Dangerous Glen

The two Brabham BT44’s of Carlos Reutemann and Carlos Pace (picture-above) are being readied for the US Grand Prix, last race of the 1974 Formula One season, held on the challenging and dangerous Watkins Glen circuit. Three drivers can still be crowned: Regazzoni (Ferrari), Fittipaldi (McLaren) and Scheckter (Tyrrell).

Carlos Reutemann won from the pole, ahead of Brabham teammate Carlos Pace, while Emerson Fittipaldi’s fourth place clinched his second Drivers’ World Championship in three years and the first for Team McLaren.This was the last F1 race for the 1967 world champion Denny Hulme, who scored 8 wins and 33 podiums in 112 starts and was still competitive at 38.

Sadly, the race also saw the death of Austrian driver Helmuth Koinigg (picture-below), in only his second Grand Prix, who’s Surtees suffered a suspension failure pitching it head-on into the Armco barrier, as in François Cevert’s fatal crash at The Glen one year earlier…