As Britain shivered through the infamous Big Freeze of 1962-63, the nation's finest racing drivers were thousands of miles away, chasing a world championship in the South African sunshine. The setting was East London, a city on South Africa's south-east coast, which hosted the first World Championship South African Grand Prix on December 29, 1962.
The season finale was a straight fight between two British contenders: Jim Clark and Graham Hill. Hill arrived with a nine-point lead, but under the era's scoring system (where only a driver's best five results counted), a victory for Clark would have snatched the title. Adding to the drama, Hill's BRM team was also locked in a close battle with Clark's Lotus for the constructors' crown.
In qualifying, Clark took pole position, three-tenths ahead of Hill. The Scot then led comfortably, building a lead of more than half a minute, until an oil leak forced his retirement just 20 laps from the end of the 82-lap race. Hill inherited the lead and, with it, the championship, crossing the line almost 50 seconds ahead of 1960 champion Bruce McLaren.
It was a first world title for both Hill and BRM, but a bitter blow for Clark. However, the Scot rebounded emphatically the following year, winning the 1963 championship and taking victory in the same South African race. Tragedy would later strike both men: Clark died in a Formula Two crash at Hockenheim in 1968, aged 32, while Hill perished in a plane crash in 1975, aged 46.
