Race Report: Brands Hatch, 31 October 1971

brands_31_10_71

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 31 October 1971

brands_31_10_71

This was the penultimate round of the Lombank Championship and despite still being in with a mathematical chance of overhauling Roger Williamson, Colin Vandervell and his works Brabham were absent.

Practice saw Roger Williamson running a new ’72 spec Holbay in his March take pole position from Alan Jones in his usual Brabham BT28 and James Hunt, who also had a ’72 Holbay mill in his March 713M.

Surprise sight of the weekend was third row starter Bev Bond who was trying the new Royale RP11 debuted by Tom Pryce the weekend before.

Alan Jones got the best start and lead at the end of the first lap from Williamson, Hunt, Hull (BT28) and Bond but lap 2 saw Williamson move into the lead he would hold to the finish by slipping past Jones at Kidney. Hunt then made a concerted effort to get ahead of Jones which the Brabham driver resisted strongly and on lap 8 the two cars made contact at Druids resulting in Hunt spinning down to sixth. Now Jones found himself under pressure from Hull in his similar BT28 and on lap 16 the Kiwi got ahead of the Aussie and for the next four laps although Jones did all he could to regain the place it wasn’t to be and Hull took second by 0.2 seconds. Hunt finished fourth right on Jones tail with Rikki von Opel fifth. Bond had fallen away from the leading group with his Royale and was passed by von Opel, he fell further back and got involved in a group consisting of Stan Matthews (BT28), David Purley (Ensign) and Alan McCully’s (Lotus), eventually retiring with no oil pressure. Purley retired on lap 13 with a broken throttle cable.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 31 October 1971

Qualifying

1 Roger Williamson

March-Holbay 713M 0:48.4

Race

1 Roger Williamson

March-Holbay 713M 16:35.2 20 89.71

2 Peter Hull

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 16:41.8 20

3 Alan Jones

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 16:42.0 20

4 James Hunt

March-Holbay 713M 16:42.0 20

5 Rikki von Opel

Lotus-Holbay 69 16:50.0 20

6 Stan Matthews

Brabham-Lucas BT28 16:50.0 20

7 Alan McCully

Lotus-Vegantune 69 16:55.2 20

8 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Ford BT35 17:23.6 20

9 Roger Hurst

March-Ford 713M 19

10 Ray Mallock

U2-Ford Mk11B 19

11 John MacDonald

March-Ford 713M 19

Fastest Lap

James Hunt

March-Holbay 713M 48.6 91.85

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 24 October 1971

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Race Report: Brands Hatch, 24 October 1971

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No less than 63 cars arrived from an original entry of 87 for this the final round of the Shell Super Oil Championship. Due to the number of starters the race was held on a two heats and a final format with the first 12 from each heat plus the next fastest 12 lap times qualifying for the final. There were practice sessions of Friday and Saturday morning, for the latter session the track was slightly damp especially under the trees.

It was Barrie Maskell’s Chevron on pole for heat one despite breaking a camshaft on Friday, the engine was repaired in time to allow Maskell to run it in on Saturday. Next up were usual British runners James Hunt and Colin Vandervell ahead of visiting French runner Patrick Depailler who took a corner off his Alpine at Druids. Of the other runners Williamson and von Opel needed engine changes

 

had fuel feed problems, Hull had water in the engine, McCully and O’Brien had shock absorbers break. Natividade was very lucky when four wheel studs sheered going through Hawthorns, he managed to bring the Lotus under control without damaging himself or the car, less fortunate was Bertoni who planted his Brabham in the Clearways bank and was a non-starter. Of the two newcomers, the Royale and the GRD, both drivers were pleased with the progress they were making.

It was Claude Bourgoignie setting the pace in heat two although he had an off at Bottom Bend on Saturday and his Lotus was only just repaired in time for the race, next came Mike Walker, Peter Lamplough and, once again going very well, German newcomer Jochen Mass. For the rest of the runners it was fairly uneventful, there were some spinners on Saturday but the only casualty was Phillipe Albera who damaged his Martini beyond immediate repair.

It was Hunt who lead away at the start of heat one hotly pursued by Vandervell, Maskell and Williamson. At the end of the first lap it was still Hunt with a small gap back to Vandervell with a further larger gap to Williamson, Maskell, Sutcliffe, Purley, Ashley, Jabouille and Jones. Williamson soon closed in on Vandervell who in turn joined Hunt and it was these three who began to pull away from the rest, in fact Williamson was going so well he took the lead on the third lap. Hunt started to fall away slightly as engine began to sound a little rough, sounding worse was Maskell’s unit and the Chevron driver found himself dropping away to tenth at the finish. Vandervell was pressing Williamson hard but it was the Brabham’s turn to suffer with a flat engine and he dropped back as Hunt moved forward. Williamson found himself under heavy pressure from Hunt during the last two laps but he held on to win by 0.2 seconds, Vandervell held on in third from Purley and Jones. Of the two new cars Sutcliffe was forced to retired the GRD when his Holbay cried enough and Pryce spun the Royale down to 13th at the finish when his handling deteriorated with a slow puncture.

It was Mike Walker in his Ensign from start to finish in heat two but it wasn’t as easy as it sounds as Scheckter was only 0.4 seconds back at the end with several other cars on his tail and the South African had put the Merlyn in the lead several times on the back half of the circuit. It was Lamplough behind Walker at the start but Scheckter was soon up to second and on lap three Depailler and Bourgoignie joined in the fun, Mass, Coulon and Bond were also with this leading group and any of them were in with a chance of victory. The eight cars would stay together for the ten laps of the heat and at the chequered flag there was only 2.6 seconds between them in the order: Walker, Scheckter, Bourgoignie, Depailler, Lamplough, Mass, Bond and Coulon. Drivers with problems were McInerney who had to retire his March with dubious handling after he had shunted the car in the morning session, Lafosse who blew an engine and Cinotti whose de Sanctis came off second best in an argument with the Clearways banking.

