1968 South African Grand Prix

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....

Race

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.

Quick Facts

1968 South African Grand Prix nan

1968 South African Grand Prix Race details

1968 South African Grand Prix Date

1968 South African Grand Prix Official name

1968 South African Grand Prix Location

1968 South African Grand Prix Course

1968 South African Grand Prix Course length

1968 South African Grand Prix Distance

1968 South African Grand Prix Weather

1968 South African Grand Prix Pole position

Table 1

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	4	Jim Clark	Lotus-Ford	1:21.6	—
2	5	Graham Hill	Lotus-Ford	1:22.6	+1.0
3	16	Jackie Stewart	Matra-Ford	1:22.7	+1.1
4	3	Jochen Rindt	Brabham-Repco	1:23.0	+1.4
5	2	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	1:23.2	+1.6
6	7	John Surtees	Honda	1:23.5	+1.9
7	10	Andrea de Adamich	Ferrari	1:23.6	+2.0
8	8	Chris Amon	Ferrari	1:23.8	+2.2
9	1	Denny Hulme	McLaren-BRM	1:24.0	+2.4
10	11	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	1:24.9	+3.3

Table 2

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired
1	4	Jim Clark	Lotus-Ford	80	1:53:56.6
2	5	Graham Hill	Lotus-Ford	80	+ 25.3
3	3	Jochen Rindt	Brabham-Repco	80	+ 30.4
4	8	Chris Amon	Ferrari	78	+ 2 Laps
5	1	Denny Hulme	McLaren-BRM	78	+ 2 Laps
6	21	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra-Ford	77	+ 3 Laps
7	19	Jo Siffert	Cooper-Maserati	77	+ 3 Laps
8	7	John Surtees	Honda	75	+ 5 Laps
9	17	John Love	Brabham-Repco	75	+ 5 Laps
NC	23	Jackie Pretorius	Brabham-Climax	71	+ 9 Laps

Table 3

Pos	Driver	Points	Unnamed: 3
1	Jim Clark	9	nan
2	Graham Hill	6	nan
3	Jochen Rindt	4	nan
4	Chris Amon	3	nan
5	Denny Hulme	2	nan
Source:[3]	Source:[3]	Source:[3]	Source:[3]

F1ABY Commentary

Did the rain ever truly wash away the ghosts of Kyalami? The slick tarmac, a mirror reflecting the grey January sky, held the echoes of Clark’s triumph, a fleeting moment of brilliance against a backdrop of relentless engineering. Gunston’s audacious splash of crimson – a defiant bloom against the muted landscape – spoke volumes of a team’s desperate gamble. Yet, the air itself carried a premonition, didn’t it? A subtle shift in the wind, a whisper of impending tragedy. Clark’s victory, so assured, so utterly captivating, felt, in retrospect, like a fragile jewel, polished by a hand that would soon be silenced. The scent of high-octane fuel mingled with the damp earth, a poignant reminder of a racer’s final, glorious dance. A beautiful, heartbreaking illusion.

The air at Kyalami tasted of dust and anticipation, a scent forever intertwined with Jim Clark’s triumph. This, my friends, was the last gasp of a legend, the final, glorious chapter penned by a driver who understood the very soul of speed – a moment etched in motorsport’s history, destined to resonate through the decades. Team Gunston’s audacious livery, a splash of vibrant blue, signaled a bold new era, yet it couldn’t mask the profound sadness that lingered, knowing this victory was, tragically, Clark’s last.

F1ABY Trivia

The air hung thick with the scent of eucalyptus and burning rubber – a distinctly South African aroma, clinging to Kyalami’s dusty track. Clark’s Lotus 31, a machine sculpted from aluminum and powered by a Ford D-Series V8 producing a robust 328 horsepower, devoured the laps with an almost unsettling grace. Observe, the Repco engine, displacing 3,434 cubic centimeters, was running on a uniquely formulated tire compound, a heavy-duty ‘S’ compound, chosen specifically to combat the circuit’s abrasive surface. This choice, a calculated risk given the inherent limitations of the time, ultimately dictated Clark’s dominant performance, a testament to Ford’s burgeoning engineering prowess.

It wasn’t the deluge predicted, but a persistent, clinging mist that seemed to swallow the track itself, transforming the already challenging circuit into a slick, almost spectral expanse. Thirty-seven laps completed, a brutal baptism for the burgeoning BRM-Honda combination – a statistically curious outcome, considering Honda’s nascent presence in the sport. Clark, with his Lotus-Ford, secured victory by a margin of 46. 7 seconds, a gulf of time that, considering the relative development of the teams, hinted at a strategic brilliance, a masterful reading of the deteriorating conditions, and a testament to Jim’s sheer driving prowess.

F1ABY Tales

The air thickened, a palpable tension clinging to Kyalami’s dust. Clark’s Lotus, a silver arrow against the ochre landscape, wrestled with the track, a heartbeat of raw power and calculated risk. A brief flash of scarlet – Spence’s BRM – threatened to disrupt the Lotus’s dominance. Then, a shudder, a brief loss of traction, and Clark, with a surgeon’s precision, wrestled the car back to the apex. The crowd roared, a primal wave of sound echoing the mechanical symphony. This, the last hurrah for a legend, a poignant dance on the precipice of oblivion.

The rain, a persistent, sullen grey, mirrored the mood hanging over the Lotus garage. Jim Clark, a silhouette against the flickering floodlights, meticulously adjusted his helmet, a small, almost imperceptible frown etching itself onto his brow. He wasn’t merely preparing for a race; he was wrestling with a premonition, a ghost of Hockenheim clinging to the damp air. The mechanics, faces grim, tightened the last bolts on the Ford engine, a machine built for speed, yet tonight, burdened with a sorrow that transcended horsepower. This was more than a victory; it was a farewell, a poignant understanding of the fragility of brilliance. The South African sun, hidden behind the clouds, seemed to weep with him.