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.[3] 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.
| 1976 South African Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 2 of 16 in the 1976 Formula One season
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| 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 | McLaren-Ford | ||||
| Time | 1:16.10[1] | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Niki Lauda | Ferrari | |||
| Time | 1:17.97 on lap 6[2] | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Ferrari | ||||
| Second | McLaren-Ford | ||||
| Third | McLaren-Ford | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
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
Championship standings after the race
- 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:[5] | |||
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.