• United States Grand Prix

Hill extends lead with Glen victory

The penultimate race of the season was won by Graham Hill, who triumphed for the second successive year at the Watkins Glen circuit in upstate New York, USA.

Jim Clark was fastest in practice and shared the front row with John Surtees in the Ferrari, decked out not in the usual Italian red, but in the blue and white colours of the United States. Enzo Ferrari was in dispute with the Italian National Automobile Club, so the red was ditched for the colours of Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team.

On a cloudy, windy day, the crowd of 100,000 watched Surtees surge into the lead at the start, holding off Clark in his Lotus 25. But by the 13th lap, Clark had overtaken the Ferrari and he held the lead until lap 40 when his car began to misfire with fuel injection problems. He dropped back through the field to 11th place, retiring before the half way point.

Surtees led for just one lap before Hill went to the front with Surtees subsequently spinning on some oil and dropping back, giving Hill a healthy lead. Clark rejoined the race in his team-mate Mike Spence's Lotus 33, mainly to try and cause his rivals problems, as he was ineligible for championship points. However, this car also broke down and he finished near the back of the field.

Hill came home over 30 seconds ahead of Surtees, with Jo Siffert third, giving him a podium finish for the first time. Hill was now in prime position to win the championship in the final race of the season, five points ahead of Surtees. Clark still had a slim chance, and with only the best six results from the ten races counting, the world championship would go down to the wire.

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