1968 F1 Championship Race Tracks

1) Kyalami, South African Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=kyalami (January 1st, 1968) After pole position Jim Clark won in Kyalami with a start- finish victory and fastest lap. With now 25 wins he was the most successful driver in Formula 1 at this point in time, ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio with 24 wins. However, this victory was also his last. On April 7, Clark had a fatal accident in a Formula 2 race at the Hockenheimring, Germany. Graham Hill, who had messed up the start, was still able to fight his way up to second place. At this start, the Lotus cars competed for the last time in the usual green-yellow colour. From the next race on they were painted in the colours of the new sponsor Gold-Leaf. Jackie Stewart, who was the only one who could keep up with Clark, dropped out in the 44th lap. Jean-Pierre Beltoise still reached the points with a Formula 2 Matra. 2) Jarama, Spanish Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=jarama (May 12th, 1968) Mike Spence was supposed to replace the fatally injured Jim Clark in Spain, but Spence was also fatally injured in Indianapolis on May 7th. So Lotus only competed with one car for Graham Hill, who could not convince in practice. Chris Amon took pole. Rodriguez initially took the lead at the start, but was replaced by Beltoise on lap 12 until he had to make a pit stop. Then Chris Amon was in the lead and already looked like the sure winner when his fuel pump failed on lap 57. This put Hill in the lead, who had previously overtaken McLaren, Surtees and Hulme, and after the tragic events, especially for Lotus, he scored a victory that should underline the team's superiority for the coming season. 3) Monaco, Monaco Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=monaco (May 26th, 1968) Johnny Servoz-Gavin had qualified for the front row of the grid and took the lead after the start. However, he touched a guardrail with his rear wheel and shortly afterwards lost the half axle, so that he had to give up already on the third lap. Thus Graham Hill achieved his unchallenged fourth victory in Monaco ahead of Richard Attwood in the B.R.M. and Lucien Bianchi in the Cooper, both of whom benefited from the numerous retirements. In total, only 5 of 16 starters reached the finish line. 4) Spa-Francorchamps, Belgian Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=spa67 (June 9th, 1968) In the run-up to the race, Cooper driver Scarfiotti had a fatal accident in a hill climb at Rossfeld near Berchtesgaden, Germany. The other Cooper driver, Brian Redman, had a serious accident in the race and had to take a break for more than a year. It was the first race in the history of Formula 1 in which individual cars with free-standing rear wings were tried out. Chris Amon, who started from pole position, was leading after the first lap but was then overtaken by John Surtees. Surtees was leading until the 10th lap when his suspension broke, causing the badly started Stewart to take the lead. He ran out of fuel on the last lap, however. So Bruce McLaren achieved his first victory in his own car. At the finish line, he didn't even know he had won. 5) Zandvoort, Dutch Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=zandvort (June 23rd, 1968) The race was driven in rain. At that time Goodyear, Firestone and Dunlop offered tyres for Formula 1. Dunlop's rain tyres proved to be superior, but were only driven by the French matras. The race therefore developed into a one-sided affair. Jackie Stewart, although not yet fully recovered from an accident with a hand injury, drove out a victory that was never in danger. His brand mate Jean-Pierre Beltoise finished second, even though he spun once and had to make a pit stop due to a stuck gas valve. These two lapped the whole field. Silvio Moser's points on a private Charles Vögele Brabham also earned respect. 6) Rouen-Les-Essarts, French Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=rouen (July 7th, 1968) The race was overshadowed by a fatal accident. On the second lap Jo Schlesser was killed in a fire accident. On a wet track, his new and untested Honda RA302 slipped off the track in a fast downhill corner, crashed into an embankment and rolled over. The leaking fuel ignited immediately, the magnesium alloy chassis gave the fire additional fuel and Schlesser suffered fatal burns in the cockpit. Jacky Ickx won his first Formula 1 race on Ferrari. 7) Brands Hatch, British Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=brands67 (July 20th, 1968) The race was dominated by Lotus racing cars from the very beginning. First Jackie Oliver led the field, then Graham Hill. However, Hill retired after 27 laps with suspension damage. Afterwards Oliver was leading again. However, he was not to succeed in a Grand Prix victory because his gearbox went on strike on lap 44. So Joseph Siffert took the lead in the Rob- Walker Lotus, which he was able to defend until the end against a hard fighting Chris Amon. With this he won his first of a total of two Formula 1 races. 