 Rindt’s excellent drive came to an end, when his gearbox failed, while the Brabham pairing steamed on relentlessly.Then Rees held third, and immediately set about closing the gap to Hulme, halving the gap from 45s to 23s.Hulme’s car began sounding rough, and just six laps from the end of the race, Brabham stopped on the circuit with a broken gearlever, robbing him of a comfortable third straight Trophées de France win.