Suomen Grand Prix

Keimola, 3 Sep 1967

All cars are 1.6-litre F2 unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Lotus 48 [R1?] (Jim Clark): The prototype Lotus 48 was taken out to Australia for Graham Hill to drive in the Australian Grand Prix at Warwick Farm in February 1967, when he retired. It was then the Team Lotus spare car at the start of the F2 season, first racing at the Nürburgring in April. Jim Clark then used the car in nine F2 races from May onwards, including his wins at Jarama and Keimola. Driven by Alex Solor-Roig at the Spanish GP in November, but his deal to race the car fell through. Retained for 1968, when it was Jackie Oliver's regular entry supported by Roger Frogley's Herts & Essex Aero Club and maintained by Derek Wilde. It was sold to Gerry Kinnane at the end of the European F2 season, and raced for him by Oliver in the Argentine Temporada in December. Then raced by John Watson at the opening F2 race of 1969, at Thruxton, but crashed and badly damaged. Repaired in Belfast with a new outer skin created by Fred Smith using the workshop of Belfast Corporation Bus Company on the Falls Road, and raced by John L'Amie for Kinnane later in the year. To Alan Fowler for 1970, and driven by Barrie Smith at the Thruxton F2 race in March 1970, but did not start. Reportedly sold by Fowler's D&A Shells to a collector in Nuneaton, and retained by him until 1997, when it was sold via John Harper to Bob Tabor (Llanrothal, Herefordshire). The car was restored by Tabor by Simon Hadfield, and the monocoque was rebuilt by Competition Fabrications (Attleborough, Norfolk) who carefully replaced the single-curvature Belfast-made outer skin with a correct double-curvature skin. A stronger rollhoop structure was also fitted. The rebuilt car was raced by Hadfield in the Goodwood Glover Trophy in September 1999.
2. Brabham BT23 [5] (Jochen Rindt): Roy Winkelmann Racing for Jochen Rindt in F2 in 1967, winning nine races that season. Also for Gijs van Lennep as a Roy Winkelmann Racing Team Holland entry at Zandvoort that July. Then used by Denny Hulme for the 1968 Tasman series but crashed at Pukekohe. Feo Stanton and Alex Mildren bought the wreck which went, less suspension, to Bob Britton in Australia who used it to make a jig for a 'Rorstan' for Stanton, a 'Mildren' for Alex Mildren and his own series of Rennmax BN3 cars. The BT23 frame later passed to Graham Hepburn and then to Denis Lupton (Melbourne) 1981 who also bought the suspension, by then with Les Sargent. Sold to George Goodare (Sydney, NSW) 1983 - Jean-Marie Muller (France) 2008 . Involved in an accident at Reims in 2010 and reported to be damaged by fire. Subsequent history unknown.
3. Lotus 48 [R2?] (Graham Hill): Graham Hill's regular Team Lotus entry in Formula 2 in 1967, raced by him in 16 of that season's races. Retained for 1968, when it was entered by Gold Leaf Team Lotus for Hill in a further eight F2 races. Sold to Gerry Kinnane's Team Ireland for 1969, and raced by John Pollock in the Thruxton F2 race in April and then in Irish 1600cc racing. Sold to Kevin Murphy in 1970 for Frank Keane to drive in Irish libre racing, primarily at Mondello Park, and in hillclimbs. Traded to Bobby Howlings for a Brabham BT30 in September 1970, and advertised by him the following month. Then evidently to Beric Ewin (Finchley, London) and fitted with a Ford twin cam engine for the new Formula Atlantic category in 1971 and 1972. Then unknown until acquired by a private collector in the late 1970s.
4. Brabham BT23 [4] (Alan Rees): Roy Winkelmann Racing for Alan Rees in F2 1967. To Walter Habegger (Oberönz, Switzerland) 1968 for Swiss championship events. To Gérard Pillon (Geneva, Switzerland) 1969 and used in Swiss national events and French hillclimbs. (Although one source gives this as the car of Enzo Corti at Rheims and Albi in 1969, that identification looks highly doubtful.) Crashed at Côte de la Faucille on 7 September and not seen again. In 2009, Walter Habegger recalled that Pillon had an accident in the car and that it was badly damaged.
5. Brabham BT23 [2] (Frank Gardner): Motor Racing Developments entry for Denny Hulme in 1967 and probably the car used by Jack Brabham for a few races in July and August after his usual car was sold to Mick Mooney. Then raced by Frank Gardner in September. It was then taken to the Tasman series for Denny Hulme to drive after he had wrecked BT23-5 at Pukekohe. The BT23 was then advertised by Frank Williams in early April and sold by him to Ernesto 'Tino' Brambilla in Italy. Brambilla raced it as a Scuderia Picchio Rosso entry at Tulln-Langenlebarn in July 1968, but was then recruited by Ferrari to drive the F2 Dino 166, and his BT23 was only seen once more that season, when driven by Enzo Corti at Vallelunga in October. Corti drove the car for Scuderia Picchio Rosso right through the 1969 season, and it was then raced a few times in early 1970 by Vittorio Brambilla, Tino's younger brother. In 1970, the car had BT30 sidepods and wings. Its last appearance was in July 1970, after which the brothers bought new Brabham BT30s. The next steps in the car's life remains unclear, but it is said to have been acquired by Antonio Bernardo (Lugano, Switzerland) some time in the early 1970s. An original claim that Bernardo acquired it directly from the Winkelmann Racing at the end of the 1967 season appears to have been a misunderstanding. He stored it unused "for over 30 years". It was bought from Bernardo in 2006, and restored between 2006 and 2010. Paint layers on the bodywork match the colours used by MRD and Corti, and the double-rollhoop also matches Corti's car, but some questions remain unanswered about this car as of February 2023.
