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

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1960portuguesegrandprix1.jpg

Jack Brabham leads the field.

Status: Partially Found

The 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix was the eighth race of the 1960 Formula One Season. Occurring on 14th August at the Circuito da Boavista, the race was ultimately won by Jack Brabham in a Cooper-Climax, his fifth consecutive World Championship victory. The win would also secure his second consecutive Drivers' Championship.

Background

The 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix was the third running of the event as part of the Formula One World Championship, lasting 55 laps.[1][2][3] The ninth Portuguese Grand Prix overall, the event would be dropped from the calendar following this race.[3][2] It would return to Formula One from 1984 to 1996, where it was held exclusively at the Circuito do Estoril.[2][3] Finally, the race would be ran two more times from 2020-2021 at the Algarve International Circuit.[3][2]

Heading into the race, Brabham led teammate Bruce McLaren 32 points to 27 in the Drivers' Championship.[4] Thus, a win would guarantee him the Championship.[5] Elsewhere, Stirling Moss returned to racing after recovering from the leg injuries sustained at the Belgian Grand Prix, competing in a Rob Walker-owned Lotus-Climax.[6][7][5] However, despite initially experiencing gear selection issues that prevented him from setting times for much of qualifying, works Lotus-Climax driver John Surtees surprised onlookers by achieving pole position with a time of 2:25.56.[6][5][7][1] BRM's Dan Gurney qualified in second, while Brabham was unable to improve on third as rain began to fall.[6][5][7][1] Moss would start fourth, indicating he had not lost pace following his accident, while McLaren qualified sixth out of 16 competitors.[5][6][1] BRP Cooper-Climax driver Henry Taylor was unable to compete after losing control as he approached the Avenue Boavista, crashing heavily and suffering an arm injury and damaged fingers.[6][5][1] Lotus-Climax's Jim Clark also crashed heavily, but was able to start in eighth place once his car was repaired overnight.[6][7][5][1]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix commenced on 14th August.[1] Gurney edged out Surtees as the field headed into the first corner, but it was Brabham that was in front after taking a wide sweep on the outside.[6][7] However, Gurney out-braked the Cooper to regain it on the first lap, and Brabham then ran wide the following lap which caused him to drop to eighth.[6][5][7] Moss passed Surtees for second on lap 1, but was re-passed by the works Lotus three laps later.[6][5] By lap six, Gurney led by six seconds over Surtees.[6] However, Gurney then slid on oil some laps later, and became concerned that it came from his BRM.[6][5][7] Thus he slowed down to inspect the issue, eventually dropping down to sixth by lap 12.[6][5][7] Moss also dropped out of contention after experiencing a misfiring from spark plugs, falling down to ninth after four pitstops to correct it.[6][7][5] Now, Surtees led ahead of Ferrari's Phil Hill, with Brabham duelling the latter.[6][5][7] On lap 26, Gurney retired following an engine failure, while Surtees led by ten seconds ahead of Hill, who was being pressurised by Brabham.[6][5][7] The American then retired on lap 29 after missing a gear change, leading to him going wide and colliding with straw bales.[6][5]

By lap 33, Surtees now led Brabham by 22 seconds, the latter deciding to ease off rather than challenge the Lotus.[6][5][7] However, he then noticed that his front fuel tank had suffered a cracked seam and was now leaking petrol.[6][7][5] As it dripped into the cockpit, he ended up spinning his Lotus into the straw bales after his foot slipped off the brake pedal.[6][7][5] While he initially continued, he retired a lap later following a broken radiator.[6][7][5] Thus, Brabham assumed the lead, with teammate McLaren in second, while Clark climbed the order and was now third.[6][7][5] On lap 51, Moss locked his brakes and stalled his engine on the escape road after initially hitting a straw bale.[6][7][5] He pushed his car in order to restart it, but while he succeeded, he did so after pushing the Lotus against the race direction, leading to his disqualification.[7][6][5]

Meanwhile, Brabham claimed his fifth consecutive World Championship victory, and his second consecutive Drivers' Championship.[5][6][7] McLaren made it a works Cooper 1-2, while Clark took his first World Championship podium, surprising his team who assumed his Lotus would break after only a few laps.[7][5][6] Ferrari's Wolfgang von Trips took fourth, BRP Cooper-Climax's Tony Brooks moved into fifth following Moss' disqualification, while Lotus-Climax's Innes Ireland claimed the final points position of sixth.[5][6]

Availability

According to Issue 1,918 of Radio Times, the BBC provided highlights of the race on 17th August 1960 as part of Sportsview, with Moss being the segment's reporter.[8][9] It is unclear how long the segment lasted, as the 30-minute Sportsview broadcast also contained a report on the 1960 Summer Olympics and highlights of the 1960 Charity Shield match between Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers.[8] The broadcast has yet to resurface, but some footage of the race can be found in a History documentary.

Gallery

Videos

Footage of the race from a History documentary (19:49-21:12).

Images

  • Programme for the race.

    Programme for the race.

  • Clark's hastily-repaired Lotus.

    Clark's hastily-repaired Lotus.

  • Gurney during the race.

    Gurney during the race.

  • Brabham takes the chequered flag.

    Brabham takes the chequered flag.

  • Brabham following the race.

    Brabham following the race.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the event. Retrieved 18th Sep '22
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Chicane F1 listing all Portuguese Grand Prix counting towards the World Championship bar the 2021 edition. Retrieved 18th Sep '22
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Grand Prix Adventures detailing the history of the Portuguese Grand Prix. Retrieved 18th Sep '22
  4. ↑ Stats F1 detailing the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings heading into the race. Retrieved 18th 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 5.24 Grand Prix summarising the event. Retrieved 18th 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 Motor Sport providing a detailed race report. Retrieved 18th Sep '22
  7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 ESPN summarising the race. Retrieved 18th Sep '22
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 BBC Genome archive of Radio Times issues detailing the BBC's coverage of the race as part of Sportsview. Retrieved 18th Sep '22
  9. ↑ List of Formula One television broadcasts noting the BBC provided highlights of the race. Retrieved 18th Sep '22
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