Surf Wiki
Save to docs
geography/south-africa

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

1978 South African Grand Prix

FieldValue
TypeF1
CountrySouth Africa
Flag_suffix1928
Grand PrixSouth African
ImageKyalami 1961 - 1988 Layout.png
Official nameXXIV Citizen and Asseng Grand Prix of South Africa
Date4 March
Year1978
Race_No3
Season_No16
LocationKyalami
Transvaal Province, South Africa
CoursePermanent racing facility
Course_mi2.550
Course_km4.104
Distance_laps78
Distance_mi198.908
Distance_km320.112
WeatherDry
Pole_DriverNiki Lauda
Pole_CountryAustria
Pole_TeamBrabham-Alfa Romeo
Pole_Time1:14.65
Fast_DriverMario Andretti
Fast_CountryUSA
Fast_TeamLotus-Ford
Fast_Time1:17.09
Fast_Lap2
First_DriverRonnie Peterson
First_CountrySweden
First_TeamLotus-Ford
Second_DriverPatrick Depailler
Second_CountryFrance
Second_TeamTyrrell-Ford
Third_DriverJohn Watson
Third_CountryUK
Third_TeamBrabham-Alfa Romeo
Lapchart

Transvaal Province, South Africa

The 1978 South African Grand Prix (formally the XXIV Citizen and Asseng Grand Prix of South Africa) was a Formula One motor race held on 4 March 1978 at Kyalami. It was the third round of the 1978 Formula One season and the 300th World Championship Grand Prix held since the championship began in . This was the debut race of the future world champion Keke Rosberg.

The Ferrari (312T3) and Brabham (BT46) teams had new cars in Kyalami for the race. The event also saw the return of Renault with its unique turbocharged car.

Summary

Ronnie Peterson, in the Lotus 78 with its Colin Chapman-inspired ground effect aerodynamics, battled Patrick Depailler in his Tyrrell on the last lap to take a dramatic victory. John Watson finished third for Brabham. Young Italian, Riccardo Patrese got his Arrows into the lead before retiring with a blown engine. Pole sitter and reigning world champion Niki Lauda, in his first season with Brabham, retired with engine failure and the Ferraris of Carlos Reutemann and Gilles Villeneuve exited on lap 55. James Hunt, who had qualified third on the grid in his McLaren M26, only lasted five laps when his engine failed, while his new teammate Patrick Tambay, who qualified fourth, crashed out mid race.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
1Austria Niki LaudaBrabham-Alfa Romeo1:14.65—
5US Mario AndrettiLotus-Ford1:14.90+0.25
7UK James HuntMcLaren-Ford1:15.14+0.49
8France Patrick TambayMcLaren-Ford1:15.30+0.65
20South Africa Jody ScheckterWolf-Ford1:15.32+0.67
15France Jean-Pierre JabouilleRenault1:15.36+0.71
35Italy Riccardo PatreseArrows-Ford1:15.48+0.83
12Canada Gilles VilleneuveFerrari1:15.50+0.85
11Argentina Carlos ReutemannFerrari1:15.52+0.87
2UK John WatsonBrabham-Alfa Romeo1:15.62+0.97
6Sweden Ronnie PetersonLotus-Ford1:15.94+1.29
4France Patrick DepaillerTyrrell-Ford1:15.97+1.32
3France Didier PironiTyrrell-Ford1:16.38+1.73
26France Jacques LaffiteLigier-Matra1:16.40+1.75
14Brazil Emerson FittipaldiFittipaldi-Ford1:16.47+1.82
9FRG Jochen MassATS-Ford1:16.60+1.95
10France Jean-Pierre JarierATS-Ford1:17.12+2.47
27Australia Alan JonesWilliams-Ford1:17.16+2.51
30US Brett LungerMcLaren-Ford1:17.30+2.65
19Italy Vittorio BrambillaSurtees-Ford1:17.32+2.67
36West Germany Rolf StommelenArrows-Ford1:17.49+2.84
25Mexico Héctor RebaqueLotus-Ford1:17.50+2.85
18UK Rupert KeeganSurtees-Ford1:17.57+2.92
32Finland Keke RosbergTheodore-Ford1:17.62+2.97
24US Eddie CheeverHesketh-Ford1:17.83+3.18
37Italy Arturo MerzarioMerzario-Ford1:18.15+3.50
31France René ArnouxMartini-Ford1:18.21+3.56
17Switzerland Clay RegazzoniShadow-Ford1:18.30+3.65
22Italy Lamberto LeoniEnsign-Ford1:18.38+3.73
16FRG Hans-Joachim StuckShadow-Ford1:18.45+3.80

*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to qualify.

