Date July 7, 1974 | Course length 3.289 km (2.044 mi) Time 0:58.79 | |
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Course Permanent racing facitlity | ||
The 1974 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon on 7 July 1974.
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Race summary
To honor the 80th birthday of the ACF, a parade of vintage cars was organized with a selection of great drivers from the 20s and 30s up to the present day. The race itself was largely uneventful. Tom Pryce put in a superb performance to be 3rd on the grid behind Ronnie Peterson and Niki Lauda. However, he was slow off the start and was hit by Carlos Reutemann, and James Hunt was taken out in the subsequent accident. Lauda led convincingly from Peterson and Clay Regazzoni with Emerson Fittipaldi up to 4th by lap 15. Lauda dropped back with handling problems on lap 16 and was passed by Peterson who led to the flag from Lauda and Regazzoni who came home 3rd despite vibration problems. He had been challenged strongly by Fittipaldi, but just as the McLaren driver was preparing to pass, his engine exploded, ending his race. Jody Scheckter took the final podium slot.