South African Grand Prix photo finish.
Nine teams completed in the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. Ferrari and Surtees started in the first row followed by Elf Tyrrell and BRM. Embassy made its debut in the third row accompanied by McLaren. Shadow and Hesketh shared the fourth row. Brabham was alone in the fifth row.
Pace took and early lead followed closely by Lauda. Hill stalled on the start and fell behind. Fittipaldi launched his McLaren into 3rd place.
The Ferrari and the Surtees raced side-by-side for most of the 1st lap, but Pace in the Surtees held the lead. The rest of the field formed a conga line through the Esses.
Pace complete the lap first and picked up a bonus point. Beltoise catapulted his BRM into 3rd place and pressured Lauda. Hunt nursed his ailing Hesketh and fell back.
Beltoise slipped into 2nd, but Lauda soon recaptured the position. McLaren and Shadow fought for 4th.
While extending his lead, Pace completed the 2nd lap and gained another bonus point. Lauda pushed his Ferrari trying to close the gap between him and Pace. Revson, Scheckter, and Reutermann raced 3-wide down the front straight.
During the 3rd and final lap Fittipaldi spun twice and lost his position. Lauda caught up to Pace and they raced side-by-side through the Esses, the Bend and down the front straight. Although his was out of wear, Lauda charged through the kink at 140mph and crossed the finish line first for a photo finish win.
Beltoise the rest of the pack to take 3rd place. Reuterman, Revson, and Scheckter once again raced three wide down the front straight. Scheckter skid going through the kink. Revson finish fourth beside Reutermann. Race details follow:
1st Den H. (C. Regazzoni) 80/40/20/160/5 S
2nd Tom V. (C. Pace) 80/20/40/140/6 W**
3rd Ray R. (J-P. Beltoise) 60/40/40/160/5 S
4th Tori P. (P. Revson) 40/40/60/160/5 S
5th Dave M. (Reutermann) 40/60/60/140/5 S
6th Mike C. (G. Hill) 60/40/40/160/5 N
7th Chuck H. (J. Scheckter) 60/40/20/160/6 N
8th AJ H. (E. Fittipaldi) 80/40/40/140/5 S
9th Steve K. (J. Hunt) 60/40/40/160/5 S