Everyone got away smoothly as the flag fell and at the end of the first lap of the final Williamson led from Scheckter, Vandervell, Hunt, Mass, Lamplough, Walker, Bourgoignie, Depailler, Bond, Purley and Jones. Maskell was in trouble when someone gave him a shove off the track at Westfield and he continued well down, also in difficulties was Jabouille who retired his Alpine with a puncture. Scheckter took the lead at Paddock on lap 2 with Vandervell, Williamson, Hunt and Mass close behind, Vandervell then moved his Brabham into the lead on lap 3 but it was Scheckter again on the next lap. For the next four laps the Merlyn pulled away from the pack until the South African had a three second lead, suddenly Scheckter had his arm in the air as his car picked up a puncture just as he was passing the pits and he sadly had to retire.

Other retirements at this stage were Purley who was nudged into a spin at Stirlings on lap 7, unfortunately Guitteny in his Martini was too close to avoid the rotating Ensign and both cars were out. O’Brien abandoned his Brabham at Stirlings whilst Pryce damaged the Royale in a collision with Pankl and Svensson damaged his Brabham with a grassy trip at Stirlings.
Depailler moved into the lead on Scheckter’s retirement but it seemed as if he had made up places under the yellow flags caused by Purley’s mishap, Hunt and Williamson followed the Alpine in second and third. Vandervell was next and falling away with a repeat of the engine dramas he had suffered in his heat whilst behind the Brabham it was Mass, Lamplough, Walker, Bond, Jones and Bourgoignie. Although he was almost last after being elbowed off at Druids on lap 1 Andy Sutcliffe was really flying in the new GRD after a new ’72 spec Holbay engine was fitted to the car to replace the unit that was blown up in the heat.
Depailler was edging away at the front from Hunt and Williamson who were now well clear of the chasing pack of Mass, Lamplough, Vandervell, Walker, Bond, Jones and Bourgoignie. Walker was a retiree from this group when he put the wheels of his Ensign on the grass at Westfield and the car hit the bank and Mass lost time, and delayed Vandervell, with a spin at Druids. Two more were out on lap 14 when Jones and Lamplough tried Paddock side-by-side, the Palliser locked its brakes and pushed Jones into the bank, Lamplough spun resuming between Mass and Vandervell. Lamplough was later reprimanded by the Stewards for his driving.
Depailler’s lead was now out to a couple of seconds but the two Marches of Hunt and Williamson were battling furiously over second place, Williamson moved up to second on lap 18 but Hunt was back ahead on the following lap. For the remaining half a dozen laps the first three places remained unchanged and Depailler led Hunt over the line, Williamson nearly threw it all away with a spin at Westfield on the last lap his March hitting the Armco. Luckily his lead over fourth placed Bourgoignie was enough that he had time to recover and get his battered car across the finishing line. Bev Bond was very unfortunate to loose fifth place on the last lap when his engine blew up, Lamplough was the lucky recipient of the fifth place. Sutcliffe eventually bought the GRD home in 12th and he would have finished much higher if it hadn’t been for his opening lap problems.

Drama struck almost as soon as the race was over when first of all Depailler was disqualified by the Stewards for overtaking under yellow flags and then the new winner Hunt was also out when his air restrictor failed its vacuum test in the scrutineering bay. Despite later appeals by both drivers the disqualifications stood and Williamson was declared the winner.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 24 October 1971

