1971 Questor Grand Prix

Questor Grand Prix
OMS road course
Race details
Date	March 28, 1971
Official Name	Questor Grand Prix
Location	Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario, California
Course	Permanent racing facility 5.139km (3.194mi)
Distance	Two heats of 32 laps, 328.896km (204.41 miles)
Pole Position
Driver	Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford
Time	1:41.257
Fastest Lap
Driver	Pedro Rodríguez BRM
Time	1:42.777 on lap 53
Podium
First	Mario Andretti Ferrari
Second	Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford
Third	Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford
Lap Leaders
No race-code specified

The 1971 Questor Grand Prix was a non-championship Grand Prix, held on the road course at the brand new Ontario Motor Speedway, in Ontario, California on March 28, 1971. It was staged as a possible dry run for a second grand prix in the United States. The race was won by Mario Andretti in a Ferrari, who quickly passed polesitter Jackie Stewart in a Tyrrell-Ford, and won both heats convincingly. Stewart was second in both heats, and Denny Hulme in a McLaren-Ford managed to snag third place on aggregate, by virtue of a tiebreaker over Chris Amon in a Matra. Unfortunately, financial problems by the parent corporation meant that this was the only time the race was run. Formula One did eventually come back to California, but five years later, at Long Beach.

Background

Ontario Motor Speedway was designed as 'Indianapolis West', and the oval track matched Indianapolis Motor Speedway right down to the track measurements and the 9° 11' banking in the corners. But that's where the similarities ended. Where the grandstands in Indianapolis had to be squeezed into the available space, Ontario's were wide and open. Instead of the short and narrow pits at Indy, the pit lane ran the entire length of the front straight, and was wide enough that it was used as a competition drag strip. The builders also created a road course in the infield, running almost 3.2 miles, and designed to keep as much of the action close to the grandstands as possible. The course used the entire main straight and one of the banked turns, before turning into the infield and negotiating several switchbacks. It was also built to the latest FIA specifications, and the Formula One cars were invited in the spring after the track opened.

Ontario from the air

The race was the non-championship 'dry run' before a proposed Grand Prix, starting in 1972, but the sponsoring Questor Corporation ran into financial problems after this event, and had to withdraw their involvement. Formula One never ran at Ontario again. But the idea of Formula One on the west coast of the United States finally came to fruition, five years later at Long Beach.

Cars going through the banked curve early in the race

The race was run in two heats of 32 laps, with a point system based on finishing position of each heat determining the final placing. Ties were broken by distance covered or elapsed time. Each heat awarded points by 40-35-32-30-28-26-24, then one point less for each spot down to one point for 30th. The field of Formula One cars was supplemented by a group of Formula A (Formula 5000 with fuel injection and other minor differences) entries. Despite the fact that the track was 6,000 miles from England, a huge prize fund of $278,400 (even larger than that posted by Watkins Glen) ensured a large entry.

The teams:

• Brabham: The team returned with what would be the standard entry for 1971, with Graham Hill in the lone BT34 "lobster claw" (in which he had set fastest lap the week before at Brands Hatch), and Tim Schenken in a 1970 BT33.
• BRM: The Bourne team showed up with three cars. Pedro Rodríguez and Jo Siffert were in P160s, and Howden Ganley was in the P153. BRM made out quite well financially with three cars in the top 10.
• Ferrari: The Scuderia had originally entered three cars, but that was later reduced to two, as Clay Regazzoni stayed behind for testing. The decision to run Mario Andretti was rewarded with his second victory in less than a month.
• Lotus: The 56B turbine was supposed to be used, as its higher top speed would presumably be an advantage on the oval section that it had originally been designed for. But the team took a more conservative approach, due to the possible financial rewards of the event.
• March: The factory only had one completed 711 for Ronnie Peterson, and declined to run any of their remaining 701s.
  • Frank Williams entered the latest 711, for Henri Pescarolo, and also entered a 701 with rebuilt suspension for Derek Bell.
  • The US-based STP Racing entered the 701 that Andretti had used in 1970 for John Cannon.
• Matra: Jean-Pierre Beltoise was still suspended from racing for his role in the death of Ignazio Giunti, so the team only ran one car for Chris Amon.
• McLaren: McLaren had the usual entry, with no changes.
• Surtees: Surprisingly, the team skipped this event, saying the trip would be too expensive, despite the enormous prize fund.
• Tyrrell: Both drivers had been entered, but the team wound up keeping François Cevert in Europe for tire testing and shaking down the 003 car. This would be the last time that the 001 model would be raced until Watkins Glen.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 1971 Questor Grand Prix is outlined below:

