In 1966 G7 racing with unlimited "big bangers" received a serious blow. In England circuit owners decided to replace up from 1967 G7 racing by racing with G4 sports cars like the Ford GT40, Ferrari 250LM, Porsche 906, Chevron B8, etc. At Bank Holiday, on August 29, 1966 one noted the swan song of the very popular British "big banger" racing at the Brands Hatch Guards Trophy. It was well known that most British circuits were dangerous and not well adapted to this type of cars. Instead of improving their tracks, instead of making them safer, the financial barons of British motor racing preferred to ban G7 racing, depriving public of a major attraction. 

Later on the season it was decided that the traditional Nassau Speedweek - another home of G7 racing at the Bahamas - could no longer be continued. Indeed, those races, organised traditionally end November, were steadily degenerating. Instead of a Nassau Speedweek, racers talked about a Nassau Party Week. At the 1965 edition more than $ 100,000 were spent by the Ministry of Tourism, while the "large crowd attending the races" was hardly 500 persons, mechanics of the racers included.

1967 G7 racing is mainly limited to two series, nl. the USRRC (United States Road Racing Championship) over 8 rounds and to the new CANAM Series over 6 rounds. The last named competition was created one year earlier and a big commercial success for organisers and racers. Whilst in all other parts of the world big banger racing is dying, it is booming on the American continent. The only other important G7 meetings on the international calendar are the Australian Tourist Trophy the Norisring 200 Miles in Germany. and the Springbok Series in southern Africa. The two last named events are not restricted to G7 cars alone, since G4 and G6 are also allowed at the start (in South-Africa even G2 and G5 touring cars). 

LEFT: Riverside GP 1967. Dan Gurney (Lola T70) sets the pace, followed by Jim Hall (Chaparral 2G), George Follmer (Lola T70) and Mario Andretti (Honker II). 

The 1967 USRRC is organised prior to the CANAM and is this year fully dominated by Mark Donohue. In a Roger Penske Lola T70Mk3B-N he wins no less than six of the eight rounds. Only at Laguna Seca (round #3) he's preceded by the McLaren M1C of Lothar Motschenbacher and by the Lola T70 of Mike Goth. At Road America (round #7) he doesn't start. Here the race is won by the McLaren Elva Mark 3, shared by Skip Scott and Chuck Parsons. The last named drove two cars. With the second car, shared with Jerry Hansen - a McLaren Elva Mark 2 - he finished second. Extremely disappointing were the results of the 1965 and 1966 USRRC champs Georges Follmer and Charlie Hayes. The first, in a John Mecom entered Lola T70 Mk2, could only finish once in the top-10, whilst Hayes finished at none of the eight rounds in the top-10. Eventually Donohue wins the 1967 USRRC, miles ahead over Motschenbacher and Sam Posey. The only other cars than Lolas T70 or McLarens Elva Mark 2 and Mark 3 to score good results at the USRRC are the fully reliable 2-litre Porsches 906 G4 cars. Of the artisan cars the Australian Matich SR3R Oldsmobile (once 8th), the McKee Mk7 (once 6th and once 7th), the Burnett Mk3 (once 7th) and the already old Genie Mk10 (once 9th) are the only ones able to get low top-10s.

The 11th Australian Tourist Trophy at Surfers Paradise, Queensland, on May 21, is won by Frank Matich in his Sydney-made SR3R G7, beating Allan Hamilton's Porsche 906. This victory was easy as the only other competitive car, the ex-Denny Hulme/Sid Taylor Lola T70 of John Scott-Davies couldn't start, due to a cracked block. Having improved the lap record by 1"3, Matich will finish one lap ahead over the Porsche.

At the Norisring 200 Miles, over 2 heats, on July 2, no serious G7 cars show. The race is won by Frank Gardner in a Lola T70 Mk3A Coupe entered by Sid Taylor. First G7 is the 2-litre Brabham BT8 of Peter Crossley. The absence of hairy G7 machinery proves that after the British ban of those machines, there are nearly no left in Europe.

RIGHT: Roger McCluskey's bright yellow Lancer Lola T70, heading Jonathan Williams in the NART Ferrari 350P4 Canam with 4.2-litre motor, 480 bhp strong. In the background the McLaren M1C of Bill Amick and John Entin's similar machinery.

CARS FOR THE 1967 CANAM
With more than $ 180,000 direct prize money, and nearly the double on other prizes, the second CANAM series inspires constructors and racers to show with ultra-powered cars for the six 200-miles races organised by the SCCA.  Now that the CSI decided that over 3-litre prototypes (G6) will be banned from the circuits, and that both Ford and Ferrari announced to go no longer to Le Mans, both protagonists of the Ford-Ferrari combat (1963-1967) are working on factory cars for this second CANAM series.

