1972 South African Grand Prix

The 1972 South African Grand Prix, otherwise known as the 6th AA Grand Prix of South Africa (Afrikaans: Sesde AA Suid-Afrikaanse Grand Prix), was the second race of the Formula One season. It was won by Denny Hulme in a , after leader Jackie Stewart retired with a broken gearbox. Emerson Fittipaldi was second in a , and Hulme's teammate Peter Revson was third.
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==Background==
With a six week gap in the schedule since Buenos Aires (and four weeks since the non-championship Brazilian GP), some updates to the cars were starting to filter through, but the lion's share of revisions would be in another eight weeks at Spain. Despite the distance from the the races, a huge entry of 27 cars turned out.
*: Graham Hill's car had ventilated front disc brakes.
*: Jean-Pierre Beltoise rejoined the team, displacing Reine Wisell, and the Austria-Marlboro car did not make the trip.
*: The Scuderia ran this race with full-width nose cones, similar to the Tyrrells, in a quest for reduced drag and straight line speed. The relative age of the nose cones was illustrated when Mario Andretti's nose did not arrive until the day before the race.
*: The cars were fitted with smaller rear wing sideplates and magnesium rear wheels.
**Dave Charlton had purchased the Lotus 72 used primarily by Reine Wisell in 1971, and with some deep sponsorship was able to have all of the latest updates to the car. Charlton himself was highly regarded as a driver, and when it was announced that he would contest much of the season, teams took notice of how well the team performed.
*: The great tea tray experiment was over, as the cars both arrived with the shovel noses and normal wings seen in practice in Canada and Argentina.
**Frank Williams' team had a new name (to reflect the sponsor), and former Brabham owner and engineer Ron Tauranac acting as their race engineer. Tauranac made several detail changes to both cars that made a noticeable improvement in performance. Brazilian driver Carlos Pace was added to Henri Pescarolo's old 711, but with several 721 modifications, so the cars were almost indistinguishable.
**Rolf Stommelen arrived with a car that was called an 'Eiffelland', but was in reality a March 721 with new bodywork and suspension. The car had what was claimed to be a unique variable rate rear suspension made of titanium. And furniture expert Luigi Colani had designed a new nose in the Tyrrell style, and a one-piece cockpit/engine cover, with the engine air intake in front and a single rear-view mirror sticking up on a foot-high stalk directly in front of the driver. It was very futuristic-looking, and Stommelen assured the officials that the mirror stalk was thin, and he almost never looked directly forward anyway. But during practice, the new nose had to be replaced by the original tea tray, due to overheating and a lack of grip. And with either nose, the car was fairly slow down the straight, implying that the fancy bodywork could have used some aerodynamic testing.
*: The oil tank on Chris Amon's main car had been moved the the very rear, to improve airflow.
*: The cars arrived with a new mounting for the rear wings, moving them back slightly to get cleaner air. The team was one of several that ran a testing session here the week before the race, and they were quite optimistic afterwards.
*: Mike Hailwood had rejoined the team after finishing second in the Tasman Cup series. All three cars had revised windscreens and cockpit bodywork, to reduced air buffeting on the drivers. Tim Schenken's car had a Formula 2 style rear wing for straight line speed.
*: The team also had chassis 004 as a spare, which had already turned several hundred miles at the Kyalami circuit testing tires for Goodyear over the winter, including a session the week before the race. François Cevert's car had a modified front suspension with the upright blended with the brake caliper, a weight-saving idea pioneered by Matra.
