1981 South African Grand Prix

May 2022 May 2012 NC South Africa 1928 South African Grand Prix Kyalami 1961 - 1988 Layout.png KyalamiTransvaal Province, South Africa 7 February 1981 Permanent racing facility 2.550 4.104 77 196.358 316.008 Wet/Dry Nelson Piquet BRA 1968 Brabham-Ford 1:12.78 Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford ARG 1:13.61 on Lap 72 Carlos Reutemann ARG Williams-Ford Nelson Piquet BRA 1968 Brabham-Ford Elio de Angelis ITA Lotus-Ford The 1981 South African Grand Prix was a Formula Libre motor race held on 7 February 1981 at Kyalami featuring the FOCA-aligned Formula One teams and Formula One chassis. The race was originally scheduled to be the opening round of the 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship. However, the ongoing war between Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) and the Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) resulted in FISA insisting on a date change which was not acceptable to the race organisers.http://forix.autosport.com/8w/za81.html The one that didn't count forix.autosport.com 12 February 2010 Approval was ultimately given for the race to go ahead on its original date, but as a Formula Libre race rather than as a round of the Formula One World Championship. The downgraded race was supported by the teams affiliated with FOCA, but not by the manufacturer teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Ligier, Osella and Renault), all of whom were aligned with FISA. (Toleman was experiencing troubles with its overweight car and would not debut until the San Marino Grand Prix). The eleven teams present all fielded cars fitted with sliding side skirts, aerodynamic devices which were illegal in Formula One for 1981 but acceptable under Formula Libre regulations. The absence of the manufacturer teams meant that all 19 cars in the race were powered by Ford Cosworth engines. Due to tyre manufacturer Goodyear's retirement from the sport at the end of the previous season and Michelin's alignment with FISA, the cars ran equipped with old Avon tyres supplied by Bernie Ecclestone.http://en.espn.co.uk/formula1/sport/story/53530.html Bernie Ecclestone timeline ESPN Laurence Edmondson 31 October 2010 9 April 2024 The race began in very wet conditions but the rain stopped, and the track soon dried. The race was eventually won by Carlos Reutemann, driving a Williams. Reutemann was the only driver to make the bold choice to start the race on slick tyres, which proved very effective in the drying conditions. Nelson Piquet, who led early, was second in a Brabham and Elio de Angelis third in a Lotus. Reutemann summed up the unsettled political climate of the weekend by saying, "I raced for nothing. No points, no money, no trophy."Autoweek magazine, February 14, 1981 Classification Qualifying Pos. No. Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap 1 5 Brazil 1968 Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:12.94 1:12.78 — 2 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:12.98 - +0.20 3 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:13.78 1:13.28 +0.50 4 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:14.45 1:13.29 +0.51 5 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:14.00 1:13.47 +0.69 6 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:15.03 1:14.07 +1.29 7 6 Argentina Ricardo Zunino Brabham-Ford 1:14.71 1:14.35 +1.57 8 12 UK Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:14.38 1:14.48 +1.60 9 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:14.91 1:14.39 +1.61 10 9 Netherlands Jan Lammers ATS-Ford 1:14.93 1:14.85 +2.07 11 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:16.16 1:14.93 +2.15 12 3 USA Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:14.95 1:15.32 +2.17 13 21 Brazil 1968 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:15.06 - +2.28 14 14 Switzerland Marc Surer Ensign-Ford 1:15.63 1:15.18 +2.40 15 7 UK John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:15.25 1:15.85 +2.47 16 4 South Africa 1928 Desire Wilson Tyrrell-Ford 1:15.56 1:16.22 +2.78 17 17 Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford 1:16.80 - +4.02 18 33 United Kingdom Geoff Lees Theodore-Ford 1:17.39 1:17.08 +4.30 19 18 Chile Eliseo Salazar March-Ford - - -Source:https://gparchive.com/formula-1/1981-south-african-grand-prix/ 1981 South African Grand Prix – Race Results & History – GP Archive GPArchive.com 7 February 1981 8 February 2021 Race Pos. Position Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Qual 1 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 77 1.44:54.03 2 2 Brazil 1968 Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 77 + 20.14 1 3 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 77 + 1:06.24 5 4 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 76 + 1 Lap 4 5 UK John Watson McLaren-Ford 76 + 1 Lap 15 6 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 76 + 1 Lap 6 7 USA Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 76 + 1 Lap 12 8 Argentina Ricardo Zunino Brabham-Ford 75 + 2 Laps 7 9 Brazil 1968 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 75 + 2 Laps 13 10 UK Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 74 + 3 Laps 8 11 Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford 74 + 3 Laps 17 Ret Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford 62 Skirt 3 Ret Switzerland Marc Surer Ensign-Ford 58 Battery 14 Ret Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 54 Accident 9 Ret South Africa 1928 Desiré Wilson Tyrrell-Ford 51 Accident 16 Ret Chile Eliseo Salazar March-Ford 32 Gearbox 19 Ret Netherlands Jan Lammers ATS-Ford 16 Brakes 10 Ret Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 12 Engine 11 Ret UK Geoff Lees Theodore-Ford 11 Accident 18Source:https://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1981&gp=South%20African%20GP&r=1&type=res 1981 South African GP ChicaneF1 31 August 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240831011929/https://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1981&gp=South%20African%20GP&r=1&type=res 31 August 2024 dead References 1981 SA Grand Prix Dieter Rencken RacingLines https://www.racefans.net/2019/01/23/wpdc-the-breakaway-threat-which-set-the-template-for-modern-f1/ External links Formula One World http://www.motorsport-stats.com/f1/history/1981/southafrica.html 27 January 2008 South African Grand Prix 1981 1980 Spanish Grand Prix 1983 Race of Champions 1980 South African Grand Prix 1982 South African Grand Prix South African Grand Prix Category:South African Grand Prix Grand Prix Category:February 1981 sports events in Africa