Sunday 12th June 1966

The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps was won by British driver John Surtees driving a Ferrari 312 in a race that saw the field decimated in heavy rain. Eight of the 17 cars crashed out on the first lap, including Swedish driver Jo Bonnier’s Cooper T81 making a spectacular exit through the upstairs window of a house on the edge of the track. Jackie Stewart’s BRM P261 crashed into a telephone pole and then landed in a ditch, leaving him stuck upside down inside his car in a pool of fuel for 25 minutes. This experience would lead him to commence a safety campaign that would eventually transform the sport’s attitude to all aspects of driver safety.