Championship Year The 1976 Drivers Championship was one for the ages. Celebrated in the film Rush, the battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt brought all the drama of that year to the silver screen. The Hesketh team folded at the end of 1975 leaving driver James Hunt without a drive for the quickly approaching 1976 season. A seat became vacant at the McLaren team when 2-time World Driver Champion Emerson Fittipaldi committed career suicide leaving McLaren and joining his brother's Fittipaldi team. Niki Lauda had captured the 1975 Drivers Championship with the revitalized Ferrari team. With one victory on his resume, Hunt was a winner, but the jury was out as to his being a potential Drivers Champion. The story of the 1976 season has been told many times with Lauda starting clicking off victories and building up a lead in the championship. Hunt took a couple of wins, but it was the events at the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring that changed the dynamics of the championship. Lauda's crash and subsequent recovery opened the door to a run of success by Hunt. Although Lauda recovered enough to drive, Hunt had the momentum and won the title by a single point. Championship Year captures James Hunt breaking for Turn 8 during the 1976 US GP East at Watkins Glen. Hunt won the race, his second victory in 2 weeks and setup the title showdown at the final event in Japan.
