<< Prev Page 3 of 3 For the subsequent American Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Clark again managed to secure a front row starting position with the H16 Lotus. His race seemed over before it even started as the engine failed during the final practice. It was quickly replaced by a spare engine from the BRM works team, which was visibly leaking fluids on the grid. Miraculously the engine held together long enough for Clark to win his first Grand Prix of the year. This hard fought victory was undoubtedly more the result of the Scotsman's mechanical prowess and raw pace than of his troublesome machine.
Clark managed to secure his third consecutive front row slot for the final Grand Prix of the year, in Mexico, but another engine failure in practice and further gear selection problems proved too much even for Clark to overcome. Despite the disappointing 1966 season, Lotus did build a second Type 43 for the opening Grand Prix of the following year. Clark drove the new car while new teammate Graham Hill was in the original example. Neither managed to reach the finish in South Africa for a myriad of reasons.
The 1967 South African Grand Prix proved to be the final Team Lotus outing for the Type 43 as it was replaced by the altogether more successful Type 49, powered by the all-new Ford Cosworth DFV V8. The troublesome H16 engines were removed from both Type 43s and the chassis were modified to accept a Ford V8 for use in F5000. Sold off to Jock Russell and Robs Lamplough, the Type 43s continued to be raced with little success.
Compared to its predecessors and successors, the Lotus Type 43 can safely be considered a failure. However, it certainly worked a lot better than BRM's own H16-engined machines and Clark did manage to use it to score the sixteen-cylinder engine's sole victory. The Type 43 was also the first Lotus to use a fully-stressed engine, which was later used to such tremendous effect on the subsequent Cosworth-powered Type 49. << Prev Page 3 of 3
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For the subsequent American Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Clark again managed to secure a front row starting position with the H16 Lotus. His race seemed over before it even started as the engine failed during the final practice. It was quickly replaced by a spare engine from the BRM works team, which was visibly leaking fluids on the grid. Miraculously the engine held together long enough for Clark to win his first Grand Prix of the year. This hard fought victory was undoubtedly more the result of the Scotsman's mechanical prowess and raw pace than of his troublesome machine.