From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

1971 World Championship Victory Race

Field	Value
Type	NC
Country	UK
Details ref
Grand Prix	World Championship Victory Race
Image	File:Brands Hatch 1960-1975.svg
Official name	Rothmans World Championship Victory Race
Location	Brands Hatch, Kent
Date	24 October
Year	1971
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course_mi	2.65
Course_km	4.265
Distance_laps	40
Distance_mi	106
Distance_km	170.59
Pole_Driver	Jo Siffert
Pole_Country	Switzerland
Pole_Team	BRM
Pole_Time	1:22.8
Fast_Driver	Emerson Fittipaldi
Fast_Team	Lotus
Fast_Time	1:24.0
Fast_Country	Brazil
First_Driver	Peter Gethin
First_Country	UK
First_Team	BRM
Second_Driver	Emerson Fittipaldi
Second_Country	Brazil
Second_Team	Lotus
Third_Driver	Jackie Stewart
Third_Country	UK
Third_Team	Tyrrell

The Rothmans World Championship Victory Race was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 24 October 1971 at Brands Hatch, Kent. The race was to be run over 40 laps of the circuit, but race was red-flagged and abandoned on lap 15 following the fatal accident suffered by Swiss driver Jo Siffert. The result was taken from the race order after 14 laps, with Peter Gethin being declared the winner in his BRM P160. The entry included several Formula 5000 cars which were contesting Round 12 of the 1971 Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship.

Siffert's accident led to a rapid overhaul of safety, both in-car and on circuit. In the subsequent Royal Automobile Club (the UK organising and regulatory representative of the FIA at the time) investigation, it was discovered that the crash itself caused non-fatal injuries but Siffert had rather been killed by smoke inhalation. None of the trackside fire extinguishers worked, and it was found to be impossible to reach the car and extract Siffert because of the intense fire. On-board fire extinguishers (using BCF—Bromochlorodifluoromethane, an aircraft product) became mandatory and also piped air directly into the drivers' helmets.

Qualifying

Note: a blue background indicates a Formula 5000 entrant.

Pos	No.	Driver	Constructor	Lap
5	SUI Jo Siffert	BRM	1:22.8	—
6	UK Peter Gethin	BRM	1:22.8	+0.0
8	BRA Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Cosworth	1:23.6	+0.8
4	SWE Ronnie Peterson	March-Cosworth	1:23.6	+0.8
17	UK Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Cosworth	1:23.8	+1.0
1	UK Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Cosworth	1:23.8	+1.0
12	AUS Tim Schenken	Brabham-Cosworth	1:23.8	+1.0
7	NZL Howden Ganley	BRM	1:24.2	+1.4
10	UK Jackie Oliver	McLaren-Cosworth	1:24.6	+1.8
16	UK John Surtees	Surtees-Cosworth	1:24.6	+1.8
14	ARG Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Cosworth	1:24.6	+1.8
11	UK Graham Hill	Brabham-Cosworth	1:24.8	+2.0
2	FRA François Cevert	Tyrrell-Cosworth	1:25.0	+2.2
23	AUS Frank Gardner	Lola-Chevrolet	1:25.8	+3.0
15	FRA Henri Pescarolo	March-Cosworth	1:26.2	+3.4
77	UK Mike Walker	Lola-Chevrolet	1:27.0	+4.2
26	UK Alan Rollinson	Surtees-Chevrolet	1:27.0	+4.2
21	SWE Reine Wisell	McLaren-Chevrolet	1:27.0	+4.2
25	UK Keith Holland	McLaren-Chevrolet	1:27.6	+4.8
44	UK Gordon Spice	McLaren-Chevrolet	1:28.2	+5.4
28	UK Ray Allen	McLaren-Chevrolet	1:28.4	+5.6
33	BEL Teddy Pilette	McLaren-Chevrolet	1:28.4	+5.6
41	UK Trevor Taylor	Leda-Chevrolet	1:29.2	+6.4
40	UK Ian Ashley	Lola-Chevrolet	1:29.6	+6.8
27	UK David Prophet	McLaren-Chevrolet	1:29.6	+6.8
24	UK Guy Edwards	McLaren-Chevrolet	1:31.0	+8.2
66	UK Fred Saunders	Crosslé-Rover	1:32.2	+9.4
work=ChicaneF1	access-date=28 February 2024}}}}