==Entry List==
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Jackie Stewart 	Elf Team Tyrrell 	 	003 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
2 	François Cevert 	Elf Team Tyrrell 	 	002 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
3 	Ronnie Peterson 	STP March Racing Team 	 	721 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
4 	Niki Lauda 	STP March Racing Team 	 	721 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
5 	Jacky Ickx 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312B2 	 	001/1 F12 3.0	
6 	Clay Regazzoni 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312B2 	 	001/1 F12 3.0	
7 	Mario Andretti 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312B2 	 	001/1 F12 3.0	
8 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	72D 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
9 	Dave Walker 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	72D 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
10 	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Marlboro BRM 	 	P160B 	 	P142 V12 3.0 	
11 	Peter Gethin 	Marlboro BRM 	 	P160B 	 	P142 V12 3.0 	
12 	Denny Hulme 	Yardley Team McLaren 	 	M19A 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
14 	Peter Revson 	Yardley Team McLaren 	 	M19A 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
15 	Chris Amon 	Equipe Matra Sports 	 	MS120C 	 	MS72 V12 3.0 	
16 	Tim Schenken 	Brooke Bond Oxo Team Surtees 	 	TS9B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
17 	Mike Hailwood 	Brooke Bond Oxo Team Surtees 	 	TS9B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
18 	Andrea de Adamich 	Ceramica Pagnossin Team Surtees	 	TS9B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
19 	Graham Hill 	Motor Racing Developments 	 	BT33 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
20 	Carlos Reutemann 	Motor Racing Developments 	 	BT34 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
21 	Henri Pescarolo 	Team Williams Motul 	 	721 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
22 	Carlos Pace 	Team Williams Motul 	 	711 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
23 	Howden Ganley 	Marlboro BRM 	 	P160B 	 	P142 V12 3.0 	
24 	Helmut Marko 	Austria Marlboro BRM 	 	P153 	 	P142 V12 3.0 	
25 	Rolf Stommelen 	Team Eifelland Caravans 	 	21 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
26 	Dave Charlton 	Scribante Lucky Strike Racing 	 	72D 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
27 	John Love 	Team Gunston 	 	TS9 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
28 	Willie Ferguson 	Team Gunston 	 	BT33 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Qualifying Results===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Time 	Time 	Time 	Gap
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	P1 	P2 	P3 	Gap
1 	1 	Jackie Stewart 	 	1:17.0	1:17.3	1:17.0	—
2 	6 	Clay Regazzoni 	 	1:18.5	1:17.8	1:17.3	+0.3s
3 	8 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	 	1:17.9	1:17.4	1:17.4	+0.4s
4 	17 	Mike Hailwood 	 	1:19.2	— 	1:17.4	+0.4s
5 	12 	Denny Hulme 	 	1:18.1	1:18.1	1:17.4	+0.4s
6 	7 	Mario Andretti 	 	1:19.0	1:18.2	1:17.5	+0.5s
7 	5 	Jacky Ickx 	 	1:17.7	1:17.8	1:18.8	+0.7s
8 	2 	François Cevert 	 	1:17.8	1:17.9	1:18.0	+0.8s
9 	3 	Ronnie Peterson 	 	1:18.5	1:17.8	1:17.8	+0.8s
10 	16 	Tim Schenken 	 	1:19.1	1:19.6	1:17.8	+0.8s
11 	10 	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	 	1:18.6	1:18.1	1:17.9	+0.9s
12 	14 	Peter Revson 	 	1:28.3	1:18.5	1:18.0	+1.0s
13 	15 	Chris Amon 	 	1:18.9	1:18.7	1:18.0	+1.0s
14 	19 	Graham Hill 	 	1:18.6	1:18.2	1:18.1	+1.1s
15 	20 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	1:18.7	1:18.2	1:18.3	+1.2s
16 	23 	Howden Ganley 	 	— 	1:18.3	1:18.5	+1.3s
17 	26 	Dave Charlton 	 	1:26.1	1:18.5	1:19.4	+1.5s
18 	11 	Peter Gethin 	 	1:18.7	1:29.3	1:18.8	+1.7s
19 	9 	Dave Walker 	 	1:19.1	1:20.1	1:18.7	+1.7s
20 	18 	Andrea de Adamich 	 	1:18.9	1:19.3	1:19.0	+1.9s
21 	4 	Niki Lauda 	 	1:21.2	1:21.7	1:18.9	+1.9s
22 	21 	Henri Pescarolo 	 	1:20.0	1:19.0	1:19.0	+2.0s
23 	24 	Helmut Marko 	 	1:19.1	1:19.3	1:19.7	+2.1s
24 	22 	Carlos Pace 	 	— 	1:21.0	1:20.3	+3.3s
25 	25 	Rolf Stommelen 	 	1:20.7	1:20.5	1:20.4	+3.4s
26 	27 	John Love 	 	— 	1:21.0	1:21.0	+4.0s
27* 	28 	Willie Ferguson 	 	— 	1:31.9	— 	+14.9s
*Bold indicates the driver's best/qualifying time.
