Looming in the background of Fuji International Speedway resides Mt. Fuji. As the highest peak in all of Japan, the snow-capped monolith casts an imposing visage and is legendarily home to a multitude of immortal gods: both feared and admired, the mythical abode provides awe-inspiring scale to those events taking place at the racetrack beneath its shadow. There has, perhaps, never been a more conspicuous instance of this paramount comparison than in 1976 during Formula One’s season finale, the Japanese Grand Prix.
Just as Mt. Fuji is claimed as the domicile of deities, Fuji Speedway hosted and housed the racing divine that year. Scheckter, Reggazzoni, Andretti, Jones, Mass, Stuck, Amon, and Fittipaldi were just some of the prestigious names of venerated racers who accumulated on the track that day in October. Also, amongst them in contention for the Championship trophy, that year were two drivers who seemingly could not be any more antithetical: the suave and debonair Brit, James Hunt and the judicious and calculating Austrian, Niki Lauda. With a narrow point spread between the pair, the air had portentous palpability to it as either man could come home crowned Champion of the World.
This tumultuous finish was the result of a season filled to the brim with political strife and tragedy. Early on in the series, reigning World Champion, Niki Lauda presented an impressive defense of his title by taking the trophy at five of the first nine races. James Hunt, in his aged McLaren-Ford M23, which had been newly updated for this year with a six-speed Hewland gearbox and improved aerodynamics, managed to attain a mere two trophies during this first half. Combined with a second-place finish by Lauda and an unexpected first-place victory by the strange, six-wheeled Tyrrell-Ford at the hands of Jody Scheckter, the series was unfavorably weighing against Hunt and McLaren. However, fate would soon intervene during the tenth race, which was held at Germany’s Green Hell itself, the vaunted Nürburgring.
Weaving and undulating throughout the lush hills of Southwestern Germany, the narrow-tracked Nürburgring was the most intimidating race on the roster. During his second lap of the 14-mile long circuit, a rear suspension failure catapulted Lauda from the course and into a retaining barrier. After ricocheting off the wall, he was struck by two oncoming drivers causing his Ferrari 312T2 to erupt in flames. Although rescued from the wreckage, Lauda would not return to the race and was rushed to the hospital in a desperate fight for his life; Hunt would later clinch the victory after a restart.
In the five successive races, Hunt proved near indomitable, capturing three victories, effectively reducing the point separation. Nevertheless, despite his dire outlook, Lauda miraculously returned after an absence from only two races. Taking a fourth, eighth, and third-place finish during the next three races, this meant that at the final event of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix, a mere three points separated Hunt from taking Lauda’s title. Hosted as the inaugural Formula One event for Japan, the impressively fast 2.7-mile Fuji Speedway was selected for the penultimate competition.
The results of qualifying placed Mario Andretti on the pole, respectively, offset by Hunt and Lauda in second and third positions. Come race day, the majestic image of Mt. Fuji was obscured behind ominous, black rain clouds. Torrential downpours washed the track slick and drastically reduced the visibility of the open-cockpit race cars. Officials were bombarded with protests from drivers against beginning the race due to the severity of the weather and the dangerous environment it imbued to the fiercely fast raceway. Nevertheless, the show went on, and Hunt, after a superb start, seated himself in first. Then, to the astonishment of all, Lauda’s Ferrari wheeled into the pits during the second lap where he, along with Emerson Fittipaldi and Carlos Pace, resigned from the match. It was an unexpected boon for Hunt and the McLaren team, but they still needed at least a third-place finish to win the title.
After holding on to his position for the entire race, Hunt began to recede as tire wear took its toll. With eleven laps remaining, Hunt’s orange-and-white McLaren had retreated to third place. Suddenly, the second placeholder, Patrick Depailler, was struck down by a puncture caused by excessive tire wear. Hunt seemed destined for victory as he regained second place until shortly after he too fell victim to a flat from tire degradation. In the pitlane, as McLaren feverishly strapped new wheels and tires on, competitors stormed by the stricken M23, relegating Hunt to an only two-points-awarded fifth-place: insufficient for securing the title. With only two laps remaining, Clay Reggazzoni and Alan Jones, both struggling with tire life, were relieved of their second and third positions by Depailler and Hunt. Streaking across the finish line, James Hunt indelibly ingrained his name into the annals of automotive history as the 30th Formula One World Champion, securing the title by a single point below the fabled immortal mountain.