Race

Although the race only lasted for less than half of its intended distance, there were several incidents. On lap 2, Henri Pescarolo and Reine Wisell collided at the Druids hairpin, with both cars retiring. Then Mike Hailwood and Ronnie Peterson also collided and had to pit for repairs. Hailwood's car was deemed unfit to continue, but Peterson rejoined the race, albeit nearly a lap down. Jo Siffert had fallen several places at the start, but had made his way back to 4th by lap 14. Approaching Hawthorn Bend at high speed on lap 15, Siffert's BRM suffered a mechanical failure which pitched it across the track into an earth bank. The car rolled over and caught fire, trapping Siffert underneath, and he died of smoke inhalation in the flames. The race was stopped with the track blocked, and all the cars were stranded out on the circuit except for John Surtees, who was able to drive around to the pits, his car damaged by debris.

Results

Pos	No.	Driver	Entrant	Constructor	Time/Retired
6	UK Peter Gethin	Yardley-BRM	BRM	19:54.4	2
8	Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi	Gold Leaf Team Lotus	Lotus-Cosworth	+ 0.2 s	3
1	UK Jackie Stewart	Elf Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell-Cosworth	+ 5.4 s	6
5	Switzerland Jo Siffert	Yardley-BRM	BRM	+ 12.8 s	1
12	Australia Tim Schenken	Motor Racing Developments	Brabham-Cosworth	+ 15.6 s	7
16	UK John Surtees	Team Surtees	Surtees-Cosworth	+ 16.0 s	10
2	France François Cevert	Elf Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell-Cosworth	+ 24.8 s	13
11	UK Graham Hill	Motor Racing Developments	Brabham-Cosworth	+ 31.6 s	12
14	Argentina Carlos Reutemann	Motor Racing Developments	Brabham-Cosworth	+ 33.4 s	11
26	UK Alan Rollinson	Alan Rollinson	Surtees-Chevrolet	+ 56.4 s	17
23	Australia Frank Gardner	Motor Racing Research	Lola-Chevrolet	+ 56.6 s	14
77	UK Mike Walker	Doug Hardwick	Lola-Chevrolet	+ 58.0 s	16
44	UK Gordon Spice	Gordon Spice	McLaren-Chevrolet	+ 1:10.2 s	20
33	Belgium Teddy Pilette	Racing Team VDS	McLaren-Chevrolet	+ 1:11.4 s	22
25	UK Keith Holland	Keith Holland	McLaren-Chevrolet	+ 1:12.2 s	19
4	Sweden Ronnie Peterson	STP March	March-Cosworth	+ 1:15.8 s	4
28	UK Ray Allen	Team Trojan	McLaren-Chevrolet	13 laps	21
40	UK Ian Ashley	Kaye Griffiths	Lola-Chevrolet	13 laps	24
27	UK David Prophet	David Prophet Racing	McLaren-Chevrolet	13 laps	25
24	UK Guy Edwards	J.T. Butterworth	McLaren-Chevrolet	12 laps	26
10	UK Jackie Oliver	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren-Cosworth	Brakes	9
41	UK Trevor Taylor	Malaya Garages	Leda-Chevrolet	Overheating	23
7	New Zealand Howden Ganley	Yardley-BRM	BRM	Engine	8
17	UK Mike Hailwood	Team Surtees	Surtees-Cosworth	Suspension (collision)	5
66	UK Fred Saunders	Fred Saunders	Crosslé-Rover	Engine fire	27
15	France Henri Pescarolo	Frank Williams Racing Cars	March-Cosworth	Collision	15
21	Sweden Reine Wisell	Sid Taylor	McLaren-Chevrolet	Collision	18

References

| Previous_year's_race = - | Next_year's_race = 1972 World Championship Victory Race

References

"1971 Victory Race". ChicaneF1.
(24 October 1971). "Rothmans World Championship Victory Race". [[British Automobile Racing Club]].
Pritchard, Anthony. (1972). "The Motor Racing Year No. 3". W. W. Norton & Company, Inc..
"1971 Victory Race – Classification". ChicaneF1.
"1971 World Championship Victory Race". [[Motor Sport (magazine).

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1971-formula-one-races formula-5000-race-reports 1971-in-british-motorsport

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 1971 World Championship Victory Race — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report