Race Report: Mallory Park, 3 April 1972

mallory - 1

Race Report: Mallory Park, 3 April 1972

mallory - 1

Despite this being the third F3 race in four days over the Easter weekend an excellent entry of 40 cars made it to Mallory for the Easter Monday meeting. The race was run on a two heats and a final basis with the heats being made up from the alternate fastest times in practice.

Fastest for heat one was Barrie Maskell who was once again flying in the Travisco Lotus 69, sitting next to him was Roger Williamson in his March 723, Williamson being less than happy with his March as he was finding, like several other drivers, that he was suffering very badly from tyre scuffing especially through Gerards. Final front row occupant was Tom Pryce in his Royale RP11 which had required extensive rebuilding after his Oulton dramas. Leading row two was James Hunt in his works March 723, this was a new tub as March had found the Oulton chassis too badly damaged to be repaired. Also keeping March busy was Bob Evans who was going well, equalling Hunt’s time until a tyre went down at Gerards and the 723 hit the sleepers rendering it unfit to race. Row three saw Bernard Vermilio’s Lotus 73 heading Pierre-François Rousselot’s GRD 372 and the second Travisco Lotus 69 of Geddes Yeates whilst

on the next row it was Stan Matthews (March 723) from Ian Ashley (Royale RP11) who had also needed repairs after Oulton.

The fifth row saw the second works March of Brendan McInerney ahead of Val Musetti in another Royale RP11 and the old Brabham BT28 of Mo Harness, behind them came Damien Magee who had reverted to a Novamotor for his Palliser and Jorgen Jonsson’s Brabham BT35. Bringing up the rear were John Littler, getting used to his new Ensign F372, John MacDonald (March 713M), Jan Persson (Brabham BT35), Matt Spitzley (March 713M) and Alan Edgar in the ex-Dave Walker Lotus 69 who was going very slowly for reasons unknown.
Heat two had Mike Walker’s Iberia Ensign F372 from Peter Hull’s Brabham BT38, with newly rebuilt gearbox, and Ken Mackintosh in the ex-Steve Thompson Ensign F371 on the front row. It had to be said there was some surprise at the time given to the American Mackintosh due to his inexperience of the car. It was Tony Trimmer (Lotus 73) and Rikki von Opel (Ensign F372) on row two ahead of the GRDs of Neil Ginn and Andy Sutcliffe (who had lost first and second gears) and Colin Vandervell’s Ensign F372 on row three. Vandervell was hampered by broken piston rings which necessitated an engine change for the race. Row four contained Chris Skeaping (Chevron B20) and Tony Brise (Brabham BT28) with Peter Lamplough (ex-Jody Scheckter Merlyn Mk21), Mike Tyrrell (Ensign F372) and Ken Sedgley (ex-works Ensign F371) a row further back. Paul Butler’s Brabham headed row seven despite an accident at the Esses, the car was repaired for the race, next to him was Russell Woods March 723. Final runners were Australian Ross Ambrose in the third Travisco Lotus 69, the Ensign of Jeremy Gambs and the Lotus 69 of Bengt Radmyr who had a 10 second penalty after missing practice with a first lap accident at the hairpin. Non-starters were Reg James who blew a piston in his Brabham BT28 and Robin Smythe’s March 723 which was out after a practice accident.

Roger Williamson took the lead at the start of heat one and held it until the third lap when Maskell swept by into first place, the position he would hold to the flag. Williamson fell back into the clutches of Tom Pryce but the Welshman was under orders to take it easy in the heat so he made no serious effort to get past the March. Next up were Hunt and Yeates but the March driver found his engine loosing power and lap 8 saw Yeates move his Lotus up to fourth. Next up were Vermilio in the works Lotus who just headed Ashley across the finish line. The only retirements were Musetti who parked his Royale in the banking at Gerards on lap one and Magee who was out with falling oil pressure. Into ninth place and thus qualifying for the final was Bob Evans who had been loaned, in a very sporting gesture, the Ensign of Jeremy Gambs since his own March could not be repaired for the race. However in a far less sporting gesture several rivals protested this and Evans found his racing was over for the day.
Other than for half a lap it was all Mike Walker in heat two, however this doesn’t mean it was easy for the Ensign driver as Sutcliffe made a super start in his GRD and hounded Walker for the entire 10 laps finishing only a few feet behind at the chequered flag. Initially it was Hull in third but the Brabham began to suffer more and more from understeer and Hull had to give best to Tony Trimmer and Rikki von Opel. Next up were Neil Ginn and Tony Brise ahead of Mackintosh which perhaps indicated that the American’s practice time was a little generous although with only a season in F Ford behind him he still did well to qualify for the final. Only retirement was Paul Butler who threw his car at the hairpin barriers to complete an unhappy day for his BT28.

