 Although the first Brabham BT20, the definitive 1966 car, had been available at Reims, Brabham continued with the BT19 and used it to win the next three championship races. Ferrari, competitive in all three championship races to that point, were not present for the British Grand Prix. The race was held on the tight and twisting Brands Hatch circuit, the track made slippery by oil leaking from other cars and by drizzle. Brabham set pole and led the entire race. At the next championship round, the Dutch Grand Prix, Brabham reported the low speed Zandvoort circuit to be "even more oily and treacherous than Brands." Brabham won the race after Jim Clark's less powerful 2 litre Lotus 33-Climax, which had passed Brabham for the lead mid-race, was delayed by overheating problems. The German Grand Prix was held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, which Brabham described as "Brands Hatch on steroids". On the opening lap Brabham took the lead from Surtees, now driving a Cooper-Maserati. Brabham won after a race-long fight with the Englishman in the rain. With four wins and more finishes than any of his championship rivals, Brabham had a 22-point lead in the drivers championship and could only be caught in the championship by Surtees or Stewart if one of them won all three of the remaining races.
