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.

1974 South African Grand Prix
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 mi)
Distance 78 laps, 320.112 km (198.908 mi)
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:16.58[1]
Fastest lap
Driver Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford
Time 1:18.16[2] on lap 58
Podium
First
Brabham-Ford
Second
BRM
Third
McLaren-Ford

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 at the start of the month. 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 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. 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 Hailwood who took the final podium place. Beltoise's 2nd place would turn out to be the last ever podium finish for a BRM.

Classification
PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
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:[3]

Championship standings after the race
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
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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 January 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  4. "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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