Qualifying Heat 1

1 Barrie Maskell

Chevron-Holbay B18 1:34.6

2 James Hunt

March-Holbay 713M 1:34.6

3 Colin Vandervell

Brabham-Vegantune BT35 1:34.8

Qualifying Heat 2

1 Claude Bourgoignie

Lotus-Holbay 69 1:34.2

2 Mike Walker

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 1:34.4

3 Peter Lamplough

Palliser-Holbay WDF3 1:35.0

4 Jochen Mass

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 1:35.0

5 Jody Scheckter

Merlyn-Holbay Mk21 1:35.2

6 Bev Bond

March-Holbay 713M 1:35.2

Race 1

1 Roger Williamson

March-Holbay 713M 15:54.2 10 99.88

2 James Hunt

March-Holbay 713M 15:54.4 10

3 Colin Vandervell

Brabham-Vegantune BT35 15:57.2 10

4 David Purley

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 16:06.0 10

5 Alan Jones

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 16:06.2 10

6 Willi Deutsch

March-Novamotor 713S 1:05.0

7 John Bisignano

March-Holbay 713M 1:05.0

8 Mimo Bertoni

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 1:05.2

9 Peter Hull

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 1:05.2

10 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:05.4

11 Ian Ashley

EMC 606 1:06.2

12 Ingvar Petersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:06.2

13 Bengt Radmyr

Lotus-Holbay 69 1:06.4

14 Chris Skeaping

Chevron-Skeaping B17 1:06.6

15 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:06.6

16 Barrie Maskell

Chevron-Holbay B18 1:06.6

17 Max Bonnin

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:06.6

18 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:06.6

19 Lee Kaye

March-Bloore 713S 1:09.6

20 Torsten Palm

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 1:09.6

Race 1

1 Mike Walker

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 15:58.2 10 99.56

2 Jody Scheckter

Merlyn-Holbay Mk21 15:58.6 10

3 Claude Bourgoignie

Lotus-Holbay 69 15:58.8 10

4 Ulf Svensson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 11:06.0 10

5 Brendan McInerney

March-Vegantune 713M 11:21.0 10

6 Wolfgang Bülow

March-Novamotor 713M 11:21.6 10

7 Tim Goss

March-Holbay/Middleton 713M 11:22.2

10 8 Peter Lamplough

Palliser-Holbay WDF3 11:36.2 10

9 Sandro Cinotti

de Sanctis-Novamotor 11:37.8 10

10 Jan Persson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 11:39.2 10

11 Egert Haglund

Brabham-BMW BT28 9

Final

1 Roger Williamson

March-Holbay 713M 11:01.2 10 100.18

2 Conny Andersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 11:01.4 10

3 Rikki von Opel

Lotus-Holbay 69 11:06.6 10

4 John Bisignano

March-Holbay 713M 11:11.8 10

5 Peter Hull

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 11:12.4 10

6 Willi Deutsch

March-Novamotor 713S 1:05.0

7 John Bisignano

March-Holbay 713M 1:05.0

8 Mimo Bertoni

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 1:05.2

10 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:05.4

11 Ian Ashley

EMC 606 1:06.2

12 Ingvar Petersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:06.2

13 Ingvar Petersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 11:23.4 10

14 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Holbay BT35 11:23.6 10

15 Bengt Radmyr

Lotus-Holbay 69 11:40.6 10

16 Torsten Palm

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 11:47.0 10

17 Barrie Maskell

Chevron-Holbay B18 9

Race Report: Nurburgring, 17 October 1971

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Race Report: Nurburgring, 17 October 1971

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This meeting was held over 20 laps of the 7.747 km South Circuit of the Nurburgring. The field was dived into two classes, 1600cc and 1-litre, whether the two classes raced separately or concurrently isn’t clear.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Nurburgring, 17 October 1971

Race

1 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Novamotor 69 20

2 Willi Somner

March-Ford 713 20

3 Hermann Unold

March-Ford 713 20

4 Willi Deutsch

March-Ford 713 20

5 Ernst Maring

Maco-Ford 371 20

6 Erwin Derichs

March-Ford 713

7 Hannelore Werner

March-Ford 713

8 Paul Zitzen

March-Ford 713

9 Howard Carpendale

March-Ford 713

Not Classified

Wolfgang Bülow

March-Ford 713

Horst Elteneuer

McNamara-BMW 3B

Jochen Mass

Brabham-Novamotor BT35

Race Report: Thruxton, 16 October 1971

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thruxton_16_10_71

Less than half of the original entry of 29 cars made it to Thruxton for this Forward Trust round, amongst the more notable absentees were Dave Walker, who had already clinched the series, Roger Williamson, whose March wasn’t ready, Barrie Maskell, Andy Sutcliffe, Bev Bond and Brian McGuire.

Tyre choice was a problem for practice with a wet track that was drying out quickly, ultimately those who opted for slicks or intermediates came out best. Fastest was James Hunt who was in the car usually driven by Brendan McInerney as his own still wasn’t ready after its various escapades, Hunt was having trouble with changing gear as his shoulder was still sore after his Snetterton accident, he was on intermediates. Next came the slick shod Palliser of Peter Lamplough and David Purley’s Ensign 

who was having problems with his top gear. The second row consisted of two drivers on intermediates, Rikki von Opel (Lotus 69) and Steve Thompson in his Ensign using a Novamotor borrowed from Conny Andersson, Thompson had an inoperative third gear. Slicks were the order of the day for third row runners Ray Mallock (U2) and Tim Goss (March 713) whilst final occupant Chris O’Brien (Brabham BT35) used intermediates. Wet shod Mike Walker was disappointed to be so far down in the works Ensign, he shared row four with David Purley who found his Brabham handling very well on Firestones slicks (instead of his normal Dunlops) following some advice from Ron Tauranac, unfortunately he only managed four laps in practice as a cracked wrist, another Snetterton injury, was hampering his gear changing. Chris Skeaping also found wets the wrong choice for his Chevron B17, Matt Spitzley’s March 713M should have been next but engine problems forced Spitzley to withdraw from the race. Jorge Pinhol (Brabham BT28) and John Finch (Chevron B17) completed the field.

There were a few starters that might have anticipated the flag but he whole field got away without incident, it was Hunt in the lead at the end of the first lap from Purley, Lamplough and Thompson, there was a slight gap back to O’Brien with another space back to Jones (with a one minute penalty for his over enthusiastic getaway), Mallock, Walker, von Opel, Skeaping, Goss, Pinhol and Finch. Lap 3 saw Purley in the lead as Thompson had to retire his Ensign at Church with low oil pressure. Walker and Jones were third and fourth and catching up on the two leaders, Purley and Hunt, who were swopping the lead on most laps. By lap 8 Walker had not only closed the gap but he also took the lead ahead of the other three front runners, further back von Opel and Mallock were having a good battle but out were the Chevrons of Finch with a slipping clutch and Skeaping with some serious vibrations, a missing gear lever and fuel starvation!
Once out in front Walker did most of the leading with the others content to sit back and watch, Hunt was mostly in second place with Purley and Jones close behind. Further retirements were Lamplough who braked too late at Club and ended up in a ditch with minor damage and O’Brien who spun off at Cobb. Walker held his lead to the finish as Hunt’s challenge was thwarted by bad handling caused by a nearly flat tyre, Jones had moved up to second on lap 13 but gearbox problems dropped him to fourth behind Purley at the finish. His one minute penalty dropped him to last place, Mallock had passed von Opel on lap 11 but the Lotus driver got back ahead on the last lap.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 16 October 1971

