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Dan Gurney
 The name Daniel Sexton Gurney is so interwoven into the careers of Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren and Denis Hulme that he will feature in various stories on this site for years to come. The term legend is loosely used these days but it is absolutely appropriate to be applied to a man who conquered so many aspects of the sport, both as a driver, constructor, and entrant.
One of the interesting aspects of Dan’s Formula 1 career is partly that he only won four Grands Prix, and that not only were three in different makes of car (Dan did tend to move around a bit) but that in three instances he gave a manufacturer their debut victory. In the case of Porsche and his own Eagle, those were the only victories ever achieved for that marque. The reality is Dan should either have been born 10 years earlier or 10 years later – much of his career sadly coincided with the smallest, most under-powered Formula 1 cars of all time with the 1.5 litre Formula from 1961 to 1965. These cars were great for blokes of the build of Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and John Surtees who all excelled at various times through that period. At 6 foot 2 and nearly 13 stone, Dan would have been better off either in an Alfa Romeo 158, or a McLaren M23 both from a power to weight and an aerodynamic standpoint (on account of so much of him sticking out into the airflow!) the 1.5 litre cars were the worst for a man of his dimensions, regardless of how good he was – and he was good.
 Dan would come to leave France with a smile on his face on several occasions during his career – he had won the 1962 French Grand Prix at Rouen for Porsche in 1962 and would play a significant part in the victory at Le Mans 24 hour race in 1967. At the 1964 French Grand Prix, and again at Rouen, he managed not only to give the Brabham name their first victory in Formula 1 but it was also the inaugural win for an F1 car designed by Ron Tauranac.
It is fair to say that as with his Porsche victory at Rouen two years earlier, the retirement of Jim Clark’s Lotus was a contributing factor to Dan prevailing however plenty of drivers capitalised on Dan’s misfortunes over the years and his entire 1964 season is a case in point – only two point scoring finishes – France and Mexico, both of which he won.
 Just take a moment to contemplate – no seconds, thirds, fourths, fifths, or sixths – two wins and a ton of disappointment. Predictably Clark was on pole – a glance at the results indicated he was already dominating 1964 as he had the previous year having won rounds two and three at Holland and Belgium respectively but suffered his habitual appalling luck at Monaco where Graham Hill had won as he did for most of the 60’s. However Dan had been leading that race until just after half distance - initially he suffered a fuel tank leak and then transmission failure. A fortnight later and Dan was on pole position at Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix. The Brabham BT7 was running in fourth when its cause for retirement just past quarter distance was so bizarre it virtually typified Dan’s bad luck this year– he had broken one of the spokes on the steering wheel for which there was no spare! At Spa for the Belgium Grand Prix he scrapped out the opening laps with the Ferrari-mounted Surtees and Jim Clark but eventually broke free and soon had a dozen seconds between the green Brabham with the bronze stripe and nose and the slipstreaming Graham Hill, Clark and Bruce McLaren. Two laps to go and still in the lead Gurney was in the pits for fuel only to find – there wasn’t any readily available! This was the race where virtually everyone ran out of fuel - Jim Clark was fourth with a lap to go yet managed to win as others sputtered to a halt, and then ran out of fuel moments after crossing the finish line.
So by the French Grand Prix at Rouen – Les Essarts on June 28, the Brabham Team were due and Gurney in particular. While Clark headed the points table, Gurney had been the consistent pacesetter. Again Clark, Gurney and Surtees were the central characters for the opening laps with Dan’s boss also putting in a big performance as Jack ran third. Just after half distance Clark’s leading Lotus suffered a holed piston and now it was a chance for Gurney to benefit from someone else’s mechanical misfortune. Surely victory couldn’t be denied him again so soon after the heartbreak at Spa. This time the Brabham BT7 Climax held together and it was a double celebration for the still fledgling Brabham Team as Jack joined him on the rostrum after finishing third, the two Tauranac designed cars split by Graham Hill’s BRM.
That was the only high point for Dan until the final race of the season. A fortnight after his victory and teams assembled for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and again he led the bunch that chased Clark from the start only to drop out with failed ignition. Throughout his career Gurney would be a factor at the Nurburgring where drivers with real skill always shine through. Clark led lap one, Surtees laps two and three and then it was Dan’s turn on lap four after which he and the Ferrari driver began to draw away from Hill and Clark. Surtees took back the lead and put in a lap record to draw himself clear of the lanky Californian who pitted on lap 11 of 15 with heating problems.
Gurney led again at the next round where the first Austrian Grand Prix was held at the awkward little Zeltweg circuit. Again he would retire from the lead joining Clark and Surtees in retirement – all with broken rear suspension.
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza was at its slipstreaming best where Surtees, Bruce McLaren in a Cooper, Clark and Gurney slugged it out for the first 26 laps. This time a failing alternator and dead battery finished off Dan’s Brabham on lap 55 of 78. And so to the States where the local hero who had either led or been a major factor in every race so far would enjoy some improved fortune. He held a strong second behind Hill after Clark had retired but this time was out with falling oil pressure. Gurney’s retirement allowed Surtees into second and in doing so significantly improved his chances of adding a championship on four wheels to his multiple motor bike titles.
There was drama galore for the Mexican Grand Prix on October 25. The title could go either one of three ways between Graham Hill, Jim Clark and John Surtees. In reality that should have been a four way battle for the crown had it not been for the Brabham team’s poor finishing record for 1964. For the final race their retirement record was about to change. By now the script was becoming rather familiar – Clark ahead of Gurney, followed by Hill, Surtees and the rest. And so it would be around the Mexico City circuit.
On lap 64 of 65 Clark was slowing and Gurney was through and into the lead. Victory number 2 for the Brabham team and his second dollop of points. Eighteen points seemed insufficient in a season where, on reflection, a championship would not be too far fetched.
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