- Winner
- Innes Ireland
- Team
- Team Lotus
- Top listed
- Innes Ireland, Dan Gurney, and Tony Brooks
- Race date
- October 8, 1961
- Pole
- Jack Brabham
- Fastest lap
- Jack Brabham
- Classified drivers
- 20
- Circuit
- Watkins Glen International
The decisive result
Innes Ireland finished first for Team Lotus. Dan Gurney is listed 2 for Porsche, with Tony Brooks 3 for BRM.
Grid to finish
Roger Penske from P16 to P8 (+8), Innes Ireland from P8 to P1 (+7), and Hap Sharp from P17 to P10 (+7) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Jack Brabham started from the listed P1 grid position.
Status and fastest lap
The classification lists 5 Finished, 3 +4 laps, 3 Engine, 1 +1 lap, and 1 +2 laps. Jack Brabham holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:18.200 on lap 28. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.
This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.