Qualifying

1 James Hunt

March-Holbay 713M 1:22.4

2 Peter Lamplough

Palliser-Holbay WDF3 1:23.2

3 David Purley

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 1:23.2

4 Rikki von Opel

Lotus-Holbay 69 1:23.4

5 Steve Thompson

Ensign-Novamotor LN1 1:23.4

6 Ray Mallock

U2-Holbay Mk11B 1:23.4

7 Tim Goss

March-Holbay 713M 1:23.4

8 Richard Longman

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:21.8

9 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:24.0

10 Mike Walker

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 1:24.2

11 Alan Jones

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 1:25.4

12 Chris Skeaping

Chevron-Rowland B17 1:26.0

13 Matt Spitzley

March-Vegantune 713M 1:26.4

14 Jorge Pinhol

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:28.0

15 John Finch

Chevron-Holbay B17 1:29.8

Race

1 Mike Walker

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 20:31.0 15 103.35

2 James Hunt

March-Holbay 713M 20:31.0 15

3 David Purley

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 20:32.4 15

4 Rikki von Opel

Lotus-Holbay 69 20:51.2 15

5 Ray Mallock

U2-Holbay Mk11B 20:51.6 15

6 Tim Goss

March-Holbay 713M 21:12.6 15

7 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Holbay BT35 15

8 Jorge Pinhol

Brabham-Holbay BT35 15

9 Alan Jones

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 + 60 secs 15

Fastest lap

Alan Jones

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 1:20.4 105.49

Race Report: Montlhéry, 10 October 1971

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montlery_10_10_71

There was another one-two for the works Alpine-Renaults at Montlhéry in the Coupes du Salon meeting. The two Alpines of Patrick Depailler and Jean-Pierre Jabouille were fastest in practice from the Martini MW7 of Jacques Coulon and the Brabham BT 35 of Pierre-François Rousselot.

The Alpines took an easy victory with Jabouille leading Depailler home by 0.8 secs despite having to drive on the ignition switch due to a sticking throttle, Lafosse’s Brabham BT35 was third ahead of Christian Ethuin in his Tecno-Renault.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Montlhéry, 10 October 1971

Qualifying

1 Patrick Depailler

Alpine-Renault A360

2 Jean-Pierre Jabouille

Alpine-Renault A360

3 Jacques Coulon

Martini-Renault MW7

4 Pierre-François Rousselot

Brabham-Holbay BT35

5 Lucien Guiitteny

Martini-BRM MW7

6 Patrice Compain

Martini-Novamotor MW7

Race

1 Jean-Pierre Jabouille

Alpine-Renault A360 30:08.4

2 Patrick Depailler

Alpine-Renault A360 30:09.2

3 Jean-Louis Lafosse

Brabham-Holbay BT35 30:25.2

4 Christian Ethuin

Tecno-Renault TF3/71 30:26.4

5 François Lacarrau

Martini-Renault MW7 30:44.0

6 Jacques Coulon

Martini-Renault MW7 30:46.2

7 Phillip Albera

Martini-Novamotor MW7 31:05.0

8 Patrice Compain

Martini-Novamotor MW7 31:09.0

9 François Rabbione

Martini-Novamotor MW7 31:12.0

10 François Migault

Martini-Novamotor MW7 31:13.0

Race Report: Mallory Park, 10 October 1971

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Race Report: Mallory Park, 10 October 1971

mallory_10_10_71

With Castle Combe the day before the original entry of 28 cars was whittled down to just 12 for this Lombank round although the quality was nevertheless good.

Pole position went to Roger Williamson in his usual March 713M ahead of Ian Ashley having another outing in the EMC 606 and Jody Scheckter in the Merlyn Mk21.

Row two saw Rikki von Opel (Lotus 69) ahead of John Bisignano (March 713M), with row three comprising David Purley in his Ensign, completely rebuilt after the Snetterton debacle, Peter Hull in his Brabham BT28 and Colin Vandervell in his newer BT35 version.

Ian Ashley got away fast at the start, too fast, he had anticipated the start, unfortunately his premature getaway confused Scheckter who was slow away so at the end of lap 1 it was Williamson ahead of Scheckter, Purley and Vandervell. Williamson and Scheckter were fighting it out at the front with the March driver doing most of the leading with Scheckter content to sit in second place except for a couple of laps when the Merlyn put its nose in front. So fast were the leaders going that on lap 17 Scheckter set a new lap record and took the lead once again. A backmarker got in Scheckter’s way allowing Williamson to close right up, on Stebbe for the last time the March pulled level with the Merlyn, Scheckter took the inside line so that so that both cars went through the Esses and up to the haipin abreast. The Merlyn was just in the lead coming out of the corner and held the inside line for Devil’s Elbow, in an effort to give Williamson some space Scheckter hit the barrier, the tail of the Merlyn swung out and hit Williamson putting the March off.
So it was that Scheckter took the win from von Opel who moved up after a slow start, Vandervell was third suffering from a tyre vibration from a replacement tyre. Ashley took fifth behind Hull but the 60 second penalty from the jumped start dropped him down to seventh.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Mallory Park, 10 October 1971

Qualifying

1 Roger Williamson

March-Holbay 713M

2 Ian Ashley

EMC-Ehrlich 606

3 Jody Scheckter

Merlyn-Holbay Mk21

4 Rikki von Opel

Lotus-Holbay 69

5 John Bisignano

March-Holbay 713M

6 David Purley

Ensign-Vegantune LN1

7 Peter Hull

Brabham-Vegantune BT28

8 Colin Vandervell

Brabham-Rowland BT35

Race

1 Jody Scheckter

Merlyn-Holbay Mk21 16:16.0 20 99.59

2 Rikki von Opel

Lotus-Holbay 69 16:21.2 20

3 Colin Vandervell

Brabham-Rowland BT35 16:22.4 20

4 Peter Hull

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 16:29.8 20

5 David Purley

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 16:32.6 20

6 John Bisignano

March-Holbay 713M 16:52.2 20

7 Ian Ashley

EMC-Ehrlich 606 +60 secs 20

8 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Holbay BT35 19

9 Jorge Pinhol

Brabham-Holbay BT35 19

Race Report: Castle Combe, 9 October 1971

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Race Report: Castle Combe, 9 October 1971

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This was the penultimate race in the Shell Super Oil Championship and a potentially excellent entry was somewhat diluted by non-starters. It was hoped that Tony Brise, who had been going so well in F Ford, would drive the GLTL 69 but a testing accident at Snetterton put paid to this. James Hunt was also out, when his normal car couldn’t be repaired in time after the Snetterton accident the team had hoped to hire John MacDonald’s similar car and put their own Holbay in it, however on the way to the circuit the trailer with the car on somehow unattached itself from the tow car and hit a lamp-post! David Purley was also unable to get his Ensign repaired after Snetterton and Andy Sutcliffe was waiting for the new GRD to appear. Once again a two heats and a final format was adopted with the fastest 20 race times irrespective of heats would decide who qualified for the final.

