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 | |||
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Race 9 of 9 in the 1962 Formula One season | |||
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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 |
![]() | 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
editQualifying
editPos | 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
editPos | 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]
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Notes
edit- 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
edit
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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
edit- ^ "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1962". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ "1962 South African GP Qualification". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ Tee, Michael (February 1963). "1962 South African Grand Prix race report: Graham the champion". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ "1962 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ a b "South Africa 1962 - Championship". statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.