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The reigning Champion, Niki Lauda in the Ferrari, started the 1976 season as the favourite for the Championship. His nearest rival, Emerson Fittipaldi, made the patriotic switch from McLaren to the Brazilian funded Copersucar team. This left a hole at McLaren... it was filled by the ambitious British hopeful with the playboy image, James Hunt, to set the scene for a dramatic season of racing.
Tyrrell stole the limelight early on in the season, not for their results, but through the unveiling of their revolutionary six-wheeled P34 - it certainly was a unique sight to F1 fans. Hunt quickly adapted to life at McLaren and, unfazed by Lauda's early dominance, continued to pick up valuable points and podium finishes.
The 1976 season however will probably be best remembered for Niki Lauda's horrific accident at the Nurburgring that nearly ended his life and saw him rushed to hospital with major burns. His resilience and dedication to racing saw him make a remarkable recovery, returning six weeks later to ensure a thrilling climax to a season that ended with only one point separating 1st and 2nd place in the championship. Again it was the last eventful race in the rain in Japan that decided the title
OK 93 They ended up making a big deal about him not drinking the leche. Emmo got some bad publicity over it, that followed him around U.S. open wheel racing, but I thought it was hysterical. I guess The U.S. Dairy Association didn't appreciate it.strad wrote:94? Little Al won in 94. I think you mean 93,,,I have the race but not the winners circle.
1977 saw Niki Lauda start the season, scarred but fit. And determined to put his horrific accident in '76 behind him. The first race of the season, in Argentina, provided a maiden victory for the Wolf team, which was followed by an extremely successful debut season, ending with Jody Scheckter taking second place in the championship.
I found a Youtube of the 1993 winners circle. Emmo starts refusing the milk at about 6:O5. I recall it being funnier at the time.strad wrote:Ahhh Yes...he drank orange juice...I did have it as part of a compilation...Also the year Little Al showed great sportsmanship...giving Emmo that thumbs up after his spin.
INDIANAPOLIS - Emerson Fittipaldi went for orange juice before the traditional bottle of milk, so the Indianapolis 500 winner still hasn't seen the $5,000 that goes with the traditional Victory Lane pose.
The American Dairy Association of Indiana said today it sent the usual checks of $5,000 for the winning driver and $500 for the winning car's chief mechanic. However, neither amount was on the prize-distribution list announced at last night's victory dinner.
Speedway spokesman Bob Walters confirmed today that the milk money was withheld from Fittipaldi's total winnings.
"It's contingent on drinking it, and he didn't on TV," Walters said. "We had some question about making sure the dairy association's wishes were followed.
1978 Ferrari and Lauda had now gone their separate ways despite winning the championship together in ‘77. Lauda moved to Brabham and Ferrari took on the young Gilles Villeneuve. Frank Williams and Patrick Head formed Williams Grand Prix Engineering, mounting their first title challenge with Alan Jones in the driving seat.
1979 saw Carlos Reutemann move to partner Mario Andretti at Lotus as Jody Scheckter took his seat at Ferrari. Wolf filled the gap left by Scheckter with James Hunt, and McLaren gave John Watson a drive in place of Hunt.
The type 79 ‘wing car’ had offered Lotus a great advantage in aerodynamic grip during the previous season. But for this year, many of the teams had incorporated the technology into their designs. Over the first two races Ligier appeared to have made up the most ground with Jacques Laffite taking the victories. In round 3, Ferrari laid down the team’s intentions, giving the new 312T4 model its successful debut.
around 400 Mb DivxThe XXX BRDC International Trophy was held on 19 March 1978 at the Silverstone Circuit, England. It was the 30th running of the International Trophy, and the last to non-Championship Formula One regulations. The race was held over 40 laps (~189 miles) of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. Although qualifying sessions had been dry, the race was run in torrential rain.
