Race of Champions

Top left: Reutemann pours through Bottom Bend on the first lap of the Race of Champions after making a tremendous start from the second row of the grid. Following him down from a sodden Druids come Fittipaldi, Lauda, Regazzoni, Ickx, Hunt, Hailwood, Revson, Hulme and Pescarolo. Reutemann led for four laps before Lauda hauled him in. Bottom left: Jackie lckx in the old Lotus proved his mastery in the wet once again, justifying his last-minute substitution for Peterson. But it took him most of the race to demote Lauda, whose brilliant drive was finally slowed with a defunct shock-absorber on the Ferrari. Top right: Lauda, in the lead, passes Mike Wilds’ crashed DempsterMarch F5000 on the exit from Druids. Right: Hailwood took exception to Regazzoni’s blocking tactics, the Team Yardley McLaren driver was badly baulked for 10 laps before the Ferrari let him by. Bottom right: The race won’t be remembered as an auspicious one by James Hunt, who found the Hesketh handled like a pig in the wet and finally retired with suspension problems. In the dry practice sessions it had been a different story, the Hesketh’s debut being marked by the fastest lap.