All-American Success

The first time a U.S. car won a Grand Prix race was in 1921, when Jimmy Murphy of Vernon, Calif., drove a Duesenberg to victory at Le Mans at an average speed of 78.1 m.p.h. in the French Grand Prix. The second time was last week--in the fastest Grand Prix ever run. At Spa-Francorchamps, deep in the Ardennes Forest of eastern Belgium, The Star-Spangled Banner blared out over loudspeakers after California's Dan Gurney, 36, in a Formula I American Eagle, averaged 145.67 m.p.h. to win the Belgian Grand Prix.

The victory could hardly have been more timely; American Eagle was on the verge of extinction. The bird was hatched less than three years ago in a London taxicab, shared by Texas' Carroll Shelby--best known as the designer of the Ford Cobra--and Gurney, who had dreams of driving a U.S. Formula I car ever since he began racing for Italy's Enzo Ferrari in 1958. Shelby and Gurney pooled their savings, founded a firm called All American Racers Inc., opened a factory in Santa Ana, Calif. Working with Britain's Weslake Development Co., they produced a brand-new, three-liter engine--a tiny 400-h.p. V12--and a chassis to match. Built largely of magnesium and titanium, the whole car weighed only 1,185 Ibs. The project, of course, was painfully expensive. In all, Gurney and Shelby built four Formula I American Eagles in Santa Ana, at an average cost of $50,000. To help cover the costs, they signed contracts with two commercial sponsors--Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Mobil Oil Corp. This year Mobil pulled out, leaving A.A.R. short the $300,000 it needed to mount a full-scale effort on the Grand Prix circuit.

Gurney's answer was to go public. Forming the "All American Racers Eagle Club," he peddled memberships at $15 apiece, by this month had raised $13,000--and entered one car at Spa. One was enough. Starting in the middle of the first row, he trailed Jimmy Clark's Lotus-Ford and Jackie Stewart's B.R.M. through the first 20 laps, then roared into the lead and pulled away to win by 63 sec. despite a balky, smoking engine. The victory earned Dan nine points toward the Grand Prix championship that he has never managed to win although he has tied for third and placed fourth in the final standings driving foreign cars. "It's a long season, and I don't want to make any predictions," said Gurney. "But this win was no fluke."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.