** Ferguson would not be taking the start of the race when his car had an engine failure.
===Grid===
==Race==
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Pts
1 	12 	Denny Hulme 	 	79 	1:45:49.1 	5 	9
2 	8 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	 	79 	+14.1 	3 	6
3 	14 	Peter Revson 	 	79 	+25.8 	12 	4
4 	7 	Mario Andretti 	 	79 	+38.5 	6 	3
5 	3 	Ronnie Peterson 	 	79 	+49.0 	9 	2
6 	19 	Graham Hill 	 	78 	+1 Lap 	14 	1
7 	4 	Niki Lauda 	 	78 	+1 Lap 	21 	 
8 	5 	Jacky Ickx 	 	78 	+1 Lap 	7 	 
9 	2 	François Cevert 	 	78 	+1 Lap 	8 	 
10 	9 	Dave Walker 	 	78 	+1 Lap 	19 	 
11 	21 	Henri Pescarolo 	 	78 	+1 Lap 	22 	 
12 	6 	Clay Regazzoni 	 	77 	+2 Laps 	2 	 
13 	25 	Rolf Stommelen 	 	77 	+2 Laps 	25 	 
14 	24 	Helmut Marko 	 	76 	+3 Laps 	23 	 
15 	15 	Chris Amon 	 	76 	+3 Laps 	13 	 
16 	27 	John Love 	 	73 	Puncture/Accident	26 	 
17 	22 	Carlos Pace 	 	73 	+6 Laps 	24 	 
NC 	23 	Howden Ganley 	 	70 	+9 Laps 	16 	 
NC 	18 	Andrea de Adamich 	 	69 	+10 Laps 	20 	 
NC 	11 	Peter Gethin 	 	65 	+14 Laps 	18 	 
Ret 	10 	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	 	61 	Engine 	11 	 
Ret 	1 	Jackie Stewart 	 	45 	Gearbox 	1 	 
Ret 	17 	Mike Hailwood 	 	28 	Suspension 	4 	 
Ret 	20 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	27 	Fuel System 	15 	 
Ret 	16 	Tim Schenken 	 	9 	Engine 	10 	 
Ret 	26 	Dave Charlton 	 	2 	Fuel Pump 	17 	 
DNS 	28 	Willie Ferguson 	 	 	Engine 	 	 
==Milestones==
==Standings after race==
1972 Drivers' World Championship	1972 Drivers' World Championship	1972 Drivers' World Championship	1972 Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	
1 	Denny Hulme 	15 	
2 	Jackie Stewart 	9 	
3 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	6 	
4= 	Jacky Ickx 	4 	
4= 	Peter Revson 	4 	
6= 	Clay Regazzoni 	3 	
6= 	Mario Andretti 	3 	
6= 	Ronnie Peterson 	3 	
9 	Tim Schenken 	2 	
10 	Graham Hill 	1 	
Only point scoring drivers are shown.
1972 Constructors' World Championship	1972 Constructors' World Championship	1972 Constructors' World Championship	1972 Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	
1 	 	15 	
2 	 	9 	
3 	 	7 	
4 	 	6 	
5 	 	3 	
6 	 	2 	
7 	 	1 	
Only point scoring constructors are shown.
==References==
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Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:South African Grand Prix
Category:1972 Grands Prix
Category:Formula One races in South Africa