on 5 March 1977. The race is principally remembered for the fatal accident that claimed the lives of race marshal Frederick Jansen van Vuuren and driver
. It was also the last race for Carlos Pace, who was killed in an aircraft accident less than two weeks later.
next. Hunt led off at the start, with Lauda and
following him after Pace struggled. The order stayed put until the seventh lap when Lauda took the lead and was never headed again, with Scheckter taking second from Hunt 11 laps later.
suffered engine failure. The second marshal, Fredrik Jansen van Vuuren, was hit by the car of
and killed instantly by the collision; the fire extinguisher he was holding flew from his hands and hit Pryce in the face, killing and nearly decapitating him.
The race continued, however, and Lauda won, his first victory since his own horror crash the previous year. South African Scheckter was second, and
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 |
11 |
 Niki LaudaAndreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,...
|
Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
|
78 |
1:42:21.6 |
3 |
9 |
| 2 |
20 |
 Jody ScheckterJody David Scheckter is a South African former auto racing driver, the Formula One World Drivers Champion.-Career:Scheckter was born in East London, South Africa and educated at Selborne College.-Formula One:...
|
Wolf Walter Wolf Racing was a Formula One constructor from 1977 to 1980, notable for winning the very first race the team entered.-1975-77:In 1975, the Slovenian-Austrian-Canadian businessman Walter Wolf had started to appear at many of the F1 races during the season. A year later, he bought 60% of...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
78 |
+5.2 |
5 |
6 |
| 3 |
4 |
 Patrick DepaillerPatrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler was a racing driver from France. He participated in 95 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1972. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races.Depailler was born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme. As a child, he...
|
TyrrellThe Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three drivers' championships and one...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
78 |
+5.7 |
4 |
4 |
| 4 |
1 |
 James HuntJames Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in . Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman...
|
McLaren-Ford Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
78 |
+9.5 |
1 |
3 |
| 5 |
2 |
 Jochen MassJochen Richard Mass is a former race car driver from Germany.He participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 14, 1973 at the British Grand Prix...
|
McLaren-Ford Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
78 |
+19.9 |
12 |
2 |
| 6 |
7 |
John Watson |
Brabham-Alfa Romeo |
78 |
+20.2 |
11 |
1 |
| 7 |
19 |
 Vittorio BrambillaVittorio Brambilla was a Formula One driver from Italy who raced for the March, Surtees and Alfa Romeo teams. Particularly adept at driving in wet conditions, his nickname was "The Monza Gorilla", due to his often overly aggressive driving style and sense of machismo.-Career:Born in the town of...
|
Surtees The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000.-History:...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
78 |
+23.6 |
14 |
|
| 8 |
12 |
 Carlos ReutemannCarlos Alberto Reutemann , nicknamed "Lole", is an Argentine former racing driver , and later a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party....
|
Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
|
78 |
+26.7 |
8 |
|
| 9 |
22 |
 Clay RegazzoniGianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni was a Swiss racing car driver. He competed in Formula One races from 1970 to 1980, winning five Grands Prix. His first win was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in his debut season, driving for Ferrari. He remained with the Italian team until...
|
Ensign Ensign was a Formula One constructor from Britain. They participated in 133 grands prix, entering a total of 155 cars. Ensign scored 19 championship points and no podium finish...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
78 |
+46.2 |
16 |
|
| 10 |
28 |
 Emerson FittipaldiEmerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...
|
Fittipaldi-Ford Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
78 |
+1:11.7 |
9 |
|
| 11 |
18 |
Hans Binder Hans Binder is an Austrian former Formula One driver who raced for the Ensign, Wolf, Surtees and ATS teams....
|
Surtees The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000.-History:...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
77 |
+1 lap |
19 |
|
| 12 |
6 |
 Gunnar NilssonGunnar Nilsson was a Swedish racing driver, born in Helsingborg. Before entering Formula One, he won the 1975 British Formula Three Championship....
|
Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
77 |
+1 lap |
10 |
|
| 13 |
8 |
Carlos PaceJosé Carlos Pace was a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 73 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on March 4, 1972. He won one race, achieved six podiums, and scored a total of 58 championship points...
