• United States Grand Prix

Hill wins comfortably at the Glen

Graham Hill returned to winning ways with a resounding victory at the US Grand Prix, taking the chequered flag over 30 seconds ahead of his team-mate Richie Ginther.

With the championship already decided there was a relaxed feel at Watkins Glen, many drivers competing in a pre-event golf tournament and nearly all of them staying in the same motel.

Hill pipped Jim Clark to pole and roared away with John Surtees beside him, leaving Clark stranded on the grid with ignition problems. It took him so long to start his Lotus that he was a lap behind by the time he got going, but, being Clark, this proved to be no problem and he tore through the field, breaking lap records as he went. By the 40th lap he was in tenth place, and by the 80th lap he was up to fourth.

Surtees had soon got ahead of Hill, and, for three-quarters of the race he led, until his engine started misfiring and he dropped back. "Something went plop in one of the cylinders", was his succinct description of what had happened.

Hill now found himself in a commanding lead, ahead of Ginther and Dan Gurney, who kept up with the two leaders until chassis problems on his Brabham Climax forced him to retire. Jack Brabham himself was still clinging on to the leading pack, even though his car was misfiring frequently. He spun out on one of the corners in the later stages of the race, but recovered well and kept his self-designed car going steadily to finish in fourth.

Clark, driving superbly, wasn't able to catch Hill and Ginther, but he did manage to snatch third from Brabham. Lorenzo Bandini, in a works Ferrari, finished fifth, but he was four laps behind Hill.

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