1965 saw the revival of the world’s oldest motor race when the Royal Automobile Club brought the 30th RAC International Tourist Trophy Race with the Senior Service Trophy to Oulton Park. The TT, was the fourth round of the International Championship for Manufacturers (Division III). In addition, it was also round three of the British Sports Car Championship. This was the held at the Oulton Park circuit, in Cheshire, England, on 1 May.Peter Swinger, "Motor Racing Circuits in England : Then & Now" (Ian Allan Publishing, , 2008)
Report Entry A total of 30 sports cars were entered for the event, across two classes, however just 25 took part in qualifying.
Qualifying The reigning World Drivers Champion, John Surtees took pole position for this own outfit, Team Surtees, in his Lola-Chevrolet T70, averaging a speed of 103.495 mph, around 2.761 miles circuit.
Race The final was held over four hour duration of the Oulton Park circuit, split into two heats of two hours. Denny Hulme took impressive overall victory, after winning the first heat in his Sidney Taylor Racing prepared Brabham-Climax BT8, and subsequently taking a second place in the second heat. Hulme won in an aggregated time of 4hrs 03:01.400mins., averaging a speed of 94.618 mph. Second place went to David Hobbs, in his Lola-Ford T70. The podium was completed by David Piper, in his Ferrari 250 LM. Hulme victory was his first win in the TT, he would go on and win a total of four, the last being in 1986.
Classification
Aggregate Results Pos. No. Group Driver(s) Entrant Car - Engine Time, Laps Reason Out 1st 16 SR/P+1.6 Denny Hulme Sidney Taylor Racing Brabham-Climax BT8 4hrs 03:01.400, 138 2nd 2 SR/P+1.6 David Hobbs Harold Young Ltd. Lola-Ford T70 137 3rd 14 SR/P+1.6 David Piper David Piper (Auto Racing) Ltd. Ferrari 250 LM 133 4th 21 GT+2.0 John Whitmore Alan Mann Racing Shelby Cobra roadster 130 5th 28 GT+2.0 Peter Sutcliffe Peter Sutcliffe Ferrari 250 GTO 130 6th 25 GT+2.0 Allen Grant Radford Racing Shelby Cobra roadster 128 7th 22 GT+2.0 Jack Sears Alan Mann RacingShelby Daytona Cobra Coupe 127 8th 26 GT+2.0 Neil Dangerfield John Sparrow Radford Racing Shelby Cobra roadster 126 9th 6 SR/P+1.6 David Prophet David Prophet (Racing) Ltd. Lotus-Ford 30 122 10th 23 GT+2.0 Frank Gardner Willment Racing Team Shelby Cobra Willment Coupe 119 11th 30 GT+2.0 David Wansbrough D. Protheroe Ltd. Jaguar E-Type Lightweight 117 2: DNF 12th 27 GT+2.0 Mike Salmon John Dawnay Racing Ferrari 250 GTO/64 1141: Brakes 13th 31 GT+2.0 Richard Bond Red Rose Racing Jaguar E-Type Lightweight 107 14th 4 SR/P+1.6 Jim Clark Team Lotus Lotus-Ford 30 102 2: Transmission 15th 11 SR/P+1.6 John Coundley John Coundley Racing Partnership McLaren Elva M1A Oldsmobile 101 DNF 8 SR/P+1.6 Chris Williams C. M. M. Williams Lotus-BMW 23 81 1: Gearbox2: Head gasket DNF 17 SR/P+1.6 Tommy Hitchcock Celebrity Incorporated Brabham-Climax BT8 72 2: Valves DNF 7 SR/P+1.6 Vic Wilson Team Chamaco-Collect Lotus-Ford 30 68 2: Clutch DNF 10 SR/P+1.6 Chris Amon Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd. Elva-BMW Mk. VIII 601: Overheating2: Valves DNF 9 SR/P+1.6 Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd. McLaren Elva-Oldsmobile M1A 301&2: Oil Leak DNF 24 GT+2.0 Roger Mac The Chequered Flag Ltd. Shelby Cobra roadster 291: Broken wheel DNF 19 SR/P+1.6 Tony Lanfranchi Weybridge Engineering Co. Ltd. Attila-Ford Mk.3 19 1: Drive shaft DNF 1 SR/P+1.6 John Surtees Lola Cars/Team Surtees Ltd. Lola-Chevrolet T70 13 1: Steering DNF 3 SR/P+1.6 Hugh Dibley H. P. K. Dibley Lola-Chevrolet T70 13 1: Suspension DNS 15 SR/P+1.6 Roger Nathan Roger Nathan (Racing) Brabham-Oldsmobile BT8 Clutch Source: Fastest lap: Bruce McLaren, 1:39.000secs. (100.400 mph)
Heat 1 Pos. Driver Laps Reason Out 1st Hulme 69 2nd Hobbs 67 3rd Coundley 67 4th Piper 67 5th Hitchcock 66 6th Sutcliffe 65 7th Gardner 65 8th Whitmore 65 9th Grant 64 10th Bond 63 11th Dangerfield /Sparrow 63 12th Prophet 62 13th Wansbrough 62 14th Wilson 62 15th Sears 61 16th Clark 61 DNF Amon Overheating DNF Williams Gearbox DNF Salmon 48 Brakes DNF Mac 29 Lost wheel DNFLanfranchi 19 Drive shaft DNF Mclaren 14 Gearbox DNF Surtees 13 Steering DNF Dibley 12 Suspension DNS Nathan Engine Source:
Heat 2 Pos. Driver Time, Laps Reason Out 1st Hobbs 70 2nd Hulme 69 3rd Sears 66 4th Salmon 66 5th Piper 66 6th Whitmore 65 7th Peter Sutcliffe 65 8th Grant 64 9th Dangerfield /Sparrow 63 10th Prophet 60 11th Gardner 54 12th Bond 44 13th Coundley 33 DNF Williams Head gasket DNF Amon Valves DNF Wansbrough 55 DNF DNF Clark 41 Transmission DNF McLaren 16 Engine DNF Hitchcock 6 Transmission DNF Vic Wilson 6 Clutch DNS Surtees DNS Dibley DNS Nathan DNS Lanfranchi DNS Mac Source:
References