1967 South African Grand Prix

  1967 South African Grand Prix

Race details
Race 1 of 11 in the 1967 Formula One season
Date	2 January 1967
Location	Kyalami, Transvaal Province, South Africa
Course	Permanent race track
Course length	4.094 km (2.543 mi)
Distance	80 laps, 327.52 km (203.44 mi)
Pole position
Driver	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco
Time	1:28.3
Fastest lap
Driver	Denny Hulme	Brabham-Repco
Time	1:29.9
Podium
First	Pedro Rodríguez	Cooper-Maserati
Second	John Love	Cooper-Climax
Third	John Surtees	Honda

The 1967 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 2 January 1967. It was the first race of the 1967 Formula One season. The 80-lap race was won by Cooper driver Pedro Rodríguez after he started from fourth position. His teammate John Love finished second and Honda driver John Surtees came in third.

Race report

For the first time, the Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg was being used. There were some changes in the driver line-ups: John Surtees was driving for Honda, Mike Spence signed for BRM whilst Pedro Rodríguez was on trial for Cooper. Denny Hulme led Jack Brabham away from the start, but the Australian soon spun, handing second place to Surtees, but by lap 21 had managed to regain 2nd. Further down the field, local privateer racer John Love was doing very well, rising up to third place in a 4-cylinder Cooper Climax. On lap 41, Brabham retired, followed by Dan Gurney on lap 44. On lap 59, Hulme had to pit for more brake fluid, handing the lead sensationally to Love. A magnificent drive was heartbreakingly halted as with just seven laps left he had to sweep into the pits to take on more fuel. Rodríguez took a fine win (his first in Formula One) for Cooper from Love in second place and Surtees in third.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	4	Pedro Rodríguez	Cooper-Maserati	80	2:05:45.9	4	9
2	17	John Love	Cooper-Climax	80	+ 26.4	5	6
3	11	John Surtees	Honda	79	+ 1 Lap	6	4
4	2	Denny Hulme	Brabham-Repco	78	+ 2 Laps	2	3
5	14	Bob Anderson	Brabham-Climax	78	+ 2 Laps	10	2
6	1	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	76	+ 4 Laps	1	1
NC	19	Dave Charlton	Brabham-Climax	63	Not Classified	8
NC	20	Luki Botha	Brabham-Climax	60	Not Classified	17
Ret	18	Sam Tingle	LDS-Climax	56	Accident	14
Ret	16	Piers Courage	Lotus-BRM	51	Fuel System	18
Ret	9	Dan Gurney	Eagle-Climax	44	Suspension	11
Ret	12	Jo Siffert	Cooper-Maserati	41	Engine	16
Ret	3	Jochen Rindt	Cooper-Maserati	38	Engine	7
Ret	6	Mike Spence	BRM	31	Oil Leak	13
Ret	15	Jo Bonnier	Cooper-Maserati	30	Engine	12
Ret	7	Jim Clark	Lotus-BRM	22	Engine	3
Ret	8	Graham Hill	Lotus-BRM	6	Accident	15
Ret	5	Jackie Stewart	BRM	2	Engine	9
Source:[1]

Notes

• Cooper's last Formula 1 victory.
• First F1 Grand Prix for Piers Courage, although he did compete in an F2 car in the 1966 German Grand Prix.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Pedro Rodríguez 9 2 John Love 6 3 John Surtees 4 4 Denny Hulme 3 5 Bob Anderson 2

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Cooper-Maserati 9 2 Cooper-Climax 6 3 Honda 4 4 Brabham-Repco 3 5 Brabham-Climax 2

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

References

1. "1967 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.