VI LAKESIDE INTERNATIONAL
 Location - Lakeside Aust  Laps - 66  Distance - 159.32 km  Date - 12/02/67  Weather - Fine
ENTRY LIST
No. DRIVER ENTRANT MAKE ENGINE
1 Jack Brabham Brabham Racing Org. Brabham BT23A Repco V8 2.5
2 Denis Hulme Brabham Racing Org. Brabham BT22 Repco V8 2.5
7 Kevin Bartlett Alec Mildren Racing Brabham BT11A Climax FPF
8 Frank Gardner Alec Mildren Racing Brabham BT23B Climax FPF
9 Spencer Martin Bob Jane Racing Brabham BT11A Climax FPF
10 John Harvey R.R.C. Phillips Brabham BT14 Ford 1.5
3 Jackie Stewart R.H.H. Parnell BRM P261 BRM V8 2.1
4 Piers Courage R.H.H. Parnell BRM P261 BRM V8 2.1
12 Don O'Sullivan F.D. O'Sullivan Cooper T70/79 Climax FPF
19 Ian Cook Ian Cook Elfin Mono 100 Ford 1.5
21 Mel McEwin Mel McEwin Elfin Mono 100 Ford 1.5
? Graham Hill Team Lotus Lotus 48 Cosworth FVA
6 Jim Clark Team Lotus Lotus 33 Climax V8 2.0
11 Leo Geoghegan Geoghegan Racing Lotus 39 Climax FPF
14 Greg Cusack Castrol Team Lotus 32B Climax FPF
20 Glyn Scott Glynn Scott Motors Lotus 27 Ford 1.5
Geoghegan and StewartThe Australian round of the '67 Tasman Series began at Lakeside in mid-February, and despite the determined forceful efforts of the world's top wheelmen, it was "old coolness" himself, Jim Clark, who won the day and opened up an almost unbeatable lead in the series pointscore. The meeting attracted a crowd of over 8000 and weather conditions were fine, though hot and sultry.

Practice sessions come and go, but Saturday the 11th will be one I'll remember for a long while. Clark's record stood at 54.9 secs., set two years ago, and four cars were all set to bring it down. The weather was great, cloudy with light breezes, and final preparations gave the pits a tense mood.

A dozen cars assembled before the circuit gate, their tutors screaming up and down their own vocal ranges and Drivers Briefing giving off a fabulous sound. Things were away. Early laps came into the late fifties, Clark clipping his record by a tenth after six laps. Hulme managed two laps before returning to work furiously over a bare motor. Stewart hammered away, the screaming BRM coming in at 54.4 after Clark had scored 54.3. Brabham settled into a virtually new car and quickly set a 55.4, but further laps showed no improvement. Courage cracked 56 flat and showed lots of ability in handling a big car for the first time. The beautifully prepared Lotus of Leo Geoghegan, now sporting Castrol colours, cut the local opposition to pieces with a 56.2, while Gardner scored 56.4, Bartlett 56.7, Martin 56.9 and Harvey 57.2. Cusack looked most unhappy and scored 58.

KB Settles into the Mildren BrabhamThe second session improved all round, Clark marking up an incredible 54.1, just a tenth short of the magic 100 m.p.h. lap. Stewart equalled his previous best time, while Brabham got the Repco sorted, turning in three laps on 54.8 in a long session before returning with no oil pressure. Hulme managed 55.1, and Leo Geoghegan cracked a great 55.3. Brabham frantically phoned Repco for another engine and, since he seems to have some influence there, a new but untested unit arrived early A.M. Sunday. Stewart spent much time jumping from his car to the spare, trying both Goodyear and Dunlop tyres, finally settled for his own unit, on Goodyear, after a great mental argument. The Brabham engine proved a dud, and J.B. and his men set about building up a composite from the two units. This was installed after an all-night session and ready with a few hours to spare, but no testing period was available. The field blasts off

The fourteen starters (including only three 1.5L litre cars) circulated for a five minute warm up period, and J.B. soon found himself cursed with a sticking throttle as he blipped his way around BMC. The excitement and the noise subsided as the grid assembled, but returned on the countdown.

Stewart got the start, Clark alongside but losing ground on each gear change as the two headed up to BMC. Brabham, Hulme, Geoghegan and Courage followed, all bunched clear of Gardner, Bartlett and Martin. Geoghegan had shot off the line; almost passing Brabham and Hulme despite a slow change to second, but stayed wide at BMC to let them through.

