The German Grand Prix took place on the 22.81 kilometre Nurburgring, in the Eifel mountains and there were four separate practice sessions, two on Friday and two on Saturday, with sufficient time in between each day for fairly major jobs to be undertaken. With the exception of the British Racing Partnership team all the regular Grand Prix teams and private owners were competing plus the long awaited Honda car from Japan.
Team Lotus were still without Arundel, though he is now well on the mend, and Spence was number two to Jim Clark, while a third entry was made for the German driver Gerhard Mitter. Clark had a brand new Lotus 33, outwardly looking like the well-tried Lotus 25, but incorporating all the modifications made during this season to the earlier models. As is normal practice it was using a Coventry-Climax V8-engine, with Lucas fuel injection, a 5-speed ZF gearbox of the latest pattern that has proved remarkably trouble-free this season, Girling disc brakes and 13 inch alloy wheels shod with the wide-tread Dunlop tyres.
Spence had the earlier Type 33 that Clark crashed at Aintree, since rebuilt and used by Clark to win the recent Solitude Grand Prix, while Mitter had the loan of the much modified Type 25 that Clark has been using in most of the races this season until now. The Owen Racing Organisation intended to run three BRM cars, the two 1964 monocoque cars and the 4wd car, but the last car was not ready and the entry was withdrawn, leaving Graham Hill and Ginther with the two earlier 1964 cars, fitted with the latest type of 6-speed gearbox; the newest 1964 car was crashed at Solitude and required a complete rebuild.
