• Mexican Grand Prix

Ginther finishes on a high

With little at stake in the final race of the season, Richie Ginther secured a historic victory for Honda, the first triumph for the Japanese car maker on the international grand prix circuit.

Jim Clark, who had already won the world championship, took pole position, with Dan Gurney alongside him in the Brabham Climax and Ginther in third. Ginther got a flying start and took the lead with Jackie Stewart chasing him in second.

Clark was never in the hunt because of engine trouble, and he retired after nine laps - a dismal end to his world-championship-winning season. Gurney proved to be Ginther's only major challenger as Stewart gradually slowed down and eventually retired with clutch problems, and Hill's engine blew up towards the end of the race.

Gurney tried everything to catch the flying Honda, but the Japanese car proved too strong for the Brabham and Ginther held on to win by just under three seconds. It was his first, and what proved to be only, grand prix win and was also a first for Goodyear tyres. Mike Spence came in third in the second Lotus, scoring his only podium finish.

So the curtain came down on the 1.5 litre formula and although these were the least powerful Formula 1 cars of all time, the era had seen some great racing and tremendous innovation. Clark and Colin Chapman's Lotus had utterly dominated, winning both the drivers' and constructors' titles after only seven of the ten races had been completed - an incredible achievement.

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