Heading the first heat was promising German newcomer Jochen Mass in his Brabham BT35 which was sporting a 1972 spec Novamotor engine rumoured to be giving about 130bhp, next to him were Mike Walker in the works Ensign LN1 and Peter Lamplough, once again going very well in the Palliser WDF3. Row two saw Bev Bond, who was delighted with his March 713M on its new Firestones, and Jody Scheckter who wasn’t happy with the handling of the Merlyn Mk21, he went out again in an unofficial session to try and sort the chassis out. Ulf Svensson (Brabham BT35) led the March 713s of Brendan McInerney and Tim Goss on row three while row four saw Wolfgang Bülow (March 713M) sitting next to Sandro Cinotti in the unusual de Sanctis. Terrance Peterson (Chevron B17B), Matt Spitzley (March 713M) and Jan Persson (Brabham BT35) were the row 5 occupants but Spitzley unfortunately had to withdraw from the race with low oil pressure so final runner Egert Haglund (Brabham BT28) gained a place.

Rikki von Opel went extremely well in his Lotus 69 to take the heat two pole from Colin Vandervell’s Brabham BT35 and the similar car of Conny Anderson who was also benefiting, like Mass, from a ’72 Novamotor. Row two occupants Roger Williamson (March 713M) and Steve Thompson (Ensign LN1) were both complaining of down on power engines although Thompson was much happier with the handling of the Ensign after a wheel problem had been diagnosed. Willi Deutsch and John Bisignano in their March 713Ms led Mimo Bertoni’s Brabham BT28 on row three with Peter Hull (Brabham BT28) in suspension problems and Manfred Möhr (Lotus 69) on the fourth row. Ian Ashley was further down than of late on row five with his EMC as it was handling very badly, next to him were Ingvar Petersson (Brabham BT35) and Bengt Radmyr (Lotus 69), also unusually low down were the two Chevrons of Chris Skeaping (B17) and Barrie Maskell (B18) who sandwiched Fabrizio Noe (Lotus 69). Maskell’s team claimed they had timed him at least two seconds quicker than the official timekeepers mark, they decided to do a precautionary engine change after practice as the fitted unit was smoking slightly. Final runners were the Brabham BT35s of Chris O’Brien and Max Bonnin ahead of Lee Kaye’s March 713S and Torsten Palm also BT35 mounted who was in dire engine and gearbox difficulties.

It was Lamplough in front at the at the start of heat one but the Palliser driver had received a 10 second penalty for a push start on the grid, Walker was next up with Mass falling back after a poor start, unfortunately the German left his breaking too late at Quarry and went off, rejoining just ahead of the slow Haglund. Lap 2 saw Walker’s Ensign take over at the front from the Palliser with Scheckter in third and Bond fourth, next was Svensson, Bülow, McInerney, Goss and Mass who was quickly making up for his earlier indiscretion. On laps 3 and 4 Scheckter made up a place per lap at Camp and so the Merlyn was now leading whilst Mass was now up to sixth and moving up on Bond and Svensson. The leading three, Scheckter, Lamplough and Walker, put on a great show at the front running three abreast along the straights and leaving their braking as late as they dared. On the penultimate lap it was Walker from Scheckter and Lamplough and then as they were closing in on the finish it was Scheckter in front with Lamplough trying to come through on the inside and Walker doing the same on the outside. Scheckter, deciding that Lamplough was the bigger danger closed the door on the Palliser, in a second the rear wheel of the Merlyn contacted the nose of the Palliser spinning Lamplough in front of Walker, the Ensign spun and hit the bank damaging a corner whilst the approaching Bond, with nowhere to go, removed Lamplough’s nose and radiator whilst he suffered damage to his own track arm and wishbone. Bond managed to cross the line in third behind Scheckter and Mass with Svensson fourth and McInerney fifth.Colin Vandervell led the first four laps of heat two with Andersson second and Williamson in third from Thompson and von Opel. Williamson seemed to be loosing contact with the two ahead of him but on lap 3 he suddenly appeared behind Maskell who was a lap down after having a disagreement with the EMC of Ashley, Williamson quickly hung onto the Chevron and used it to tow him up onto the tail of the leaders. Andersson had one lap in front before Vandervell put the Brabham ahead again, the three leaders and the lapped Maskell then fought it out until lap 8 when Vandervell’s car jumped out of gear at Camp causing the Brabham driver to drop to seventh. Andersson took the lead until for some reason Maskell decided to outbreak the Swede entering Camp, during the manoeuvre Williamson managed to get past Andersson and held onto win by 0.2 seconds, von Opel was third from Bisignano (despite a spin at Camp) and Hull.

