1966 French Grand Prix

1966 French Grand Prix
Reims-Gueux
Race details
Date	3 July 1966
Official name	52e Grand Prix de l'ACF
Location	Reims-Gueux, Reims, France
Course	Temporary road course
Course length	8.348 km (5.187 miles)
Distance	48 laps, 400.694 km (248.980 miles)
Weather	Hot, dry
Pole position
Driver	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari
Time	2:07.8
Fastest lap
Driver	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari
Time	2:11.3
Podium
First	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco
Second	Mike Parkes	Ferrari
Third	Denny Hulme	Brabham-Repco
Lap leaders

The 1966 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims on 3 July 1966. It was race 3 of 9 in both the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the "60th Anniversary race" of Grand Prix racing, which had started with the GP of France in 1906. It was also the 16th and last time the French Grand Prix was held on variations of French highways near Reims, following a three-year absence from the region. The race was held over 48 laps of the 8.35-kilometre (5.19 mi) circuit for a race distance of 400.694 kilometres (248.980 mi).

The race was won by the 1959 and 1960 World Champion, Australian driver Jack Brabham, driving his Brabham BT19. It was Brabham's eighth Grand Prix victory and his first since the 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix, six years earlier. It was also his first win since establishing his Brabham team, and the first win for the Australian-developed Repco V8 engine. Brabham became the first driver to win a World Championship Grand Prix in a car bearing his own name. British driver Mike Parkes finished second in a Ferrari 312, 9.5 seconds behind, while Brabham's team-mate, New Zealander Denny Hulme, finished third in his Brabham BT20, albeit two laps down.

Brabham now led the Driver's Championship on 12 points, two ahead of Ferrari driver Lorenzo Bandini and three ahead of BRM's Jackie Stewart and Ferrari's John Surtees. The win was the first of four in succession for Brabham as he began his march towards his third world title.

Race summary

Jim Clark was a non-starter, recovering from an accident after he was hit in the eye by a bird during practice. Qualifying was firmly in the hands of Ferrari and especially Lorenzo Bandini with a pole set at 2:07.8 in his 3-litre 312/66, averaging 146.112 mph (233.780 km/h). After the start, Bandini duly led, with Jack Brabham in what would later be nicknamed his 'Old Nail' BT19 – which had a bit less straightline speed – following in his slipstream for a while. Mike Parkes, who had taken over at Ferrari from John Surtees acquitted himself well, duelling with Graham Hill for third place, becoming second when Hill's camshaft broke. When the Italian had to retire due to a broken throttle linkage, Brabham took first place at the finish – his first win since the 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix and the first driver to win a championship Grand Prix in his own car. It was also the last race ever at Reims-Gueux, the original venue of the Formula One French Grand Prix.

1950 World Champion Nino Farina died in a car accident while on his way to watch this race.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	20	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	2:07.8	—
2	10	John Surtees	Cooper-Maserati	2:08.4	+0.6
3	22	Mike Parkes	Ferrari	2:09.1	+1.3
4	12	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	2:10.2	+2.4
5	6	Jochen Rindt	Cooper-Maserati	2:10.9	+3.1
6	38	Jo Siffert	Cooper-Maserati	2:12.2	+4.4
7	8	Chris Amon	Cooper-Maserati	2:12.4	+4.6
8	16	Graham Hill	BRM	2:12.8	+5.0
9	14	Denny Hulme	Brabham-Repco	2:13.3	+5.5
10	32	Mike Spence	Lotus-BRM	2:14.2	+6.4
11	42	Guy Ligier	Cooper-Maserati	2:15.4	+7.6
12	36	Bob Anderson	Brabham-Climax	2:15.6	+7.8
13	2	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	2:15.6	+7.8
14	2	Pedro Rodríguez	Lotus-Climax	2:16.5	+8.7
15	26	Dan Gurney	Eagle-Climax	2:17.9	+10.1
16	44	John Taylor	Brabham-BRM	2:19.2	+11.4
17	4	Peter Arundell	Lotus-BRM	2:19.6	+11.8
18	30	Jo Bonnier	Brabham-Climax	2:23.5	+15.7
Source:

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	12	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	48	1:48:31.3	4	9
2	22	Mike Parkes	Ferrari	48	+ 9.5	3	6
3	14	Denny Hulme	Brabham-Repco	46	+ 2 Laps	9	4
4	6	Jochen Rindt	Cooper-Maserati	46	+ 2 Laps	5	3
5	26	Dan Gurney	Eagle-Climax	45	+ 3 Laps	14	2
6	44	John Taylor	Brabham-BRM	45	+ 3 Laps	15	1
7	36	Bob Anderson	Brabham-Climax	44	+ 4 Laps	12
8	8	Chris Amon	Cooper-Maserati	44	+ 4 Laps	7
NC	42	Guy Ligier	Cooper-Maserati	42	+ 6 Laps	11
Ret	2	Pedro Rodríguez	Lotus-Climax	40	Oil Leak	13
NC	20	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	37	+ 11 Laps	1
NC	30	Jo Bonnier	Brabham-Climax	32	+ 16 Laps	17
Ret	16	Graham Hill	BRM	13	Engine	8
Ret	38	Jo Siffert	Cooper-Maserati	10	Fuel System	6
Ret	32	Mike Spence	Lotus-BRM	8	Clutch	10
Ret	10	John Surtees	Cooper-Maserati	5	Fuel System	2
Ret	4	Peter Arundell	Lotus-BRM	3	Gearbox	16
DNS	2	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax		Accident	(18)
Source:

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
6	1	Jack Brabham	12
1	2	Lorenzo Bandini	10
	3	John Surtees	9
2	4	Jackie Stewart	9
1	5	Jochen Rindt	9
Source:

Constructors' Championship standings

	Pos	Constructor	Points
	1	Ferrari	21
2	2	Brabham-Repco	12
1	3	BRM	9
1	4	Cooper-Maserati	9
	5	Eagle-Climax	2
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.