Toronto, September 23rd
Critics of rallying will always tell you that the trouble with that particular branch of motor sport is that often one has to wait hours to find out who won; when the result is announced it is often contested and, even then, because of timing error, or other factors, the wrong man can easily take the honours. These anti-rally people will tell you that in Grand Prix racing it is very different. Everyone can see who the winner is because he receives the chequered flag at the end. Everything is crystal clear with the organisation and the competing teams knowing exactly where each competitor is lying, thanks to that marvel of science — the lap chart.
Then came the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park with a chapter of incidents, including a complete foul up with the pace-car, that can do absolutely nothing to enhance the reputation of Grand Prix racing. Peter Revson was finally declared the winner and the various post-mortems would indicate that he definitely was first on the road. But let it be said that it was a lucky win thanks mainly to the pace-car being wrongly positioned — a great start for the new CSI/GPDA safety measure — his victory in front of Emerson Fittipaldi by half a lap would certainly have been the reverse had the pace-car been properly positioned. But more of that later.