Ashley had qualified for the final with the EMC but decided in view of its erratic handling it would be safer not to race. Williamson had an engine change to his March and lent Bev Bond some spares to get his 713 up and running.
Scheckter led away from the flag but at Quarry Williamson pushed his March into the lead ahead of the South African, Mass, Andersson and Vandervell, who had made a great start, followed. Scheckter moved ahead again for another two laps until Williamson pulled a great outbraking manoeuvre into Camp to put himself ahead of Scheckter, Vandervell and Mass. By lap 8 the field had split into two groups, the first consisting of new leader Vandervell, Williamson, Mass, Scheckter, Andersson, Bond, von Opel, Bisignano, Deutsch, Hull and Thompson and the second group was made up of the rest of the field. Up at the front it was Williamson and Scheckter doing most of the leading until lap 10 when Mass took his first turn at the front, the leading pack broke up a little when Bisignano made a mistake at Old Paddock which slowed down those behind him. This left Mass leading from Williamson, Scheckter, Vandervell and von Opel with a second group consisting of Andersson, Hull, Bond and Bisignano. Within a lap or two the two groups were back together again and swopping places all round the track, again it was Williamson and Mass doing most of the leading although it seemed as if any one of nine cars could win. On lap 19 the front runners lost Andersson who lost six laps having a broken throttle spring repaired, a lap later Vandervell lost a lap having overheating investigated, it turned out to be a plastic bag blocking the radiator. Lap 21 saw Mass ahead of Williamson, Scheckter and von Opel with Bisignano, Hull and Bond falling away slightly,
The last nine laps saw the front four continuing to fight it out although Mass and Scheckter seemed the most likely victors, coming into the last lap they came across Goss, O’Brien and Bülow having their own private battle, in the general confusion Mass got through to lead Scheckter home by 1.2 seconds with Williamson 0.2 seconds behind the South African. Bev Bond lost a couple of places in his March when, on the last lap, when he locked a wheel at Quarry.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Castle Combe, 9 October 1971

Qualifying

1 Jochen Mass

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 1:03.4

2 Mike Walker

Ensign-Holbay LN1 1:04.4

3 Peter Lamplough

Palliser-Holbay WDF3 1:04.6

4 Bev Bond

March-Holbay 713M 1:04.8

5 Jody Scheckter

Merlyn-Holbay Mk21 1:04.8

6 Ulf Svensson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:05.2

7 Brendan McInerney

March-Vegantune 713M 1:05.2

8 Tim Goss

March-Holbay/Middleton 713M 1:06.2

9 Wolfgang Bülow

March-Novamotor 713M 1:06.4

10 Sandro Cinotti de

Sanctis-Novamotor 1:06.8

11 Terrance Peterson

Chevron-Vegantune B17B 1:07.0

12 Matt Spitzley

March-Vegantune 713M ?

13 Jan Persson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:08.4

14 Egert Haglund

Brabham-BMW BT28 1:18.8

Qualifying Heat 2

1 Rikki von Opel

Lotus-Holbay 69 1:03.8

2 Colin Vandervell

Brabham-Vegantune BT35 1:04.0

3 Conny Andersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:04.2

4 Roger Williamson

March-Holbay 713M ?

5 Steve Thompson

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 ?

6 Willi Deutsch

March-Novamotor 713S 1:05.0

7 John Bisignano

March-Holbay 713M 1:05.0

8 Mimo Bertoni

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 1:05.2

9 Peter Hull

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 1:05.2

10 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:05.4

11 Ian Ashley

EMC 606 1:06.2

12 Ingvar Petersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:06.2

13 Bengt Radmyr

Lotus-Holbay 69 1:06.4

14 Chris Skeaping

Chevron-Skeaping B17 1:06.6

15 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:06.6

16 Barrie Maskell

Chevron-Holbay B18 1:06.6

17 Max Bonnin

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:06.6

18 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:06.6

19 Lee Kaye

March-Bloore 713S 1:09.6

20 Torsten Palm

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 1:09.6

Race 1

1 Jody Scheckter

Merlyn-Holbay Mk21 11:02.2 10 100.03

2 Jochen Mass

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 11:04.0 10

3 Bev Bond

March-Holbay 713M 11:06.0 10

4 Ulf Svensson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 11:06.0 10

5 Brendan McInerney

March-Vegantune 713M 11:21.0 10

6 Wolfgang Bülow

March-Novamotor 713M 11:21.6 10

7 Tim Goss

March-Holbay/Middleton 713M 11:22.2

10 8 Peter Lamplough

Palliser-Holbay WDF3 11:36.2 10

9 Sandro Cinotti

de Sanctis-Novamotor 11:37.8 10

10 Jan Persson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 11:39.2 10

11 Egert Haglund

Brabham-BMW BT28 9

Race 2

1 Roger Williamson

March-Holbay 713M 11:01.2 10 100.18

2 Conny Andersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 11:01.4 10

3 Rikki von Opel

Lotus-Holbay 69 11:06.6 10

4 John Bisignano

March-Holbay 713M 11:11.8 10

5 Peter Hull

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 11:12.4 10

6 Willi Deutsch

March-Novamotor 713S 1:05.0

7 John Bisignano

March-Holbay 713M 1:05.0

8 Mimo Bertoni

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 1:05.2

10 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:05.4

11 Ian Ashley

EMC 606 1:06.2

12 Ingvar Petersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:06.2

13 Ingvar Petersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 11:23.4 10

14 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Holbay BT35 11:23.6 10

15 Bengt Radmyr

Lotus-Holbay 69 11:40.6 10

16 Torsten Palm

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 11:47.0 10

17 Barrie Maskell

Chevron-Holbay B18 9

Race Report: Snetterton, 3 October 1971

snetterton_3_10_71

Race Report: Snetterton, 3 October 1971

snetterton_3_10_71

Despite Dave Walker already having won the Shell Super Oil Championship an excellent entry of 47 cars arrived at Snetterton, it was therefore decided to run two heats and a final. 

Pole position for heat one was a new, if experienced face, Mike Walker in the works Ensign-Holbay, other front row occupants were Colin Vandervell’s understeering Brabham B35 and Roger Williamson’s oversteering March 713M after an overnight engine change.

