1965 South African Grand Prix

1965 South African Grand Prix
Race details
Date	1 January 1965
Official name	11th International RAC Grand Prix of South Africa
Location	Prince George Circuit East London, South Africa
Course	Temporary road circuit
Course length	3.920 km (2.436 miles)
Distance	85 laps, 333.175 km (207.025 miles)
Pole position
Driver	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax
Time	1:27.2
Fastest lap
Driver	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax
Time	1:27.6 on lap 80
Podium
First	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax
Second	John Surtees	Ferrari
Third	Graham Hill	BRM
Lap leaders

The 1965 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at East London on 1 January 1965. While originally scheduled to be the last race of the 1964 season, it was moved up by a week and thus became race 1 of 10 in the 1965 Formula One season. ^[1] This scheduling change meant that the cars which were fielded were 1964 season cars, as no one had had the time to develop their 1965 designs as of yet. ^[2] The 85-lap race was won by Lotus driver Jim Clark after he started from pole position. John Surtees finished second for the Ferrari team and BRM driver Graham Hill came in third. This was the World Championship debut race of the future world champion Jackie Stewart.

Race report

Jim Clark celebrated Hogmanay by dominating the race, leading from pole and winning by half a minute from Graham Hill and John Surtees who were never able to threaten. ^[3] He even had time to complete an extra lap after the chequered flag was waved a lap too early. Clark also made the first ever lap of the East London circuit at over 100 mph in practice. ^[3] Clark's teammate Mike Spence was in second place until he spun on oil on the sixtieth lap; he finished in fourth. Bruce McLaren and Championship débutant Jackie Stewart completed the points positions. Jack Brabham had been in competition for second place but his car broke down with ignition troubles four laps from the end. ^[3]

Classification

Pre-qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time
—	18	Paul Hawkins	Brabham-Ford	-1:37.0
—	19	David Prophet	Brabham-Ford	-1:37.0
—	20	Peter de Klerk	Alfa Special-Alfa Romeo	-1:37.0
—	21	Doug Serrurier	LDS-Climax	-1:37.0
—	22	Ernie Pieterse	Lotus-Climax	-1:37.0
—	23	Neville Lederle	Lotus-Climax	-1:37.0
—	25	Sam Tingle	LDS-Alfa Romeo	-1:37.0
—	27	Brausch Niemann	Lotus-Ford	-1:37.0
—	28	Trevor Blokdyk	Cooper-Ford	-1:37.0
—	24	Clive Puzey	Lotus-Climax	+1:37.0
—	29	Jackie Pretorius	LDS-Alfa Romeo	+1:37.0
—	32	Dave Charlton	Lotus-Ford	+1:37.0

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	5	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	1:27.2	—
2	1	John Surtees	Ferrari	1:28.1	+0.9
3	7	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	1:28.3	+1.1
4	6	Mike Spence	Lotus-Climax	1:28.3	+1.1
5	3	Graham Hill	BRM	1:28.6	+1.4
6	2	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	1:29.3	+2.1
7	11	Jo Bonnier	Brabham-Climax	1:29.3	+2.1
8	9	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	1:29.4	+2.2
9	8	Dan Gurney	Brabham-Climax	1:29.5	+2.3
10	10	Jochen Rindt	Cooper-Climax	1:30.4	+3.2
11	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	1:30.5	+3.3
12	14	Bob Anderson	Brabham-Climax	1:31.0	+3.8
13	15	Tony Maggs	Lotus-BRM	1:31.3	+4.1
14	12	Jo Siffert	Brabham-BRM	1:31.8	+4.6
15	16	Frank Gardner	Brabham-BRM	1:32.3	+5.1
16	18	Paul Hawkins	Brabham-Ford	1:33.1	+5.9
17	20	Peter de Klerk	Alfa Special-Alfa Romeo	1:33.3	+6.1
18	17	John Love	Cooper-Climax	1:33.8	+6.6
19	19	David Prophet	Brabham-Ford	1:33.9	+6.7
20	25	Sam Tingle	LDS-Alfa Romeo	1:34.6	+7.4
21	28	Trevor Blokdyk	Cooper-Ford	1:35.2	+8.0
22	23	Neville Lederle	Lotus-Climax	1:35.2	+8.0
23	21	Doug Serrurier	LDS-Climax	1:35.7	+8.5
24	27	Brausch Niemann	Lotus-Ford	1:36.2	+9.0
25	22	Ernie Pieterse	Lotus-Climax	1:37.9	+10.7

