Jody Scheckter would take the second Ferrari pole in a row, but more importantly for the South African, his first pole on home turf and his best chance yet of securing victory. Lotus were in better form than Argentina, with Brabham and Williams not far behind. Further back, there were plenty of achievements - Pironi taking Tyrrell's best grid position in two years with 9th, and Piercarlo Ghinzani taking Everest's best start with 17th. Migault and Jarier were terrible, and Heyer and Neve again failed to make the cut.
1978 South African Grand Prix - Race
Results
Fastest Lap: James Hunt - 1:09.453
Drive of the race: Piercarlo Ghinzani - taking Everest's first point was no easy feat
Reject of the race: Mario Andretti, Elio de Angelis, Jody Scheckter - choke city
Summary
Lead: Villeneuve would get involved in an accident, and join the hordes of retirements at the start of the race. Scheckter and Nurmester would hold 1st and 2nd, with a battle between Andretti, Jones, Depailler and Hunt behind. Nurmester stopped early and looked to have got the jump, with Scheckter in traffic, but failed to pump the right laps in, leaving Scheckter in the lead. Scheckter would spin before his second pitstop, requiring a new front wing and forcing him out of contention for the win. Andretti now had the lead, but would spin out of the race with 10 laps to go, leaving James Hunt in the lead.
Midfield: Cars were dropping like flies throughout the race, resulting in most of the mdifield failing to finish. de Angelis choked away a guaranteed point, Pironi drove a good race, Kagan and Regazzoni also choked and Sneva was let down by his engine.
Backmarkers: There was a titanic scrap throughout the race. Ghinzani had lost 6th to a recovering Regazzoni, but was elevated back into the points thanks to Andretti. Tom Pryce almost chased him down.
Ratimgs
1) James Hunt - 8/10 - Drove well, but was surprised to inherit the lead
2) Jody Scheckter - 4/10 - Would've won the race if he hadn't choked. The home race curse continues.
3) Patrick Depailler - 7/10 - Fairly anonymous, but finds himself in the lead of the drivers championship. Take that, Enzo.
4) Didier Pironi - 8/10 - Another strong drive from the Frenchman
5) Clay Regazzoni - 5/10 - Found himself recovering from an early, self induced spin.
6) Piercarlo Ghinzani - 10/10 - Desperate to atone for his Argentine disappointment. Brilliant drive
7) Tom Pryce - 9/10 - A handful more laps and he would have overtaken Ghinzani
8) Leonhard von Gottorp - 6/10 - Heavy attrition is the only reason he finished this high
9) Vittorio Brambilla - 4/10 - Ditto
10) Rolf Stommelen - 5/10 - Dependable, no thrills drive to bring the ATS home
11) Francois Migault - 0/10 - To finish last is an insult.
12†) Mario Andretti - 1/10 - Mario, please. You're the world champion for God's sake.
Ret) Elio de Angelis - 1/10 - Chokeio de Angelis. Lazy spin.
Ret) Thomas Nurmester - 7/10 - The first half of the race was brilliant, but faded halfway through
Ret) Robert Kagan - 1/10 - Rookie mistake
Ret) Riccardo Patrese - 5/10 - Anonymous
Ret) Rene Arnoux - 6/10 - Another spirited drive has netted him a contract extension
Ret) Alan Jones - 5/10 - Didn't threaten the lead at all
Ret) Tom Sneva - 7/10 - Let down by engine
Ret) Jacques Laffite - 0/10 - Locked up on Sneva's oil and headed straight into the gravel.
Ret) Jean-Pierre Jabouille - 5/10 - Meh
Ret) Jean-Pierre Jarier - 2/10 - Couldn't match de Angelis, and now has one race left on his contract
Ret) John Watson - 5/10 - Retired before the race really got going
Ret) Ronnie Peterson - 5/10 - Ditto
Ret) Bobby Rahal - 5/10 - Ditto (same lap as Peterson)
Ret) Gilles Villeneuve - 5/10 - Ditto
DNQ) Hans Heyer - 2/10 - struggled with the Argentine heat
DNQ) Patrick Neve - 2/10 - Struggled with everything
DNPQ) Keke Rosberg - 4/10 - Arrows failed to get a good setup
DNPQ) Gianfranco Brancatelli - 4/10 - Ditto.
DNPQ) Danny Ongais - 5/10 - Could've done better
DNPQ) Mike Mosley - 4/10 Didn't out-pre-qualify Danny Ongais
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