The Lotus team decided to bring the old 49C chassis instead of the new 72, despite testing the new car in a non-championship race at Silverstone a couple of weeks earlier.

[1] In qualifying March swept the front row, with Jackie Stewart on pole (for the Tyrrell team) and Chris Amon alongside him.

Stewart led the field with Amon, Brabham, Ickx and Jean-Pierre Beltoise behind him; Hulme got a poor start and was way down the order after the first corner.

There was less traction on the dusty surface off the racing line, and Brabham locked the wheels under braking and the car skidded across the track towards the barriers.

Third was Pescarolo in a Matra, while the remaining points positions were rounded out by Hulme, Graham Hill (who worked his way up from the last spot on the grid) and Pedro Rodríguez.