James Hunt had a new engine fitted for the final and attempts were made to install new ratios to Williamson’s gearbox but the cogs wouldn’t fit so the original ones were quickly reinstalled. The grid lined up according to the finishing times from the two heats which resulted in second heat winner Walker starting from the third row. The field got away cleanly but this lasted only to Gerards when some general bumping and boring saw Ashley being sent spinning off the track. The Royale was push started by the marshals but this resulted in Ashley being shown a black flag and he retired. The end of lap 1 saw Pryce leading from Maskell, Williamson, Hunt, Yeates, Sutcliffe, Trimmer and Walker. Maskell dived inside Pryce at the Esses to take the lead on lap 2, the Lotus soon pulling out a lead, Williamson and Hunt also found a way past the Royale and by lap 5 the order was Maskell pulling away from Williamson, Hunt, Pryce, Trimmer, Sutcliffe, Yeates and Walker.
On lap 6 Hunt, who was much happier with his new engine, took second from Williamson at the Esses whilst a lap later Trimmer got ahead of Pryce and set out after Hunt and Williamson. Lap 9 saw several front runners out when Walker tried to pass Pryce at the hairpin, the Ensign hit the Royale up the rear causing both serious suspension damage, both cars were out on the spot as was Geddes Yeates who was innocently involved in the incident. It was Trimmer who was making real progress, on successive laps he passed Williamson and Hunt and started hauling in Maskell, eight laps later the Lotus 73 was on the tail of the Lotus 69 and lap 17 at the Esses saw Trimmer through into first place. Maskell wasn’t about to give up his hard earned lead and for the rest of the race he harried the works Lotus even taking the lead again briefly on lap 24 when Trimmer stumbled over some backmarkers. The two Loti remained tied together to the flag with Trimmer crossing the line 0.2 seconds ahead of Maskell, the battle for third was just as intense with Williamson pulling almost level with Hunt on the line, they were given the same race time but the works car got the nod over the privateer. Tony Brise driving his Brabham with increasing confidence only just failed to catch the Marches on the line and Vermilio in the second works Lotus was pulled along in his wake. Sutcliffe came seventh his car’s handling deteriorating with a slow puncture and von Opel threw away a good placing with a spin at the hairpin.

Although Trimmer had clearly won the race he would receive no points towards the Shell British F3 Championship as the rules for the event stipulated that to score points competitors had to carry Shell stickers. Since Lotus were sponsored by Texaco who understandably baulked at their cars wearing a rival’s logo insisted the Lotus did not carry any such advertising so for Trimmer and Vermilio no stickers = no points.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Mallory Park, 3 April 1972

Race Heat 1

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 20:09.40

2 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 20:09.50

3 Luigi Fontanesi

Tecno-Ford 20:13.10

4 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 20:23.40

Race Heat 2

1 Giovanni Lo Voi

Brabham-Ford BT28 15:05.00

2 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 15:05.00

3 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 15:21.00

4 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 15:34.10

5 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28

Race Final

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 30:44.30 144.318

2 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28 30:44.34

3 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 30:45.10

4 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 30:55.40

5 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

6 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 31:11.50

7 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 31:59.60

8 Giovanni Lo Voi

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

Race Report: Nurburgring, 2 April 1972

nurburg_2_4

Race Report: Nurburgring, 2 April 1972

nurburg_2_4

This was the first round of the German F3 Championship and 35 cars from an original entry of 69 travelled to the mighty Nurburgring for two 7 lap heats, the winner to be decided on aggregate times. Amongst the more interesting entries were four Alpine-Renaults, one a works car for Jean-Pierre Jabouille, the other three were entered by the German Renault division. There was a also small class for 1-litre cars which I’ve ignored, only 4 cars arrived.

The starting grid for heat two was based on the finishing positions for heat one.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Nurburgring, 2 April 1972

Race Heat 1

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 20:09.40

2 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 20:09.50

3 Luigi Fontanesi

Tecno-Ford 20:13.10

4 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 20:23.40

Race Heat 2

1 Giovanni Lo Voi

Brabham-Ford BT28 15:05.00

2 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 15:05.00

3 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 15:21.00

4 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 15:34.10

5 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28

Race Final

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 30:44.30 144.318

2 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28 30:44.34

3 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 30:45.10

4 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 30:55.40

5 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

6 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 31:11.50

7 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 31:59.60

8 Giovanni Lo Voi

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

Race Report: Rufforth, 1 April 1972

rufforth

Race Report: Rufforth, 1 April 1972

rufforth
With Shell F3 Championship rounds at Oulton Park on Friday and Mallory Park on Monday it was no great surprise when only 13 cars made it to the wilds of Rufforth to contest this Lombank North Central event. The numbers were further reduced when Val Musetti took his Royale home before the race and Ken Mackintosh’s ex-Steve Thompson Ensign never left the paddock. Practice saw Neil Ginn who had some Rufforth experience from his F Ford days take pole position in his Ensign from the similar car of Rikki von Opel and Andy Sutcliffe’s GRD. In trouble was the second Iberia Ensign of Mike Walker who had to start from the back after a flat tyre restricted him to only three practice laps. Damien Magee had reverted to a Rowland engine for his Palliser after problems with the Novamotor unit he had used at Oulton Park.

