93rd, James Hunt's Epic Win at Zandvoort: How Hesketh Surprised Ferrari and Lauda
With a peer of the realm for a boss, a team manager called ‘Bubbles’ and a public school-educated driver, hard-partying Hesketh Racing was a round peg in an increasingly square sport.
But the team with the silver spoon in its mouth also had a spine of steel: the schoolmasterly ‘Bubbles’ Horsley got the best from the mercurial James Hunt, while designer Dr Harvey Postlethwaite provided him with a handsome white charger: the 308.
Zandvoort, however, was flat-12 Ferrari territory and Niki Lauda, who arrived in Holland on the back of three consecutive victories, grabbed an emphatic pole position ahead of team-mate Clay Regazzoni. Hunt, who arrived on the back of five consecutive retirements, was the fastest of the Cosworth-powered runners: third. James knew, however, that he would have to gamble if he wanted to beat his mate Niki: he would start a wet race on dry settings, with a view to switching to slicks at the first sign of a drying line.