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	85	2:06:46.0	1	9
2	1	John Surtees	Ferrari	85	+29.0 secs	2	6
3	3	Graham Hill	BRM	85	+31.8 secs	5	4
4	6	Mike Spence	Lotus-Climax	85	+54.4 secs	4	3
5	9	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	84	+1 Lap	8	2
6	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	83	+2 Laps	11	1
7	12	Jo Siffert	Brabham-BRM	83	+2 Laps	14
8	7	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	81	+4 Laps	3
9	18	Paul Hawkins	Brabham-Ford	81	+4 Laps	16
10	20	Peter de Klerk	Alfa Special-Alfa Romeo	79	+6 Laps	17
11	15	Tony Maggs	Lotus-BRM	77	+8 Laps	13
12	16	Frank Gardner	Brabham-BRM	75	+10 Laps	15
13	25	Sam Tingle	LDS-Alfa Romeo	73	+12 Laps	20
14	19	David Prophet	Brabham-Ford	71	+14 Laps	19
15	2	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	66	Ignition	6
NC	14	Bob Anderson	Brabham-Climax	50	+35 Laps	12
Ret	11	Jo Bonnier	Brabham-Climax	42	Clutch	7
Ret	10	Jochen Rindt	Cooper-Climax	39	Electrical	10
Ret	17	John Love	Cooper-Climax	20	Halfshaft	18
Ret	8	Dan Gurney	Brabham-Climax	11	Ignition	9
DNQ	28	Trevor Blokdyk	Cooper-Ford
DNQ	23	Neville Lederle	Lotus-Climax
DNQ	21	Doug Serrurier	LDS-Climax
DNQ	27	Brausch Niemann	Lotus-Ford
DNQ	22	Ernie Pieterse	Lotus-Climax
DNPQ	24	Clive Puzey	Lotus-Climax
DNPQ	29	Jackie Pretorius	LDS-Alfa Romeo
DNPQ	32	Dave Charlton	Lotus-Ford		Fire in practice
WD	26	Ray Reed	RE-Alfa Romeo
WD	30	Brian Raubenheimer	Lotus-Ford		Gearbox [4]
WD	31	David Clapham	Cooper-Maserati
WD	33	Alex Blignaut	Cooper-Climax
WD	34	Richard Attwood	BRM
Source: [5]

Notes

• This was the Formula One World Championship debut race for British driver and future World Champion Jackie Stewart, Australian driver Paul Hawkins, Rhodesian deiver Clive Puzey and South African drivers Jackie Pretorius and Dave Charlton.
• Jim Clark won the South African Grand Prix for a record two times. Equally, Lotus was record holder with two South African Grand Prix wins. Also, this was the second time a Coventry Climax-powered car won the South African Grand Prix, a new record.
• RE made its Formula One World Championship debut as the first Rhodesian constructor. The car was withdrawn before the start however, and never again made it an appearance.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jim Clark 9 2 John Surtees 6 3 Graham Hill 4 4 Mike Spence 3 5 Bruce McLaren 2 Source: [6]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Climax 9 2 Ferrari 6 3 BRM 4 4 Cooper-Climax 2 Source: [6]

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

References

1. Hayhoe, David (18 June 2019), Formula 1: The Knowledge (2nd ed.), Veloce Publishing Ltd., p. 35, ISBN   9781787112377
2. Hutchinson, P.G.M. (1965), Logoz, Arthur (ed.), "Grand Prix Racing for the World Championship 1965", Auto-Universum 1966 (English Edition), IX, Zürich, Switzerland: Verlag International Automobile Parade: 39
3. Hutchinson, Auto-Universum 1966, p. 40.
4. "1965 South African Grand Prix, Pre-Qualifying times". Autosport. 30 December 2016. Brian Raubenheimer is missing from this list, although he is shown as not arriving on most records. He has previously told me that he did briefly participate in the first practice session before the gear linkage broke in the gate in neutral. He believed he had recorded a 1:36.8, but was unable to repair his Lotus 20 and so took no further part.
5. "1965 South African Grand Prix". Formula One. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
6. "South Africa 1965 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.

Previous race: 1964 Mexican Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 1965 season	Next race: 1965 Monaco Grand Prix
Previous race: 1963 South African Grand Prix	South African Grand Prix	Next race: 1966 South African Grand Prix