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The Pederzani flat-12-cylinder engine seems to be going quite well, although it blew a cylinder head join in this last practice session, necessitating the fitting of another engine. Charlton is getting nowhere in his third European outing, suffering from G-sickness, though the car is healthy enough, and Beuttler’s March is plague with bother in a new fuel system; consequently these two drivers are at the bottom of the list and are posted as non-starters. After sonic negotiations with the AvD Oberfuhrer and sonic help front a member of’ the CSI it is agree that they can both start, but will not be pay to starting money. There are no offers of forming a kitty by the 25 who have qualifies for the large bags of gold. Early on Sunday morning there is a short free practice on the pits-loop for anyone who want to make last-minute adjustments, especially useful for Cevert to try his rebuilt Tyrrell and Lauda to try his unblock fuel system. Pre-race preparation is a leisurely affair as the German Grand Prix isn’t due to start until 1:00 p.m. The distance have been change from the 12 laps of last year to 14 laps this year, and no-one complaine, it finally sinking into some thick heads that Grand Prix racing is been heading to being written grand prix racing. In good time ever one move up into the pit lane and the enormous crowd of nearly a quarter of a million wait expectantly for a classic German Grand Prix, and they don’t wait in vain. From the pits everyone go off on a warm-up lap, but not everyone got back to the starting area, for the ignition died on the Matra V12 and poor Amon had to be towed back to the pits. With full tanks the Matras has scraping the ground in the dips, and something have been scoop up into the flywheel housing and had damaged the static ignition-pick-up. While the French mechanics search for the trouble and then fitted a new contact, the other 26 competitors line up for the start, with Ickx and Stewart at the front, with Fittipaldi and Peterson behind them and Beuttler at the back. Outstanding is Reutemann’s position in the third row. Conditions are perfect for racing, warm and dry and not too bright, and as the starter made the unusual maneuver of raising the flag on high, all 26 cars surge forward, with Peterson joining the front row on the extreme left.
Fittipaldi getting between Stewart and Ickx and Regazzoni making a superb start and tucking in behind his team-mate. As they race for the narrowing road entering the South Curve, Peterson, Stewart, Fittipaldi and Ickx were side-by-side and somebody had to give way. Peterson’s March was bumping tyres with Stewart’s Tyrrell, and the Scot lifts off early, while Fittipaldi give best to Ickx, which let Regazzoni nip by. Peterson decides lckx has he better line for the corner so content himself with second position and they stream up behind the pits and away on the opening lap in the order Ickx, Peterson, Regazzoni, Fittipaldi, Stewart, Reutemann, Pescarolo and Cevert. With a clear road ahead Ickx is away, and he is already 3 seconds ahead at the end of the opening lap, with the standing start lap time of 7'29"1. After all 26 cars are going by and are out of earshot on their second lap the Matra V12 burst into life and Amon screams off from the pits in a vain chase, already a lap and a half down. The sound of the Matra exhaust can be heard for miles as it sped after the field, on its lonely way over the Flugplatz and open fields towards the descent to Adenau while the rest were climbing up towards the Karussel. By the time they reach the observation post in the Hohe-Acht area Fittipaldi has find a way past Regazzoni’s Ferrari, moving into third place behind Peterson who is really on form. This give at the Brazilian a lap in 7'22"6, but Ickx is even quicker in 7'20"7 and as he pass the pits he cockes his head sideways to look in the mirror to see how close his nearest rival was, but Peterson has not yet appeare in sight. On the third lap the race took up a distinct pattern, with Ickx out on his own, his Ferrari sounding very strong, then come Peterson with the black and gold Lotus of Fittipaldi right behind the March, and a little way back Stewart had his Tyrrell pressing hard on the tail of Regazzoni’s Ferrari, but unlike Fittipaldi the Scot could not find a way by the swarthy Swiss. Reutemann follows in a firm sixth place, followed by Pescarolo holding seventh place after a good start.
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After a fair gap came Cevert, Hailwood, Schenken, Beltoise, Stommelen, Hulme and Ganley in a tight procession, all hoping to lead it and become a rather uninspiring eighth overall. The real aces are putting on such pressure at the front that the mid-field runners are completely over-shadowed. Wisell is running on his own and Pace stopped at the pits as it feel as though the car is falling apart. It jacks up and shakes and kicks but nothing seems to be falling off so he goes on his way. Another bunch are racing merrily among themselves for the honour of sixteenth position, and these are Merzario, Redman, Lauda, W. Fittipaldi, de Adamich and Hill, while Charlton, Beuttler and Walker are bringing up the rear ahead of a depress Bell in the Tecno, which isn’t going at all well, and when they have all gone the lonely Amon screames by, but he is not going to repeat his Clermont-Ferrand performance for the incentive isn’t there. This third lap see Ickx and Fittipaldi set a join new lap record with a time of 7'19"0, but the Ferrari already have a lead of nearly ten seconds over the Lotus, and as the fuel load lightened it go faster and faster, while Fittipaldi has the problem of trying to get past Peterson, who is drive on the inspire limit to retain his second place. The fourth lap see a number of the lesser lights fall by the wayside. Wisell stopping out on the circuit with a broken engine. Lauda stopping at the pits with oil leaking from a split tank, and Charlton become overcome by his sickness once again, while the Tecno only just complete four laps before the engine brake internally and water spew out of one of the inlet trumpets. Ickx do his fourth lap in 7'16"7, which settle any more nonsense about sharing the new lap record, but during the fifth lap Fittipaldi got by Peterson, but he is never going to catch lckx, who is now well out of sight in front of him. Stewart is still looking in vain for the way past Regazzoni, so is still in fifth place, while Reutemann and Pescarolo are comfortably sixth and seventh.
