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1964 French Grand Prix
Race 4 of 10 in the 1964 Formula One season
Race details
Date	June 28, 1964
Official name	L Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.
Location	Rouen-Les-Essarts, Rouen, France
Course	Public roads
Course length	6.53 km (4.06 miles)
Distance	57 laps, 372 km (231 miles)
Pole position
Driver	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax
Time	2:09.6
Fastest lap
Driver	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax
Time	2:11.4 on lap 44
Podium
First	Dan Gurney	Brabham-Climax
Second	Graham Hill	BRM
Third	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax

The 1964 French Grand Prix (formally the L Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.) was a Formula One motor race held on October 22, 1964 at the Rouen-Les-Essarts circuit, Rouen, France. It was the 4th race of the 1964 Formula One season. The race, contested over 57 laps, was won by Dan Gurney for the Brabham team after starting from second position. Graham Hill, who started the Grand Prix from sixth position, finished second in a BRM car, with Jack Brabham third in the other Brabham.

Report

Background

Heading into the race weekend, there was speculation as to the future of Formula One. It had been suggested that some races were processional and that instead of having just one race, Formula One could move to a system with heat races and a final. The CSI, the body responsible for the running of Formula One at the time, announced that for the 1966 season, there would be no minimum or maximum weight limits for Grand Prix cars powered by a rotary or turbine engine. They were still working on a system that in theory would equalise the performance of these cars with the then current piston engined cars.

The Rouen circuit had been partially resurfaced prior to the Grand Prix, leaving out the Nouveau Monde and la Sciere hairpins and the section of the circuit from the final hairpin to the pit straight.

The Rob Walker Racing Team and Scuderia Centro Sud did not enter the Grand Prix. Privately entered cars were Jo Siffert's Brabham-BRM, Bob Anderson's Brabham-Climax and Maurice Trintignant's BRM.

Practice

Practice sessions were held on the Thursday and Friday prior to the Grand Prix with each driver's fastest lap time contributing to their place on the grid. Ferrari did not participate in the session on Thursday, along with Mike Hailwood, who was practicing for the Dutch TT, a motorcycle race which was set to take place on the Saturday. He would go on to win the race for motorcycles with an engine displacement of 500 cc on an MV Agusta. Although triumphant, an airline strike meant that he had to drive through the night to reach Rouen in time for Sunday's race.

During the first session, Lotus driver Jim Clark started the session in a Lotus 33, but alternated between that its predecessor, the Lotus 25. Brabham's Dan Gurney posted a lap of 2:10.1, which stood as the quickest lap until just before the end of the session, when Clark set a time of 2:09.6. Third was Lotus' other driver, Peter Arundell, two seconds slower than Clark. Fourth was ex-world champion Graham Hill in a BRM, half a second behind Arundell and fifth was Jack Brabham in the second Brabham, 0.2 seconds slower than Hill.

Race

Dan Gurney, winner of the 1964 French Grand Prix.

The start of the race was due at 3:15 local time (UTC+1), and conditions were overcast and cloudy. Prior to the start, Clark's Lotus was leaking oil but the start was delayed, which enabled Clark's Lotus to be pushed to the pole position on the grid. The race started and Clark held on to the lead, followed by Gurney.

Gurney took the Brabham team's first win in a World Championship Grand Prix. This meant that Jack Brabham became the first man to be a winning driver and owner of a winning manufacturer. As well as being Brabham's first win, the race was also the first Grand Prix win for a Hewland gearbox. Graham Hill finished second for BRM, 24 seconds behind Gurney, with Jack Brabham third in the other works Brabham.