JYS has the lead into the KinkThe big threat in the 1.5 class of '67, Ian Cook, ran out of brakes on the first lap, exiting with a flurry into the escape area before KLG, to damage the nearside front suspension of the Elfin mono.

Stewart and Clark completed the standing lap in 60.2, over a second clear of J.B. in third spot. Harvey went under Cusack into BMC and the race order seemed set. Courage pushed the BRM, using all the circuit, and closed on Geoghegan, still holding a magnificent fifth spot close to Hulme and lapping in fifty fives.

Stewart and Clark kept it up, the two cars never more than a few yards apart with Clark showing remarkable control as he studied his chances of going through. Brabham was 5 sets. back after six laps as he nursed the new motor just clear of the forcefully dramatic Hulme. Courage slipped under Geoghegan into BMC to put the second string BRM into fifth spot and, further back, Martin continued to hammer Bartlett. Clark shadows Stewart

Courage ran into trouble on the tenth lap, a leg cramp delaying his reactions, sending the BRM out wide in KLG to use a few feet of embankment in a high flying leap. The BRM dropped back to eleventh spot clear of Scott and McEwin, who had just been lapped by Stewart and Clark for the first time. Martin slipped past Bartlett down the back stretch and Bartlett seemed resigned to bring the tired old girl home in one piece. Cusack tailed the "two and a halves" for over fourteen laps before pulling out with a broken gear shift linkage.

Geoghegans LotusThe Stewart-Clark battle still raged and these two seemed to be in a race of their own as more and more competitors were lapped. J.B. calmly held third spot two seconds clear of Hulme after 17 laps as Hulme repeatedly got into sideways motoring. Geoghegan closed on Hulme, whittling down a three second gap with fine driving, the Sydney Lotus very firmly entrenched in fifth spot. Martin moved to within four seconds of Gardner in sixth spot.

Clark tried his move in the straight for several successive laps, but though Stewart moved ' over, Clark lacked the power to go by.

The greatest driving display that Leo Geoghegan has ever given, and certainly the best effort by an Aussie that Brabham at Speed day, came to a miserable end in the straight after twenty-five laps. The Lotus pulled out on the verge with a broken rear disc, the result of a wheel bearing going at about fourteen laps. The increasing wobble slowly wore out the hub carrier, and Geoghegan's race was over. It was a bitter blow, made worse after the race when Hulme told Leo that, in another two laps, he was going to wave him past!

Stewart and Clark were now thirty seconds clear of Brabham, and Courage nipped past Harvey down the back stretch to bring the BRM into eighth spot in his recovery bid. With half of the 66 laps run, the board showed Stewart still leading from Clark by three-tenths of a second, with JB.. some thirty-eight seconds back in third spot, clear of Hulme by six seconds. Gardner was all alone in fifth, while Courage moved up one as Martin pitted briefly with a fallen plug lead. Bartlett and Harvey had moved up, and Scott comfortably headed McEwin in the small-fry section. Martin retired six laps later with a busted fuel pump.

The race of excitement ended after thirty-eight laps as Clark slipped by Stewart in the back straight, going through under brakes into KLG. Clark opened up, several laps under his old record soon taking him well clear and Clark takes the laurelsestablishing a new record of 54.6 in the process. Brabham found himself lapped after 43 laps, but the race order stayed till Stewart retired after 59 laps with a stripped gear.

The second BRM soon followed in, Courage splitting the gear box in the same way as Stewart had done at Lakeside when leading the 1966 A.G.P. Denny Hulme had dropped back a place after making a pit stop to check on a loose wheel.

Clark romped home by well over a lap from Brabham - taking his points to 24, clear of Stewart with 9 - while Gardner came in third. The ailing Hulme followed, with Bartlett in fifth spot on the same lap. Harvey, Scott and McEwin were the only other finishers in a race of mixed fortunes that in my book will be noted for the extremely cool driving of both Clark and our own Leo Geoghegan.
 
RACE RESULTS
POSITION LAPS TIME
1. Clark 66 1:00'56.2 FL:54.6
2. Brabham 65 .
3. Gardner 64 .
    Courage 63 Gearbox
4. Hulme 63 .
5. Bartlett 63 .
6. Harvey 62 .
7. Scott ? .
8. McEwin ? .
Stewart 59 DNF:Gearbox
Martin 39 DNF:Ignition
Geoghegan 26 DNF:Wheel Bearing
Cusack 14 DNF:Gearbox
Cook 0 DNF:Accident
Written by Des White for RCN. Article submitted by Milan Fistonic

Many thanks to Paul Tilley for the majority of these photos

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