| abstract | - Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.937,0.937,0.937) id:linemark value:gray(0.8) id:linemark2 value:gray(0.9) BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas PlotData = mark:(line,linemark) from:start till:1 color:purple shift:(20,-5) text:Jackie Stewart (Lap 1) from:1 till:end color:black shift:(20,-5) text:Jim Clark (Laps 2-80) The 1968 South African Grand Prix, officially known as the XIV South African Grand Prix, was the opening round of the 1968 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Kyalami Circuit on New Year's Day, 1968. The race was significant as it would be the final win for the legendary racer Jim Clark, with the Scot taking a record twenty-fifth victory to overtake Juan Manuel Fangio in the all time standings. Practice/qualifying would actually be held in 1967 for the first round of the 1968 season, meaning most teams were either fielding developmental versions of new cars, or fairly updated 1967 machinery. Regardless, it would be Clark who took pole from teammate Graham Hill, as the Lotus 49 continued to dominate the field on pure pace. At the start it was Jackie Stewart, driving the new Matra as their new lead driver, who swept into the lead, as Hill tumbled down to seventh with a poor start. Clark would soon ease past his compatriot to retake the lead on the second lap, before Hill began to pick off the drivers whom had overtaken him off the line. There was a nasty incident early on when Ludovico Scarfiotti's Cooper-Maserati decided to dump all of its water, with the Italian receiving first degree burns when the cockpit received a spray. Jack Brabham ran among the leaders until he had engine problems, a fate shared by Stewart, a few laps after Hill had blasted back into second place. With that, the race was largely run other than some minor moves and retirements, with Clark running away to win by nearly half a minute. Hill claimed a very steady second, easing off over the final laps so that Jochen Rindt finished within six seconds of him as the last man on the lead lap. Chris Amon, defending World Champion Denny Hulme and Jean-Pierre Beltoise would round out the points, in a race which had ten finishers. Many thought that this display would be a sign to come, with Clark in all conquering form throughout the "pre"-season. Sadly, a couple of weeks before the European season in F1 started, the Scot would be killed in a Formula Two race at Hockenheim, in a race affected by heavy rain. It came just a few months after Clark had sealed his name in F1 immortality by overtaking the win record of Juan Manuel Fangio.
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