1960 Dutch Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1960)

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Revision as of 14:07, 16 September 2022 by SpaceManiac888 (talk | contribs) (A granite square decided that Jack Brabham should be the victor in a duel involving Stirling Moss. The race also marked the debut of two-time champion Jim Clark, was fully televised live by Belgian channel BRT. Sadly, the race featured an accident triggered by a brakes failure from Dan Gurney's BRM, which would hit and kill fan Piet Aalder.)
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This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its discussion of a fatal motor racing accident.



1960dutchgrandprix1.jpg

The grid about to start the race.

Status: Partially Found

The 1960 Dutch Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 1960 Formula One Season. Occurring on 6th June at the Zandvoort Circuit, the race would ultimately be won by Jack Brabham in a Cooper-Climax, where a duel between him and Lotus-Climax's Stirling Moss was decided by a granite square. The race also marked the debut of future two-time World Champion Jim Clark. However, the event is also infamous for the death of fan Piet Aalder, who was hit by BRM's Dan Gurney in an accident triggered when the BRM suffered a brakes failure.

Background

The 1960 Dutch Grand Prix was the sixth running of the event within the Formula One calendar, as well as the eighth in Grand Prix history.[1] Lasting 75 laps,[2][1] the race ran on a frequent basis until being dropped from the Formula One schedule following financial difficulties in 1986.[1] Nevertheless, both the track and event would make a return to Formula One from 2021 onwards.[3]

Heading into the race, the works Lotus team needed to draft in a replacement, as John Surtees left for motorcycle racing in the Isle of Man.[4] Thus, the team brought in Jim Clark, in what marked his first World Championship event.[5][4] For qualifying, the Grand Prix's organisers attempted to make two changes to the format: Only the top 15 fastest would be allowed to compete, with the starting order decided by combining each drivers' three fastest times.[4] However, the entrants complained, forcing the organisers to revert to the original format with 20 drivers being allowed to compete.[4] The entrants also wanted guarantees that everyone would receive starting money, but the organisers held firm that only the top 15 would receive it.[4]

In qualifying, Stirling Moss was consistently the fastest in a Rob Walker-owned Lotus, with Brabham and works Lotus-Climax driver Innes Ireland being his only rivals.[4] Moss achieved pole position with a time of 1:33.2, ahead of Brabham and Ireland in second and third respectively.[6][4][2] Gurney started sixth, Drivers' Championship leader Bruce McLaren took ninth in a Cooper-Climax, while Clark would start 11th out of 21 competitors.[2][6] Moss was also given permission by Reg Parnell to drive the new Aston Martin; unlike with his Lotus, Moss was unhappy with this rather uncompetitive machine.[4] Both the Aston Martin and Scarab teams, alongside Cooper-Maserati's Masten Gregory, would withdraw prior to the race start following a dispute over receiving no prize money due to qualifying at the back of the grid.[4][6][2]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1960 Dutch Grand Prix commenced on 6th June.[2] Brabham made a strong start, passing Moss with Ireland facing challenges from teammate Alan Stacey.[4][5][6][2] Further back, Ferrari's Phil Hill also made a remarkable start, as he moved up to the top six after only qualifying in tenth.[4][6][2] By lap 3, Brabham was slightly ahead of Moss, while the two Lotuses continually overtook each other.[4][6] McLaren retired after eight laps following a transmission failure, and two laps later Brabham and Moss were now 17 seconds ahead of the duelling Ireland and Stacey.[4][5][6][2] Gurney was now in fifth, but would then experienced a brakes failure and suffer the accident on lap 11 that claimed Aalder's life.[5][4][6][2] On lap 17, Moss was still right behind Brabham.[4][5][6] However, his race would change when the Cooper drove over a large granite square that had already separated into two pieces.[4][5][6] As Brabham drove over it, his Cooper's rear wheel redirected the granite at the Lotus, bursting one of Moss' front tyres and smashing the wheel rim.[4][5][6] Moss was forced to pit, and would be two laps down from Brabham by the time his mechanics were finished with the pit stop, made worse when a jack was initially unable to get under the car's front suspension.[4][5][6]

