The All-American Eagle back on the racetrack

As a driver on the racetrack, he was regularly paired with other superstars in long distance races and shared a race-harness with Jean Behra, Phil Hill, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Chris Amon, Denny Hulme, Bruce McLaren, Richie Ginther, AJ Foyt, Dale Earnhardt and John Surtees.

In a golden era of motor racing he raced against and regularly beat a who's who of the all-time greats such as Jackie Stewart and Stirling Moss.

By the time he retired at 39 years of age in 1970, Gurney had competed in 303 events in 20 countries gracing the podium 99 times, with 95 front rows starts some in other distinct forms of motorsport as far flung as Trans-Am and Can-Am.

Gurney drove for 25 different makes of cars including Ferrari and McLaren, and gave Porsche and Brabham their first F1 wins but it was his feat in the 12 cylinder Eagle at Spa Francorchamps in the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix which makes him so much more relevant to motorsport history.

The car he drove the victory was designed and built by his own company which he had formed with Carroll Shelby - he remains the only American to have achieved the feat and if he wasn't already a household name in sports car mad America of the sixties, he became the all American hero of the day and the public rejoiced in his achievements .

The cars which he built are regarded as some of the most beautiful in Formula One history. The car in action this coming weekend is one of only four F1 cars to race for the marque (plus another assembled from bits) are among the most treasured ex-F1 cars on the planet.

An early proponent of aerodynamics, his name is still an everyday word in American racing thanks to his invention of the Gurney Flap, a modification made to racing car aerofoil wings to increase downforce.

Gurney was an early adopter amongst the most bleeding edge first users of technology in the world. Among a marathon list of innovations he was associated with, he is also remembered as the first F1 driver to wear a full face helmet.

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