It was raining as the cars formed up on the grid and as the flag fell von Opel made a slow start, holding up team-mate Walker in the process, so it was Sutcliffe who lead from Magee and Ginn. Making storming progress was Tony Brise in the Brabham BT38 and by the time the cars reached Runway Bend just before the end of the opening lap Brise was in first. The Brabham began to pull away from von Opel and Sutcliffe who were merrily holding each other up, behind them it was Walker from Magee and Ginn (who had spun). On lap 5 Sutcliffe passed von Opel at York but was promptly overtaken again at Acomb, Walker moved in and passed Sutcliffe only to find himself being assisted out of the race by a punt up the rear from Sutcliffe in the Esses.
Onto the last lap and Brise’s lead was being quickly eroded by von Opel as the track dried out, the Ensign tried to pass the Brabham at York but Brise resisted, von Opel tried again at Acomb this time making contact with Brise, both cars spun off, von Opel continuing but Brise having trouble restarting his engine. A very surprised Sutcliffe found himself the winner from von Opel, Ginn and Magee.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Rufforth, 1 April 1972

Race Heat 1

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 20:09.40

2 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 20:09.50

3 Luigi Fontanesi

Tecno-Ford 20:13.10

4 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 20:23.40

Race Heat 2

1 Giovanni Lo Voi

Brabham-Ford BT28 15:05.00

2 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 15:05.00

3 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 15:21.00

4 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 15:34.10

5 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28

Race Final

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 30:44.30 144.318

2 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28 30:44.34

3 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 30:45.10

4 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 30:55.40

5 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

6 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 31:11.50

7 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 31:59.60

8 Giovanni Lo Voi

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

Race Report: Oulton Park, 31 March 1972

oulton

Race Report: Oulton Park, 31 March 1972

oulton

A good entry arrived at Oulton Park for this round of the Shell F3 Championship which was a support race for the European F2 round, the race taking place on Good Friday.

The F3 cars were greeted with pouring rain for their Thursday morning practice session and to many it seemed as if the rain had got into the timekeepers watches as several odd times were issued. The session did dry out a little towards the end and this was when the fastest times were set. Tom Pryce put his Royale RP11 on pole by an amazing 1.6 seconds which was perhaps a little generous although most felt he was the fastest man on the track. Second fastest was Andy Sutcliffe in the works GRD who put in a lot of laps, setting the same time was Tony Trimmer’s Lotus 73 which is waiting for a revised rear suspension, nevertheless Trimmer was pleased with the car’s progress. Roger Williamson headed row two disappointed that his March had run out of petrol during the drier period, next up setting identical times were the Ensigns of Colin Vandervell and Rikki von Opel and Peter Hull’s Brabham BT38. The New Zealander was another who missed the end of the session when he spun off at Druids when a radius rod on his Brabham broke.

Mike Walker was one driver who most felt had gone several seconds quicker than the time he was credited with, he was complaining of bad front wheel patter in his Ensign, observers around the track supported his comments. James Hunt also felt he had been hard-done-by as regards his time whilst Andy Sutcliffe lost time from experimenting with wings and having a faulty master switch dealt with. Others suffering sundry problems were Tony Brise who had bump steer and erratic braking on his Brabham and Chris Skeaping who hit the Armco at the Esses, the Chevron being taken back to the works at Bolton for a precautionary check. Barrie Maskell was also less than happy when after going very quickly in the wettest period, despite a lack of brakes, he had to give his car up to Geddes Yeates whose own car had been delayed after the Travisco transporter broke down. The JPS Lotus team missed a trick when they left early unaware that there was an untimed session later in the day which was dry which meant they had no chance to set up the 73s for the better weather.

Come the start of the race the track had virtually dried out except for the odd damp patch and the entire field started on slicks. Williamson made a demon start and tried to dive between Sutcliffe and Pryce who were ahead of him on the grid, realising the gap was closing on him Williamson backed off but not before the rear wheels of the GRD and Royale had hit the front wheels of the March. After the race it was found Williamson had cracked a rim and was perhaps fortunate the tyre stayed on during the race. Through Old Hall it was Pryce from Williamson, and onto Cascades where there seemed to be some midfield contact although everyone kept going. Coming into Esso however it all went wrong; Hunt, Trimmer and Sutcliffe all contrived to hit each other, the March and the GRD were instant retirements with damaged suspension, Trimmer and the innocent Hull were both delayed, especially the Brabham and Williamson also lost a little time.