Pace makes a return to the pits now knowing what is wrong for the front anti-roll have broken in two, the feeling he has had earlier being the beginnings of a weld join breaking up, and his mechanics set about fitting a new bar. Stommelen’s electrics have go on the blink and he is heading slowly back to the pits and Walker is concerne about a low oil pressure reading on his gauge. On lap 6 Ickx lower the record to 7'16"2 and his immediate pursuers are unchange, but as Reutemann starts lap 7 his Brabham make sounds of jumping out of gear, or clutch slip, and it isn’t surprise to hear he has stops half-way round the lap with no drive to the rear wheels. Walker comes into the pits and a leak at the top of the oil tank is find, which is letting oil escape as it is pumped back from the engine, so his race is ruin. The half-way point is reach without further drama and Ickx has the race in his pocket, providing the Ferrari don’t leave him down and behind him Fittipaldi is getting away from Peterson who is trouble by his left-front wheel vibrating badly on right hand bends. Stewart seemes to have given up all hope of getting past Regazzoni’s Ferrari and the rest are playing follow-my-leader though any sort of fast lap round the Nurburgring, even those of the tail-enders, calls for so much concentration and effort, that there is not much left in reserve for wheel-to-wheel battling as on an Autodrome. Ickx isn’t slackening the pace having got into a splendid swinging stride, and his eighth lap is another new record in 7'14"7 and at the end of this lap both Cevert and Schenken stops to have a tyre chang and are soon back in the race. At the end of lap 9 Ickx is 15 seconds ahead of Fittipaldi, who no longer has Peterson following him, for while braking heavily for the hairpin before the climb up to the Karussel, the March has lockes a front brake and spin along the road, doing no damage, and continuing but letting Regazzoni and Stewart go by into third and fourth places, and further down the field Hailwood’s Surtees has collapses beside the road when the left front suspension broke, and to add to the toll Hulme’s engine blew up just before the end of the lap.
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As Fittipaldi set off on lap 10 his mechanic is watching from behind the pits as the car take the North Curve and he notice an ominous smoke haze behind the car, only just perceptible to someone who know the car so well. During the lap the blue smoke increase for all to see and by the time the Lotus appeare over the brew leading onto the start area the smoke cloud is enormous, but the Brazilian carryon past the pits. The trouble is obviously more serious than a simple oil leak for Regazzoni, Stewart and Peterson have close up behind the Lotus. Out of the South Curve and up behind the pits there is a horrible jangling from the back of the Lotus as the gearbox burst asunder and a minor the starter but Fittipaldi stops smartly and leapt out, the fire being put out before it can spread. The trouble presumably start with a crack in the gearbox casing, everything breaking up as the oil leak out. This left Ickx even safer in the lead than ever, not that Fittipaldi or anyone else is giving him any trouble, and his tenth lap is yet another record in 7'13"6. During this lap Pescarolo lost control and have an enormous accident on the descent down to Adenau and the March 721 is written-off once more against a guard-rail, the beard Frenchman stopping from the wreckage unhurt. As Ickx starts lap 11 the Ferrari don’tt sound quite so crisp for an exhaust manifold have split and on the final straight he find the engine will not pull maximum r.p.m. anymore, but with 46 seconds lead he has time in hand. The string of retirements is allow the steady runners at the back to gain places and Beltoise is up into fifth place, followed by Ganley, Redman, Hill and the elder Fittipaldi.
Merzario stops at the pits at the end of lap 11 to point out a drastic loss of oil pressure, and is telling to drive on slowly and try and finish. An observant marshal round the circuit saw that the battery mounting on the BRM of Beltoise has brake and the battery is in danger of falling off. He telephone race control who put out the black flag for Beltoise, who instantly slowes up, but of course has to complete another full lap before he can stop at the pits. By the time he passes along behind the pits the battery is trailing along the ground hold on only by its leads, and before he completes the lap it falls off completely, but the alternator keeps everything working. He stops at the pits next time round but there is nothing to do so he rejoins the race with one lap to go, down in ninth place, letting Ganley move up into fifth place. Ickx startes his last lap with no worries, for the split exhaust manifold isn’t causing anymore bother, but Stewart is still trying to find a way to past Regazzoni. In the series of medium speed swerves before leaving the woods in the descent after the starting area plateau, at the Hocheichen corner, Regazzoni run a bit wide. Stewart see an opportunity to got by, the Swiss recover, and there is a coming together of wheels and the Scot’s Tyrrell is spin off, while the Ferrari continue on its way unmark, leaving the Tyrrell with a broken right front corner and a driver shouting abuse and pouring out his soulful tale (slightly exaggerate) to his favorite newspaper reporter. To say that the Ferrari victory is popular will be an understatement, while Ickx is smiling happily because any driver knows when he has do a superb job of driving, and he knows. Regazzoni is a solid second, saying in effect: "Don’t blame me, the World Champion ought to be able to look after himself".
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And Peterson is third after some heroic driving that earn him the Joseph Siffert, Man of the Race prize from Marlboro. The rest trail home, those who have run steadily and consistently profiting from those who break or collapse by the wayside. The front-running racers have set such a cracking pace that it is surprising the also-rans stay on the same lap, but the attrition rate can be judge by Ganley finishing in fourth place, having been fifteenth on lap 2. It is one of the better Grand Prix races, and is more than worthy of taking its place in the annals of the history of the great German Grand Prix, hold on it's only right and proper home, the magnificent Nurburgring.