June. Driven by Gurney, it qualified fifth. A major accident at the first corner immediately after the start caused Richie Ginther's BRM to run into the back of Gurney's 804, damaging the transaxle and causing Gurney to drop out. Bonnier finished in fifth place with a four-cylinder 718. The Porsche team sat out the Belgian Grand Prix, leaving privateer Godin de Beaufort to represent the marque with a seventh-place finish in his 718/2. The factory team spent the time in development and testing. Changes to the car included a revised front suspension that added radius rods from the upper A-arms back to a chassis bracket, and on Bonnier's car the upper rear A-arms were filled in with fibreglass as a stiffening measure. An anti-roll bar that attached to extensions on the A-arms was added to the rear suspension. There was also a redesigned gear-shift mechanism, revised bodywork around the cockpit, a lower and more reclined seating position, and a detachable steering wheel. The fuel tanks were reshaped around the seat, and the pedals moved forward as part of the changes to the seating position. In addition there was extra diagonal bracing for the chassis, and an increase to the rear track of . After the development phase Ferry Porsche required that the cars be able to complete a full GP-race distance of around the Nürburgring without a mechanical breakdown, which Gurney was able to accomplish while bettering the track's existing lap times. The 1962 French Grand Prix was held on 8 July at Rouen-Les-Essarts rather than Reims. Gurney qualified his 804 in sixth place, and Bonnier's sat ninth. Ferrari did not field any cars because of a metalworkers strike, Jim Clark's Lotus dropped out on lap 33 with steering/suspension problems and Graham Hill's BRM fell out due to a fuel-injection problem. Gurney won the race with an average speed of , having lapped Tony Maggs' second-place Cooper. Bonnier retired on lap 42 of 54 with a failed fuel pump. A week later, Gurney and Bonnier drove their 804s in the 1962 Solitude Grand Prix at the Solitude track near Stuttgart. In this non-World-Championship event, Gurney led from start to finish, and Bonnier finished second. At the 1962 British Grand Prix on 21 July at Aintree, Gurney and Bonnier qualified sixth and seventh respectively. During the race the clutch in Gurney's 804 began to slip, but the car still managed a