At Ford they prepare several works cars. The first one ordered by Kar Kraft - Ford's competition department - is tuned by Holman & Moody and built by Alan Mann Racing Ltd. The car uses an all-alloy three-valve 7-litre engine and the suspension of the Le Mans winning Ford MkIV. A 2-speed automatic transmission is announced. Name: Honker II Ford. Driver: Mario Andretti. A second car, code-named Caliope (in fact the Ford G7-A), is built by the Ford factory at two units. Chassis is a design by Len Terry of Transatlantic Automotive Consultants. It is a full monocoque using a series of "torque boxes". Engine is a 6.5 litre Ford with Gurney-Weslake heads and Shelby injection. Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt are rumoured to be the drivers. Last but not least Shelby American Inc. prepares the ultra low King Cobra, already tested by Jerry Titus, a former editor of an American motor magazine. With this effort the Ford-powered phalanx tries to topple Chevrolet-engined supremacy on the American G7 scene.

At Ferrari they prepare a lightened G7 version of the 330P4 prototype. The idea comes from Luigi Chinetti, the American importer and owner of N.A.R.T. (North American Racing Team). As soon as the CSI decided to ban the over-3-litre prototypes, Chinetti asked Modena to transform his 330P3/P4 with chassis number 0844 in a G7 car. The result is the so-called Ferrari NART-Canada, better known as the 4.0 Ferrari 330P3/P4 Canam, having a longer nose (but still with front lights!), a rear oil radiator, a shorter end with carb-snorkel, no longer a roof, and a low wind screen. The car is too heavy as compared with other G7 cars and lacks power. Driver will be Lodovico Scarfiotti, having announced that next year he'll move from Ferrari to Porsche.

Shortly after two Ferrari works cars with chassis 0858 (2nd at Le Mans) and 0860 are transformed in a similar way. The body is the same as on the 4.0 Ferrari 330P3/P4, except for the front lights having been eliminated. Since the motor is a 4.2-litre (480bhp instead of 450bhp) the cars are called 4.2 Ferrari 350P4 Canam. Modena however announces already before the start of the 1967 CANAM series that none of both cars will be ready before round #4. They'll be officially entered by NART (and not by SEFAC Ferrari SpA) and will be driven by Chris Amon (#23) and Jonathan Williams (#27).
One can hardly consider the CANAM-entries by Ford and Ferrari as serious. The cars are the result of improvisation and are not prepared with the same earnestness as the G6 prototypes seen at Daytona or Le Mans. Ford's famous Caliopes will even never show this year. At mid-season FoMoCo will officially anounce that they retire from the series. The real specialists of G7 racing remain, just as last year, Eric Broadley of Lola, Bruce McLaren and Jim Hall (Chaparral).
Of the large dozen of Lolas T70 seen at the start of the 1967 CANAM series, only five can be considered as works cars. The first is the AAR (All American Racers) Lola T70Mk3B-N, equipped with a V8 5.7-litre Weslake-headed and Weber carburettered Ford engine, 525 bhp strong and coupled to a Hewland LG600 gearbox. The car, bought from Carl Haas Racing, has a dry weight of 660 kilogram, and receives some factory help from Dearborn. Driver is Dan Gurney (#36). Another works Lola is powered by a 6-litre Chevrolet engine prepared by Traco. Its a combined entry by Lola Cars and Team Surtees. Driver is (of course) John Surtees himself (#7), last year's winner of three rounds at the CANAM and 1966 series winner. Power is slightly higher than on the AAR Lola (535 bhp versus 525 bhp), but dry weight is 15 kilogram higher. Two similar Lola-Chevrolets, however 7-litre versions of 550 bhp, are sponsored by Sunoco and entered by Roger Penske for Mark Donohue (#6) and George Follmer (#16). The cars were directly bought from Eric Broadley in England, while set-up is done by Roger Penske Racing. By winning no less than six rounds out of eight at the USRRC, Donohue starts the 1967 series as one of the main favourites. But now that George Follmer has no longer to drive that horrible John Mecom Lola T70, he too is tipped as a favourite, especially since Penske is closely committed with Chevrolet and has the reputation of a first class team.

Stardust GP: Jim Hall and his 7-litre Chaparral 2G lead the McLaren M6A of Bruce McLaren, the hidden Lola T70Mk3B of Dan Gurney and the Lola T70 of Parnelli Jones.

