Dispute in the dunes

Two weeks after the “battle of Sweden” at Anderstorp, the F1 circus arrived in the dunes of Zandvoort for the 1974 Dutch Grand Prix; in the midst of a dispute between the C.S.I., the Formula One Constructors Association and the R.A.C. of the Netherlands.

The argument was about the ever increasing number of entries that were being submitted for each race, with the organisers at Zandvoort hoping to eliminate those deemed unworthy, and were being backed by the FOCA, which had been growing increasingly powerful under the leadership of Bernie Ecclestone. One of those excluded were Trojan, who had been reasonably competitive since making their debut earlier in the season. They appealed this decision and were being permitted to participate with Tim Schenken at the wheel.

It was an all Ferrari front row after qualifying, with Niki Lauda (picture above) sweeping the pole by 0.6 sec. over Clay Regazzoni. Two McLarens shared the second row, Emerson Fittipaldi ahead of Mike Hailwood, while Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell) would start from fifth ahead of the James Hunt’s Hesketh.

Niki Lauda dominated the race, his second win of the season, and finished 8 seconds ahead of his team mate Regazzoni, while Emerson Fittipaldi quickly settled for third. Halfway through the season, the battle for the championship was clearly revolving around those three drivers. Tim Schenken in his modest Trojan (picture below), failed to qualify.