All this meant that at the end of lap 1 Pryce had a big lead over Williamson, Vandervell, Ashley, Evans, von Opel, Matthews and Walker. Trimmer, after his delay, was next just ahead of Maskell who still had no brakes to speak of. Poor Peter Hull was down in 23rd place which was at least better than Gambs and Harness who were both out, oddly for the same reason, broken gear linkages. Lap 2 saw Evans pass Ashley and Matthews fall back behind Walker, Trimmer and Maskell whilst on the following lap Kuwashima spun at Knicker Brook and continued last.
By lap 4 out at the front Pryce continued to extend his lead and Williamson was comfortable in second, not going so well was Vandervell who hit the barrier at Esso after a tire deflated and on the next lap Sutcliffe ran wide at Cascades also striking the Armco. Walker was now third from von Opel, Evans and Maskell who were starting a battle that would last the rest of the race. Pryce’s easy run all came to nothing on lap 10 at Knicker Brook when he spun the Royale resuming in 17th spot, this left Williamson in a secure lead despite the best efforts of Walker to narrow the gap.

For the last few laps Williamson took it easy and crossed the line 2.2 seconds ahead of Walker. Third was another matter, von Opel taking the place on lap 12, Maskell then passed the Ensign round the outside at Knicker Brook on lap 19, then on the last lap it was von Opel ahead along Top Straight until he ran wide at Lodge knocking the nosecone off Maskell’s car in the process. This left Maskell to take third while von Opel and Evans virtually dead heated for fourth, the Ensign driver getting the verdict. Peter Hull made it back up to an excellent 6th despite not having a top gear, next up came Tony Trimmer who just managed to hold off Tony Brise who was suffering from an engine that was loosing power. Pryce’s unhappy race finished at Cascades on the last lap when he tore the suspension off one side of the Royale.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Oulton Park, 31 March 1972

Race Heat 1

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 20:09.40

2 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 20:09.50

3 Luigi Fontanesi

Tecno-Ford 20:13.10

4 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 20:23.40

Race Heat 2

1 Giovanni Lo Voi

Brabham-Ford BT28 15:05.00

2 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 15:05.00

3 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 15:21.00

4 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 15:34.10

5 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28

Race Final

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 30:44.30 144.318

2 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28 30:44.34

3 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 30:45.10

4 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 30:55.40

5 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

6 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 31:11.50

7 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 31:59.60

8 Giovanni Lo Voi

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

Race Report: Snetterton, 26 March 1972

snetterton

Race Report: Snetterton, 26 March 1972

snetterton

33 cars arrived at Snetterton for round two of the Lombard North Central round, sadly they would only be given 10 laps to strut their stuff.

The track was damp in places for practice and wets were the order of the day for all the drivers, fastest was Mike Walker’s Ensign LN2 from Andy Sutcliffe (GRD 372) and Chris Skeaping (Chevron B20). Row two saw the Palliser WDF3 of Damien Magee sitting next to the Brabham BT38 of Tony Brise who fitted a rear wing when he found the back end of the car a little loose. Rousselot headed row three his GRD running better than of late, whilst next runner Tom Pryce was trying a rear wing but found it was hampering his straight line speed. Roger Williamson sat on the outside of the row, he like all the March 723 runners was unhappy with the handling of the car, the wide track at the front causing wandering problems. Drivers further down than normal were Ian Ashley on row nine with engine and tyre problems and Peter Hull who only managed one lap after a brake pipe failed on his Brabham.

It was Mike Walker who put his Ensign into the lead at Riches on what was now a dry track whilst the next dozen or so cars furiously slipstreamed each other around the lap, over the line at the end of lap one it was Walker from Magee with a damaged nose, Sutcliffe, Brise, Williamson, Maskell, Purley and Skeaping. Lap 2 saw Magee put the wheels of the Palliser on the grass at the Esses immediately spinning, this allowed Walker and Sutcliffe to get away from Maskell and Williamson who were delayed by the gyrating Irishman. Walker began to pull away from Sutcliffe despite grabbing brakes and a problem with third gear selection, the GRD in turn being well clear of Maskell, Williamson, Brise, Pryce and Purley. Brise put his Brabham in third place on lap 5 but it was Williamson again on lap 6, the March was going very quickly despite its wayward handling. It was all change on lap 7 when Walker had to pull off as his engine lost oil pressure along the Norwich Straight and he switched it off rather than risk damaging it.
This left a surprised Sutcliffe out in front with Williamson starting to edge away from the chasing group in second, Williamson really starting flying in the last few laps in an attempt to catch Sutcliffe but the GRD took the flag 3 seconds ahead of the March. It had been Maskell in third until lap 9 when worsening gear selection caused him to spin and then retire when all the gears disappeared. It was Brise who took third ahead of Pryce, Purley and a fast closing von Opel.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Snetterton, 26 March 1972

