1972 South African Grand Prix

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1972 South African Grand Prix
Kyalami 1961 - 1988 Layout.png
The Kyalami Circuit (1967–1985)
Race details
Date4 March 1972
Official name Sixth AA Grand Prix of South Africa
Location Kyalami, Midrand, Transvaal Province, South Africa
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.104 km (2.550 miles)
Distance 79 laps, 324.216 km (201.458 miles)
Weather Sunny, Hot, Dry
Pole position
Driver Tyrrell-Ford
Time 1:17.0
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Hailwood Surtees-Ford
Time 1:18.9
Podium
First McLaren-Ford
Second Lotus-Ford
Third McLaren-Ford
Lap leaders
  • 1972 South African Grand Prix

The 1972 South African Grand Prix, formally the Sixth AA Grand Prix of South Africa (Afrikaans: Sesde AA Suid-Afrikaanse Grand Prix [1] ), was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 4 March 1972. It was race 2 of 12 in both the 1972 World Championship of Drivers and the 1972 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 79-lap race was won by McLaren driver Denny Hulme after he started from fifth position. Emerson Fittipaldi finished second for the Lotus team and McLaren driver Peter Revson came in third.

Contents

Report

Entry

A total of 27 cars were entered for this race. Although there was more than a month between the Argentine Grand Prix and South Africa, most cars were transported direct to Kyalami from Buenos Aires. There were few changes in the entry. [2]

Having missed the trip to Argentina due to a clashing Formula 5000 race, Mike Hailwood returned to Team Surtees. Jean-Pierre Beltoise also missed Buenos Aires, due to legal problems following an accident that had claimed the life of Ignazio Giunti in January 1971. Team Williams ran a second March-Cosworth for rising star Carlos Pace alongside their regular driver, Henri Pescarolo. A new team arrived in South Africa, the Team Eifelland Caravans outfit making its first appearance with Rolf Stommelen down to drive. As usual for Kyalami, the field was bolstered by local entries: Dave Charlton in a Lucky Strike-sponsored Lotus 72D, and pair of cars from Team Gunston for John Love (Surtees TS9) and Willie Ferguson (Brabham BT33). [2]

Qualifying

The reigning World Champion, and winner of the opening round, Jackie Stewart secured pole position, for Elf Team Tyrrell, averaging a speed of 119.221 mph. Stewart beat Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari) and Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus) by a few tenth of a second. Mike Hailwood was next up on the second row, joined by Denny Hulme in his McLaren M19A. A pair of Ferrari 312B2 were on row three, with Mario Andretti ahead of Jacky Ickx. They were joined by François Cevert in the second Tyrrell. [2] [3]

Race

The race was held over 79 laps of the Kyalami circuit. At the start, Denny Hulme briefly held the lead before Jackie Stewart moved ahead, meanwhile Clay Regazzoni had a bad get away and was back in the midfield. The Tyrrell 003 of Stewart quickly built a lead while the battle for second between Hulme, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mike Hailwood detached itself from the rest of the field. The Yardley Team McLaren of Hulme began to overheat and this saw him dropped behind his rivals. Hailwood, a few laps later, was able to pass Fittipaldi to move up to second and began to challenge Stewart for the lead. On lap 28, the rear suspension of Hailwood's Surtees TS9B failed and he retired from the race. Although this left Fittipaldi to attack Stewart, the Tyrrell driver stayed ahead, only to suffer a gearbox failure on lap 45. Fittipaldi inherited the lead, with Hulme right on his tail. The Brazilian now ran into handling problems and this enable Hulme to regain the lead on lap 57, from which he would go to win. Fittipaldi was still in a strong second place as the gap between him and the third place, Chris Amon was large. The gap became even bigger where Amon's Matra MS120C developed a serious vibration. This saw him drop down the order and finish 3 laps adrift in 15th. Third place thus went to the second McLaren, of Peter Revson. [2] [3]