No.	Driver	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model	Tyre
2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Gold Leaf Team Lotus	Lotus	72C	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	F
3	Reine Wisell	Gold Leaf Team Lotus	Lotus	72C	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	F
4	Jacky Ickx	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari	312B	Ferrari	001 3.0 F12	F
5	Mario Andretti	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari	312B	Ferrari	001 3.0 F12	F
6	Denny Hulme	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren	M19A	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	G
7	Peter Gethin	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren	M14A	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	G
8	Jackie Stewart	Elf Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell	001	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	G
9	François Cevert	Elf Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell	002	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	G
10	Chris Amon	Equipe Matra Sports	Matra	MS120B	Matra	MS71 3.0 V12	G
11	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Equipe Matra Sports	Matra	MS120B	Matra	MS71 3.0 V12	G
12	Pedro Rodríguez	Yardley Team BRM	BRM	P160	BRM	P142 3.0 V12	F
14	Jo Siffert	Yardley Team BRM	BRM	P160	BRM	P142 3.0 V12	F
15	Howden Ganley	Yardley Team BRM	BRM	P153	BRM	P142 3.0 V12	F
16	John Surtees	Brooke Bond Oxo Team Surtees	Surtees	TS9	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	F
17	Derek Bell	Frank Williams Racing Cars	March	701	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	G
18	Henri Pescarolo	Frank Williams Racing Cars	March	711	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	G
19	Graham Hill	Motor Racing Developments Ltd.	Brabham	BT34	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	G
20	Tim Schenken	Motor Racing Developments Ltd.	Brabham	BT33	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	G
21	Ronnie Peterson	STP March Racing Team	March	711	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	F
22	Andrea de Adamich	STP March Racing Team	March	711	Alfa Romeo	T33 3.0 V8	F
23	Alex Soler-Roig	STP March Racing Team	March	711	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	F
25	John Cannon	STP March Racing Team	March	701	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	F
26	Mark Donohue	Penske Racing	Lola	T192	Chevrolet	5.0 V8	F
27	George Follmer	Brian O'Neil Racing	Lotus	70B	Ford	5.0 V8	F
28*	A. J. Foyt	Agapiou Brothers	McLaren	M10B	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
29	Ron Grable	Charlie Hayes Racing	Lola	T190	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
30	Sam Posey	Champcarr Inc.	Surtees	TS8	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
31	Peter Revson	Milestone Racing Team	Surtees	TS8	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
32	Swede Savage	Junor-Tarozzi Racing	Eagle	Mk5	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
33	Al Unser	Kastner-Brophy Racing	Lola	T192	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
34	Tony Adamowicz	American Racing Associates	Lola	T192	Chevrolet	5.0 V8	G
35	Bob Bondurant	Competition Developments	Lola	T192	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
36	Gus Hutchison	Aero Structures Developments	ASD	Mk1	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
37	Lou Sell	Smothers Brothers Racing Team	Lola	T192	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
38	Bobby Unser	Charlie Hayes Racing	Lola	T190	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
40†	Pete Lovely	Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc.	Lotus	49B	Ford Cosworth	DFV 3.0 V8	F
45†	David Hobbs	Hogan Racing	McLaren	M10B	Chevrolet	5.0 V8
47†	Jack Byers	Competition Developments	Lola	T190	Chevrolet	5.0 V8

• A cream background represents as Formula 5000 entries.
• * Jackie Stewart also drove car #28 in practice.
• ^† Lovely, Hobbs, and Byers are represented as reserve entries.

Practice

Results

This was the first Formula One race to time to thousandths of a second.