Brabham was now 27 seconds ahead of Ireland and Stacey, with Moss down in 12th.[4][5][6] Future champions Clark and BRM's Graham Hill duelled for fourth.[4][5][6] Clark initially overtook Hill on lap 29, but made a mistake at the hairpin that enabled the BRM to re-pass the Lotus.[4][5][6] This occurred again a lap later, and Clark was then forced to drop back as his transmission was failing, eventually retiring on lap 43.[4][5][6][2] With drivers retiring and with him setting a new lap record, Moss had recovered to sixth.[4][5] On lap 58, Stacey retired following a transmission failure, solidifying Ireland's second place and promoting Hill to third.[4][5][2] Moss meanwhile overtook Ferrari's Wolfgang von Trips for fourth, though was now 46 seconds behind Hill.[4][5][6] Elsewhere, Brabham claimed victory and eight points in the Drivers' Championship, finally kickstarting his season after failing to score in the previous races.[5][4][6][2] Ireland finished second, while Hill took third despite Moss' comeback that saw him set a lap record of 1:33.8.[4][5][6][2] This marked Ireland and Hill's first podiums in the World Championship.[7] Von Trips and teammate Richie Ginther claimed the final points positions of fifth and sixth respectively, albeit a lap down from Brabham.[6][2][4]

Death of Piet Aalder

On lap 11, Gurney was running in fifth in his BRM.[5][6][4] As he reached the Tarzan hairpin, a pipe connected to the BRM's rear brakes failed.[4][5][6] Hence, when Gurney braked for the hairpin, the front wheels locked up and caused the BRM to spin out of control.[4][5][6][7] Gurney crashed into the sand dunes, with him being thrown free from the car that ended up lying inverted after it somersaulted through some small fences.[8][4][5][6] While Gurney escaped with only minor wounds, his BRM hit a group of young men situated in a prohibited area, including Piet Aalder.[5][8][6][4] While the other men recovered from their injuries, Aalder was not so lucky.[8][5] He ultimately passed away from his injuries aged 18.[5][6][8][7]

Availability

The race reportedly received full live television coverage from Belgian broadcaster BRT. It was also partially aired live by the BBC, ORTF, and NTS.[9] According to Issue 1,908 of Radio Times, 15 minutes were televised by the BBC as part of its Grandstand programming.[10][9] The television broadcasts have yet to resurface, although newsreel footage from British Pathé can be viewed online.[11] It is unclear whether the television broadcasts captured footage of Gurney's accident, but the newsreel does show the remains of the BRM.[11]

Gallery

Videos

Silent British Pathé newsreel footage of the race.

Images

See Also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Circuits of the Past detailing the history of Zandvoort and the Dutch Grand Prix. Retrieved 16th Sep '22
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the event. Retrieved 16th Sep '22
  3. Autoweek reporting on the return of the Dutch Grand Prix to the Formula One calendar. Retrieved 16th Sep '22
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 Motor Sport providing a detailed race report. Retrieved 16th Sep '22
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 ESPN summarising the race and the accident that claimed Aalder's life. Retrieved 16th Sep '22
  6. 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23 6.24 6.25 Grand Prix summarising the event. Retrieved 16th Sep '22
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 ESPN noting this was Ireland and Hill's first podiums, and summarising Gurney's crash. Retrieved 16th Sep '22
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Crash Photos Database detailing the Gurney-Aalders accident and providing photos of it. Retrieved 16th Sep '22
  9. 9.0 9.1 List of Formula One television broadcasts noting several organisations provided live coverage of the race, including the full coverage from BRT. Retrieved 16th Sep '22
  10. BBC Genome archive of Radio Times issues detailing the BBC's live coverage of the race. Retrieved 16th Sep '22
  11. 11.0 11.1 British Pathé providing newsreel footage of the race, also including aftermath shots of Gurney's crash. Retrieved 16th Sep '22