A fifth top-class Lola T70 will only start after Ford has withdrawn from the series (at round #4). One knows that Parnelli Jones (#21) was intended to drive the Ford G7-A. As at Kar Kraft they fail to finish the car, Jones will receive from Ford a four-cam 5-litre Indy Ford engine. It weights only 200 kilogram and fits easily in the rear of a T70 Lola. Unfortunately it is a 1966 Mk2 with a four-speed gearbox and an overweight of 100 kilogram. Of all other, private entered Lolas, only the ones driven by Lothar Motschenbacher (#11) and Peter Revson (#52) have a sound power/weight ratio, allowing them to qualify among the top-10. An earlier rumour that Jochen Rindt will start in a works Lola is eventually false. Direct challenger of the Lolas T70Mk3B is the brand new 5.8 McLaren M6A Chevrolet. The earnestness of the preparation of the Kiwi cars stirs. Mc Laren Cars Inc. has during two months its headquarters in California in Long Beach, just outside Los Angeles. There they rent a good modern workshop. The M6A is a total new concept with a monocoque chassis in aluminium and magnesium. The 5.4 V8 Chevrolet, developing 470bhp has been changed for a 5.8 Traco V8 Chevrolet of 530 bhp. The motor has Lucas fuel injection and a Vertex ignition system. Dry weight of the cars is 640 kilogram, 20 kilogram less than the AAR Lola.

In order to increase the reliability the cars are tested during more than 2,000 miles (essentially at Silverstone). Drivers are Bruce McLaren himself (#4) and this year's F1 world-champion Denny Hulme (#5). Unlike most other G7 cars the new McLaren M6A uses no added fins, spoilers or wings. Apart from the Traco V8 Chevrolet engines, owner Bruce McLaren brought also four V8 Ford engines to his American work shop, developing between 515bhp and 520bhp. Those too are tested upon their reliability.
The double dozen of other McLarens at the start are all older Elvas Mark 2 and Mark 3. At the USRRC it was proven that those underpowered cars with their tubular chassis and their 460 to 500 bhp have no winning chances against the new Lola T70Mk3B. Among them the most competitive copies are entered by Peyton A. Cramer for Lothar Motschenbacher (#11) and for Peter Revson (#52), by Écurie Souci Racing Team for F1-driver Mike Spence (#22) and by George Drummond Racing Organisation for Skip Scott (#91). They are not expected to win races, but considered as candidates for a top-10 on qualifying. Another outsider, but only at the Canadian home-ground of Mosport, is the McLaren Elva Mark 2 of Ludwig Heimrath (#39) entered by his own Heimrath Racing Inc.

Most spectacular car at the start is the 7.0 Chaparral 2G Chevrolet entered and driven by Jim Hall (#66). Just like its predecessor 2E the car is equipped with an aluminium monocoque and a high placed rear wing. The old 5.3 V8 Chevrolet has been replaced by a new 7-litre and 16 valves V8 90° Chevrolet developing 575bhp, at 11,000 rmp with a compression ratio of 11:1. The longer engine enforced Hall to make a complete new rear, with the roll bar advanced by 12cms. Unlike the prototype G6 Chaparral 2F, having won this year the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch, the G7 Chaparral 2G uses front spoilers, added in order to improve the road holding. No other driver has so much horse power available as the Texan. The car is equipped with an automatic 3-gang gearbox and - like all other G7 cars, except the Ferraris - with a glassfibre body. Of all cars on the grid it is with its 620 kilogram dry weight (except for the Caldwell D7) the lightest car at the start. Although the fastest machinery on the straights, the 2G suffers from a poor road holding, which will be improved during the series, without ever being really good.

The other rear winged car on the grid is the Caldwell D7 Chevrolet, driven by Sam Posey (#1). The car has been manufactured by Ray Caldwell at Autodynamics, normally constructor of Formula Vee singlesitters. Initially the car is built around an aluminium monocoque, but later a second unit will be built around a magnesium monocoque. Engine is a 5.7 V8 Chevrolet of 515 bhp, prepared at Traco. The whole project is financed by Sam Posey, the driver. Together with the Chaparral 2G it is the only all-American car on the grid. Ray Caldwell is the first to apply in international racing the famous Dion suspension. At the rear of the D7 proprietary uprights are connected across the car by a lattice of round- and square-section tubing which forms in effect a beam, through which projects the ZF transmission case, located by radius rods and transversally by a Watts' linkage. The front axle is similar, through simpler in detail, and the steering is by drag links from a Volkswagen box on the scuttle. Unlike the Chaparral the rear wing is linked to the roll bar. Pivoting on chassis-mounted struts, it seems effective in the corners, but in feathered position on the straights it causes an unmanageable instability. So the wing is to be operated by the driver's hand. A second version without wings, the D7C is been tested, but not used in racing.

