Jim Clark wins four Dutch GPs, including a debut win for the Ford DFV.
Having been the scene of BRM’s first Grand Prix victory in 1959, Zandvoort also brought the team their second win in 1962. This time it was Graham Hill in the driving seat. The Dutch Grand Prix also saw the debut of the revolutionary monocoque Lotus 25. Jim Clark used it to lead the race early on but, in a rare mistake, crashed out. Trevor Taylor, also in a Lotus, managed to stay on the track and finished second while Phil Hill was third for Ferrari.
Clark made amends in 1963 with a perfect weekend. The Scotsman managed to take pole, fastest lap and victory in the Grand Prix. Dan Gurney took his Brabham to second while John Surtees finished third in a Ferrari.
In 1964 Clark was again unbeatable around Zandvoort, winning from the Ferrari of Surtees. Peter Arundell was a distant third in his Lotus, a lap behind. Clark made it a hat-trick of wins in 1965. In second place was his countryman and friend Jackie Stewart. Behind Stewart’s BRM came Gurney’s Brabham.
Clark could only manage third in 1966 as Lotus struggled in the first season of the new three-litre Formula 1. Jack Brabham won the race in a car of his own construction, followed by the BRM of Graham Hill. The competitiveness of the Brabham-Repco’s was confirmed by Denny Hulme’s fastest race lap.
Lotus had a far more competitive package for the 1967 Grand Prix. Making its debut at Zandvoort was the Lotus 49, powered by the new Ford DFV engine. Clark took full advantage to give the new combination a debut victory. The DFV would go on to become the most successful engine in Formula 1 history, its last win coming in 1983. Brabham team-mates Brabham and Hulme finished second and third respectively. Behind them came a trio of Ferrari’s, led by the perennially unlucky Chris Amon who, despite undeniable talent, was destined never to win a World Championship Grand Prix.
Despite Amon claiming pole it was the French Matra team that filled the top two places on the podium in 1968, Stewart leading home Jean-Pierre Beltoise. Pedro Rodriguez was third for BRM. Stewart won again in 1969, this time from the Lotus of Jo Siffert. Amon brought his Ferrari home in third.
By the end of the sixties Zandvoort had firmly established itself as a popular round on the Formula 1 calendar. The circuit would continue to host the Grand Prix during the seventies but the new decade would also bring stark tragedy.