Row two belonged to two drivers who had been going very well recently, Peter Hull in his Brabham BT28 and Peter Lawrence in the Palliser WDF3, next up were Brian McGuire’s BT28, Rikki von Opel’s Lotus 69 and and Bev Bond’s March 713M. McGuire was a non-starter after extensively bending the Brabham with an off during practice and Bond needed a clutch change. Richard Longman’s Lotus on the next row was another driver in clutch trouble, next to him was Brendan McInerney in the works March 713M. David Purley (Ensign LN1) was quickest of the fifth row ahead of John Bisignano and Wolfgang Bülow both in their March 713s, the sixth row was made up of Swedes Ingvar Petersson and Jan Persson in their BT35s. Next up was a surprise face, Alan McCully in the works Alexis Mk20, McCully found the car very unsorted but felt it had promise, next to him was a new face, Max Bonnin in a BT28 and finishing the row was a new car to British F3 a de Sanctis driven by Sandro Cinotti, sadly the de Sanctis was to be a non-starter with a broken driveshaft. Final runners were Roger Hurst in a March 703 and another debutante, Fernando Natividade’s Lotus 69 who non-started after an off at the Esses on his second lap of practice.

Two notable non-starters from the second heat were James Hunt who had a torn arm ligament after an off caused by a broken shock absorber in unofficial practice and Alan Jones who was caught out when another car braked unexpectedly in front of him and his BT28 was flipped up into the air fortunately without personal injury. Pole sitter was, as expected, Dave Walker’s GLTL 69 which needed an engine change after a cam broke in his Novamotor during unofficial practice. Surprise second quickest was Ian Ashley who was having an outing in the EMC 606 formerly driven by Jody Scheckter, final front row occupant was Pierre-François Rousselot’s BT35. Andy Sutcliffe, his Lotus suffering from a bad misfire and Barrie Maskell whose Chevron was wearing intermediates made up row 2 with row 3 consisting of Manfred Möhr (Lotus 69), Peter Lamplough (Palliser) and Steve Thompson (Ensign). Ulf Svensson took the next spot from Chris Skeaping who replaced his problematical Rowland engine with his original lump. Conny Andersson was disappointed to be so far back with his BT35 but he led Matt Spitzley’s March and Fabrizio Noe’s Lotus. French visitor Lucien Guitteny (Martini) was followed by Tim Goss (March), a group of Brabham BT35s were next, Chris O’Brien headed Portugal’s Jorge Pinhol followed by newcomers Hannu Stroh and Mimo Bertoni. Richard Mallock had taken over from brother Ray in the U2 but broken cam followers meant a non-start. Final runners were Stan Matthews who had fuel pump bothers with his BT28 and Cavan Riley in his March.

Vandervell took an immediate lead at the start of heat one, opening up a small gap to Williamson and Mike Walker with Lawrence, Hull, Purley and McInerney forming another group behind the three leaders. At the front the lead was constantly changing all round the track but on lap 7 Williamson took over in the lead as Vandervell began to drop back with a broken valve spring and Walker found himself embroiled in a battle with Lawrence until the Palliser spun and retired with no oil. At the finish it was Williamson from Walker with von Opel in third after a good drive, Vandervell held onto fourth from Hull and Purley who had a last lap puncture. Bev Bond was another to suffer a puncture which caused his retirement after 6 laps but he had already been suffering from a slipping clutch.

Dave Walker was slow away from the grid so it was Rousselot and Ashley fighting for the lead at the start of heat two, sadly for Ashley he beached the car on the bank at the Esses when trying too hard to pass the Frenchman. Dave Walker moved up to second ahead of Sutcliffe, Maskell and Lamplough and on lap 2 the Walker’s GLTL 69 took the lead he would hold to the finish. Rousselot, Sutcliffe, Maskell and Lamplough battled it out for second place with the French BT35 taking the position at the flag from Sutcliffe and Lamplough, Maskell fell back to sixth when his nosecone dropped off on the final lap. Chris Skeaping was going well in eighth when his engine cut out on the last lap causing him to finish well down the field in 16th place.

The final was made up of the first 15 cars in each heat and with one non-starter Chris Skeaping should have been allowed in as first reserve but apparently this was too complicated for the officials who wouldn’t let the unfortunate Skeaping on the grid. As the cars were forming up on the grid a heavy mist began to fall and it started to rain, this caused a certain amount of consternation amongst the drivers not to say confusion and a several teams changed their tyres. When the music stopped of the front runners, Dave and Mike Walker, Sutcliffe and Lamplough were on slicks, Williamson, Rousselot and von Opel chose intermediates and Vandervell opted for full wets.
With the track still only slightly damp Sutcliffe led away on his slicks and was in front at the end of lap 1 but for the next four laps it was Williamson’s March ahead at the line, behind these two there was a scrapping group of Purley, Lamplough, Mike Walker, Rousselot and Dave Walker. By the sixth lap the track had dried out and Williamson began to struggle on his unsuitable tyres, his cause made even more difficult by the fact that the tyres were fitted to 10 inch wheels all round, whilst Sutcliffe and Lamplough took their turn to have a go at leading the race with the two Walkers and Purley in close attendance. Lap 11 saw Lamplough out with a puncture and the the two Walkers both having a time in the lead, the Aussie leading for lap 11 to 17 and then the Brit having his turn. The GLTL 69 moved back to the front again after a lap with Sutcliffe, the other Walker and Purley right behind. Williamson was falling even further back on his intermediates and Vandervell had the ignominy of being lapped in second from last position on his wet tyres.
Suddenly the pattern changed as Dave Walker spun falling to fifth well behind the leaders but he immediately started an amazing charge catching the leaders by as much as 4 seconds a lap, he was helped by Sutcliffe being put off at Ritches by a backmarker, Williamson was also involved in the accident and he found himself being spun round by Tim Goss. The next lap saw the rain return this time quite hard which wasn’t good news for leaders Mike Walker and David Purley or the hard charging Dave Walker in third, all of whom were slick-shod, Williamson and Maskell, the next two runners, were now well down on the leaders. Mike Walker was the first to be in trouble when he went straight off at the hairpin and on the next lap David Purley aquaplaned uncontrollably in front of the pits and a potentially very serious accident took place, I can do no better than quote from the Autosport report;In all the confusion Dave Walker retook the lead while round the circuit cars were spinning everywhere and yellow flags were waving at every corner, Walker spun again but the officials decided to wave the chequered flag and the Lotus driver was the winner. The rest was mostly confusion but the final results as they were declared are shown below, Williamson’s low position being explained by a pit stop to fix a lose wire.

