Practice: The straight after the Gasworks hairpin is lengthened by moving the ‘Start and Finish’ closer to the corner at Ste-Devote. The Monaco circuit, with its tight bends, gives the new 3 litre cars no advantage, thus many of the top drivers are still in 2 or 2.5 litre cars; the Matra's of Beltoise and Servoz-Gavin are in fact 1600cc Formula 2 cars. Honda is back with Surtees in a V12 and the Eagle-Weslake team are at Monaco for the first time. Practice times are faster than in ‘66 and Jack Brabham, driving his own Brabham BT, clocks the best time at 1’27.6”.
video: ABC Sports - narration: Jim McKay and Phil Hill
Starting Grid
8 J. Brabham 1’27.6”
Brabham BT19 Repco
18 L. Bandini 1’28.3”
Ferrari 312 V12
7 J. Surtees 1’28.4”
Honda RA273 V12
9 D. Hulme 1’28.8”
Brabham BT20 Repco
12 J. Clark 1’28.8”
Lotus 33 Climax
4 J. Stewart 1’29.0”
BRM P261
23 D. Gurney 1’29.3”
Eagle Weslake 103
14 G. Hill 1’29.9”
Lotus 33 BRM
17 J. Siffert 1’30.0”
16 B. McLaren 1’30.0”
McLaren M4B BRM
2 J. Servoz-Gavin 1’30.4”
Matra MS5 Cosworth
5 M. Spence 1’30.6”
BRM P83
6 P. Courage 1’30.6”
BRM P261
20 C. Amon 1’30.7”
Ferrari 312 V12
10 J. Rindt
Cooper T86 Maserati
11 P. Rodriguez 1’32.4”
Cooper T86 Maserati
RACE REPORT
Bandini got a good start on Brabham, who already in the Spélugues curve blew his engine and spun. A miracle that the whole pack did not collide right there. Only Siffert had some radiator damage.
Brabham continued and is losing oil from the Mirabeau to the port.
At the top of the hill it was Bandini, Hulme, Stewart, Surtees and Gurney. In lap 2 Clark slipped on Brabham's oil and had to take the escape road at the chicane, but rejoined the race at the back of the field.
Lap 5: Gurney overtakes Surtees and Bandini and then blows the Eagle’s engine.
Then it was Stewart to take the lead followed by Hulme, Bandini, Surtees, McLaren, Rindt, Hill, Amon, Clark and Spence. But in lap 15 Stewart had to retire with transmission problems, so Hulme took the leadt.
Lap 25: Surtees Honda lost its power, McLaren and Clark overtook. As from then on Clark tried everything to take McLaren, but in lap 43 he spun into a wall at the tabac and wrecked the Lotus.
Halfway standings; Hulme, Bandini, McLaren. Then McLaren had to pit to change the battery of his car, this took a long time and relegated him behind Amon and Hill.
Bandini in the Ferrari, Tabac corner
In lap 82 disaster strikes, Bandini lost the grip on his Ferrari, because of an oil spill after the chicane, hits the straw bales and an hidden mooring head, the car turned over and exploded into flames. It seemed though that the car caught fire before Bandini hit the straw bales. The intervention was very slow and precious mintues passed before the fire was extinguished. Bandini was very severely burned and succumbed in hospital three days later from his injuries.
8 laps from the end Amon had a puncture and Hill took 2nd place.
For Jim Clark it also was his last Monaco race setting a new lap record, he was killed early in the next season in Hockenheim. The race ended with Hulme winning and every one was sad about Bandini’s accident, the second driver casualty on the Monaco circuit.
Most drivers had to rush off to the USA to qualify for the Indy 500.
THE MONACO GRAND PRIX LIBRARY BY ROY HULSBERGEN
Practice: The straight after the Gasworks hairpin is lengthened by moving the ‘Start and Finish’ closer to the corner at Ste-Devote. The Monaco circuit, with its tight bends, gives the new 3 litre cars no advantage, thus many of the top drivers are still in 2 or 2.5 litre cars; the Matra's of Beltoise and Servoz-Gavin are in fact 1600cc Formula 2 cars. Honda is back with Surtees in a V12 and the Eagle-Weslake team are at Monaco for the first time. Practice times are faster than in ‘66 and Jack Brabham, driving his own Brabham BT, clocks the best time at 1’27.6”.
