1974 South African Grand Prix

The 1974 South African Grand Prix (formally the XX Lucky Strike Grand Prix of South Africa) was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 30 March 1974. It was race 3 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. This was Carlos Reutemann's first win, the first for an Argentinian driver since Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1957 German Grand Prix, and Brabham's first since the 1970 South African Grand Prix.

1974 South African Grand Prix
Kyalami Circuit
Kyalami Circuit
Race details
Date 30 March 1974
Official name XX Lucky Strike Grand Prix of South Africa
Location Midrand, Transvaal Province, South Africa
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.104 km (2.550 miles)
Distance 78 laps, 320.112 km (198.908 miles)
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:16.58[1]
Fastest lap
Driver Argentina Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford
Time 1:18.16[2] on lap 58
Podium
First Brabham-Ford
Second BRM
Third McLaren-Ford
Lap leaders

Pre race notes, practice, and qualifying

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It was initially uncertain that the South African Grand Prix would go ahead due to the 1973 oil crisis, but it did so, albeit at the end of March rather than at the start of the month. Lotus stunned the paddock with an innovative car which used four pedals and an electric clutch.[citation needed]

However, practice was overshadowed by an accident which killed Peter Revson. While driving his Shadow-Ford in a test session before the race, Revson suffered a front suspension failure on the outside of Barbecue Bend and crashed heavily into the Armco barrier, the car bursting into flames. Revson died instantly, and the Shadow team withdrew from the race. Niki Lauda took pole by a fraction of a second from Carlos Pace.[citation needed]

Race summary

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The two Lotus cars of Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx tangled shortly after the start with the incident also involving Jochen Mass and Henri Pescarolo whilst Tom Belsø's race lasted no more than a few hundred yards due to clutch failure. Lauda led a train of cars consisting of Carlos Reutemann, Clay Regazzoni, Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, whose Hesketh was suffering vibration problems.

Mike Hailwood caught and passed Scheckter when he missed a gear, and then passed Reutemann on lap 9. On lap 75, nearly at the finish, Lauda was forced to retire with ignition problems and low oil pressure, handing the lead to Reutemann. Jean-Pierre Beltoise fought his way up through the field to 2nd, holding off a determined challenge from Hailwood who took the final podium place. Beltoise's 2nd place would turn out to be the last podium finish for a BRM.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos. Driver Constructor Time/Gap
1   Niki Lauda Ferrari 1:16.58
2   Carlos Pace SurteesFord +0.05
3   Arturo Merzario FWRCFord +0.21
4   Carlos Reutemann BrabhamFord +0.22
5   Emerson Fittipaldi McLarenFord +0.24
6   Clay Regazzoni Ferrari +0.27
7   Hans-Joachim Stuck MarchFord +0.40
8   Jody Scheckter TyrrellFord +0.41
9   Denny Hulme McLarenFord +0.53
10   Jacky Ickx LotusFord +0.60
11   Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM +0.76
12   Mike Hailwood McLarenFord +0.76
13   James Hunt HeskethFord +0.83
14   John Watson BrabhamFord +1.03
15   Patrick Depailler TyrrellFord +1.17
16   Ronnie Peterson LotusFord +1.42
17   Jochen Mass SurteesFord +1.65
18   Graham Hill LolaFord +1.67
19   Vittorio Brambilla MarchFord +1.71
20   David Charlton McLarenFord +1.79
21   Henri Pescarolo BRM +1.81
22   Ian Scheckter LotusFord +1.98
23   Richard Robarts BrabhamFord +2.02
24   Eddie Keizan TyrrellFord +2.42
25   François Migault BRM +2.56
26   Paddy Driver LotusFord +2.91
27   Tom Belsø FWRCFord +3.22
Source:[3]

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 7   Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 78 1:42:40.96 4 9
2 14   Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 78 + 33.94 11 6
3 33   Mike Hailwood McLaren-Ford 78 + 42.16 12 4
4 4   Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 78 + 44.19 15 3
5 9   Hans Joachim Stuck March-Ford 78 + 46.23 7 2
6 20   Arturo Merzario Iso-Marlboro-Ford 78 + 56.04 3 1
7 5   Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford 78 + 1:08.39 5  
8 3   Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford 78 + 1:10.54 8  
9 6   Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 77 + 1 Lap 9  
10 10   Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford 77 + 1 Lap 19  
11 18   Carlos Pace Surtees-Ford 77 + 1 Lap 2  
12 26   Graham Hill Lola-Ford 77 + 1 Lap 18  
13 29   Ian Scheckter Lotus-Ford 76 + 2 Laps 22  
14 32   Eddie Keizan Tyrrell-Ford 76 + 2 Laps 24  
15 37   François Migault BRM 75 + 3 Laps 25  
16 12   Niki Lauda Ferrari 74 Ignition 1  
17 8   Richard Robarts Brabham-Ford 74 + 4 Laps 23  
18 15   Henri Pescarolo BRM 72 + 6 Laps 21  
19 23   Dave Charlton McLaren-Ford 71 + 7 Laps 20  
Ret 11   Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 65 Oil Pressure 6  
Ret 28   John Watson Brabham-Ford 54 Fuel System 13  
Ret 2   Jacky Ickx Lotus-Ford 31 Brakes 10  
Ret 24   James Hunt Hesketh-Ford 13 Transmission 14  
Ret 19   Jochen Mass Surtees-Ford 11 Suspension 17  
Ret 30   Paddy Driver Lotus-Ford 6 Clutch 26  
Ret 1   Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 2 Collision 16  
Ret 21   Tom Belsø Iso-Marlboro-Ford 0 Clutch 27  
WD 16   Peter Revson Shadow-Ford Fatal Accident  
WD 17   Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Ford Entry Withdrawn  
WD 22   Rikky von Opel Ensign-Ford  
WD 25   John McNicol Lotus-Ford  
WD 27   Guy Edwards Lola-Ford  
Source:[4]

Notes

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  • This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Italian driver Vittorio Brambilla and South African driver Ian Scheckter.
  • This was the Formula One World Championship debut for British constructor Hesketh.

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 22. ISBN 0-85429-380-9.
  2. ^ Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 24. ISBN 0-85429-380-9.
  3. ^ "Formula One 1974 South African Grand Prix Classification | Motorsport Stats".
  4. ^ "1974 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  5. ^ a b "South Africa 1974 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.


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1974 Brazilian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
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1974 Spanish Grand Prix
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