1965 South African Grand Prix

  1965 South African Grand Prix

Race details
Race 1 of 10 in the 1965 Formula One season
Date	1 January 1965
Official name	XI South African Grand Prix
Location	Prince George Circuit East London, South Africa
Course	Permanent racing facility 3.920 km (2.436 mi)
Distance	85 laps, 333.175 km (207.025 mi)
Pole position
Driver	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax
Time	1:27.2
Fastest lap
Driver	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax
Time	1:27.6 on lap 80
Podium
First	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax
Second	John Surtees	Ferrari
Third	Graham Hill	BRM

The 1965 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at East London on 1 January 1965. It was the first race of the 1965 Formula One season.

Race report

Jim Clark celebrated Hogmanay by dominating the race, leading from pole and breaking the 100 mph barrier, winning by half a minute from Graham Hill and John Surtees and even had time to complete an extra lap after the chequered flag was waved a lap too early. Mike Spence, Bruce McLaren and débutant Jackie Stewart completed the points positions. Goodyear made their Grand Prix début with the Brabham team, challenging the Dunlop monopoly.

Classification

Pos	No	Nat	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5		Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	85	2:06:46.0	1	9
2	1		John Surtees	Ferrari	85	+29.0 secs	2	6
3	3		Graham Hill	BRM	85	+31.8 secs	5	4
4	6		Mike Spence	Lotus-Climax	85	+54.4 secs	4	3
5	9		Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	84	+1 Lap	8	2
6	4		Jackie Stewart	BRM	83	+2 Laps	11	1
7	12		Jo Siffert	Brabham-BRM	83	+2 Laps	14
8	7		Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	81	+4 Laps	3
9	18		Paul Hawkins	Brabham-Ford	81	+4 Laps	16
10	20		Peter de Klerk	Alfa Romeo	79	+6 Laps	17
11	15		Tony Maggs	Lotus-BRM	77	+8 Laps	13
12	16		Frank Gardner	Brabham-BRM	75	+10 Laps	15
13	25		Sam Tingle	LDS-Alfa Romeo	73	+12 Laps	20
14	19		David Prophet	Brabham-Ford	71	+14 Laps	19
15	2		Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	66	Ignition	6
NC	14		Bob Anderson	Brabham-Climax	50	+35 Laps	12
Ret	11		Jo Bonnier	Brabham-Climax	42	Clutch	7
Ret	10		Jochen Rindt	Cooper-Climax	39	Electrical	10
Ret	17		John Love	Cooper-Climax	20	Halfshaft	18
Ret	8		Dan Gurney	Brabham-Climax	11	Ignition	9
DNQ	28		Trevor Blokdyk	Cooper-Ford
DNQ	23		Neville Lederle	Lotus-Climax
DNQ	21		Doug Serrurier	LDS-Climax
DNQ	27		Brausch Niemann	Lotus-Ford
DNQ	22		Ernie Pieterse	Lotus-Climax
DNPQ	24		Clive Puzey	Lotus-Climax
DNPQ	29		Jackie Pretorius	LDS-Alfa Romeo
DNPQ	32		Dave Charlton	Lotus-Ford		Fire in practice
WD	26		Ray Reed	RE-Alfa Romeo
WD	30		Brian Raubenheimer	Lotus-Ford		Engine not available
WD	31		David Clapham	Cooper-Maserati
WD	33		Alex Blignaut	Cooper-Climax

Notes

• Lap Leaders: Jim Clark 85 laps (1-85).
• Grand Prix debut for: Dave Charlton, Paul Hawkins, Jackie Pretorius, and Jackie Stewart. Only Grand Prix appearance for Clive Puzey.
• Last Grand Prix appearance for: Trevor Blokdyk, Neville Lederle, Tony Maggs, Brausch Niemann, Ernie Pieterse, David Prophet, and Doug Serrurier.
• Career Firsts: Jackie Stewart (points).

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jim Clark 9 2 John Surtees 6 3 Graham Hill 4 4 Mike Spence 3 5 Bruce McLaren 2

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Climax 9 2 Ferrari 6 3 BRM 4 4 Cooper-Climax 2

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