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorTyreLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints123456789101112RetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetDNQDNQDNQDNQ
6Sweden **Ronnie Peterson****Lotus-Ford**781:42:15.76712**9**
4France **Patrick Depailler****Tyrrell-Ford**78+0.46611**6**
2UK **John Watson****Brabham-Alfa Romeo**78+4.44210**4**
27Australia **Alan Jones****Williams-Ford**78+30.98618**3**
26France **Jacques Laffite****Ligier-Matra**78+1:09.21813**2**
3France **Didier Pironi****Tyrrell-Ford**77+1 Lap14**1**
5US Mario AndrettiLotus-Ford77+1 Lap2
10France Jean-Pierre JarierATS-Ford77+1 Lap17
36FRG Rolf StommelenArrows-Ford77+1 Lap22
25Mexico Héctor RebaqueLotus-Ford77+1 Lap21
30US Brett LungerMcLaren-Ford76+2 Laps20
19Italy Vittorio BrambillaSurtees-Ford76+2 Laps19
35Italy Riccardo PatreseArrows-Ford63Engine7
20South Africa Jody ScheckterWolf-Ford59Spun Off5
8France Patrick TambayMcLaren-Ford56Accident4
12Canada Gilles VilleneuveFerrari55Oil Leak8
11Argentina Carlos ReutemannFerrari55Spun Off9
1Austria Niki LaudaBrabham-Alfa Romeo52Engine1
18UK Rupert KeeganSurtees-Ford52Engine23
9FRG Jochen MassATS-Ford43Engine15
37Italy Arturo MerzarioMerzario-Ford39Suspension26
15France Jean-Pierre JabouilleRenault38Engine6
32Finland Keke RosbergTheodore-Ford15Clutch24
14Brazil Emerson FittipaldiFittipaldi-Ford9Transmission16
24US Eddie CheeverHesketh-Ford8Oil Leak25
7UK James HuntMcLaren-Ford5Engine3
31France René ArnouxMartini-Ford
17Switzerland Clay RegazzoniShadow-Ford
23Italy Lamberto LeoniEnsign-Ford
16FRG Hans-Joachim StuckShadow-Ford

Notes

  • This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Finnish driver and future World Champion Keke Rosberg and for French driver and future Grand Prix winner René Arnoux.
  • This was the Formula One World Championship debut for French constructor Martini (failed to qualify).

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

PosDriverPointsSource:
[[File:1rightarrow_blue.svg10px]]1USA Mario Andretti12
[[File:1uparrow_green.svg10px]] 52SWE Ronnie Peterson11
[[File:1downarrow_red.svg10px]] 13AUT Niki Lauda10
[[File:1uparrow_green.svg10px]] 14FRA Patrick Depailler10
[[File:1downarrow_red.svg10px]] 25ARG Carlos Reutemann9

;Constructors' Championship standings

PosConstructorPointsSource:
[[File:1rightarrow_blue.svg10px]]1UK Lotus-Ford21
[[File:1rightarrow_blue.svg10px]]2UK Brabham-Alfa Romeo14
[[File:1uparrow_green.svg10px]] 23UK Tyrrell-Ford11
[[File:1downarrow_red.svg10px]] 14ITA Ferrari9
[[File:1downarrow_red.svg10px]] 15BRA Fittipaldi-Ford6
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

| Previous_year's_race = 1977 South African Grand Prix | Next_year's_race = 1979 South African Grand Prix}}

References

  1. "1978 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com.
  2. (4 March 1978). "1978 South African Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive".
  3. "South Africa 1978 - Championship • STATS F1".
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.

south-african-grand-prix 1978-formula-one-races 1978-in-south-african-motorsport march-1978-sports-events-in-africa
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 1978 South African Grand Prix — 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