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo |
76 |
+2 laps |
2 |
|
| 14 |
30 |
 Brett LungerRobert Brett Lunger is a former racecar driver from the United States. Lunger was educated in dancing schools in Wilmington, the Holderness School, and Princeton University. He dropped out of Princeton after three years to enlist for service in Vietnam. He was a political science major. At the...
|
MarchMarch Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
76 |
+2 laps |
23 |
|
| 15 |
14 |
 Larry PerkinsLarry Clifton Perkins is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia.-Career:...
|
BRM |
73 |
+5 laps |
22 |
|
| Ret |
9 |
Alex Ribeiro Alex Dias Ribeiro is a former racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 20 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, but scored no World Championship points....
|
MarchMarch Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
66 |
Engine |
17 |
|
| Ret |
10 |
Hans Joachim Stuck Hans-Joachim Stuck , nicknamed "Strietzel", is a German racing driver who has competed in Formula One and many other categories. He is the son of the legendary Hans Stuck. As a young boy, his father taught him driving on the Nürburgring. In 1969 he started his first ever motor race at the...
|
MarchMarch Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
55 |
Engine |
18 |
|
| Ret |
5 |
Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
|
Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
43 |
Accident |
6 |
|
| Ret |
33 |
 Boy HayjeJohan "Boy" Hayje is a former racing driver from the Netherlands. He participated in seven Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 29 August 1976. He scored no championship points....
|
MarchMarch Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
33 |
Gearbox |
21 |
|
| Ret |
26 |
Jacques LaffiteJacques-Henri Laffite is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six grand prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. He is now a TV commentator on French television TF1....
|
Ligier-Matra Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.Matra was owned by the Floirat family...
|
22 |
Accident |
12 |
|
| Ret |
16 |
Tom Pryce Thomas Maldwyn Pryce was a Welsh racing driver, famous for winning the Brands Hatch Race of Champions, a non-championship Formula One race, in 1975 and for the circumstances surrounding his death...
|
Shadow Shadow Racing Cars was a Formula One and sports car racing team, founded and initially based in the United States although later Formula One operations were run from Britain.-1971-1972: Early years in CanAm series:...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
22 |
Fatal Accident |
15 |
|
| Ret |
17 |
Renzo Zorzi Renzo Zorzi is a former racing driver from Italy who participated in 7 Formula One Grands Prix between 1975 and 1977.Between odd races for Williams in Formula One, Zorzi raced in Formula 3...
|
Shadow Shadow Racing Cars was a Formula One and sports car racing team, founded and initially based in the United States although later Formula One operations were run from Britain.-1971-1972: Early years in CanAm series:...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
21 |
Fuel leak |
20 |
|
| Ret |
3 |
Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson was a Swedish racing driver. He was a two-time runner-up in the FIA Formula One World Drivers' Championship.Peterson began his motor racing career in kart racing, traditionally the discipline where the majority of race drivers begin their careers in open-wheel racing...
|
TyrrellThe Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three drivers' championships and one...
-FordFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
|
5 |
Fuel system |
7 |
|
retired from the race with engine failure and moved off the track on the left side. Moments after the car came to a halt on a blind brow, the engine caught fire. Reacting to the emergency, two teenage fire marshals carrying fire extinguishers ran across the track to put out the blaze as the race continued. At that very moment, Pryce in the other Shadow car and Hans-Joachim Stuck driving a
car suddenly crested the rise. Stuck's leading car swerved, narrowly missing the first marshal, but Pryce, who was unsighted behind the German, had no time to react before hitting the second marshal, Frederick Jansen van Vuuren, who was killed instantly.
At the moment of impact of the car with the marshal, the fire extinguisher that Jansen van Vuuren had been holding smashed into Pryce's head, cracking the driver's hard-shell helmet. The impact tore off the remnants of Pryce's protective helmet and caused the chin strap to almost decapitate the driver. The
then continued down the main straight at speed with Pryce still seated behind the wheel. The car finally left the track at the first corner taking the Ligier of
out of the race in the process. The entire incident was filmed by a broadcast crew covering the race.
Jansen van Vuuren's injuries were so severe that, initially, his body was only identified after the race director had summoned all of the race marshals and Van Vuuren was not among them; his body was literally torn in half, with multiple parts scattered around the track.
The sport reacted with sorrow at the loss of two young men.
, a veteran biographer and motor sports journalist, recalled the feelings of disbelief and horror following the aftermath of the incident;