The 21st July marks 60 years since the 1962 British Grand Prix at Aintree, and the 5th August sees the celebration of the anniversary of the Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in the same year – undeniably two of the most crucial and intense races as BRM battled for victory that season. Nick Owen has written some words on this time for ‘Discovering Bourne’:
July was the month of the British Grand Prix, held in 1962 at Aintree – this race would take us past the halfway point in the Grand Prix season. Graham Hill’s BRM had only managed 5th on the grid, with arch-rival Jim Clark in the Lotus taking pole position. Jim Clark went on to win the race; and Hill came in 4th, struggling with excessive tyre wear as the race progressed.However, in the overall scheme of things, there was promise and optimism; Hill was leading the Drivers Championship; ahead of Jim Clark by one point. In the Constructors’ Championship, BRM were in 2nd place, behind Lotus by one point. There was all to play for, and the contribution of Hill’s BRM teammate Richie Ginther was a huge part of this – and his 3rd place in the French Grand Prix at Rheims when Hill’s BRM failed to finish just shows how important Richie’s contribution was to the eventual Constructors’ Championship victory.
