1974 South African Grand Prix

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 power crisis, but it did so, albeit belatedly in March. Lotus stunned the paddock with an innovative model on display with four pedals and an electric clutch.

However, practice was overshadowed by a tragic accident which cost the life of Peter Revson, his team Shadow withdrawing as a result. Niki Lauda took pole by a fraction from Carlos Pace. The two Lotus cars tangled shortly after the start, 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 the first Argentine victory since Juan Manuel Fangio and Brabham's first since the 1970 South African Grand Prix. Jean-Pierre Beltoise fought his way up through the field to 2nd, capping a fine drive by 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	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

Notes

• Pole position: Niki Lauda - 1:16.58
• Fastest lap: Carlos Reutemann - 1:18.16 on lap 58
• Peter Revson, Shadow-Ford, was killed in pre-race testing

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Clay Regazzoni 10 2 Carlos Reutemann 9 3 Emerson Fittipaldi 9 4 Denny Hulme 9 5 Mike Hailwood 9

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

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

References

Unless otherwise indicated, all race results are taken from "The Official Formula 1 website". http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1974/474/. Retrieved 2007-06-15. 

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