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1968 South African Grand Prix


FieldValue
TypeF1
CountrySouth Africa
Flag_suffix1928
Grand PrixSouth African
Date1 January
Year1968
ImageKyalami 1961 - 1988 Layout.png
Official name2nd AA Grand Prix of South Africa
LocationKyalami, Midrand, Transvaal Province, South Africa
CoursePermanent racing facility
Course_mi2.550
Course_km4.104
Distance_laps80
Distance_mi204.009
Distance_km328.320
WeatherVery hot, dry
Pole_DriverJim Clark
Pole_TeamLotus-Ford
Pole_Time1:21.6
Pole_CountryUnited Kingdom
Fast_DriverJim Clark
Fast_TeamLotus-Ford
Fast_Time1:23.7
Fast_Lap73
Fast_CountryUnited Kingdom
First_DriverJim Clark
First_TeamLotus-Ford
First_CountryUnited Kingdom
Second_DriverGraham Hill
Second_TeamLotus-Ford
Second_CountryUnited Kingdom
Third_DriverJochen Rindt
Third_TeamBrabham-Repco
Third_CountryAustria
Lapchart

The 1968 South African Grand Prix, formally the 2nd AA Grand Prix of South Africa (Afrikaans: Tweede AA Suid-Afrikaanse Grand Prix), was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on Monday 1 January 1968. It was race 1 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 80-lap race was won by two time World Drivers' Champion and 1965 Indianapolis 500 winner Jim Clark for Lotus-Ford after starting from pole position. The race is significant as not only the last Formula One race to be won by Clark, but also the last in which he ever competed, due to his fatal crash at the Hockenheimring in Germany three months later. At this race Team Gunston became the first Formula One team to paint their cars in the livery of their sponsors instead of national colours when they entered a private Brabham for John Love and an LDS for Sam Tingle.

This was also Mike Spence's final race, as he too was killed a few months later, while practising for the 1968 Indianapolis 500.

The first six slots on the grid were filled by either previous or future world champions. However the reigning champion, Denny Hulme, only started in ninth.

Clark broke many records during the weekend, such as leading the most Grands Prix (43), having the most laps led (1,943), having the most perfect weekends (11), achieving the most pole positions (33) and finally achieving 25 race wins, beating Juan Manuel Fangio's 11-year-old record.

Classification

Qualifying

The qualifying session was held on 31 December 1967.

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap1234567891011121314151617181920212223
4UK Jim ClarkLotus-Ford1:21.6
5UK Graham HillLotus-Ford1:22.6+1.0
16United Kingdom Jackie StewartMatra-Ford1:22.7+1.1
3Austria Jochen RindtBrabham-Repco1:23.0+1.4
2Australia Jack BrabhamBrabham-Repco1:23.2+1.6
7UK John SurteesHonda1:23.5+1.9
10Italy Andrea de AdamichFerrari1:23.6+2.0
8New Zealand Chris AmonFerrari1:23.8+2.2
1New Zealand Denny HulmeMcLaren-BRM1:24.0+2.4
11Mexico Pedro RodríguezBRM1:24.9+3.3
9Belgium Jacky IckxFerrari1:24.9+3.3
6United States Dan GurneyEagle-Weslake1:25.6+4.0
12United Kingdom Mike SpenceBRM1:25.9+4.3
22South Africa Dave CharltonBrabham-Repco1:26.2+4.6
15Italy Ludovico ScarfiottiCooper-Maserati1:26.3+4.7
19Switzerland Jo SiffertCooper-Maserati1:26.4+4.8
17Rhodesia John LoveBrabham-Repco1:27.0+5.4
21France Jean-Pierre BeltoiseMatra-Ford1:27.2+5.6
20Sweden Jo BonnierCooper-Maserati1:27.3+5.7
25South Africa Basil van RooyenCooper-Climax1:27.8+6.2
14United Kingdom Brian RedmanCooper-Maserati1:28.0+6.4
18Rhodesia Sam TingleLDS-Repco1:28.6+7.0
23South Africa Jackie PretoriusBrabham-Climax1:29.0+7.4

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints123456789NCRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRet
4UK **Jim Clark****Lotus-Ford**801:53:56.61**9**
5UK **Graham Hill****Lotus-Ford**80+ 25.32**6**
3AUT **Jochen Rindt****Brabham-Repco**80+ 30.44**4**
8NZL **Chris Amon****Ferrari**78+ 2 Laps8**3**
1NZL **Denny Hulme****McLaren-BRM**78+ 2 Laps9**2**
21FRA **Jean-Pierre Beltoise****Matra-Ford**77+ 3 Laps18**1**
19SUI Jo SiffertCooper-Maserati77+ 3 Laps16
7UK John SurteesHonda75+ 5 Laps6
17Rhodesia John LoveBrabham-Repco75+ 5 Laps17
23South Africa Jackie PretoriusBrabham-Climax71+ 9 Laps23
6USA Dan GurneyEagle-Weslake58Oil Leak12
9BEL Jacky IckxFerrari51Oil Leak11
20SWE Jo BonnierCooper-Maserati46Overheating19
16UK Jackie StewartMatra-Ford43Engine3
18Rhodesia Sam TingleLDS-Repco35Overheating22
25South Africa Basil van RooyenCooper-Climax22Engine20
11MEX Pedro RodríguezBRM20Fuel System10
2AUS Jack BrabhamBrabham-Repco16Engine5
10ITA Andrea de AdamichFerrari13Accident7
12UK Mike SpenceBRM7Fuel System14
14UK Brian RedmanCooper-Maserati4Oil Leak21
22South Africa Dave CharltonBrabham-Repco3Differential14
15ITA Ludovico ScarfiottiCooper-Maserati2Water Pipe15

Notes

  • This was the Formula One World Championship debut for South African driver Basil van Rooyen and Italian driver Andrea de Adamich.

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

PosDriverPointsSource:
1United Kingdom Jim Clark9
2United Kingdom Graham Hill6
3Austria Jochen Rindt4
4New Zealand Chris Amon3
5New Zealand Denny Hulme2

;Constructors' Championship standings

PosConstructorPointsSource:
1UK Lotus-Ford9
2UK Brabham-Repco4
3Italy Ferrari3
4UK McLaren-BRM2
5France Matra-Ford1
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

References

  1. "'SA was ahead of the curve' – 50 years of sponsorship in F1".
  2. "1968 South African Grand Prix". Formula One.
  3. "South Africa 1968 - Championship • STATS F1".
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