Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

December 2015 Classic&SportsCar 143

ously, and theymovedaroundan awfullot.

Also,Spa itselfwas beautiful.”

“Therewere no crowds,”he continues,“and

the driversweren’t the celebritiesthat they’ve

becomenow. We walkedbehindthe pits with

someDunlopguysand wereableto stroll

straightin – no one questionedit. Therewas no

ticke t kioskor anything, and you couldget

up closeto all of the cars.

“JohnSurteeswas drivingthe Lola that year.

His wife Pat madeus very welcome,and we

wereable to watchpracticefromthe pit coun-

ter! We just stayedquietand didn’t makea

nuisanceof ourselves.”

As it turnedout, that year’s race was a good

one to witness:it was Jim Clark’s first champi-

onshipGrandPrix win, and the first for the

Lotus25. Dryhurstbecamea big fan of the

Scottishgenius.“Forme, he was the best that

there’s ever been,and the combinationof him

he’d sustainedin whatwouldturn out to be a
career-endingcrashat Goodwoodin April:“I
can rememberarrivingat the circuitand seeing
the Rob Walker transporter. Eventhoughhe
was running Maurice Trintignant,it still had
‘Driver: StirlingMoss’written on the side. At
that point, everyone was hopingthat Moss
wouldrecoverand returnto racing.”
In ’62, of course,Spa still meantthe majestic
8-mileroad circuit,whichrose to Les Combes
beforesweepingdownthroughBurnenville,
Malmedyand the MastaKink,all the way to
Stavelot,wherethe climbbackup to the pits
began.It was the secondseasonof the 1½-litre
formula,whichwasn’t a hit with purists.“I can
rememberDenisJenkinsonsayingthat
1½-litreswas a decentsize ‘for a bike engine’,”
recallsDryhurst.“I supposethey weren’t all
that quickbut, by Jove,they wereimpressive
aroundthere.Theyhad no downforce,obvi-

Spa1962,andthe Lolaof

‘FearlessJohn’Surtees

leadsthe Ferrarisof Phil

HillandRicardoRodríguez

betweenthe housesat

Burnenville.Below: Jochen

Rindtin the Silverstone

paddock,’67 BritishGP