The 1st Natal Grand Prix was a motor race, run to South African Formula One-style rules, held on 17 December 1961 at Westmead Circuit, South Africa. The race was run over 89 laps of the circuit, and was won by British driver Jim Clark, in his Lotus 21.
| 1961 Natal Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-championship race in the 1961 Formula One season | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 17 December 1961 | ||
| Official name | I Natal Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Westmead Circuit, Durban | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 3.62 km (2.2496 miles) | ||
| Distance | 89 laps, 322.213 km (200.214 miles) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Climax | ||
| Time | 1:26.1 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Stirling Moss | Lotus-Climax | |
| Time | 1:24.8 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Climax | ||
| Second | Lotus-Climax | ||
| Third | Porsche | ||
There were no great differences between the local rules to which this race was run and the international Formula One rules, but for example sports car bodies were permitted, such as the Porsche special driven by Jennings.
Clark led the race from start to finish, with only Stirling Moss, who had started from the back of the grid, able to stay on the same lap by the end. The local South African entrants were outclassed, with the first of them finishing three laps down on Clark.[1]
Results
edit| Pos | No. | Driver | Entrant | Constructor | Time/Retired | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Jim Clark
|
Team Lotus | Lotus-Climax | 2.13:58.4 | 1 |
| 2 | 7 | Stirling Moss
|
UDT Laystall Racing Team | Lotus-Climax | + 31.9 s | 22 |
| 3 | 4 |  Jo Bonnier
|
Porsche System Engineering | Porsche | 88 laps | 2 |
| 4 | 5 |  Edgar Barth
|
Porsche System Engineering | Porsche | 87 laps | 8 |
| 5 | 1 |  Syd van der Vyver
|
Syd van der Vyver | Lotus-Alfa Romeo | 86 laps | 7 |
| 6 | 11 | Doug Serrurier
|
Scuderia Lupini | Cooper-Maserati | 86 laps | 10 |
| 7 | 25 | Adrian Pheiffer
|
Adrian Pheiffer | Cooper-Alfa Romeo | 86 laps | 9 |
| 8 | 26 | Trevor Blokdyk
|
Trevor Blokdyk | Cooper-Ford | 19 | |
| 9 | 19 | Bruce Jennings
|
Bill Jennings | Jennings-Porsche | 18 | |
| 10 | 20 | John Guthrie
|
Ecurie Rhodes | Cooper-Alfa Romeo | 13 | |
| Ret | 2 | Bruce Johnstone
|
Yeoman Credit Racing Team | Cooper-Climax | Accident | 6 |
| Ret | 14 | Don Philp
|
Don Philp | Quodra-Climax | Engine | 12 |
| Ret | 16 | Helmut Menzler
|
Ecurie Wolman | Lotus-Borgward | 14 | |
| Ret | 29 | Neville Lederle
|
Neville Lederle | Lotus-Ford | 15 | |
| Ret | 27 | Bob van Niekerk
|
Equipe Judette | Lotus-Ford | 16 | |
| Ret | 10 | Ernie Pieterse
|
Scuderia Alfa | Heron-Alfa Romeo | Suspension | 11 |
| Ret | 23 | Fanie Viljoen
|
G.E. Mennie | LDS-Climax | 17 | |
| Ret | 15 |  Sam Tingle
|
Sam Tingle | LDS-Alfa Romeo | 20 | |
| Ret | 17 | Dave Wright
|
Dave Wright | Cooper-Climax | 21 | |
| Ret | 3 | Tony Maggs
|
Yeoman Credit Racing Team | Cooper-Climax | Overheating | 5 |
| Ret | 9 | Trevor Taylor
|
Team Lotus | Lotus-Climax | Accident | 3 |
| Ret | 6 |  Masten Gregory
|
UDT Laystall Racing Team | Lotus-Climax | Cylinder head gasket | 4 |
| DNS | 12 | John Love
|
A.H. Pillman | LDS-Porsche | Practice accident | - |
| WD | 18 | Clive Trundell
|
Clive Trundell | Cooper-Climax | Car not ready | - |
| WD | 21 | Bill Dunlop
|
Bill Dunlop | Cooper-Alfa Romeo | Car not ready | - |
| WD | 22 | Gordon Henderson
|
Gordon Henderson | Cooper-Alfa Romeo | Car not ready | - |
| WD | 24 | Gene Bosman
|
Scuderia Alfa | Lotus-Alfa Romeo | Car not ready | - |
| WD | 28 | Bernard Podmore
|
Bernard Podmore | Lotus-Ford | Car damaged | - |
| WD | 30 | Jack Holme
|
Jack Holme | Lotus-Climax | Car damaged | - |
References
edit- ^ "The Formula One Record Book", John Thompson, 1974, pp.64-65
- "The Grand Prix Who's Who", Steve Small, 1995.
- "The Formula One Record Book", John Thompson, 1974.
- Race results at www.silhouet.com [1]