1970 South African Grand Prix

The 1970 South African Grand Prix, formally titled the Fourth AA Grand Prix of South Africa (Afrikaans: Vierde AA Suid-Afrikaanse Grand Prix[1]), was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on 7 March 1970. It was race 1 of 13 in both the 1970 World Championship of Drivers and the 1970 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was also the 14th and last Formula One victory for triple world champion Jack Brabham.[2]

1970 South African Grand Prix
The Kyalami Circuit (1967–1985)
The Kyalami Circuit (1967–1985)
Race details
Date 7 March 1970
Official name Fourth 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 80 laps, 328.320 km (204.009 miles)
Weather Very hot, Dry
Pole position
Driver March-Ford
Time 1:19.3
Fastest lap
Driver Australia Jack Brabham[a] Brabham-Ford
Time 1:20.8 on lap 71
Podium
First Brabham-Ford
Second McLaren-Ford
Third March-Ford
Lap leaders

Two time World Champion and five time Monaco Grand Prix winner Graham Hill, driving a Lotus 49C for Rob Walker, made his return to racing after a life-threatening crash in the 1969 United States Grand Prix.[2] Despite extensive knee surgery that left Hill with minimal mobility, he finished sixth. Hill rated this achievement as among his finest. After the race, he could not get out of the car by himself and had to be lifted out.[3]

Qualifying edit

Qualifying classification edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Team Time Gap
1 1   Jackie Stewart March-Ford Tyrrell Racing Organisation 1:19.3
2 15   Chris Amon March-Ford March Engineering 1:19.3 -
3 12   Jack Brabham Brabham-Ford Motor Racing Developments Ltd 1:19.6 +0.3
4 9   Jochen Rindt Lotus-Ford Gold Leaf Team Lotus 1:19.9 +0.6
5 17   Jacky Ickx Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 1:20.0 +0.7
6 6   Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford Bruce McLaren Motor Racing 1:20.1 +0.8
7 7   John Surtees McLaren-Ford Team Surtees 1:20.2 +0.9
8 3   Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra Equipe Matra Elf 1:20.2 +0.9
9 16   Jo Siffert March-Ford March Engineering 1:20.2 +0.9
10 5   Bruce McLaren McLaren-Ford Bruce McLaren Motor Racing 1:20.3 +1.0
11 8   Mario Andretti March-Ford STP Corporation 1:20.5 +1.2
12 19   Jackie Oliver BRM Owen Racing Organisation 1:20.9 +1.6
13 25   Dave Charlton Lotus-Ford Scuderia Scribante 1:20.9 +1.6
14 10   John Miles Lotus-Ford Gold Leaf Team Lotus 1:21.0 +1.7
15 14   Rolf Stommelen Brabham-Ford Auto Motor Und Sport 1:21.2 +1.9
16 20   Pedro Rodríguez BRM Owen Racing Organisation 1:21.3 +2.0
17 2   Johnny Servoz-Gavin March-Ford Tyrrell Racing Organisation 1:21.4 +2.1
18 4   Henri Pescarolo Matra Equipe Matra Elf 1:21.5 +2.2
19 11   Graham Hill Lotus-Ford Rob Walker Racing Team 1:21.6 +2.3
20 22   Piers Courage De Tomaso-Ford Frank Williams Racing Cars 1:22.0 +2.7
21 24   Peter de Klerk Brabham-Ford Team Gunston 1:22.7 +3.4
22 23   John Love Lotus-Ford Team Gunston 1:23.1 +3.8
23 21   George Eaton BRM Owen Racing Organisation 1:24.6 +5.3

Classification edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 12   Jack Brabham Brabham-Ford 80 1:49:34.6 3 9
2 6   Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 80 +8.1 6 6
3 1   Jackie Stewart March-Ford 80 +17.1 1 4
4 3   Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra 80 +1:13.1 8 3
5 10   John Miles Lotus-Ford 79 +1 lap 14 2
6 11   Graham Hill Lotus-Ford 79 +1 lap 19 1
7 4   Henri Pescarolo Matra 78 +2 laps 18  
8 23   John Love Lotus-Ford 78 +2 laps 22  
9 20   Pedro Rodríguez BRM 76 +4 laps 16  
10 16   Jo Siffert March-Ford 75 +5 laps 9  
11 24   Peter de Klerk Brabham-Ford 75 +5 laps 21  
12 25   Dave Charlton Lotus-Ford 73 Engine 13  
13 9   Jochen Rindt Lotus-Ford 72 Engine 4  
Ret 17   Jacky Ickx Ferrari 60 Engine 5  
Ret 7   John Surtees McLaren-Ford 60 Engine 7  
Ret 21   George Eaton BRM 58 Engine 23  
Ret 2   Johnny Servoz-Gavin March-Ford 57 Engine 17  
Ret 5   Bruce McLaren McLaren-Ford 39 Engine 10  
Ret 22   Piers Courage De Tomaso-Ford 39 Accident 20  
Ret 8   Mario Andretti March-Ford 26 Overheating 11  
Ret 14   Rolf Stommelen Brabham-Ford 23 Engine 15  
Ret 19   Jackie Oliver BRM 22 Gearbox 12  
Ret 15   Chris Amon March-Ford 14 Overheating 2  
DNS 11   Brian Redman Lotus-Ford Car raced by Graham Hill
Source:[4]

Championship standings after the race edit

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

Notes edit

  1. ^ Some sources credit both Brabham and John Surtees with fastest lap. See the discussion page for further information

References edit

  1. ^ "1970 Formula One Programmes: South Africa". Motor Racing Programme Covers. The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b "The Grand Prix of South Africa". Motor Sport: 30. April 1970.
  3. ^ Graham Hill: Driven Documentary, BBC4, 2011, 43:57
  4. ^ "1970 South African Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  5. ^ a b "South Africa 1970 – Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.

External links edit


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1969 Mexican Grand Prix
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