1962 South African Grand Prix

The 1962 South African Grand Prix, formally titled the 9th International RAC Grand Prix of South Africa,[1] was a Formula One motor race held at East London on 29 December 1962. It was the ninth and final race in both the 1962 World Championship of Drivers and the 1962 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 82-lap race was won by Graham Hill driving a BRM, the Englishman taking his first Drivers' Championship in the process, with New Zealander Bruce McLaren and local driver Tony Maggs second and third, respectively, in works Cooper-Climaxes.

1962 South African Grand Prix
Race 9 of 9 in the 1962 Formula One season
Race details
Date 29 December 1962
Official name 9th International RAC Grand Prix of South Africa
Location Prince George Circuit
East London, South Africa
Course Temporary road circuit
Course length 3.920 km (2.436 miles)
Distance 82 laps, 321.415 km (199.718 miles)
Weather Dry, windy
Pole position
Driver Lotus-Climax
Time 1:29.3
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom Jim Clark Lotus-Climax
Time 1:31.0 on lap 3
Podium
First BRM
Second Cooper-Climax
Third Cooper-Climax
Lap leaders

Hill went into the race with a nine-point lead in the Drivers' Championship over Scotland's Jim Clark, driving a works Lotus-Climax. A Clark win would give him the championship regardless of Hill's performance because only the top 5 results counted for the championship. After taking pole position, Clark led comfortably until an oil leak 20 laps from the finish forced him to retire, handing the championship to Hill. The win also gave BRM their first and only Manufacturers' Cup.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Qualifying times Gap
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 1   Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 1:38.5 1:29.8 1:29.3
2 3   Graham Hill BRM 1:33.1 1:30.0 1:29.6 +0.3
3 10   Jack Brabham Brabham-Climax No time 1:32.3 1:31.0 +1.7
4 11   Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax No time 1:33.6 1:31.1 +1.8
5 6   John Surtees Lola-Climax 1:35.5 1:36.1 1:31.5 +2.2
6 9   Tony Maggs Cooper-Climax 1:39.7 1:31.7 1:32.7 +2.4
7 4   Richie Ginther BRM 1:34.0 1:32.8 1:31.7 +2.4
8 8   Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax No time 1:33.0 1:31.7 +2.4
9 2   Trevor Taylor Lotus-Climax No time 1:32.7 (1:30.9) +3.4
10 20   Neville Lederle Lotus-Climax No time 1:36.0 1:33.6 +4.3
11 7   Roy Salvadori Lola-Climax 1:37.0 1:35.4 No time +6.1
12 18   John Love Cooper-Climax No time 1:36.4 1:37.6 +7.1
13 14   Ernie Pieterse Lotus-Climax No time 1:37.3 1:36.8 +7.5
14 21   Doug Serrurier LDS-Alfa Romeo 1:38.7 1:37.2 1:36.8 +7.5
15 22   Mike Harris Cooper-Alfa Romeo 1:40.2 No time 1:39.1 +9.8
16 15   Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche No time 1:39.3 1:39.2 +9.9
17 5   Bruce Johnstone1 BRM
Source:[2]
  • ^1 – Bruce Johnstone was unable to set a time in qualifying due to engine problems, and consequently had to start from the back of the grid.[3]
  • † — Jim Clark (1:28.9) and Trevor Taylor posted faster times in their back-up machines, fitted with fuel-injection engines, but these cars were discarded for the race due to reliability issues.

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 3   Graham Hill BRM 82 2:08:03.3 2 9
2 8   Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 82 + 49.8 8 6
3 9   Tony Maggs Cooper-Climax 82 + 50.3 6 4
4 10   Jack Brabham Brabham-Climax 82 + 53.8 3 3
5 11   Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 81 + 1 Lap 4 2
6 20   Neville Lederle Lotus-Climax 78 + 4 Laps 10 1
7 4   Richie Ginther BRM 78 + 4 Laps 7  
8 18   John Love Cooper-Climax 78 + 4 Laps 12  
9 5   Bruce Johnstone BRM 76 + 6 Laps 17  
10 14   Ernie Pieterse Lotus-Climax 71 + 11 Laps 13  
11 15   Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche 70 Fuel System 16  
Ret 1   Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 62 Oil Leak 1  
Ret 21   Doug Serrurier LDS-Alfa Romeo 62 Radiator 14  
Ret 7   Roy Salvadori Lola-Climax 56 Fuel Leak 11  
Ret 22   Mike Harris Cooper-Alfa Romeo 31 Wheel Bearing 15  
Ret 6   John Surtees Lola-Climax 26 Engine 5  
Ret 2   Trevor Taylor Lotus-Climax 11 Gearbox 9  
WD 12   Gary Hocking Lotus-Climax Driver killed prior to event
WD 16   Syd van der Vyver Lotus-Climax Car damaged
WD 17   Tony Settember Emeryson-Climax
WD 19   Sam Tingle Lotus-Climax Driver competing elsewhere
Source:[4]

Notes

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  • This was the Formula One World Championship debut for South African drivers Neville Lederle, Ernie Pieterse, Doug Serrurier, Bruce Johnstone and Syd van der Vyver; and for Rhodesian drivers John Love, Mike Harris, Gary Hocking and Sam Tingle. It was also the first race for a Rhodesian driver.
  • LDS also made its debut in the Formula One World Championship in this race, being the first South African constructor.
  • This race was the 100th Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, excluding the eleven Indianapolis 500 races that were held between 1950-1960. In those 100 races:
    • Maurice Trintignant was the most experienced, having raced 75 of them, but also having the most retirements at 35.
    • Juan Manuel Fangio had achieved 29 pole positions, 23 fastest laps, 24 Grands Prix wins, 35 podium places, and 5 World Championships.
    • Ferrari was the most constant constructor and engine supplier, having raced 94 of them (93 as a constructor), BRM had had a record 12 retirements as a constructor. A Maserati-powered car had retired the race a record 13 times.
    • Ferrari also achieved 38 pole positions, 34 fastest laps, 35 Grands Prix wins, 128 podium places and 5 Drivers' World Titles in this timespan.
    • British engine supplier Coventry Climax had achieved 2 Constructors' World Titles.

Championship standings after the race

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  • Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References

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  1. ^ "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1962". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  2. ^ "1962 South African GP Qualification". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  3. ^ Tee, Michael (February 1963). "1962 South African Grand Prix race report: Graham the champion". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  4. ^ "1962 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  5. ^ a b "South Africa 1962 - Championship". statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.


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