out
DISQ 6 9 United Kingdom Mike Salmon United Kingdom Peter Sutcliffe Atherstone Engineering Jaguar Mk II 3.8 166 inlet valve size
1st 5 9 United Kingdom Roy Salvadori New Zealand Denny Hulme Tommy Atkins Jaguar Mk II 3.8 165
2nd 7 9 Germany Peter Lindner Germany Peter Nöcker Jaguar Mk II 3.8 162
3rd 23 6 United Kingdom Jack Sears Sweden Bo Ljungfeldt John Willment Automobiles Ford Cortina GT 162
4th 16 7/8 Sweden Tom Trana Sweden Carl-Magnus Skogh Volvo AB Volvo 122 S 161
DISQ 14 7/8 United Kingdom Peter Sargent United Kingdom Peter Lumsden REC Parkes Mercedes-Benz 220SE 159 Non-homologate gear ratios
6th 28 5 United Kingdom John Whitmore United Kingdom Paddy Hopkirk BMC Mini Cooper S 159
7th 2 9 United Kingdom Gawaine Baillie United Kingdom Peter Jopp Ford Galaxie 159
8th 29 5 United Kingdom John Rhodes Netherlands Rob Slotemaker Cooper Car Co. Morris Mini Cooper S 158
9th 1 9 United States Dan Gurney Australia Jack Brabham Alan Brown Ford Galaxie 157
10th 24 6 United Kingdom Jimmy Blumer United Kingdom Henry Taylor Alan Andrews Racing Ford Cortina Super 157
11th 30 5 United Kingdom Christabel Carlisle United States Denise McCluggage Don Moore Morris Mini Cooper S 158
12th 9 7/8 United Kingdom Edward Harrison Kenya John Manussis John Willment Automobiles Ford Zodiac Mk 3 155
13th 20 6 Italy Piero Frescobaldi Italy Leo Cella HF Squadra Corse Lancia Flavia Coupé 155
14th 17 6 United Kingdom Peter Harper New Zealand Chris Amon Alan Fraser Racing Team Sunbeam Rapier 155
15th 32 4 United Kingdom John Aley Finland Rauno Aaltonen Cooper Car Co. Austin Mini Cooper S 154
16th 25 6 Germany Ernst Furtmayr Germany Hans-Dieter Dechent Squadra Tartaruga Alfa Romeo Giulia TI 153
17th 21 6 Italy Franco Patria Italy Romolo Rossi HF Squadra Corse Lancia Flavia Coupé 153
18th 33 4 United Kingdom Elizabeth Jones Finland Timo Mäkinen Alexander Engineering Co. Austin Mini Cooper 153
19th 18 6 United Kingdom Bill Blydenstein United Kingdom Chris Lawrence Lawrencetune Engines Vauxhall VX4/90 153
20th 27 5 United Kingdom Alan Foster United Kingdom Andrew Hedges Dick Jacobs MG 1100 153
21st 26 5 United Kingdom Anita Taylor United Kingdom Anne Hall John Willment Automobiles Ford Anglia Super 151
22nd 11 7/8 Italy Luigi Cabella Italy Giorgio Pianta HF Squadra Corse Lancia Flaminia 3B coupé 146
DISQ 4 9 United Kingdom John Sprinzel United States Merton Lucia John Sprinzel Racing Ford Galaxie 145 Loose bonnet
24th
(DNF)
4 9 United Kingdom Albert Powell United Kingdom Ken Baker Zenith Films Jaguar Mk II 3.8 143 Clutch
25th 35 4 United Kingdom Edward Lewis Belgium Julien Vernaeve Westover Racing Morris Mini Cooper 142
26th
(DNF)
8 9 United Kingdom Chris McLaren United Kingdom John Couldley Chris McLaren Jaguar Mk II 3.8 140 Oil Leak
27th 34 4 Netherlands Loek Nerden Netherlands Alexander Roell Ecurie Lonertex Austin Mini Cooper 76 Engine
DNF 12 7/8 Italy Piero Frescobaldi Italy Carlo Facetti HF Squadra Corse Lancia Flaminia 3B coupé Accident
DNF 10 7/8 United Kingdom Roy Pierpoint United Kingdom Alan Mann Alan Andrews Racing Ford Zodiac Mk 3 Lost wheel
DNF 38 9 United Kingdom John Sparrow United Kingdom Neil Dangerfield D. M. Racing Jaguar Mk II 3.8 Overheating
DNF 15 7/8 Germany Jochen Neerpasch Switzerland Peter Scherrer Squadra Tartaruga Volvo 132 S 59 Accident
DNF 31 5 United Kingdom Mike Clare United Kingdom Tony Rutt Alexander Engineering Co. BMC Mini Cooper S 34 Accident
DNF 36 4 United Kingdom Peter Clarke United Kingdom John Anstead Peter Clarke Abarth 1000 Berlina Corsa 4 Misfire
DNF 22 6 United Kingdom Les Leston United Kingdom David Haynes John Willment Automobiles Ford Cortina GT 3 Clutch
DNQ 9 United Kingdom Jack Sears Sweden Bo Ljungfeldt John Willment Automobiles Ford Galaxie Withdrawn after homologation dispute re disc brake fitting
DNQ 23 6 United Kingdom John Uren United Kingdom Peter Bolton John Willment Automobiles Ford Cortina GT Car taken over by Sears/Ljunfeldt
DISQ 19 6 United Kingdom Alan Hutcheson United Kingdom Bob Anderson Riley 1.5 Rejected at scrutineering
Source:[3][5]

[3][5]

Class Winners

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Class Winners
Overall Salvadori / Hulme Jaguar Mk II 3.8
Class 9 Lindner / Nöcker Jaguar Mk II 3.8
Class 7/8 Trana / Skogh Volvo 122 S
Class 6 Sears / Ljungfeldt Ford Galaxie
Class 5 Whitmore / Hopkirk BMC Mini Cooper S
Class 4 Aley / Aaltonen Austin Mini Cooper S
Source:[2][3]

Standings after the race

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Pos Championship Points
1 Italy Luigi Cabella 29
2 United Kingdom John Aley 27
3 West Germany Ernst Furtmayr 26
4= West Germany Peter Linder 24
Germany Peter Nöcker
Sweden Björn Rothstein
Sweden Tom Trana
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included in this set of standings.

Championship points were awarded for the first seven places in each race in the order of 12-10-8-7-5-6-4.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Official Programme, 'The Motor' International Six Hour Saloon Car Race, Brands Hatch, Saturday, July 6, 1963
  2. ^ a b c d e "Brands Hatch 6 Hours 1963". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "1963 ETCCC - round 3". Touringcarracing.net. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  4. ^ a b Peter Swinger, "Motor Racing Circuits in England : Then & Now" (Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN 0 7110 3104 5, 2008)
  5. ^ a b "Brands Hatch 6 Hours 1963 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars".
  6. ^ "European Touring Car championship - 1963".