The 1976 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One motor race held on March 28, 1976, in Long Beach, California. The race was the third round of the 1976 Formula One season and the first new race to be added to the calendar since the Brazilian and Swedish Grand Prix were added in 1973. It was the second Formula One race held in California, the first being the 1960 United States Grand Prix at Riverside, only 50 miles away. The race was held over 80 laps of the 3.251-kilometre street circuit for a total race distance of 260 kilometres. The race was won by Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni in a Ferrari 312T by 42 seconds over team mate and championship points leader, Austrian driver Niki Lauda. French driver Patrick Depailler finished third driving a Tyrrell 007. Summary Italy was the first country to host two Championship Formula One races in the same year in 1957. The United States would become the second as the first USGP West at Long Beach, California, appeared on the 1976 F1 calendar, along with the long-standing autumn race at Watkins Glen, New York. The new race's organizers, headed by British businessman and Long Beach resident Chris Pook, could not have done a better job in their attempt to create an 'American Monaco.' An unending list of former Champions was present for the weekend's vintage race, including Denny Hulme, Jack Brabham, and Juan Manuel Fangio himself. Dan Gurney and American Champion Phil Hill were also in attendance after helping to conceive and promote the event. When the cars took to the track, the drivers differed in their opinions of the concrete-lined street circuit which featured two hairpins and a long, curving waterfront "straight." Ferrari's reigning World Champion Niki Lauda said the course was much bumpier than Monaco and harder on the car, but easier on the driver. Emerson Fittipaldi said he liked it very much, but Frenchmen Jacques Laffite and Patrick Depailler would not agree. In qualifying, Lauda led first, then James Hunt's McLaren, and finally Clay Regazzoni in the second Ferrari. After spending much of the session with ignition trouble, Depailler made a last-minute bid and slotted his Tyrrell onto the front row in second, less than two-tenths off the Ferrari's pace. The Formula One Constructors' Association had decided to limit the field to twenty starters for safety reasons, because of the narrow