Race Heat 1

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 20:09.40

2 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 20:09.50

3 Luigi Fontanesi

Tecno-Ford 20:13.10

4 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 20:23.40

Race Heat 2

1 Giovanni Lo Voi

Brabham-Ford BT28 15:05.00

2 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 15:05.00

3 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 15:21.00

4 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 15:34.10

5 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28

Race Final

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 30:44.30 144.318

2 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28 30:44.34

3 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 30:45.10

4 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 30:55.40

5 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

6 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 31:11.50

7 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 31:59.60

8 Giovanni Lo Voi

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

Race Report: Nogaro, 26 March 1972

nogaro

Race Report: Nogaro, 26 March 1972

nogaro

This was the first round of the French F3 Championship and was run over two 30 lap heats with the winner being decided on aggregate times.

The first heat was dominated by the two works Alpine-Renaults of Alain Serpaggi and Michel Leclère. The only opposition came from José Dolhem in his Martini MW7 and once he had retired with broken suspension Serpaggi took an easy 30 second victory from Leclère. Phillipe Albera took third in his Martini Mk9 from Patrice Compain (March 723) who recovered well after spinning on lap 2.
The second heat saw Leclère pull away in front this time whilst Serpaggi got involved in a battle with José Dolhem, Phillipe Albera and Jacques Coulon (Martini). Lap 6 saw Serpaggi retire the Alpine with a broken steering arm, so at the finish it was Leclère from Albera by 0.5 seconds from Coulon who in turn lead Dolhem by 0.1 seconds. Beguin’s Martini was another 30 seconds down with the March 713Ms of Alzerat and de Henning a lap down.

On aggregate it was Leclère from Beguin, Alzerat, de Henning and Max Bonnin (Brabham BT35).

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Nogaro, 26 March 1972

Race Heat 1

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 20:09.40

2 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 20:09.50

3 Luigi Fontanesi

Tecno-Ford 20:13.10

4 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 20:23.40

Race Heat 2

1 Giovanni Lo Voi

Brabham-Ford BT28 15:05.00

2 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 15:05.00

3 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 15:21.00

4 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 15:34.10

5 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28

Race Final

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 30:44.30 144.318

2 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28 30:44.34

3 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 30:45.10

4 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 30:55.40

5 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

6 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 31:11.50

7 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 31:59.60

8 Giovanni Lo Voi

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 19 March 1972

brands - 1

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 19 March 1972

brands - 1

This was the first round of the Shell Super Oil Championship widely regarded as the most prestigious of the UK championships so it was not surprising that nearly 40 cars arrived to race on the Brands Hatch GP circuit. The fact that it was also one of the support races for the F1 Race Of Champions helped as well as it would give the F3 drivers a chance to show what they were made of in front of the F1 Team Managers.

Practice was on Friday and Saturday, several drivers weren’t ready for the Friday session but they didn’t miss a lot when much of the circuit was liberally covered in oil after Mo Harness lost an oil line on his Brabham through bottoming. Tom Pryce was going very well in the Royale RP11 looking both smooth and fast and by the end of practice, despite limiting the number of laps done to save his only engine, it was the Welshman who took pole position. Lining up next to Pryce on the front row was Barrie Maskell,

