1960 French GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Reims
* Location – France
* Corners – 7
* Laps – 50
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 4:00.000
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 2:16.800 (Jack Brabham)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 2:12.411 (Onofre Marimon – Harrison Whitworth)
* Pit Lane Length – 45 seconds\*
* Fuel Consumption – Low
* Tyre Wear – Medium

\*Note that this season pit-stops will last longer than in previous seasons; this number represents the time it takes to travel down the pit-lane NOT including the time you will spend stationary.

## Qualifying & Grid

BRM look on the pace here, as they look to prove that their rise to the top of the Teams' Championship is no flash in the pan! Gregory claims his 2nd ever Pole Position here (his 1st outside of the USA), which also proves that his own move into 1st place in the Drivers' Standings has him as a legitimate contender this season! BRM even claim a 1-2 thanks to Graham Hill's pace, which sees him line up 2nd on the grid just ahead of Bonnier's Maserati and Gould's Ferrari.

Phil Hill returns to the grid this race after missing the Belgian GP last time out, though only looks mildly rusty as he puts his BRM 5th on the grid just ahead of the two Championship contending Ferrari's of von Trips and Naylor. McLaren and Gurney are next up for Maserati, with reigning Champion Brabham hauling his Cooper up to 10th on the grid!

Surtees and Bianchi are in 12th and 17th for Cooper, with Aston Martin looking to give them a run for their money in the race, with Salvadori 11th, Flockhart 13th, Brooks 15th and Clark 21st. Vanwall will be hoping for a repeat of last race, when Ireland took the victory - but it looks a long shot from 16th on the grid (though he did win from 21st last time out!!!), while Fairman 18th and Mairesse 22nd will be looking to grab a Top 10 finish at best one would expect…

Lotus meanwhile look more competitive than in some races so far this season - with Moss an impressive 14th on the grid, Allison a respectable 19th and Gamble a solid 23rd overall. No Hall again for their team though - and speaking of absentees the highest profile loss is Burgess in the JBW, which is clearly felt by the team given that their best qualifier is de Beaufort in 20th, with Greene and Scarlatti 24th and 25th respectively.

Two other teams impacted by missing drivers are Scarab, who do not have Barth here - and thus must rely on Taylor 27th and Menditeguy 28th (contesting his 1st race since the 1958 Portuguese GP) to race on without him…though it could be worse, as Porsche ably demonstrate by only having one car on the grid! Gendebien in 26th is without both Trintignant and Creus and will look to avoid finishing last in what should be an exciting race throughout the grid…!

## Race Link

BRM looked on form over a single lap, with Gregory taking his 2nd ever Pole Position from Graham Hill and then Bonnier's Maserati. Gould is 4th for Ferrari, from Phil Hill in the BRM and then the other Ferrari's of von Trips and Naylor lurking ominously on the outskirts of the points…

McLaren and Gurney in the Maserati team line up 8th and 9th with Brabham in the Cooper in 10th - though the big question today is will we see someone emerge from the pack as the Championship contender to beat…?

https://1960.f1revisited.co.uk/results/reims/1960/0aen69rMsbirM4hy

## Race Results

Von Trips crosses the line in 1st position, with his Championship challenge firmly back on track and Fastest Lap allowing him to move into 5th for Most FLs ever! It wont be enough to take the Championship lead though, as Gregory's 2nd place is enough to keep him top of the pile - and into the Top 10 for the Most Podiums ever!

Gould's first podium of the season (the 4th of his career) cements his Top 10 place in the standings, while Bonnier finally scores his 1st points of the season in a solid 4th place for Maserati.

Naylor's Championship hopes take a bit of a blow, though 5th is better than it could have been for the Ferrari - while Ireland does incredible work to put his Vanwall into 6th place for consecutive points finishes. Vanwall haven't had that since the 1957 season when Collins was securing regular podiums!

Salvadori is unlucky to come home 7th after a great race, with Phil Hill and Graham Hill 8th and 9th, from Gurney 10th, Mairesse 11th, Greene 12th and McLaren 13th perhaps lacking some of the experience needed early on to maintain his position and avoid losing out to those with lower fuel loads as easily.

Fairman is a respectable 14th from de Beaufort 15th for JBW, ahead of Bianchi's Cooper and Brabham in 17th, who does get the better of Moss on the final lap at Muizon.

Brooks and Flockhart complete the Top 20, with 2 stops clearly not the ideal solution today - while Clark, Gendebien, Scarlatti, Taylor, Surtees, Allison, Gamble and Menditeguy completing the race finishers today.

Next stop will be Silverstone for the British Grand Prix!

## Milestones

* Salvadori’s 59th race entry makes him the most experienced driver in F1R history on his own!
* Flockhart’s 45th race entry moves him up to 9th for Most Entries Ever at the expense of Hans Herrmann
* 30th race entry for de Beaufort and Gould
* Salvadori equals Gerard’s record of 58 career F1R starts
* Brabham moves up to 6th for Most Starts ever, at the expense of Toulo de Graffenried
* Due to Trintignant not starting, Fairman moves up to 8th for Most Starts ever at the Frenchman’s expense!
* Fairman up to 4th in Most Races without a Win, at the expense of José Froilán González
* Scarlatti up to 3rd in Most Races without Points, at the expense of Robert Manzon
* The French GP had seen three debut winners in four seasons, after Peter Collins in ’56, Jean Behra in ’57 and Trintignant in ’59! Von Trips reduces that to three in five seasons after his victory today.
* Maurice Trintignant (in 1959) and Roy Salvadori (in 1954) are the only active winners of the French GP on the grid this time, while other former winners are Bob Gerard (retired) in 1958, 1953 and 1951, Jean Behra (’57 – retired), Peter Collins (’56 – retired), Giuseppe Farina (’52 – retired) and Toulo de Graffenried (’50 - retired).
* Bonnier scores his 40th point in F1R history
* Bonnier finishing in the points moves him inside the Top 10 for Most Points Finishes Ever at the expense of Hans Herrmann
* Gould moves up to 6th for Most Points without a Win, at the expense of Luigi Musso
* 2nd place for Gregory today optimises his luck thus far on track, as he now moves to the top of Most Points without a Win, at the expense of Moss
* Gould’s 3rd place moves him up to 3rd for Most Points without a Win (at the expense of Umberto Maglioli, Rudi Fischer and Karl Kling)
* Gregory manages to make it his 4th race in a row in the points (the 1st time a driver in a British marque has done this since Collins for Vanwall in 1956). For Ireland and von Trips, it is their 2nd race in a row in the points
* FL for von Trips moves him up to 5th in Most Fastest Laps, at the expense of Peter Collins, Onofre Marimón, Ken Wharton, Bianchi, Gregory and Graham Hill
* FL at the French GP in 1950, 1951, 1957 and 1958 was Bob Gerard (retired); other past FLs were André Testut (’59 – retired), Peter Collins (’56 – retired), Onofre Marimón (’54 – retired), Chico Landi (’53 – retired) and Piero Taruffi (‘52 – retired)
* Pole at the French GP in 1959 was von Trips and in 1958 was Bonnier, while past Pole-Sitters were Bob Gerard (’51, ’52 and ’57 - retired), Toulo de Graffenried (’56 – retired), Hermann Lang (’54 – retired), Umberto Maglioli (’53 – retired) and Yves-Girard Cabantous (’50 – retired). Pole this time was Gregory for BRM.
* Podium for Gregory moves him into the Top 10 for Most Podiums ever, at the expense of Hans Herrmann