In 1964, the British Ground Prix, designated that year’s European Grand Prix, found its way to a new home at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.   The front row of the grid featured the winners of the season’s first four races; Jim Clark won the pole in his Lotus 25B, with a 1:38.1. Clark was joined by Graham Hill’s BRM P261 and Dan Gurney and his Brabham BT7.  John Surtees’ Ferrari 158 and Jack Brabham’s BT7 were on row 2.

Jim Clark snatched the early lead, with Dan Gurney and Graham Hill close behind.  Gurney was quickest at the outset, setting fastest lap twice during the opening laps before pitting with ignition trouble.  Clark and his Lotus continued to narrowly lead Hill’s BRM, with John Surtees and Jack Brabham not far behind.

While Clark and Hill went at it hammer and tongs at the front, Surtees and Brabham did the same  for third place, until Brabham spun out damaging his gas tank in the process.  Meanwhile, Lorenzo Bandini guided the 2nd Ferrari in the field from eighth place to fifth; With teammate Bruce McLaren out of the race, Phil Hill had his best showing of the year jumping from fifteenth place to sixth.  Brabham, who’d dropped to seventh thanks to fuel leaking onto his tires, causing a significant handling issue, roared back to finish in fourth place. An oil pressure issue forced Graham Hill to back off to preserve his car.  That gave Jim Clark the gap he needed to bring his Lotus home for a Grand Slam victory, leading the entire race from the pole position while setting the fastest lap time of the race.

As usual, we found a fantastic documentary, produced by BP and narrated by Anthony Marsh, on the 1964 European Grand Prix.  Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSawauVuNQs&feature=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwUtxCu0e5U&NR=1[/youtube]