Grand Prix de Belgique 20 Maj 1973, Zolder

Ronnie Peterson väntar fortfarande på den första segern inför sin 37:e start. Återigen är Ronnie snabbast på tidsträningen och tar "pole position" före Hulme. 

Uppvärmningen på tävlingsdagen blir händelserik för Ronnie. Zolder-banan har fått en ny beläggning som är svårbemästrad och hal. Ronnie kvaddar två bilar på träningen.

Ronnie tar starten med kan endast behålla sin ledning under det första varvet, men tvingas lämna över till Cevert då han märker att bromsarna inte fungerar som de ska. Ronnie faller tillbaka till en femteplats. På det 46:e varvet sladdar Lotusen av banan genom ett par skyddsstängsel och ramponeras ungefär på samma plats som han kraschat de andra bilarna tidigare samma dag. Ronnie är dock oskadd och kan enbart konstatera att han tagit ett svårslaget rekord med tre totalskrotade bilar på en och samma dag. 

Jackie Stewart vinner före Cevert (som har det snabbaste varvet på 1.25,42) och Fittipaldi.

Loppet ser följande förare i ledning: Ronnie 1; Cevert 2-19; Fittipaldi 20-24; Stewart 25-70.

Det har nu gått fem tävlingar i rad utan att Ronnie lyckats ta hem en enda poäng till Lotusstallet. Oturen grinar honom i ansiktet - skall det aldrig vända?

Summary in english

After visiting Nivelles in 1972, the Belgian GP moved to Zolder in the Flemish part of Belgium. The organizers started resurfacing late because of a dispute with the teams and so when practice began the tarmac was still not properly hardened. The result was that the track surface broke up in places on Friday. Resurfacing work was carried out overnight, amid threats from the Grand Prix Drivers Association that they would cancel the event if the track broke up again on Saturday. The disputes continued well into Saturday morning but finally it became clear that the track was all right and there was a rush to qualify. The field was as normal with the addition of Chris Amon in a new Tecno. Arturo Merzario was back in action in the second Ferrari having missed the Spanish GP because his new car was not ready.

Qualifying resulted in pole position for Ronnie Peterson's Lotus with Denny Hulme second in the McLaren M23. Then came Ickx's Ferrari and Francois Cevert's Tyrrell. The third row featured Jean-Pierre Beltoise in his BRM and Jackie Stewart's Tyrrell, while the top 10 was completed by Carlos Reutemann (Brabham), Carlos Pace (Surtees), Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus) and Peter Revson (McLaren).

Peterson took the lead at the start with Cevert chasing and then Ickx, Hulme and Reutemann. On the second lap Cevert took the lead and began to pull away. Hulme dropped away after going off on oil being dropped by Ickx and soon afterwards Ickx retired with an oil pump failure. This put Reutemann third but he went out with engine failure on the 14th lap. Four laps later Fittipaldi and Stewart (who were now third and fourth) overtook Peterson and on lap 20 the Fittipaldi took the lead when Cevert spun. Five laps later Stewart went into the lead and began to pull away. Fittipaldi began to suffer from fuel pressure problems and on lap 48 dropped behind Cevert to give Stewart a 1-2 with the Lotus driver surviving to finish third.

De Adamish and Lauda ended up fourth and fifth with Amon sixth.

 

Sammanställning Grand Prix Belgien Datum 20 Maj 1973 Bana Zolder Säsong 1973 Deltävling 5 Längd (km) 4.220 Varv 70 Tid 1:42:13.430

Placering Nr Förare Team Tid Grid 1 5 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell 1:42:13.430 6 2 6 François Cevert Tyrrell 31.840 4 3 1 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus 122.790 9 4 9 Andrea de Adamich Brabham +1 varv 18 5 21 Niki Lauda BRM +1 varv 14 6 22 Chris Amon Tecno +3 varv 15 7 7 Denny Hulme McLaren +3 varv 2 8 24 Carlos Pace Surtees +4 varv 8 9 12 Graham Hill Shadow +5 varv 23 r 19 Clay Regazzoni BRM +7 varv 12 r 15 Mike Beuttler March +7 varv 20 r 14 Jean-Pierre Jarier March +10 varv 16 r 20 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM +14 varv 5 r 11 Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham +24 varv 19 r 2 Ronnie Peterson Lotus +28 varv 1 r 8 Peter Revson McLaren +37 varv 10 r 25 Howden Ganley Williams +54 varv 21 r 10 Carlos Reutemann Brabham +56 varv 7 r 16 George Follmer Shadow +57 varv 11 r 17 Jackie Oliver Shadow +59 varv 22 r 26 Nanni Galli Williams +64 varv 17 r 3 Jacky Ickx Ferrari +64 varv 3 r 23 Mike Hailwood Surtees +66 varv 13

NC=Not Classified NT=No time set in qualifying R=Retired EX=Excluded from meeting W=Withdrawn DQ=Disqualified NS=Did not start NQ=Did not qualify NPQ=Did not pre-qualify

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