again going very quickly in his Lotus 69 despite an off at Westfields and James Hunt who was much happier in his March after some midweek testing. Row two saw the second Royale of Ian Ashley sitting next to the new Ensign of Colin Vandervell whilst row three had Mike Walker’s Iberia Airlines Ensign from Tony Trimmer who was still getting used to the Lotus 73 and Peter Hull who missed Friday’s session to go testing at Goodwood and was reaping the benefit. Hull’s Brabham BT38 had been more badly damaged than first realised at Mallory and the car had to go back to the factory to have the tub rebuilt. Bob Evans who had discovered his March had been incorrectly fitted with F2 springs and anti-roll bars was much happier now the correct items were installed led row four from Peter Lamplough who was pleased with the new Merlyn.
Row five occupants were David Purley who lost time in his Ensign with a split radiator, Chris Skeaping in the works Chevron and Andy Sutcliffe who lost a lot of time with a gearbox offering only second and third gears. The next row had Geddes Yeates (Lotus 69) from a brake troubled Damien Magee and Rikki von Opel who hadn’t done himself any favours when after being black-flagged for a loose nosecone he took a shortcut over the Clearways grass which damaged his radiator and bodywork. The second Lotus 73 of Bernard Vermilio suffering from an incorrectly adjusted clutch pedal sat on row seven with the disappointing Rousselot who couldn’t seem to get his GRD running as quickly as he had managed to pedal his Brabham the previous year.
Mo Harness was next, after curing his oil pipe problems, and was going well in his first F3 outing, and was followed by Bengt Radmyr (Lotus 69). Neil Ginn (GRD 372) who split an oil tank sat on row nine along with Patrice Compain who was still sorting his new March and Paul Butler (Brabham BT28). Stan Matthews should have been next but a big off at South Bank resulted in a badly damaged March and a broken big toe. Moving up a place as a result was Roger Williamson who set his time in the slow Friday session, on Saturday when by his own admission he was going too quickly on cold tyres Roger lost the March at Westfield badly damaging a rear corner. A quick trip back to the March factory at Bicester saw the car ready to race on Sunday as good as ever with a new Holbay also added. Final qualifiers were Reg James (Brabham BT28) who had piston problems, Matt Spitzley (March 713M), Val Musetti (Royale RP11), a very unhappy Brendan McInerney (March 723), Jeremy Gambs (Ensign) who had an run in with John MacDonald and Davy Powers (March 723).
Fastest non-qualifier and first reserve was Tony Brise who only managed five laps in his new Brabham BT38, next up was the slow Eifelland 23 of Willi Deutsch which was actually a March 723 with a new nosecone from the March 713M of John MacDonald who had suffered engine problems on Friday and only done three laps and then on Friday made contact with Gambs damaging his suspension. Final runners were the second, and even slower, Eifelland of Hannelore Werner, the Alpine of Linguard Goulding, the very slow March 723 of Robin Smythe and the appallingly slow Merlyn of Dalqvist.

The fastest 30 lined up on the grid for the 20 lap race but before the flag fell Maskell threw his arm in the air, a lead had fallen off his starter motor and his engine was silent, further back on the grid von Opel was also in starting difficulties. The rest of the field took off managing to avoid the stricken Maskell who received a push and a 60 second penalty, Pryce took the lead into Paddock and held on so that at the end of lap one it was the Royale with a slight lead from Vandervell, Hunt, Ashley, Evans Sutcliffe, Lamplough, Hull, Trimmer, Yeates, Walker and Purley. At the very back McInerney found his misery compounded by a one minute penalty for jumping the start. By lap 3 Pryce already had a five second lead over Vandervell, Ashley, Hunt and Evans who seemed more concerned about squabbling for second than chasing the fast disappearing Royale, Lamplough was next ahead of Sutcliffe, Hull and Trimmer. In the middle of the field Williamson had pulled up to 13th with strict instructions from Tom Wheatcroft to take it carefully when overtaking, nonetheless the March was progressing well.
Lap 5 saw Hunt pass Vandervell and Trimmer, despite not having a clutch, had moved the Lotus up to sixth but had Lamplough and a fast closing Hull to contend with. Over the next few laps Pryce continued to consolidate his lead but behind him the battle for second was getting closer as more cars joined in. Hunt and Vandervell were constantly swopping second and third but then Ashley took second to make it a Royale one-two for a few laps, also in the group were Hull, Trimmer, Walker and Purley with Lamplough beginning to fall away. Williamson and Sutcliffe were only a short distance behind this bunch and both were making determined efforts to join in the fun. Further back Magee led Vermilio, Yeates and Skeaping from von Opel who was shortly to retire with overheating, Maskell was next up, making good progress after his startline problems.
The final ten laps saw more arguing over second although Pryce continued out in front on his serene way. There were yellow flags at South Bank on lap 16 as the Ensigns of Walker and Vandervell made contact, Walker was out with radiator damage and Vandervell dropped to eighth, second now was Evans from Ashley, Hull, Hunt (a few lengths back), Trimmer and Williamson. Nothing was going to stop Pryce and at the end of 20 laps he took the chequered flag some 15 seconds up on Hull who took an excellent second on the race debut of his BT38, Evans took third despite gearbox problems from Ashley, Trimmer, Hunt and Williamson.

