1967 World Sportscar Championship

The **1967 World Sportscar Championship** was the fifteenth annual FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was contested by sportscars over a series of five races races from 25th April to 11th June 1967.

Ferrari, Ford, Porsche, Alfa Romeo and Chevrolet were the manufacturers who contested the championship. Ferrari and Ford's cars were in the Over 2000cc class, while Porsche, Alfa Romeo and Chevrolet were in the Under 2000cc class.

## Season Report

### **Round 1: 1000km of Monza**

Despite it being Ferrari's home race, Ford came into the event as strong favourites and locked out the entire front row of the grid.

Peter Quinn had a good start from pole and pulled away whilst the Fords of Peter Westland and Bruno Župan battled with Ferrari's William Parker. Despite team orders to maintain position, Westland and Župan came together at the start of lap two, causing Župan to spin. Parker was running in 3rd when a puncture caused him to run wide on the entry to the banking, hitting an armco barrier and spinning out of the race.

Quinn dominated the race and only came under threat when he pitted a lap later than planned, forcing the Ford driver to save fuel as he returned to the pits. Westland and Župan finished on the podium, enraging Enzo Ferrari who was present at the event. John Smith won in the Under 2000cc class through a clever pit strategy.

### **Round 2: 1000km of Spa-Francorchamps**

The Ford of Peter Quinn took pole, with Andreas Schulz starting from second. Schulz immediately took the lead of the race at the start but could not hold off Quinn's faster Ford and was passed by the end of the first lap.

Rick Jones was running behind Peter Westland when he ran wide at Le Carriere, hitting a ditch, before flipping several times. Help did not reach Jones' smashed Ferrari for several minutes and he could not be saved in time.

The race continued and most drivers, including race leader Quinn, crashed at some point, turning the event into a race of attrition. Andreas Schulz was leading after Quinn's mistake when he hit a barrier at Blanchimont which ended his race.

Eventually the race was red-flagged and Jean Nguyen was declared the de-facto winner of the Under 2000cc class due to the other entrants crashing out, despite Nguyen lapping several seconds off the pace in his slower Alfa Romeo car. Quinn was declared the winner of the top class and Ford extended their lead in the Championship, whilst Alfa Romeo took the lead in the Under 2000cc class.

### **Round 3: 12 Hours of Charade**

Alain Bisset took Ferrari's first pole position of the season, with John Mackintosh of Ford starting in 2nd. At the start, Bisset ran wide at the first corner, gifting the lead to Mackintosh. Mackintosh led for around half a lap before he locked at le Belvedere and hit the wall, giving his car damage. He returned to the race in 2nd but went off again moments later and was forced to limp back to the pits to repair damage, dropping the car a lap behind the whole field. The team feared that Mackintosh had suffered a concussion and Peter Quinn was forced to drive for the rest of the race in his place. Bisset's Ferrari inherited the lead again and would remain unchallenged for the remainder of the race.

Further behind, William Parker was struggling to maintain tyre temperature and had dropped to 2nd and into a battle with the sister Ferrari of Ludovico Barilla. Bruno Župan was in 4th several seconds behind. Eventually, the charging Peter Quinn caught up to Župan, albeit still a lap down. After some stubborn defending from Župan, Quinn passed the sister Ford and pulled away.

The race settled down as the sun started to set. The Corvette of John and George Smith held a comfortable lead after the sole Porsche suffered an engine failure late into the race. Alexander Wilson of Ferrari had moved up into 2nd but was being caught by Reinout Teunissen, with Peter Quinn not far behind. Quinn had managed to regain a lap and had driven for over 10 hours by this point of the race. Teunissen caught up to Wilson's Ferrari on the last lap but couldn't find a way past in the twisty second sector of the circuit. Quinn made a move on Teunissen before sliding past Ferrari's Wilson after the latter made a mistake at le Belvedere. With just a few corners to go, Teunissen was set to finish on the podium but span and gifted the final podium spot to Wilson.

Ferrari won the race by over a minute, with the exhausted Quinn finishing 2nd before passing out after the race. The Smith brothers of Chevrolet won in the Under 2000cc Class

### **Round 4: 1000km of Nürburgring**

Bisset started from pole for the second event in a row, with the Ford of John Mackintosh behind. Bisset started the race well, with Mackintosh making another first lap mistake which dropped him behind the rookie of Jimmy McAlpine. McAlpine braked too early near the end of the lap, resulting in Mackintosh spinning the young American. Moments later, Bisset lost control of his car at Dottinger Hohe which required him to pit early for repairs.

Mackintosh took the lead and controlled the majority of the race, until the Scottish driver hit a Black Stork just before the Hohenrain chicane which completely destroyed the car's multi-million Dollar suspension. He managed to limp the car back to the pits but was forced to retire. Bisset went on to win comfortably ahead of the Ford of McAlpine.

### **Round 5: 24 Hours of Le Mans**

Quinn put his Ford on pole for the 3rd time this season, with Westland 2.706 seconds behind him in 2nd. Bisset made a good start from 6th on the grid, but crashed hard into the wall at turn 2. The fuel tank ruptured and the Ferrari burst into flames. Bisset was able to get out of the car and was taken to hospital with severe burns.

The Ferrari of Masters also retired after a brake failure 4 hours in saw the car buried in the berm on the outside of the Indianapolis corner.

The #35 Alfa of Maus also suffered brake issues and retired 10 hours into the race. The #36 of Nguyen, D'Agostino and Giacci fought a close battle with the sole Porsche entry until Johansson lost the rear through Dunlop Curve, badly damaging the nose of the Porsche. The repair cost the team 10 laps, which they were unable to recover.

The Fords of Quinn, Westland and Zupan took the lead early and the American manufacturer held all 3 podium positions until Teunissen crashed 13 hours into the race, badly damaging his suspension. The team were able to fix it, but the #3 Ford continued the race much slower as a result.

The #6 Ford of Peter Quinn went on to win the race, with the #3 and #1 completing the podium. With this result, Ford secured the Championship ahead of Ferrari. With their class win , Alfa Romeo won the Under 2000cc Championship.

## Results and Standings

### **Final Standings**

Points were awarded to the top six finishers: **9-6-4-3-2-1**.

The best result per make at each race counted. Only the best 4 results out of the 5 races could be retained.