page_title: Brands Hatch
section_title: 1970s
hierarchical_section_title: Brands Hatch / History / 1970s
caption_attribution_description: Emerson Fittipaldi, Marlboro Team Texaco (McLaren) McLaren M23 at British GP Race of Champions *The chassis seemed to be an earlier model of the 1974 M23B (look its engine cover)
context_page_description: Brands Hatch Circuit is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts many British and International racing events. The venue is owned and operated by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation.
context_section_description: The International race calendar for 1970 opened with the Race of Champions. March Engineering made its Formula One-winning debut when Jackie Stewart won driving Ken Tyrrell's March-Cosworth 701.
  The British Grand Prix returned to Brands Hatch on 19 July and saw victory go to Jochen Rindt by less than 33 seconds from Jack Brabham, who had run out of fuel. The Austrian driver of the Lotus was then disqualified following a protest over an aerofoil, but was reinstated before the evening was out. Third place went to Denny Hulme in the McLaren from the Ferrari of Clay Regazzoni; a lap down in fifth spot with the March of Chris Amon with Graham Hill sixth in the other Lotus. Rindt's winning speed was 108.69 mph.
  Although the World Championship sports race was now BOAC 1000, but measured in kilometres, not miles, it was another Porsche benefit, the fearsome 917s taking the first three places from a 908; the first car home was the Pedro Rodríguez/Leo Kinnunen car from Vic Elford/Denny Hulme and Richard Attwood/Hans Herrmann. The 908 was driven by Gijs van Lennep and Hans Laine. The race was run over 235 laps at a speed of 92.15 mph.
  By 1971, the ownership of Brands Hatch was in the hands of Motor Circuit Developments (MCD), which saw the arrival of another MCD-inspired single-seater formula in the shape of Formula Atlantic. The BOAC 1000 saw Alfa Romeo take their first major success in 20 years, with the chequered flag being taken by the 33TT3 of Andrea de Adamich and Henri Pescarolo, who completed the 235 laps at a speed of 97.17 mph. They were followed home by the Ferrari 312PB of Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni, with the Porsche 917 of Jo Siffert and Derek Bell a further three laps down in third.
  Motor Racing is a dangerous game and there had been some fatalities at Brands including the deaths of George Crossman, Tony Flory and Stuart Duncan in the mid-60s. But in October 1971, the season drew to its close with the death of a major driver. Jo Siffert died in an accident in the Rothmans World Championship Victory Race. This non-championship event for Formula One and Formula 5000 cars was arranged to mark Jackie Stewart and Ken Tyrrell's joint World Championships. The race was 40 laps in length; 'Seppi' lost control of his BRM P160 on lap 15, hit the bank at Hawthorn Hill, the car was engulfed in flames and he was asphyxiated before he could be extricated. The circuit came under a great deal of criticism, and it was agreed that a three-year programme of major safety modifications around the track would be commenced before the start of the 1972 season.
  The 1972 season was a particularly busy one, with Formula One visiting twice for the Race of Champions on 19 March sponsored by Daily Mail and the John Player-sponsored British Grand Prix on 15 July (bearing the title European Grand Prix), while the BOAC 1000 was the British round of the World Championship of Makes. On 16 April, what was to be the last BOAC 1000 resulted in a complete Italian benefit race with Ferrari and Alfa Romeo filling the first six places. The 235-lap race was won by Mario Andretti and Jacky Ickx in a Ferrari 312PB, with the average race speed of 105.12 mph, from Tim Schenken and Ronnie Peterson, a lap down in a similar car. The first Alfa home completed the podium, was the 33TT3 of Rolf Stommelen and Peter Revson. And so to July, 76-laps of the Grand Prix Circuit adds up to just a few hundred yards over 200 miles which Emerson Fittipaldi completed in 1hr 47:50.2secs (108.67 mph), driving the John Player Special Lotus-Cosworth 72D, from Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell-Cosworth 003), Peter Revson in the Team Yardley McLaren-Cosworth M19A, Chris Amon in the Matra-Simca MS120C, Denny Hulme Team Yardley McLaren-Cosworth M19C, with Arturo Merzario taking the last point in the Ferrari 312B2.
  The following year, 1973, was less hectic; the BOAC 1000 was cancelled when the date offered by the FIA was unsuitable, and the year had an unfortunate Race of Champions. Peter Gethin driving a Formula 5000 Chevron-Chevrolet B24 beat the Formula One cars and James Hunt made his F1 debut 
caption: Emerson Fittipaldi (McLaren-Cosworth M23B) heading towards 2nd place in the 1974 British Grand Prix
exif: {"Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "44", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6274"}