1978 BRDC International Trophy

The 1978 Race of Champions was held at Silverstone Circuit on March 19. Very wet conditions saw only five of the 15 starters finish, with Keke Rosberg giving their only victory ever. Emerson Fittipaldi finished second in his brother's namesake , less than two seconds back. Third place was Tony Trimmer in a privateer , three laps down.
__TOC__
==Background==
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Niki Lauda 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT45C 	 	115-12 3.0 F12	
3 	Patrick Depailler 	Elf Team Tyrrell 	 	008 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
5 	Mario Andretti 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	79 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
6 	Ronnie Peterson 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	78 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
7 	James Hunt 	Marlboro Team McLaren 	 	M26 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
9 	Jochen Mass 	ATS Racing Team 	 	HS1 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
14 	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Automotive 	 	F5A 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
16 	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow Racing Team 	 	DN9 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
17 	Clay Regazzoni 	Shadow Racing Team 	 	DN9 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
18 	Rupert Keegan 	Durex Team Surtees 	 	TS19 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
22 	Jacky Ickx 	Team Tissot Ensign 	 	N177 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
24 	Divina Galica 	Olympus Cameras/Hesketh Racing	 	308E 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
28 	Emilio de Villota 	Centro Asegurador 	 	M23 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
30 	Brett Lunger 	Liggett Group/BS Fabrications 	 	M23 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
31 	René Arnoux 	Automobiles Martini 	 	MK23 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
32 	Keke Rosberg 	Theodore Racing Hong Kong 	 	TR1 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
37 	Arturo Merzario 	Team Merzario 	 	A1 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
38 	Derek Daly 	Olympus Cameras/Hesketh Racing	 	308E 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
40 	Tony Trimmer 	Melchester Racing 	 	M23 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
44 	Guy Edwards 	RAM Racing 	 	781S 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Saturday Qualifying===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Time 	Gap
1* 	6 	Ronnie Peterson 	 	1:16.07 	
2† 	1 	Niki Lauda 	 	1:16.43 	+0.36s
3 	5 	Mario Andretti 	 	1:16.60 	+0.53s
4 	7 	James Hunt 	 	1:17.18 	+1.11s
5 	30 	Brett Lunger 	 	1:17.77 	+1.70s
6 	3 	Patrick Depailler 	 	1:17.98 	+1.91s
7 	16 	Hans-Joachim Stuck	 	1:18.15 	+2.08s
8 	14 	Emerson Fittipaldi	 	1:18.44 	+2.37s
9 	38 	Derek Daly 	 	1:18.88 	+2.81s
10 	18 	Rupert Keegan 	 	1:19.10 	+3.03s
11 	28 	Emilio de Villota 	 	1:19.36 	+3.29s
12 	32 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:19.54 	+3.47s
13 	22 	Jacky Ickx 	 	1:20.00 	+3.93s
14‡ 	31 	René Arnoux 	 	1:20.09 	+4.02s
15 	40 	Tony Trimmer 	 	1:20.43 	+4.36s
16 	17 	Clay Regazzoni 	 	1:21.26 	+5.19s
DNQ§	24 	Divina Galica 	 	1:23.07 	+7.00s
WD 	9 	Jochen Mass 	 	Withdrawn	Withdrawn
WD 	37 	Arturo Merzario 	 	Withdrawn	Withdrawn
WD 	44 	Guy Edwards 	 	Withdrawn	Withdrawn
** Peterson was penalized as he had started in last at the pit lane.
*† Lauda had failed to take the start after he spun and crashed his car.
*‡ Arnoux had failed to take the start after he had problems with the oil pressure of his car.
*§ Galica was listed as first reserve and was allow to join at the back of the grid.
===Grid*===
** Lauda and Arnoux were both removed from the grid and also Peterson had started in last at the pit lane, but Andretti would take his place on pole position.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid
1 	32 	Keke Rosberg 	 	40 	1:12:49.02 	10
2 	14 	Emerson Fittipaldi	 	40 	+1.88s 	6
3 	40 	Tony Trimmer 	 	37 	+3 laps 	13
4 	30 	Brett Lunger 	 	37 	+3 laps 	3
NC* 	16 	Hans-Joachim Stuck	 	25 	+15 laps 	5
Ret 	18 	Rupert Keegan 	 	31 	Engine 	8
Ret 	38 	Derek Daly 	 	13 	Accident 	7
Ret 	24 	Divina Galica 	 	12 	Accident 	15
Ret 	28 	Emilio de Villota 	 	12 	Electrics 	9
Ret 	3 	Patrick Depailler 	 	4 	Accident 	4
Ret 	5 	Mario Andretti 	 	2 	Accident 	1
Ret 	6 	Ronnie Peterson 	 	2 	Accident 	PL
Ret 	22 	Jacky Ickx 	 	1 	Accident 	11
Ret 	7 	James Hunt 	 	0 	Accident 	2
Ret 	17 	Clay Regazzoni 	 	0 	Accident 	14
DNS 	1 	Niki Lauda 	 	 	 	
DNS 	31 	René Arnoux 	 	 	 	
WD 	9 	Jochen Mass 	 	 	 	
WD 	37 	Arturo Merzario 	 	 	 	
WD 	44 	Guy Edwards 	 	 	 	
** Stuck has failed to complete 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
*First victory for Keke Rosberg (since before his first World Championship victory in 1982).
*Only victory for cars.
*Only podium for Tony Trimmer.
Category:1978 Non-championship races
Category:Formula One races in the United Kingdom
Category:BRDC International Trophy
Category:Non-Championship races