8) Nürburgring, German Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=nurburg (August 4th, 1968) Heavy rain and fog with visibility at times below 50 metres hindered the participants on the Nürburgring so considerably that the execution of the race was seriously endangered. Frame races were cancelled. Under these conditions Jackie Stewart drove one of his biggest races and won with a lead of over 4 minutes over Graham Hill. It is remarkable that despite the adverse external circumstances, 14 of 21 vehicles reached the finish line, more than ever before this year. Technically, the introduction of a rear wing on Beltoises Matra that could be adjusted while driving was remarkable. 9) Monza, Italian Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=monza67 (September 8th, 1968) As almost always in Monza at that time, there was an extremely exciting race in 1968, in which McLaren, Surtees, Stewart, Siffert and finally Hulme took the lead. Amon and Surtees were involved in a dangerous accident on lap 9, which both survived unharmed. After everyone in the leading group except Hulme had dropped out or dropped back with technical problems, he won with almost a full lap lead. The fight for second place was won by Johnny Servoz-Gavin in the final meters against Jacky Ickx. It was his best result in a Grand Prix. 10) GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=stjovite (September 22nd 1968) In training Jacky Ickx had an accident, broke a leg and was eliminated in the fight for the World Championship. The race was initially dominated by his brand colleague Chris Amon in a Ferrari, but he retired with gearbox damage on the 72nd of 90 laps. This was the second time this season that he lost a victory he had almost certainly thought he would win. Due to his retirement Denis Hulme took the lead and won his second Grand Prix in a row. This brought him up to the same level in the drivers' championship as Graham Hill, who had been leading up to that point and who finished fourth in the race. 11) Watkins Glen, United States Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=watglen (October 6th, 1968) The pole position was secured by the American Mario Andretti, who contested his first Grand Prix in a Lotus. But he had no influence on the outcome of the race. Jackie Stewart drove his Matra safely to victory ahead of Graham Hill and John Surtees. So before the last race three drivers still had the chance to become world champions: Hill, Stewart and Hulme. 12) Mexico (Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez), Mexican Grand Prix GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=mexico (November 3rd, 1968) Of the three title contenders Hulme retired in the 10th lap due to an accident, Stewart brought his Matra only in seventh place due to engine problems. So Graham Hill won his second driver's championship and Lotus the third constructors' championship. Hill initially took the lead until he was ousted by Joseph Siffert on lap 22, but he lost the position again due to a pit stop; Siffert finished sixth. 1968 F1 Non-Championship Race Tracks In addition to the twelve world championship races, three Formula 1 races were held in 1968, which did not have world championship status. 1) Brands Hatch, III Race of Champions GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=brands67 (March 17th, 1968) The Race of Champions was a non-championship Formula One motor race held at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, United Kingdom between 1965 and 1979, and again in 1983. It often attracted high quality entries from the Formula One World Championship. The 1968 race was won by Bruce McLaren. 2) Silverstone, XX BRDC International Trophy GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=silver (April 25th, 1968) The International Trophy was a prize awarded annually by the British Racing Drivers' Club to the winner of a motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit, England. For many years it formed the premier non-championship Formula One event in Britain, alongside the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch. The 1968 race was won by Denny Hulme. 3) Oulton Park, XV International Gold Cup GPL Alternative Track Database: http://gpltd.bcsims.com/?sbtd=oulton (August 17th, 1968) The International Gold Cup was a prize awarded annually to the winner of a motor race held at the Oulton Park circuit, Cheshire, England. In the 1950s and 1960s it formed one of a number of highly regarded non-Championship Formula One races, which regularly attracted top drivers and teams. The 1968 race was won by Jackie Stewart. 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