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1976 South African Grand Prix
Race 2 of 16 in the 1976 Formula One season ← Previous race Next race →
Race details
Date	6 March 1976
Official name	XXII The Citizen Grand Prix of South Africa
Location	Kyalami, Transvaal Province, South Africa
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.104 km (2.550 miles)
Distance	78 laps, 320.112 km (198.908 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Pole position
Driver	James Hunt	McLaren-Ford
Time	1:16.10
Fastest lap
Driver	Niki Lauda	Ferrari
Time	1:17.97 on lap 6
Podium
First	Niki Lauda	Ferrari
Second	James Hunt	McLaren-Ford
Third	Jochen Mass	McLaren-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1976 South African Grand Prix (formally the XXII The Citizen Grand Prix of South Africa) was a Formula One motor race held on 6 March 1976 at Kyalami in Transvaal Province, South Africa. It was the second round of the 1976 Formula One season. The race was the 22nd South African Grand Prix and the tenth to be held at Kyalami. The race was held over 78 laps of the 4.104-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 320 kilometres.

The race was won by Austrian driver Niki Lauda in a Ferrari 312T. The win was Lauda's third win in succession. He finished 1.3 seconds ahead of British driver and Lauda's season long rival James Hunt in a McLaren M23. Hunt's McLaren teammate, West German driver Jochen Mass, finished third.

Hunt took pole position for the second time in two races, with Lauda alongside. Lauda led into the first corner, with Hunt dropping down to fourth behind Mass and Italian driver Vittorio Brambilla in his March 761. Hunt was waved through by Mass, and passed Brambilla to take second after five laps. Lauda led from start to finish to win. Behind Hunt and Mass, South African driver Jody Scheckter was fourth in his Tyrrell 007. A lap down in fifth was British driver John Watson in a Penske PC3 with Mario Andretti sixth in a Parnelli VPJ4B.

Two wins from two races saw Lauda twelve points clear in the championship over Hunt and Tyrrell's Patrick Depailler. In the constructors' championship, Ferrari were nine points clear of Tyrrell and eleven points ahead of McLaren.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Time/Gap
1	11	James Hunt	McLaren–Ford	1:16.10
2	1	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	+0.10
3	28	John Watson	Penske–Ford	+0.33
4	12	Jochen Mass	McLaren–Ford	+0.35
5	9	Vittorio Brambilla	March–Ford	+0.54
6	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell–Ford	+0.67
7	16	Tom Pryce	Shadow–Ford	+0.74
8	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier–Matra	+0.78
9	2	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	+0.84
10	10	Ronnie Peterson	March–Ford	+0.93
11	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham–Alfa Romeo	+0.99
12	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell–Ford	+1.08
13	27	Mario Andretti	Parnelli–Ford	+1.15
14	8	Carlos Pace	Brabham–Alfa Romeo	+1.16
15	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow–Ford	+1.25
16	15	Ian Scheckter	Tyrrell–Ford	+1.30
17	34	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March–Ford	+1.34
18	22	Chris Amon	Ensign–Ford	+1.63
19	20	Jacky Ickx	Wolf-Williams–Ford	+2.03
20	18	Brett Lunger	Surtees–Ford	+2.26
21	30	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi–Ford	+2.30
22	21	Michel Leclère	Wolf-Williams–Ford	+2.72
23	5	Bob Evans	Lotus–Ford	+3.25
24	24	Harald Ertl	Hesketh–Ford	+6.01
25	6	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus–Ford	+6.60

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	78	1:42:18.4	2	9
2	11	James Hunt	McLaren-Ford	78	+ 1.3	1	6
3	12	Jochen Mass	McLaren-Ford	78	+ 45.9	4	4
4	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell-Ford	78	+ 1:08.4	12	3
5	28	John Watson	Penske-Ford	77	+ 1 Lap	3	2
6	27	Mario Andretti	Parnelli-Ford	77	+ 1 Lap	13	1
7	16	Tom Pryce	Shadow-Ford	77	+ 1 Lap	7
8	9	Vittorio Brambilla	March-Ford	77	+ 1 Lap	5
9	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell-Ford	77	+ 1 Lap	6
10	5	Bob Evans	Lotus-Ford	77	+ 1 Lap	23
11	18	Brett Lunger	Surtees-Ford	77	+ 1 Lap	20
12	34	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March-Ford	76	+ 2 Laps	17
13	21	Michel Leclère	Wolf-Williams-Ford	76	+ 2 Laps	22
14	22	Chris Amon	Ensign-Ford	76	+ 2 Laps	18
15	24	Harald Ertl	Hesketh-Ford	74	+ 4 Laps	24
16	20	Jacky Ickx	Wolf-Williams-Ford	73	+ 5 Laps	19
17	30	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	70	Engine	21
Ret	2	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	52	Engine	9
Ret	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	49	Engine	8
Ret	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow-Ford	28	Radiator	15
Ret	8	Carlos Pace	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	22	Oil Pressure	14
Ret	6	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus-Ford	18	Clutch	25
Ret	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	16	Oil Pressure	11
Ret	10	Ronnie Peterson	March-Ford	15	Accident	10
Ret	15	Ian Scheckter	Tyrrell-Ford	0	Accident	16
Source:

Notes

• This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Swedish driver and future Grand Prix winner Gunnar Nilsson.
• This was the 100th pole position by a British driver.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Niki Lauda 18 2 Patrick Depailler 6 3 James Hunt 6 4 Jochen Mass 5 5 Jody Scheckter 5 Source:

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 18 2 Tyrrell-Ford 9 3 McLaren-Ford 7 4 Shadow-Ford 4 5 March-Ford 3 Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

1. Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 112. ISBN 0-85429-380-9.
2. Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 114. ISBN 0-85429-380-9.
3. "1976 South African Grand Prix Entry list".
4. "1976 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
5. ^ "South Africa 1976 - Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.

• 1976 Formula One races
• South African Grand Prix
• 1976 in South African motorsport
• March 1976 sports events in Africa