On this day in... 1975

And that fourth edition of a race that had taken place in 1969, ’71 and ’73 on the fast and undulating Spanish street circuit took place 42 years ago today (April 27^th).

Qualifying was dominated by the flat-12 Ferrari 312Ts of Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni, the Maranello racers eclipsing the increasingly competitive Hesketh 308B of James Hunt and the Parnelli VPJ4 of Mario Andretti – and very much needing to kickstart their championship campaign.

But not before the circuit’s safety shortcomings had been hot topic. So lackadaisical was the organiser’s attitude to the poorly secured barriers in front of the trees, buildings and crowds lining the route, and its subsequent threats of legal action in the face of a boycott, many of the drivers and their crew members were forced to go out with spanners to fasten Armco bolts before practice took place. Unthinkable in modern Formula 1, of course.

World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi refused to start the race after taking part in qualifying at reduced pace in his McLaren, the Brazilian believing the circuit to be still too dangerous. His beliefs would prove all too prophetic once the fourth round of the 1975 World Championship got underway.

The two Ferraris of Lauda and Regazzoni headed up over the hill at the start, only to collide at the first corner, leaving Hunt out front. The Briton held on for six laps, before he too crashed out. Andretti then picked up the baton and put Parnelli into the lead of a GP for the first time. Suspension problems put paid to his victory hopes after just 16 laps, although not before the American had given US ace Parnelli Jones his only fastest lap as a constructor.

In what was becoming a race of attrition, German Rolf Stommelen then battled for the lead with the Brabham of Carlos Pace. They traded places until Stommelen’s Embassy Hill GH1 got back in front on lap 23.

Just a few laps later, Montjuïc Park’s fate was sealed when the #22 machine suffered a rear-wing support failure, pitching the car off the track over the brow after the uphill start/finish line. Colliding with a weakened barrier as well as Pace’s Brabham, the Hill was launched into a spectator area, where five people were killed. Stommelen suffered broken bones in the crash. 

Leading the race at the point when it was abandoned was Jochen Mass in the McLaren M23. The German was thus awarded his maiden Grand Prix win, with half points thanks to the reduced distance – just 29 laps. He held off the Lotus of Jacky Ickx by just over a second, with Carlos Reutemann completing the podium. 

Completing the race in sixth place, and earning half a point for her efforts, was Italian lady racer Lella Lombardi in a March 751. She was the first woman to finish in a points-paying position in World Championship history and, 42 years on, remains the only one to do so. 

Not unsurprisingly, that was the end of Montjuïc Park’s relationship with Formula 1, but the public-road circuit remains almost entirely intact, save for the addition of traffic lights, oncoming traffic and a roundabout or two.

Next time you find yourself in Barcelona, take a trip up into the hills above the city and check out this timewarp venue that left a short but ultimately tragic legacy. 

Spanish Grand Prix, 1975

1. Jochen Mass (D) – McLaren M23-Ford, 29 laps

2. Jacky Ickx (B) – Lotus 72E, +1.1s

3. Carlos Reutemann (RA) – Brabham BT44B, 28 laps

4. Jean-Pierre Jarier (F) – Shadow DN5-Ford, 28 laps

5. Vittorio Brambilla (I) – March 751, 28 laps

6. Lella Lombardi (I) – March 751, 27 laps

Images courtesy of LAT