 

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Snetterton, 3 October 1971

Qualifying Heat 1

1 Mike Walker

Ensign-Holbay LN1 1:31.4

2 Colin Vandervell

Brabham-Vegantune BT35 1:32.0

3 Roger Williamson

March-Holbay 713M 1:32.4

4 Peter Hull

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 1:32.4

5 Derek Lawrence

Palliser-BRM WDF3 1:32.4

6 Brian McGuire

Brabham-Vegantune BT28 1:32.6 (DNS)

7 Rikki von Opel

Lotus-Holbay 69 1:32.6

8 Bev Bond

March-Holbay 713M 1:33.6

9 Richard Longman

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:33.8

10 Brendan McInerney

March-Vegantune 713M 1:33.8

11 David Purley

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 1:34.0

12 John Bisignano

March-Holbay 713M 1:34.2

13 Wolfgang Bülow

March-Novamotor 713M 1:35.6

14 Ingvar Petersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:35.6

15 Jan Persson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:35.6

16 Terrance Peterson

Chevron-Vegantune B17B 1:36.0

17 Bengt Radmyr

Lotus-Holbay 69 1:36.2

18 Willi Deutsch

March-Novamotor 713S 1:36.6

19 Alan McCully

Alexis-Vegantune Mk20 1:37.8

20 Max Bonnin

Brabham-Novamotor BT28 ?

21 Sandro Cinotti

de Sanctis-Novamotor ?

22 Roger Hurst

March-Rowland 703 ?

23 Fernando Natividade

Lotus-Vegantune 69 ?

Qualifying Heat 1

1 Dave Walker

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:31.6

2 Ian Ashley

EMC 606 1:32.4

3 Pierre-François Rousselot

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:32.4

4 Andy Sutcliffe

Lotus-Holbay 69 1:32.6

5 Barrie Maskell

Chevron-Holbay B18 1:32.6

6 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:32.6

7 Peter Lamplough

Palliser-Holbay WDF3 1:32.6

8 Steve Thompson

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 1:33.2

9 Ulf Svensson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:33.2

10 Chris Skeaping

Chevron-Skeaping B17 1:33.4

11 Conny Andersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:33.8

12 Matt Spitzley

March-Vegantune 713M 1:34.6

13 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:34.8

14 Lucien Guitteny

Martini-BRM MW7 1:35.0

15 Tim Goss

March-Holbay/Middleton 713M 1:35.0

16 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:35.8

17 Jorge Pinhol

Brabham-Holbay BT35 ?

18 Hannu Stroh

Brabham-Albert BT35 ?

19 Mimo Bertoni

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 ?

20 Richard Mallock

U2-Holbay Mk11 ? (DNS)

21 Stan Matthews

Brabham-Holbay BT28 ?

22 Cavan Riley

March-Novamotor 713M ?

Qualifying Heat 2

1 Dave Walker

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:31.6

2 Ian Ashley

EMC 606 1:32.4

3 Pierre-François Rousselot

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:32.4

4 Andy Sutcliffe

Lotus-Holbay 69 1:32.6

5 Barrie Maskell

Chevron-Holbay B18 1:32.6

6 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:32.6

7 Peter Lamplough

Palliser-Holbay WDF3 1:32.6

8 Steve Thompson

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 1:33.2

9 Ulf Svensson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:33.2

10 Chris Skeaping

Chevron-Skeaping B17 1:33.4

11 Conny Andersson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:33.8

12 Matt Spitzley

March-Vegantune 713M 1:34.6

13 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Novamotor 69 1:34.8

14 Lucien Guitteny

Martini-BRM MW7 1:35.0

15 Tim Goss

March-Holbay/Middleton 713M 1:35.0

16 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Holbay BT35 1:35.8

17 Jorge Pinhol

Brabham-Holbay BT35 ?

18 Hannu Stroh

Brabham-Albert BT35 ?

19 Mimo Bertoni

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 ?

20 Richard Mallock

U2-Holbay Mk11 ? (DNS)

21 Stan Matthews

Brabham-Holbay BT28 ?

22 Cavan Riley

March-Novamotor 713M ?

Race

1 Dave Walker

Lotus-Novamotor 69 15:38.0 10 104.01

2 Pierre-François Rousselot

Brabham-Holbay BT35 15:42.6 10

3 Andy Sutcliffe

Lotus-Holbay 69 15:43.2 10 8

4 Peter Lamplough

Palliser-Holbay WDF3 15:43.4 10

5 Ulf Svensson

Brabham-Holbay BT35 15:49.4 10

6 Barrie Maskell

Chevron-Holbay B18 15:50.6 10

7 Steve Thompson

Ensign-Vegantune LN1 15:50.6 10

8 Jorge Pinhol

Brabham-Holbay BT35 16:16.4 10

9 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Novamotor 69 16:21.0 10

10 Stan Matthews

Brabham-Holbay BT28 16:21.8 10

11 Mimo Bertoni

Brabham-Novamotor BT35 16:22.2 10

12 Tim Goss

March-Holbay/Middleton 713M 16:23.2 10

13 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Novamotor 69 16:29.0 10

14 Matt Spitzley

March-Vegantune 713M 16:38.0 10

15 Cavan Riley

March-Novamotor 713M 16:41.2 10

16 Chris Skeaping

Chevron-Skeaping B17 16:58.4 10

17 Chris O'Brien

Brabham-Holbay BT35 17:15.0 10

18 Lucien Guitteny

Martini-BRM MW7