There was more drama to come after the race in the scrutineering bay, the first three cars were weighed and found to be underweight, fourth placed Ashley was then checked, his GRD was underweight and his airbox was leaking. Trimmer and his Lotus had gone home but anyway his car was ineligible for points since the Lotus didn’t carry Shell stickers (a requirement to score points) due to a sponsorship clash. All this meant that sixth place Hunt whose car was checked and found legal should have been declared the winner. However after a lot of argument it was decided that it would be impossible to find 6 legal cars as most of the teams had by now gone home and with all the checking and rechecking over a three hour period cars could have been tampered with. It was decided to fine the entrants of the illegal cars £25 each and let the results stand with the exception of Ashley who was disqualified because of his faulty airbox. It was also decided to get the weighbridge certified just to be on the safe side which was just as well for a week later it was officially checked and found to be inaccurate so the results were declared as below with a lot of official red faces.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 19 March 1972

Race Heat 1

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 20:09.40

2 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 20:09.50

3 Luigi Fontanesi

Tecno-Ford 20:13.10

4 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 20:23.40

Race Heat 2

1 Giovanni Lo Voi

Brabham-Ford BT28 15:05.00

2 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 15:05.00

3 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 15:21.00

4 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 15:34.10

5 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28

Race Final

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 30:44.30 144.318

2 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28 30:44.34

3 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 30:45.10

4 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 30:55.40

5 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

6 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 31:11.50

7 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 31:59.60

8 Giovanni Lo Voi

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

Race Report: Monza, 12 March 1972

monza_12_3

Race Report: Monza, 12 March 1972

monza_12_3

This was the first round of the Italian F3 Championship and it was originally planned to run it to the “breakaway” Italian regulations which allowed a 23mm air restrictor, however intervention by a CSI representative saw the normal 21.5mm restrictor fitted to all cars.

The race was held over two heats and a final in the pouring rain on the junior Monza circuit. Heat one went to Vittorio Brambilla after Jochen Mass retired his March 723 with a broken gear lever. The two Scuderia Italia Brabham BT35s of Pico Pina and Adelmo Bignani came second and third. The works Tecno of Luigi Fontanesi won heat two from a gaggle of BT35s, Italian lady racer Lella Lombardi took ninth in her Lotus 69.

Pico Pina took an easy victory in the final winning by 20 seconds from Brambilla, Fontanesi was a further 16 seconds down in third.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Monza, 12 March 1972

Race Heat 1

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 20:09.40

2 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 20:09.50

3 Luigi Fontanesi

Tecno-Ford 20:13.10

4 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 20:23.40

Race Heat 2

1 Giovanni Lo Voi

Brabham-Ford BT28 15:05.00

2 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 15:05.00

3 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 15:21.00

4 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 15:34.10

5 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28

Race Final

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 30:44.30 144.318

2 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28 30:44.34

3 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 30:45.10

4 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 30:55.40

5 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

6 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 31:11.50

7 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 31:59.60

8 Giovanni Lo Voi

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

Race Report: Mallory Park, 12 March 1972

mallory

Race Report: Mallory Park, 12 March 1972

brands

This was the first round of the 1972 Forward Trust Championship and 23 cars arrived at Mallory for this supporting event to the European F2 Championship race. There were two practice sessions on Saturday, the first one was slightly damp so all the quick times came in the later session. Times were generally 0.5 seconds slower than the lap record due, it was felt, to the new rim width restrictions introduced for this year.

Fastest at the end of practice was a delighted Barrie Maskell who was driving one of the Travisco Lotus 69s (the ex-Geddes Yeates car) and even though his first acquaintance with it was on Saturday morning he found the handling suited his style perfectly. Brands Hatch winner Andy Sutcliffe in his GRD was next with Roger Williamson’s March 723 completing the front row, Williamson not being happy with the handling of his car. James Hunt was fourth quickest in his March 723 despite too much oversteer that would hopefully be eliminated for the race, next to him was the works Royale RP11 of Ian Ashley who was also in handling bothers and had a couple of spins to his name.

Andy Sutcliffe made an excellent getaway and led at the end of lap one from Williamson, Maskell, Hunt Evans and Yeates who had already opened out a gap from Ashley, Magee, Rousselot and Ginn. Williamson put his March into the lead on lap 2 but he was still suffering from handling problems and was unable to pull away from the rest. On lap 6 Williamson, Maskell and Sutcliffe were three abreast along Stebbe and into the Esses it was Maskell in the Lotus who braked last and took the lead. Maskell immediately began to pull away from the others, his cause helped when Sutcliffe found himself sharing the same piece of track with the slow March of Powers at the hairpin, the resultant bent wishbone creating terrible understeer for the rest of the race.
Williamson meanwhile was falling back with tyre problems and Hunt was quickly past him on lap 12, the works March then targeting Sutcliffe. Hunt quickly caught the GRD but was unable to find away past and the two cars fought over second for the rest of the race. So at the finish Maskell took an excellent victory from Sutcliffe and Hunt, Yeates took fourth from Williamson on lap 14 with the March finishing fifth, 1.2 seconds ahead of Evans. Seventh was a delighted Trimmer who had moved confidently through the field from the start, he felt the Lotus had a lot of potential but there was still a lot of work to be done on it first.
After the race the top four finishers were given vacuum tests on their air boxes, once again Hunt’s failed and he was disqualified moving everyone from fourth down up a place.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Mallory Park, 12 March 1972

