Flashback: 1967 Italian Grand Prix

The 1967 Italian Grand Prix, officially known as the XXXVIII Gran Premio d’Italia and the 1967 European Grand Prix, was the ninth round of the 1967 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at Monza on the 10th of September, 1967.

Jim Clark would put together one of his greatest performances to battle back from an early puncture, although the Scot would be cruelly denied victory on the final lap.

There were to be no shocks in qualifying when Clark put his Lotus 49 on pole, sharing the front row with Jack Brabham and an impressive Bruce McLaren in his new McLaren M5A. Other highlights would be John Surtees getting the new Honda RA300 into the top ten, while debutante Jacky Ickx claimed fifteenth for Cooper-Maserati.

It was a poor start for Clark when the flag dropped on race day, as Brabham surged into the lead, with Dan Gurney and Graham Hill also getting ahead of the #20 Lotus. Gurney then took the lead on lap two, before Clark finally got into his stride to take the lead on lap three, with teammate Hill following him through.

Denny Hulme then had a brief stint in the lead until Clark put him back in his place, only for the Scot to get a puncture on lap twelve, ultimately falling a lap down. When the Scot was released back onto the circuit he aided Hill in getting away from Brabham and Hulme, with the Englishman then helping Clark get through the order.

Hill then hit trouble and dropped back, leaving Clark to battle his way back through the order alone, until the Scot came across Surtees to take third. This became a brief battle for second when Hill retired, with Clark then pushing on to take Brabham for the lead, taking Surtees with him.

Clark took Brabham and was on for victory once Brabham and Surtees became embroiled in a fight for second.

Then, on the final lap, the Lotus’ fuel pump began to fail and the Scot’s pace collapsed, allowing Surtees and Brabham to catch and pass. It was therefore Surtees who claimed the Italian Grand Prix honours ahead of Brabham, while Clark was a heartbroken third ahead of Jochen Rindt as his title bid was ended. (Source: Fandom.com)