abstract
| - After the Formula Two cars were included with most of the F1 privateers absent, qualifying saw Jim Clark dance his under-powered Lotus 33 for pole. The Scot would share the four car wide front row with John Surtees, Jackie Stewart and Ludovico Scarfiotti, while Jacky Ickx took the F2 "pole" down in sixteenth. The race would start on a damp circuit, meaning the Nürburgring was at its treacherous best, with the sun belaying just how wet the circuit was. At the start, Clark got too much wheel spin and tumbled down the order, allowing Surtees, Brabham, and a quick starting Lorenzo Bandini to jump ahead. It was on the opening lap where Taylor met his demise, the Englishman getting airborne over the bridge at Quiddelbacher-Höhe after contact with F2 leader Ickx. It was a huge accident which saw Taylor's car burst into flames while still skidding down the circuit, although the Englishman was able to jump and sprint away when the car came to halt before collapsing on the grass. The circuit ambulance arrived to take the Brit to hospital at Coblenz, where he would succumb to his injuries four weeks later. As Taylor was whisked away, Brabham had snatched the lead from Surtees while Jochen Rindt pushed Bandini down, just before the Italian was swarmed by Clark, Dan Gurney and Jackie Stewart. Graham Hill would then proceed to carve through the group and attack Gurney, who broke away from the rest, although the New Yorker would falter with an ignition failure. A couple of laps from the end there was a shock for the field when Clark made a rare mistake through Bergwerk, and spun into a ditch. But, out front, no one could deny Brabham victory for the fourth race in a row, as Surtees and Rindt held station as they were unable to catch the Aussie. The Formula Two honours went to Jean-Pierre Beltoise in a Matra-Ford.
|