Pos	No.	Driver	Constructor	Lap	Gap
1	8	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	1:41.257	—
2	10	Chris Amon	Matra	1:41.275	+0.018
3	4	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:41.531	+0.274
4	6	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	1:42.458	+1.201
5	14	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	1:42.473	+1.216
6	19	Graham Hill	Brabham-Ford	1:42.763	+1.506
7	26	Mark Donohue	Lola-Chevrolet	1:43.211	+1.954
8	14	Jo Siffert	BRM	1:43.350	+2.093
9	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	1:43.358	+2.101
10	27	George Follmer	Lotus-Ford	1:43.474	+2.217
11	2	Reine Wisell	Lotus-Ford	1:43.535	+2.278
12	5	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	1:43.542	+2.285
13	18	Henri Pescarolo	March-Ford	1:43.709	+2.452
14	20	Tim Schenken	Brabham-Ford	1:43.772	+2.515
15	30	Sam Posey	Surtees-Chevrolet	1:44.128	+2.871
16	25	John Cannon	March-Ford	1:44.231	+2.974
17	21	Ronnie Peterson	March-Ford	1:44.360	+3.103
18	15	Howden Ganley	BRM	1:44.379	+3.122
19	17	Derek Bell	March-Ford	1:44.977	+3.720
20	7	Peter Gethin	McLaren-Ford	1:45.310	+4.053
21	37	Lou Sell	Lola-Chevrolet	1:45.397	+4.140
22	29	Ron Grable	Lola-Chevrolet	1:45.402	+4.145
23	35	Bob Bondurant	Lola-Chevrolet	1:45.528	+4.271
24	31	Peter Revson	Surtees-Chevrolet	1:45.668	+4.411
25	34	Tony Adamowicz	Lola-Chevrolet	1:47.831	+6.574
26	33	Al Unser	Lola-Chevrolet	1:48.172	+6.915
27	38	Bobby Unser	Lola-Chevrolet	1:48.512	+7.255
28	36	Gus Hutchison	ASD-Chevrolet	1:50.954	+9.697
29	32	Swede Savage	Eagle-Chevrolet	1:51.509	+10.252
30	28	A. J. Foyt	McLaren-Chevrolet	1:52.229	+10.972
Res	45	David Hobbs	McLaren-Chevrolet	1:45.331	+4.074
Res	40	Pete Lovely	Lotus-Ford	1:47.269	+6.012
Res	47	Jack Byers	Lola-Chevrolet	1:54.468	+13.211

Heat One

Results

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	32	56:03.052	12	40
2	8	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	32	+3.000	1	35
3	14	Jo Siffert	BRM	32	+44.329	8	32
4	6	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	32		4	30
5	4	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	32		3	28
6	10	Chris Amon	Matra	32		2	26
7	20	Tim Schenken	Brabham-Ford	31	+1 Lap	14	24
8	15	Howden Ganley	BRM	31	+1 Lap	18	23
9	26	Mark Donohue	Lola-Chevrolet	31	+1 Lap	7	22
10	29	Ron Grable	Lola-Chevrolet	31	+1 Lap	22	21
11	7	Peter Gethin	McLaren-Ford	31	+1 Lap	20	20
12	38	Bobby Unser	Lola-Chevrolet	31	+1 Lap	27	19
13	17	Derek Bell	March-Ford	31	+1 Lap	19	18
14	37	Lou Sell	Lola-Chevrolet	30	+2 Laps	21	17
15	25	John Cannon	March-Ford	30	Throttle	16	16
16	21	Ronnie Peterson	March-Ford	26	Suspension	17	15
17	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	25	Engine	9	14
18	30	Sam Posey	Lola-Chevrolet	25	Overheating	15	13
19	36	Gus Hutchison	ASD-Chevrolet	25	Electrics	28	12
20	12	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	21	+11 Laps	5	11
21	3	Reine Wisell	Lotus-Ford	17	Ignition	11	10
22	18	Henri Pescarolo	March-Ford	16	Cross member	13	9
23	33	Al Unser	Lola-Chevrolet	16	Oil Pressure	26	8
24	35	Bob Bondurant	Lola-Chevrolet	15	Engine	23	7
25	34	Tony Adamowicz	Lola-Chevrolet	12	Engine	25	6
26	31	Peter Revson	Surtees-Chevrolet	11	Gearbox	24	5
27	32	Swede Savage	Eagle-Chevrolet	10	Accident	29	4
28	19	Graham Hill	Brabham-Ford	8	Oil pressure	6	3
29	28	A. J. Foyt	Lola-Chevrolet	6	Suspension	30	2
30	27	George Follmer	Lotus-Ford	3	Engine	10	1

