him for 15 laps, until he, too, suddenly coasted down the pit lane with a loose magneto wire. The next challenger was Roy Salvadori, who began trimming the lead from 20 seconds down to five with only five laps left. But it was Ireland's day. With just over three laps remaining, Salvadori's privately entered Cooper blew its engine, just as his teammate John Surtees' car had done on the first lap. Ireland came home under the waving checkered flag of Tex Hopkins, less than five seconds ahead of American Dan Gurney, as Britain's Tony Brooks finished the last GP of his career in third. "I was lucky," said Ireland. "I could not take Moss or Brabham. Their cars were too fast. I had no fuel pressure in the last ten laps, and ended up with a thimbleful of gas at the finish." It was Ireland's only World Championship win, the first World Championship win for Team Lotus, and the first American Grand Prix to turn a profit, ensuring its return in 1962. It was Moss's last World Championship race, as his career was ended by a heavy accident during the 1962 Glover Trophy race at Goodwood the following April. Classification Qualifying † Moss registered a laptime of 1:17.2 in Q2 using a car with a 4-cylinder engine, but decided to race with his V8-powered machine, and was placed on the grid with his best time in the V8.. Race Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Constructors' Championship standings Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored. References Further reading James T. Crow (January, 1962). "U.S. Grand Prix". Road & Track, 68-72. Doug Nye (1978). The United States Grand Prix and Grand Prize Races, 1908-1977. B. T. Batsford. J.J. O'Malley and Bill Green (1998). Watkins Glen, From Griswold to Gordon: Fifty Years of Competition At the Home of American Road Racing. External links Don Capps. "Rear View Mirror." (Archived 2009-05-04) Atlas F1: Volume 6, Issue 43. Retrieved on April 26, 2009. United States Grand Prix United States Grand Prix 1961 in sports in New York (state) 1961 in American motorsport October 1961 sports events in the United States