Category | Single-seaters |
---|---|
Country | South Africa Rhodesia Portuguese Mozambique |
Inaugural season | 1960 |
Folded | 1975 |
Drivers | 14 (1975) |
Teams | 10 (1975) |
Constructors | 7 (1975) |
Engine suppliers | 2 (1975) |
Last Drivers' champion | Dave Charlton |
The South African Formula One Championship, was a national Formula One motor racing championship held in South Africa between 1960 and 1975, including races in Rhodesia and Portuguese Mozambique.
The front-running cars in the series were recently retired from the world championship although there was also a healthy selection of locally built or modified machines, and from the late 60s Formula 5000 added to grids with Formula Two cars joining in 1973. Front-running drivers from the series usually contested their local World Championship Grand Prix, as well as occasional European events, although they had little success at that level.
1967 also saw a remarkable result by Rhodesian driver John Love with a 2.7 litre four-cylinder Cooper-Climax; Love was in his forties and, although seen as one of the finest drivers in Southern Africa, was not a major star. He led and finished second in that year's South African Grand Prix. Love's Cooper was originally designed for the short races of the Tasman Series, and to run a full Grand Prix, he added two auxiliary gas tanks. Unfortunately, the auxiliary tanks' fuel pump failure forced him to refuel after having led most of the race. [1]
Love and Dave Charlton both won the South African Formula One championship for six consecutive seasons, Love from 1964 to 1969 and Charlton from 1970 to 1975. In 1975 Ian Scheckter raced the Tyrrell 007 that had been campaigned by brother, Jody, in the previous year's world championship and won five of the season's races, including four on the trot. However, he only had one other points finish, fifth place at the False Bay "100" on 5 July, giving him a points total of 47 for the season. Charlton proved more consistent with three victories and five second-place finishes to give him a points total of 57. By winning the Natal Spring Trophy at Roy Hesketh Circuit on 1 September, Charlton joined Rhodesian John Love as a six-time winner of the South African National Drivers Championship. Charlton ended the South African Formula One Championship by winning the final race of the season, the Rand Spring Trophy at Kyalami on 4 October after the faster Scheckter retired with a driveshaft problem.
Primarily owing to cost and dwindling grids, the Formula One championship was replaced at the end of the 1975 season with Formula Atlantic. The South Africans had tried to build interest by padding the field with Formula 2 and Formula 5000 cars, but viewership was in a steady decline, not helped by a somewhat Byzantine points system. [2] 1976 would see the start of the domination of South Africa's National Championship by Ian Scheckter. Indeed, had it not been for youthful exuberance, Scheckter may have won the 1975 title. He won more races than Charlton, but Charlton was more consistent. Scheckter won the first four championships in a row for Lexington Racing before United Tobacco Company withdrew their teams (Lexington, Gunston and Texan). With Gunston returning in 1983, Scheckter returned to the Championship and won a further two championships to join Love and Charlton as a six-time winner.
Jody David Scheckter is a South African former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980. Scheckter won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1979 with Ferrari, and remains the only African driver to have won either a Formula One Grand Prix or the World Drivers' Championship; he won 10 Grands Prix across nine seasons.
The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard "Dick" Seaman, Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth and the 1939 winner Luigi Villoresi.
The 1972 South African Grand Prix, formally the Sixth AA Grand Prix of South Africa, 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.
The 1975 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 1 March 1975. It was race 3 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 21st South African Grand Prix since the first Grand Prix was held in 1934 and the ninth to be held at Kyalami just outside Johannesburg. It was held over 78 laps of the four kilometre circuit for a race distance of 320 kilometres.
The 1976 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 March 1976 at Kyalami in Transvaal Province, South Africa. It was the second round of the 1976 Formula One season. The race was the 22nd South African Grand Prix and the tenth to be held at Kyalami. The race was held over 78 laps of the 4.104-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 320 kilometres.
The 1979 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 9 September 1979 at Monza. It was the thirteenth race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors.
The 1980 Formula One season was the 34th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1980 World Championship of Drivers and the 1980 International Cup for F1 Constructors, which were contested concurrently from 13 January to 5 October over a fourteen-race series. The season also included one non-championship race, the Spanish Grand Prix.
The 1976 Formula One season was the 30th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1976 World Championship of Drivers and the 1976 International Cup for Formula 1 Manufacturers. The two titles were contested over a sixteen race series which commenced on 25 January and ended on 24 October. Two non-championship races were also held during the 1976 season. In an extraordinarily political and dramatic season, the Drivers' Championship went to McLaren driver James Hunt by one point from Ferrari's defending champion Niki Lauda, although Ferrari took the Manufacturers' trophy.
The 1974 Formula One season was the 28th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1974 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over a fifteen-race series which commenced on 13 January and ended on 6 October. The season also included three non-championship races.
The 1973 Formula One season was the 27th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, which were contested concurrently over a fifteen-race series that commenced on 28 January and ended on 7 October. The season also included two non-championship races which were open to both Formula One and Formula 5000 cars.
Robert Brett Lunger is an American racecar driver.
Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler was a French racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980. Depailler won two Formula One Grands Prix across eight seasons.
Brian Herman Thomas Redman is a British retired racing driver.
Ian Scheckter is a South African former racing driver. He participated in 20 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 30 March 1974. He scored no championship points.
John Maxwell Lineham Love was a Rhodesian racing driver. He participated in 10 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 29 December 1962. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of six championship points. He also won the 1962 British Saloon Car Championship, now known as the British Touring Car Championship. All but one of his Formula One entries were in races held within Africa, either as championship or non-championship rounds.
Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit is a 4.529 km (2.814 mi) motor racing circuit located in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa, just north of Johannesburg. The circuit has been used for Grand Prix and Formula One races and has hosted the South African Grand Prix twenty times. Among the Formula One races held at the track the 1977 South African Grand Prix stands out, as it is principally remembered for the fatal accident that claimed the lives of race marshal Frederick Jansen van Vuuren and driver Tom Pryce. In recent years, the area surrounding the circuit has developed into a residential and commercial suburb of Johannesburg. More recently, Kyalami has played host to five rounds of the Superbike World Championship from 1998 to 2002 and later in 2009 and 2010, the season finale of the Superstars Series in 2009 and 2010, and the South African round of the 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season. International racing returned to the circuit in November 2019, when it hosted the 2019 Kyalami 9 Hours, serving as the season finale of the 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge.
Tomas Scheckter is a South African former racing driver best known for his time in the IndyCar Series.
The March 701 is a Formula One racing car model, designed by Robin Herd with Peter Wright, and built by March Engineering. The 701 was March's first Formula One design – following their one-off March 693P Formula Three prototype of 1969 – and was designed and built in only three months. The March 701 made its race debut a month after its public unveiling, at the 1970 South African Grand Prix. In total, eleven 701s were constructed, with March supplying many privateer entrants as well as their own works team. The 701's career started well, March drivers taking three wins and three pole positions from the car's first four race entries, but lack of development through the 1970 Formula One season resulted in increasingly poor results as the year wore on. The 701 was superseded by the March 711 in 1971, and made its last World Championship race appearance at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix.
There have been 25 Formula One drivers from South Africa, with 17 of them having started at least one Grand Prix, and only 4 of them having started more than four races. Jody Scheckter is by far the most prolific and successful South African driver, being the only one to have won a race. During his nine-year career Scheckter won 10 races and the 1979 World Drivers' Championship. There has not been a driver from South Africa in Formula One since 1980.
Gunston is a South African brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the South African subsidiary of conglomerate British American Tobacco.