In the ditch!

The Honda RA271, with American Ronnie Bucknum at its wheel, made its highly anticipated competition debut at the 1964 German Formula One Grand Prix held at the Nürburgring. Regrettably, Bucknum crashed the RA271 three laps only before the finish line (picture-above).

However, the car was running in ninth position when it retired, and it gave great confidence to the team after disappointing practice and qualifying sessions, where RA271 could not complete a single lap.

The 15-lap race was won by Ferrari driver John Surtees (picture-below), after he started from pole position. Graham Hill finished second for the BRM team, while Surtees’s team mate Lorenzo Bandini came in third. Sadly, the race was marred by the death of Dutch gentleman racer Carel Godin de Beaufort (Porsche) during practice.