Classification

Practice

Bold formatting denotes a driver's best time over both practice sessions

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Thursday	Friday	Gap
1	2	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	2:09.6	2:10.8	—
2	22	Dan Gurney	Brabham-Climax	2:10.1	2:10.5	+ 0.5
3	24	John Surtees	Ferrari	—	2:11.1	+ 1.5
4	4	Peter Arundell	Lotus-Climax	2:11.6	2:12.1	+ 2.0
5	20	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	2:12.3	2:11.8	+ 2.2
6	8	Graham Hill	BRM	2:12.1	2:12.9	+ 2.5
7	12	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	2:13.9	2:12.4	+ 2.8
8	26	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	—	2:12.8	+ 3.2
9	10	Richie Ginther	BRM	2:14.6	2:13.9	+ 4.3
10	14	Phil Hill	Cooper-Climax	2:14.5	2:15.4	+ 4.9
11	16	Innes Ireland	BRP-BRM	2:15.3	2:14.8	+ 5.2
12	18	Trevor Taylor	BRP-BRM	2:16.3	2:14.9	+ 5.3
13	36†	Mike Hailwood	Lotus-BRM	—	2:16.2	+ 6.6
14	34	Chris Amon	Lotus-BRM	2:24.3	2:16.4	+ 6.8
15	32	Bob Anderson	Brabham-Climax	2:17.4	2:16.9	+ 7.3
16	36†	Peter Revson	Lotus-BRM	2:18.5	—	+ 8.9
17	28	Maurice Trintignant	BRM	2:26.3	2:21.5	+ 11.9
18	30	Jo Siffert	Brabham-BRM	2:23.6	—	+ 14.0

Notes

†: Revson drove Hailwood's car in Thursday's practice session whilst Hailwood was practicing for the Dutch TT.

Starting Grid

1st Row	3		2		1
	24. Surtees Ferrari 2:11.1		22. Gurney Brabham-Climax 2:10.1		2. Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 2:09.6
2nd Row		5		4
		20. Brabham Brabham-Climax 2:11.8		4. Arundell Lotus-Climax 2:11.6
3rd Row	8		7		6
	26. Bandini Ferrari 2:12.8		12. McLaren Cooper-Climax 2:12.4		8. G. Hill BRM 2:12.1
4th Row		10		9
		14. P. Hill Cooper-Climax 2:14.5		10. Ginther BRM 2:13.9
5th Row	13		12		11
	36. Hailwood Lotus-BRM 2:16.2		18. Taylor BRP-BRM 2:14.9		16. Ireland BRP-BRM 2:14.8
6th Row		15		14
		32. Anderson Brabham-Climax 2:16.9		34. Amon Lotus-BRM 2:16.4
7th Row			17		16
			30. Siffert Brabham-BRM 2:23.6		28. Trintignant BRM 2:21.5

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	22	Dan Gurney	Brabham-Climax	57	2:07:49.1	2	9
2	8	Graham Hill	BRM	57	+ 24.1	6	6
3	20	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	57	+ 24.9	5	4
4	4	Peter Arundell	Lotus-Climax	57	+ 1:10.6	4	3
5	10	Richie Ginther	BRM	57	+ 2:12.1	9	2
6	12	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	56	+ 1 lap	7	1
7	14	Phil Hill	Cooper-Climax	56	+ 1 lap	10
8	36	Mike Hailwood	Lotus-BRM	56	+ 1 lap	13
9	26	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	55	+ 2 laps	8
10	34	Chris Amon	Lotus-BRM	53	+ 4 laps	14
11	28	Maurice Trintignant	BRM	52	+ 5 laps	16
12	32	Bob Anderson	Brabham-Climax	50	+ 7 laps	15
Ret	16	Innes Ireland	BRP-BRM	32	Accident	11
Ret	2	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	31	Engine	1
Ret	24	John Surtees	Ferrari	6	Engine	3
Ret	18	Trevor Taylor	BRP-BRM	6	Accident	12
Ret	30	Jo Siffert	Brabham-BRM	4	Clutch	17

Standings after the race

Note, only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Jim Clark	21
2	Graham Hill	20
3=	Richie Ginther	11
	Peter Arundell
5	Dan Gurney	10

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Lotus-Climax	25
2	BRM	21
3	Brabham-Climax	14
4	Cooper-Climax	9
5	Ferrari	6

References

Classifications from -

• Grant, Gregor (1964-07-03). "Dan's day at Rouen". Autosport. 29 (1): p.20-23. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
• "The Official Formula 1 website". Retrieved 2008-01-15.