1974 South African Grand Prix

South Africa  1974 South African Grand Prix
Race details
Race 3 of 15 in the 1974 Formula One season

Kyalami Circuit
Date 30 March 1974
Location Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.1 km (2.5 mi)
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

The 1974 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 30 March 1974.

Race summary

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 in its traditional date in the first week of March. Lotus stunned the paddock with an innovative car which used four pedals and an electric clutch.

However, practice was overshadowed by an accident which killed Peter Revson. While driving the Ford UOP Shadow-Ford DN3 in a test session before the race, Revson suffered a front suspension failure, and crashed heavily into the Armco barrier on the outside of Barbecue Bend (Turn 2), and was killed. Denny Hulme tried to save his life, but to no avail. Revson's team Shadow withdrew as a result

Niki Lauda took pole by a fraction of a second from Carlos Pace. The two Lotus cars tangled shortly after the start, 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. This was 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. Jean-Pierre Beltoise fought his way up through the field to 2nd, holding off a determined challenge from Mike Hailwood who took the final podium place.

Classification

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

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni 10
2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann 9
3 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 9
4 New Zealand Denny Hulme 9
5 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood 9

Constructors' Championship standings
Pos Constructor Points
1 United Kingdom McLaren-Ford 22
2 Italy Ferrari 12
3 United Kingdom Brabham-Ford 9
4 United Kingdom BRM 8
5 United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 4

References

  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. "1974 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 Jan 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
Previous race:
1974 Brazilian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1974 season
Next race:
1974 Spanish Grand Prix
Previous race:
1973 South African Grand Prix
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1975 South African Grand Prix
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