WristScan

Hello dear Art and friends !

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

James and McLaren made a formidable partnership and stamped his authority on the team by outqualifying Mass for his first Grand Prix, the Brazilian race at Interlagos. But James and McLaren were never very far from controversy; after winning the Spanish GP at Jarama, he was disqualified when his M23 was deemed to have infringed the dimensional regulations – new rear wheels had made the car 1.8cm too wide. McLaren appealed and the victory was reinstated, but it seemed to be a nerve-wracking case of swings and roundabouts as the season unfolded, with James being disqualified from the British GP at Brands Hatch after what proved to be an illegal restart following a first-lap collision. 

The circumstances were controversial but this time he stayed disqualified ! James’s season thereafter settled down to a slog with his arch-rival Niki Lauda, a close and genuine friend whom James respected unreservedly. Although James’s own title hopes received a boost after Niki suffered serious burns when he crashed his Ferrari during the German GP at the Nurburgring, 

Hunt knew enough about his rival’s determination not to rely on any short-term points advantage. Only a few weeks later Lauda would be back behind the wheel and picking up the threads of his title defence.Confirmation of James’s Brands Hatch disqualification meant that he had to overcome a deficit of 17 points over the last three races of the season if he was going to have a hope of securing the crown. James rose to the challenge in brilliant style, adding wins in Canada and the USA to his personal tally, and then storming home to a championship-clinching third in the inaugural Japanese GP at Fuji, the race in which Niki pulled out after two tentative laps, declaring the torrential conditions impossible.