Heat Two

Results

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	32	55:45.358	1	40
2	8	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	32	+12.300	2	35
3	10	Chris Amon	Matra	32	+12.583	6	32
4	12	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	32		20	30
5	6	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	32		4	28
6	20	Tim Schenken	Brabham-Ford	32		7	26
7	29	Ron Grable	Lola-Chevrolet	32		10	24
8	7	Peter Gethin	McLaren-Ford	32		11	23
9	25	John Cannon	March-Ford	31	+1 Lap	15	22
10	34	Tony Adamowicz	Lola-Chevrolet	31	+1 Lap	25	21
11	15	Howden Ganley	BRM	30	+2 Laps	8	20
12	37	Lou Sell	Lola-Chevrolet	29	+3 Laps	14	19
13	14	Jo Siffert	BRM	28	+4 Laps	3	18
14	36	Gus Hutchison	ASD-Chevrolet	27	+5 Laps	19	17
15	18	Henri Pescarolo	March-Ford	24	Suspension	22	16
16	21	Ronnie Peterson	March-Ford	17	+15 Laps	16	15
17	17	Derek Bell	March-Ford	15	Suspension	13	14
18	30	Sam Posey	Surtees-Chevrolet	13	Engine	18	13
19	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	10	Gear linkage	17	12
20	38	Bobby Unser	Lola-Chevrolet	9	Engine	12	11
21	26	Mark Donohue	Lola-Chevrolet	5	Oil pressure	9	10
22	28	A. J. Foyt	McLaren-Chevrolet	2	Engine	23	9
23	4	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	2	Suspension	5	8
DNS	3	Reine Wisell	Lotus-Ford				7
DNS	33	Al Unser	Lola-Chevrolet				6
DNS	35	Bob Bondurant	Lola-Chevrolet				5
DNS	31	Peter Revson	Surtees-Chevrolet				4
DNS	32	Swede Savage	Eagle-Chevrolet				3
DNS	19	Graham Hill	Brabham-Ford				2
DNS	27	George Follmer	Lotus-Ford				1

Results on aggregate

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	64	1:51:48.410	12	80
2	8	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	64	1:52:04.324	1	70
3	6	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	64	1:53:16.982	4	58
4	10	Chris Amon	Matra	64	1:53:29.684	2	58
5	20	Tim Schenken	Brabham-Ford	63	+1 Lap	14	50
6	14	Jo Siffert	BRM	60	+4 Laps	8	50
7	29	Ron Grable	Lola-Chevrolet	63	+1 Lap	22	45
8	7	Peter Gethin	McLaren-Ford	63	+1 Lap	20	43
9	15	Howden Ganley	BRM	61	+3 Laps	18	43
10	12	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	53	+11 Laps	5	41
11	4	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	34	Accident	3	39
12	25	John Cannon	March-Ford	60	+4 Laps	16	38
13	37	Lou Sell	Lola-Chevrolet	59	+5 Laps	21	36
14	26	Mark Donohue	Lola-Chevrolet	36	Mechanical	7	36
15	17	Derek Bell	March-Ford	46	Suspension	19	32
16	26	Bobby Unser	Lola-Chevrolet	40	Engine	27	32
17	34	Tony Adamowicz	Lola-Chevrolet	43	Mechanical	25	30
18	21	Ronnie Peterson	March-Ford	43	Mechanical	17	30
19	26	Gus Hutchison	ASD-Chevrolet	52	+12 Laps	28	29
20	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	35	Gear linkage	9	26
21	30	Sam Posey	Surtees-Chevrolet	38	Engine	15	26
22	18	Henri Pescarolo	March-Ford	40	Suspension	13	25
23	3	Reine Wisell	Lotus-Ford	17	Ignition	11	17
24	33	Al Unser	Lola-Chevrolet	16	Oil pressure	26	14
25	35	Bob Bondurant	Lola-Chevrolet	15	Engine	23	12
26	28	A. J. Foyt	McLaren-Chevrolet	10	Engine	30	11
27	31	Peter Revson	Surtees-Chevrolet	11	Gearbox	24	9
28	32	Swede Savage	Eagle-Plymouth	11	Accident	29	7
29	19	Graham Hill	Brabham-Ford	8	Oil line	6	5
30	27	George Follmer	Lotus-Ford	3	Rocker arm	10	2