Watch: Ferrari's Niki Lauda holds James Hunt at bay to win at Kyalami

Watch: Ferrari’s Niki Lauda holds James Hunt at bay to win at Kyalami | 1976 South African GP. Niki Lauda leads all the way in South Africa (1976).

The 1976 South African Grand Prix was held on 6 March at Kyalami in Transvaal Province, South Africa. It was the second round of the 1976 Formula One season. The race was the 22nd South African Grand Prix and the tenth to be held at Kyalami. The race was held over 78 laps of the 4.104-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 320 kilometres and was won by Austrian driver Niki Lauda in a Ferrari 312T

Niki Lauda’s second win of the 1976 F1 championship laid down a marker for the year, and his victory at the South African Grand Prix came in the old 1975 Ferrari. Rivals were left pondering how dominant the team would be when their new car was unveiled.

Niki Lauda made the best start and led the field away, the two McLarens falling behind the quick-starting Brambilla. As Lauda eased away in his Ferrari, the March driver was characteristically robust in his tactics as the two McLarens swarmed over the back of him, shutting the door more than once in emphatic style in the opening laps.

Despite having a slow puncture in a rear tyre from the tenth lap, Niki maintained his lead before easing off in the final laps. “I was sure James would catch me on the last lap,” he said. “There was nothing I could do to stop him and the car was all over the place. When the race was over, my mechanics found I only had two pounds of air left.”