The 1977 South African Grand Prix Accident is one of those incidents that forever stamped its image into Formula One history. The incident happened during the South African GP and it has had lasting consequences both on the affected individual as well as the international community.
1977 South African Grand Prix Accident Video
Here, we turn our attention to a devastating incident that took place during this race and affected the drivers, the race, and the subsequent adjustments made in Formula One. Fasten your seatbelts as we go back to that unfortunate day and look behind to see the repercussions of the 1977 South African GP crash.
Grand Prix South Africa (Cape Town), Kyalami, 5/3/77 – Niki Lauda (Austria). The race is largely known because of the fatal accident that killed the race marshall, Frederick Jansen van Vuuren, and the driver Tom Pryce. Here is a summary of what happened:
The Cause of the Accident
In lap 22, Renzo Zorzi, his fellow team member, pulled out on the left side of the main straight just below the brow of a hill and a bridge across the track. His fuel metering unit had issues, and fuel was being pumped straight into the engine which eventually led to a blaze.
However, Zorzi was not in a hurry to get out of the car. He had been connected to the oxygen pipe and this was still attached to his helmet.
This resulted in two pit wall marshals from the other side of the track stepping in and saving the day. However, they moved with extinguishers through the track, when the cars raced against time at a high speed. The first marshal got through it OK – and Vuuren of van Vuren was struck by the car that was driving at approximately 270 km/h or 170 miles per hour.
It was that strong enough that it led to the instant killing of Jansen van Vuuren whose body was shattered. As Pryce’s helmet, the fire extinguisher hit it, smashing the skull of Pryce and himself too. It then bounced back and stopped right in the middle of the track. Pryce’s car moved along the straight and fast, while he tightly held the wheel steering through the corners.
The car ended up hitting Jacques Laffite’s Ligier, which caused both cars to spin off the track. Luckily for Laffite, he was not hurt but Pryce’s body caught fire from Zorzi’s car.
1977 South African Grand Prix Accident Video Telegram
The Aftermath of the Accident
Even though the crash occurred before the officials knew how bad things had become the race was not stopped nor red-flagged. A yellow flag was waved by the track marshals to warn the drivers of debris on the track. Others, like James Hunt and Joddy Schlecter, would pass by the scene of an accident to determine whether someone needed help, though there was nothing that they could do.
It is regarded as one of the most horrible accidents in the history of Formula Race which led to many questions about safety regulations and policies within the realm of this sport. The incident further brought out dangers involved in tracks crossing for cars as they raced or even on communication.
Moreover, the families and friends of the victims, other drivers, and teams also suffered greatly after this accident. According to experts, Pryce was among the best youngsters of his time and he won the race of champions at Brands Hatch during the year 1975.
Indeed, his wife Nella outlived him. He was a volunteer student marshal aged nineteen years and was known as Jansen van Vuuren from Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal. He had a set of living parents together with his future spouse who he was expected to wed this particular calendar year.
This crash also happened to be the final race for Carlos Pace who would die in a plane crash only about two weeks afterward.