6. Brabham BT23C [1] (Jack Brabham): The prototype BT23C was used at the end of the 1967 season by Jack Brabham and Frank Gardner and then sold to Frank Williams for Picko Troberg to drive, but not start, at Hockenheim in April 1968. It was then used briefly in F3 by Harry Stiller but wasn't seen again until October 1968 when Piers Courage took it over for the Albi F2 race, his regular BT23C/7 having been "sold to Tasmania" (Autosport 25 Oct 1968 p14). Then to Laurence Brownlie (Kelso, South Island, New Zealand), possibly leased by Williams, and raced in the 1969 Tasman series before returning to Europe for Graham McRae to drive in the 1969 F2 series, entered by Williams again. Last raced in July 1969, then advertised by Alan Grant (Winkfield Row, Berkshire) in August and reappeared in April 1970 when advertised by Bobby Howlings. Sold to Rodney Seow in Singapore but never raced. Traded together with Seow's Brabham BT9 to Mike Truter by 1980 and sold on to Brian Wilson (Australia) about 1983. Wilson imported the cars to Australia, had the BT23C restored and raced it in historic racing for more than 20 years. Sold to Chad Parrish (Sydney, NSW, Australia) early 2014.
7. Brabham BT21 [26] (Curt Lincoln): New to Curt Lincoln and raced mainly in F3 races at Keimola in 1967. Entered by Lincoln for Matti Lamminen to drive in Scandinavian F3 in 1968. To Rolf Gröndahl for Scandinavian F3 in early 1969, then to Ole Vejlund in July 1969, and driven by Vejlund later in 1969 and in 1970. Believed to be the Formula Ford car of Knud Rasmussen later in 1970.
8. Brabham BT21 [31] (Ulf Svensson): New to Ulf Svensson and raced extensively in Swedish and European F3 in 1967. To Rolf Gröndahl for 1968, then to Jean Johansson for 1969.
9. Brabham BT21 [38] (Lars Lindberg): New to Lars Lindberg and raced in Scandinavian and some European F3 in 1967. To Gunnar Martinsson and raced in Scandinavian in 1968. Presumably the car Martinsson drove again briefly in 1969 beforer acquiring a Tecno.
10. Brabham BT21 [44] (Jouko Valli): New to Jouko Valli and raced in a few Finnish F3 races, starting in August 1967 where Motoring News reported that he was racing a brand new BT21 for first time. To Jonas Qvarnström who raced it a few times in F3 in 1968, inclduing a crash at Silverstone in July. Qvarnström retained the car for 1969, when it was described by Motoring News as a BT21B with a UBM (Uffes Bil o Motor) engine.
11. Brabham BT21 [37] (Ingvar Pettersson): New to Ingvar Pettersson and raced in Scandinavian and some European F3 in 1967 and 1968. Retained again for Pettersson for 1969, when it was described as a BT21B, not not seen again after his accident at Knutstorp at the end of April. Pettersson then acquired a new BT28 and the subsequent history of the BT21 is unknown.
12. Brabham BT18 [F2-7-66] (Ronnie Peterson): New to Kurt Ahrens and raced in Formula 2 in 1966, using a Cosworth SCA engine. Sold to Ronnie Peterson for Formula 3 in 1967. To Gustaf Dieden for F3 in 1968. To Bertil Roos (Gotenborg, Sweden) for F3 in 1969. Chris Townsend advises that this car went to Stig Johansson for 1970. Subsequent history unknown.
13. Brabham BT16 (Raimo Rinne): Finnish driver Raimo Rinne ran a "BT16" at a couple of F3 events in September 1967. This may have been the car that fellow Finn Kaj Godenhjelm had earlier raced at Keimola in May 1967. Missing again until August 1968 when Rinne raced in a couple of events. Rinne next appeared at Karlskoga in August 1969 when Motoring News describes his car as a BT15 with (old style) side draught engine which was "used as a toy by a rich American girl".
14. Brabham BT16 [F2-7-65] (Jean Johansson): Although an early serial, this car is first seen in F2 when it is entered by Baldyne Engineering for Dennis O'Sullivan at Brands at the end of August. Identified by Chris Townsend as Lindberg's car then to Jean Johansson in 1966.
15. Brabham BT23 [6] (Robin Widdows): 1967 Whitley Racing Services for Robin Widdows. Sold at the end of the 1967 season to Mitsubishi Motors and shipped to Japan. May have been used by Kouichi Satou in 1973 and Masaru Tanaka in 1975
16. Brabham BT18 [F2-28-66] (Reine Wisell): New to Picko Troberg (Stockholm, Sweden) for European F3 in 1966. To Reine Wisell (Motala, nr. Linkoping, Sweden) for 1967 and raced with great success in Scandinavian F3. To Hans Nilsson for more F3 in 1968 and then to Bo Ericsson for yet more in 1969. Subsequent history unknown.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.

Individual sources for this event

The 23 F2 runners are not covered here.