Race Report: Snetterton, 13 May 1973

Japanese driver Masami Kuwashima showed that switching to a March had been a good idea by annexing pole position for this round of the Lombard North Central Championship, he was joined on the front row by Alan Jones and Ian Taylor. Russell Wood found himself back on the eighth row, his March was handling badly following a midweek practice shunt. Damien Magee was a non-starter his Brabham BT41 undergoing a weight saving programme as it was some 40 lbs over the minimum weight limit.

Although practice had been held in the dry it was raining very hard come the race and conditions were very tricky. Alan Jones made a very quick getaway, too quick the stewards adjudged and he received a one minute penalty, the Australian led briefly until he was swiftly demoted down the field.

By the hairpin on lap 1 it was Masami Kuwashima from Ian Taylor, Leonel Friedrich and Jose Santo in his March 733 fourth. Taylor moved into the lead on lap 2 with Tony Brise having moved up to third ahead of Freidrich, Neil Ginn and Mike Wilds. Taylor’s lead lasted a lap as Brise moved to the front and the GRD man quickly pulled out a three second lead that he would hold to the finish. Kuwashima was out on lap 3 when his March left the track and Taylor joined him in retirement on lap 16 when water in the electrics gave his March a terminal misfire.
Thus at the finish it was Brise from a steady Freidrich, Wilds who was driving with one eye on the following week’s John Player round, Neil Ginn took a good fourth ahead of Russell Wood. Alan Jones finished seventh on the road before the addition of his jump start penalty, he had driven most of the race with a flat front tyre!

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