it in the race, he would have to start from the second spot, alongside Hill. American Richie Ginther used the spare Honda to grab third spot, as the powerful V–12 made him the fastest car down the straight. The top six on the grid were Hill, Clark, Ginther, Spence, Lorenzo Bandini's Ferrari and Stewart. It rained on Sunday morning, but a strong wind dried the track in time for the start, and 60,000 fans watched with hoods and parkas against the changing conditions. Hill jumped into an early lead, trailed by Clark and Ginther. Stewart charged up from the third row and moved inside Ginther in the Esses, but the Honda pinched the gap closed, forcing Stewart into the curb and bending his suspension. Stewart continued, while the stunned Ginther dropped back to eighth, but the throttle cable on Stewart's car split and he limped around to the pits. By the time he rejoined the race, the rain had returned, making his bent suspension too big of a handicap, and he retired. On the second lap, Clark took the lead from Hill, as the two pulled away from Bandini, Spence, Gurney and Brabham. Three laps later, Hill regained the lead, and the two British World Champions dueled until lap 12, when Hill's BRM appeared alone, and Clark coasted into the pits with a broken piston. The group of four following the leaders had been battling hard, as Spence was twice forced off the road by Bandini, and retired on lap six with a broken timing chain. Hill now led Gurney by 14 seconds, followed by Bandini and Brabham. By lap 24, Hill led by almost half a lap. Then, a sudden shower soaked the track as the leader began lap 37. In 'The Loop' at the end of the back straight, Hill was caught out by the slippery surface and went straight on into the grass, then bounced along for 200 yards before regaining the track. Hill's Dunlop tires were two seconds per lap slower in the wet than the Brabham team's Goodyears, and, aided by the off-track excursion, Gurney and Jack Brabham were able to close the sizable gap. Gurney pulled right up on the BRM's tailpipes, but in his zeal, he overdid a corner and allowed teammate Brabham by into second. Now, it was team leader Brabham's turn to have a go, and he moved ahead of Hill