Racing | Formula 1 | 1973 Canadian Grand Prix — Revson Wins After the First Safety Car at Mosport

Rain made Mosport Park treacherous on 23 September 1973, but the XIII Labatt’s Canadian Grand Prix became historic for another reason: it was the first Formula 1 World Championship race to use a pace car to neutralize the field for safety.

Ronnie Peterson put his Lotus on pole, with Peter Revson’s Yardley McLaren alongside. The race began on a wet 3.957-kilometre, ten-turn road course whose essential layout remains in use at what is now Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

As the surface dried, tyre changes scrambled the order. François Cevert and Jody Scheckter then collided and retired on lap 32. Race control sent a yellow Porsche 914 onto the circuit, driven by Canadian racer Egbert “Eppie” Wietzes.

The experiment exposed a crucial procedural flaw. Instead of collecting the actual leader, the pace car formed the queue behind Howden Ganley’s Iso-Marlboro. Cars ahead of that group—including Revson—were able to gain track position, while hurried pit stops and incomplete lap charts left teams and officials unsure who was leading.

Contemporary Motor Sport reporting described a complete pace-car “foul up” and noted that Revson was only finally declared the winner after the timing was reconstructed. Formula 1’s own retrospective identifies Mosport 1973 as the championship’s first race to use a pace car for safety.

The surviving official classification records Revson as the winner after 80 laps in 1:59:04.083. Emerson Fittipaldi was second, 32.734 seconds behind, and Jackie Oliver finished third for Shadow, 34.505 seconds behind. Ganley was classified sixth, one lap down. No later time penalty or disqualification changes that official top three.

Mosport therefore preserves two histories in the same place: Revson’s second and final Grand Prix victory, and Formula 1’s first practical lesson in how difficult neutralizing a live race could be. The pin lies on a mapped node of the circuit’s start-and-finish straight, not at a generalized Bowmanville location.

Sources:
Formula 1, 1973 Canadian Grand Prix official result and starting grid; Formula 1, “F1 Firsts: The first Safety Car in F1”; Motor Sport, October 1973 Canadian Grand Prix report; GrandPrix.com, 1973 Canadian Grand Prix report.

Image: “Mosport.svg,” track diagram by Will Pittenger, released into the public domain by its creator via Wikimedia Commons.