New too is the 4.4 Matich SR3 Brabham-Repco built by Australia's Frank Matich. Initially the car is raced with #87, later it'll bear #15. With it's 4.4-litre engine - only the Ferraris have a still lower engine capacity - the Brabham motor develops only 410 bhp, lacking 100bhp as compared with most other cars. Having won in Australia the 11th Tourist Trophy the car has a reputation to defend on American soil. Unfortunately the serious lack of power makes such impossible. At Laguna Seca a second Matich SR3 will be entered by Tony Settember (#77), in Europe well-known for his races at this year's FIA Manufacturer's World Championship with his 7-litre Shelby Cobra 427 Roadster. The car will be equipped with a V8 Oldsmobile engine, but will not start due to mechanical bothers.

RIGHT TOP: A.A.R. Lola T70 Mk3 Ford of Dan Gurney, very fast but unreliable. RIGHT BOTTOM: The new McLaren M6A.

All other G7 machinery seen at the 1967 CANAM consists of old cars. Among them only the McKee Mk7 Oldsmobile driven by Charlie Hayes (#25) seems to be competitive. It's not a new project, but a further evolution of the McKee Mk6B, built by Bob McKee around a tubular chassis, where the V8 big block Oldsmobile engine has been replaced by a 7-litre type 414 one, developing 535bhp, and coupled to a Hewland LG gearbox. The car is sponsored by TV's Smother Brothers. Two other Anglo-American McKees Mk7 are equipped by a small block 520bhp Chevrolet engine. One of them is driven by Bob Nagel at two of the six rounds.
Oldest cars on the grid are the Genie Mk10, driven by Merle Brennan and dating from 1964, and the 4.5 Mirage Mk1A Oldsmobile manufactured by Jim Nethercutt (and not to be confused with John Wyer's closed Mirage Ford as used in the Ford-Ferrari prototypes combat). In 1965 this car, however without rear wing, was seen at Riverside and at the Nassau Speedweek. It finished none of both races. With its 360bhp it misses the necessary power to compete with the hairy over-500bhp G7 machinery. One should note that the name "Mirage" has nothing to do with the John Wyer Automotive Mirage G6 prototypes. Driver of Nethercutt's Mirage is Scooter Patrick (#10). The added wing and the enlarged rear are at no avail: once more the car will finish none of its three entries. At two occasions it will be eliminated after the qualifications.

A strange bird at the start is the Chinook Mk1 Chevrolet entered by Veedol Racing Team for Nat Adams (#18). Equipped with lots of fins, the car misses the necessary power to compete with the traditional G7 cars. It is a concept by Canada's George Fejer who made a kind of copy of the famous Chaparral 2A and 2C, having been nearly unbeatable in 1965 big banger racing. On Canadian soil the combat between the Chinooks of Fejer himself and of Nat Adams was very popular, but none of those cars was able to fight on equal basis with such hairy big banger monsters as the Lolas T70 and McLarens M1B and M1C as raced by John Cannon, Ludwig Heimrath, George Eaton and other famous Canadian racers.
Eventually another strange bird at the start is the Platypus Oldsmobile, a car which was owned by the late Ken Miles and was used by racers on a rental basis. Originally the car used a Merlyn Mk VIII chassis and a strange body. In 1966, shortly before his death at the wheel of a works Ford, decided to replace the original body by that of a Lotus 19. Spectators confused that car, driven by Miles Gupton, with the famous Lotus 19G Ford V8, well known since its entry in competition in 1964. At two occasions the enlarged Lotus 19G will seen during the qualifications for some rounds of the 1967 CANAM. However, in both cases, the Lotus 19G failed to survive the qualifications.

ABOVE: Two of the four winged cars having been entered at the 1967 CANAM series: the Chaparral 2G (left) and the Autodynamics Caldwell D7 (right). Later during the season the Caldwell was driven without rear wing. Rear wings were also seen on the Ludwig Heimrath McLaren Elva Mark 2 and on the Scooter Patrick Mirage.

RIGHT: Picture of film star Paul Newman's Honker II Ford, prepared by Holman & Moody and driven by Mario Andretti. Although a works entry, the car will be one of the biggest deceptions of the 1967 CANAM (together with Ford's second works entry, the King Cobra #55 of Jerry Titus).

THE SIX ROUNDS OF THE 1967 CANAM