Legend of the 1976 Japanese GP – Niki Lauda’s Controversial Loss Against James Hunt, as Seen in Chris Hemsworth’s Rush

“The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel, the more alive you are”–said Chris Hemsworth while portraying James Hunt in the movie Rush. Niki Lauda, however, was on the opposite end of Hunt’s philosophy. A certain percentage of risk. Anything above that and he’s out. “The Rat”, as Niki Lauda was known, put his theory to reality at the 1976 Japanese GP, where he lost not only the race but the title to James Hunt. But what did Lauda do?

The 1976 Japanese GP took place at the Fuji Speedway. It was the last of the 16 races of the 1976 F1 season. James Hunt trailed Niki Lauda by just 3 points going into the final race. The season was full of ups and downs. Disqualification for Hunt, Niki Lauda’s accident at Nurburgring, and many more. However, it all boiled down to the final race of the season. 

On race day, it was raining cats and dogs at the Fuji Speedway. So much so that even a driver like James Hunt asked to postpone the race. It was as if the rain gods had enough of the driver’s death and wanted the race to be abandoned. However, human greed kicked in as Bernie Ecclestone asked the drivers to start the race as the television rights were sold. As quoted in Rush, “The showdown between James and Niki is all everyone wants to see”

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The portrayal of the 1976 Japanese GP in the movie Rush was almost accurate to what happened in real life. Although it was dramatized a bit more, that’s what show business is about. 

The Showdown between James Hunt and Niki Lauda

Fuji Speedway in itself was a dangerous track to drive on. The rainy conditions made it undrivable. The race started and James Hunt was off to a flier. Niki Lauda on the other hand, who just had surgery following the Nurburgring accident was struggling. 2 laps into the race, Niki Lauda realized that the risk was not worth his life and pitted on Lap 2. Lauda wasn’t ready to take the risk. He’d rather lose the championship, but not his life. 

However, Hunt still had to finish 4th or higher to win the championship. On a drying track, the tires started to shred rubber. On Lap 61, Hunt, who was running in P2, suffered a puncture. He was able to make it to the pits and came out in P5. His pace was blistering, but his radio wasn’t working. James Hunt was able to finish P3 after overtaking Alan Jones and Clay Regazzoni but wasn’t aware of it. It was only when he came into the pits that he realized that he was the 1976 World Champion. 

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