Race Heat 1

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 20:09.40

2 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 20:09.50

3 Luigi Fontanesi

Tecno-Ford 20:13.10

4 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 20:23.40

Race Heat 2

1 Giovanni Lo Voi

Brabham-Ford BT28 15:05.00

2 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 15:05.00

3 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 15:21.00

4 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 15:34.10

5 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28

Race Final

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 30:44.30 144.318

2 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28 30:44.34

3 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 30:45.10

4 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 30:55.40

5 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

6 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 31:11.50

7 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 31:59.60

8 Giovanni Lo Voi

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 5 March 1972

brands

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 5 March 1972

brands

The entry for this opening Lombard Championship round was a little disappointing as neither of the two new works Ensigns were ready and there had been some delays at Brabhams so there were no new BT38s to be seen.

Practice was held in very wet conditions and despite suffering from a heavy cold it was Andy Sutcliffe in the works GRD 372 in pole position, an excellent achievement for a manufacturer in only its third race. Next to the GRD was Damien Magee in the ex-Peter Lamplough Palliser now employing a new Rowland lump and Ian Ashley who was using Tom Pryce’s Royale RP 11 whilst waiting for his own to be completed. Row two saw James Hunt in the works March 723 in its new red STP colours, Hunt was suffering badly with his visor misting up in the rain, David Purley sat next to the March in his Ensign.

Formula Three debutante Paul Butler was going very well in his ex-Alan Jones Brabham BT28 to head row three from Stan Matthews in his new March 723 and Chris Skeaping in the works Chevron B20 which, strangely given the conditions, wasn’t using a rear wing. Row four comprised John MacDonald’s March 713M and Val Musetti’s Royale RP 11. Bob Evans was on the fifth row with his brand new March 723 which was showing a worrying appetite for fuel pumps destroying two in as many laps. A pair of GRD 372s came next, Pierre-François Rousselot disappointed to be so far down as was Neil Ginn. Final runner was Welshman Davy Powers in his new March 723 whilst non-starters were Jeremy Gambs who knocked a corner off his new Ensign with a spin on the grass opposite the pits and Reg James in his ex-David Purley Brabham BT28 was unlucky to do similar damage to his car on the pit wall when trying to avoid Gambs.

Conditions were appalling for the start of the 15 lap race, from the pits it was impossible to see either Druids or Clearways due to a low lying mist and it was still raining heavily. It was the three front row cars who got away the best and at the end of the first lap they had already pulled out a gap on the rest of the field with Sutcliffe leading Magee and Ashley. Purley was in fourth from Hunt, who was trying an open faced helmet, next up were Butler, MacDonald, Matthews, Evans and Skeaping who had made a slow start. Hunt passed Purley on lap two but his engine was beginning to sound rough with water in the electrics and he could make no impression on the leaders. Further back Chris Skeaping had passed several cars and was now looking for a way past Butler’s Brabham and MacDonald’s March. Magee tried to pass Sutcliffe’s GRD on lap 3 but couldn’t complete the manoeuvre and fell back and was nearly overtaken by Ashley. The Royale continued to harass the Palliser and on lap 9 Ashley made it up to second but it only lasted for a lap as Ashley became the next victim of waterlogged electrics and Magee retook his second place. Hunt still held fourth but Purley was close behind him and Skeaping was catching both of them. As the remaining laps unwound Sutcliffe pulled away to a 4.6 victory to claim a maiden win both for himself and GRD, Magee and Ashley finished second and third with Hunt just hanging onto fourth.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 5 March 1972

Race Heat 1

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 20:09.40

2 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 20:09.50

3 Luigi Fontanesi

Tecno-Ford 20:13.10

4 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 20:23.40

Race Heat 2

1 Giovanni Lo Voi

Brabham-Ford BT28 15:05.00

2 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 15:05.00

3 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 15:21.00

4 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 15:34.10

5 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28

Race Final

1 Vittorio Brambilla

Birel Alfa Romeo 30:44.30 144.318

2 Marcello Gallo

Brabham BT28 30:44.34

3 Fabrizio Noe

Lotus-Ford 69 30:45.10

4 Adelmo Fossati

Brabham BT28 30:55.40

5 Patrice Compain

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00

6 Carlo Franchi (Gimax)

De Sanctis-Alfa Romeo 31:11.50

7 Manfred Möhr

Lotus-Ford 31:59.60

8 Giovanni Lo Voi

Martini-Ford MW7 31:08.00