Lauda keeps quiet

Press, 4 October 1977, Page 56

Lauda keeps quiet

NZPA-Reuter Watkins Glen The future of Niki Lauda, of Austria, who clinched the 1977 world drivers’ championship at the United States Grand Prix yesterday, was shrouded in mystery after the race. The 28-year-old driver, who won back the world championship that James Hunt, of Britain, captured from him last year, refused to talk to the press after his fourth-place finish. There was speculation that Lauda, who already has announced that he is leaving Ferrari to drive for the Brabham team next year, may not drive next Monday in the Canadian Grand Prix, the second to last race of the year. Officially, Lauda is on his way to the Mosport racing course near Toronto to start practising for the Canadian race.

The enigmatic driver did not talk to the press after winning his second world championship in three years. He left the course by helicopter immediately after the race.

Sources close to the Ferrari team said that Lauda was so dissatisfied with the present team that he may not drive at Mosport. The situation was further clouded yesterday morning when it was discovered that Ermane Cuoghi, Ferrari’s chief mechanic and Lauda’s favourite, was not in the Italian team’s pits. The team manager, Mr Antonio Tomaini, confirmed that the chief mechanic was no longer with Ferrari. “He’s finished. He’s finished

' with Ferrari," Mr Tomaini i told NZPA-Reuter just hours before the race was to start. Sources said the mechanic : was fired by the 70-year-old Enzio Ferrari after Cuoghi refused to promise that he would return to the Italian team next season. There have been press reports that Cuoghi would be joining Lauda in his jump to the Brabham team next year. The 30-year-old Hunt was jubilant yesterday about his second straight victory at Watkins Glen and confident about the rest of the season, which winds up at Fuji, Japan, on October 23. “I’m looking forward to Canada,” he said as he celebrated his victory, only his second in a disappointing season. “We’ve been knocking on the door recently, maybe it will open next week.” Hunt’s McLaren was trailed from start to finish yesterday by the Lotus of Mario Andretti, the American driver who was seeking to complete a sweep of both his country’s grand prix races. He won the United States Grand Prix West in April.

Andretti almost caught Hunt on the final lap, but the British driver “stood on

it” — as he put it later — and pulled away from the Lotus to win by 2.026 seconds.

Both drivers coirfplained of having tyre problems. There was intermittent rain throughout the two-hour race and most drivers used wet-weather tyres. However, when the rain stopped for periods and the track dried a little, the soft com-position-rubber tyres made the cars hard to control.

Jody Scheckter, of South Africa, in a Wolf, chased Andretti in the same way the American dogged Hunt all through the 59 lap race. But he could not get by and finished third, winning only four championship points and dropping to third behind Andretti in the standings. Andretti now has 4" points to the South African's 46.

Clay Regazzoni, of Switzerland, was fifth behind Lauda, whose Ferrari team-mate, Carlos Reutemann, of Argentina, was sixth. Regazzoni drove an Ensign.

The rest of the first 10 were Jacques Laffite (France, Matra) Rupert Keegan (Britain, Hesketh) and Jean-Pierre Jarier (France, Shadow).