Hulme won in a time of 1hr 45.49.1mins., averaging a speed of 114.898 mph, and was over 14 seconds ahead of Fititpaldi. Revson was a further 12.7 seconds behind. Only other drivers to complete the full race distance were Mario Andretti (Ferrari) and Ronnie Peterson (March). This victory gave Hulme a six-point the lead in the World Championship. [2] [4] [5]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.No.DriverConstructorTimeGap
11 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Stewart TyrrellFord 1:17.0
26 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 1:17.3+0.3
38 Flag of Brazil.svg Emerson Fittipaldi LotusFord 1:17.4+0.4
417 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Hailwood SurteesFord 1:17.4+0.4
512 Flag of New Zealand.svg Denny Hulme McLarenFord 1:17.4+0.4
67 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Ferrari 1:17.5+0.5
75 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Jacky Ickx Ferrari 1:17.7+0.7
82 Flag of France.svg François Cevert TyrrellFord 1:17.8+0.8
93 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson MarchFord 1:17.8+0.8
1016 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Schenken SurteesFord 1:17.8+0.8
1110 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 1:17.9+0.9
1214 Flag of the United States.svg Peter Revson McLarenFord 1:18.0+1.0
1315 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon Matra 1:18.0+1.0
1419 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill BrabhamFord 1:18.1+1.1
1520 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann BrabhamFord 1:18.2+1.2
1623 Flag of New Zealand.svg Howden Ganley BRM 1:18.3+1.3
1726 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg David Charlton LotusFord 1:18.5+1.5
1811 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Peter Gethin BRM 1:18.7+1.7
199 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Walker LotusFord 1:18.7+1.7
2018 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Adamich SurteesFord 1:18.9+1.9
214 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda MarchFord 1:18.9+1.9
2221 Flag of France.svg Henri Pescarolo MarchFord 1:19.0+2.0
2324 Flag of Austria.svg Helmut Marko BRM 1:19.1+2.1
2422 Flag of Brazil.svg Carlos Pace MarchFord 1:20.3+3.3
2525 Flag of Germany.svg Rolf Stommelen EifellandFord 1:20.4+3.4
2627 Flag of Rhodesia (1968-1979).svg John Love SurteesFord 1:21.0+4.0
2728 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg William Ferguson BrabhamFord 1:31.9+14.9
Source: [6]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
112 Flag of New Zealand.svg Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 791:45:49.159
28 Flag of Brazil.svg Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 79+ 14.136
314 Flag of the United States.svg Peter Revson McLaren-Ford 79+ 25.8124
47 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Ferrari 79+ 38.563
53 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 79+ 49.092
619 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill Brabham-Ford 78+ 1 Lap141
74 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda March-Ford 78+ 1 Lap21 
85 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Jacky Ickx Ferrari 78+ 1 Lap7 
92 Flag of France.svg François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 78+ 1 Lap8 
109 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dave Walker Lotus-Ford 78+ 1 Lap19 
1121 Flag of France.svg Henri Pescarolo March-Ford 78+ 1 Lap22 
126 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 77+ 2 Laps2 
1325 Flag of Germany.svg Rolf Stommelen Eifelland-Ford 77+ 2 Laps25 
1424 Flag of Austria.svg Helmut Marko BRM 76+ 3 Laps23 
1515 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon Matra 76+ 3 Laps13 
1627 Flag of Rhodesia (1968-1979).svg John Love Surtees-Ford 73Puncture / Accident26 
1722 Flag of Brazil.svg Carlos Pace March-Ford 73+ 6 Laps24 
NC23 Flag of New Zealand.svg Howden Ganley BRM 70+ 9 Laps16 
NC18 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Adamich Surtees-Ford 69+ 10 Laps20 
NC11 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Peter Gethin BRM 65+ 14 Laps18 
Ret10 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 61Engine11 
Ret1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 45Gearbox1 
Ret17 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Hailwood Surtees-Ford 28Suspension4 
Ret20 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 27Fuel System15 
Ret16 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Schenken Surtees-Ford 9Engine10 
Ret26 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Dave Charlton Lotus-Ford 2Fuel Pump17 
DNS28 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg William Ferguson Brabham-Ford Engine
Sources: [2] [3] [4] [5] [7]

Notes

Championship standings after the race

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References

  1. "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1972". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Grand Prix Results: South African GP, 1972". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "1972 South African Grand Prix". Racing-Reference.info. 4 March 1972. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 "1972 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Formula One, South African 1972 Race Results". crash.net. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  6. "Formula One 1972 South African Grand Prix Classification | Motorsport Stats".
  7. "1972 Grand Prix of South Africa". Silhouet.com. 4 March 1972. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  8. 1 2 "South Africa 1972 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
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