Race Report: Castle Combe, 27 August 1973

castle-combe_27_8_73

Race Report: Castle Combe, 27 August 1973

castle-combe_27_8_73

Only 6 cars arrived for this Forward Trust round due to the clashing Lombard North Central round at Silverstone so the grid was made up with Super Vee competitors. Ian Taylor made the best start from pole position in his Baty March to lead the similar cars of Matt Spitzley, Buzz Buzaglo and Mo Harness, Buzaglo quickly dealt with Spitzley and began to chase after the leader. By lap 5 Buzaglo had closed in to within striking distance of Taylor but his driving began to get a little ragged especially at Camp where he regularly dropped a wheel into the dirt, this coupled with lapped Super Vee cars delaying him meant that Taylor was able to take the win by 2 seconds. Spitzley dropped away from the two leaders but held onto third whilst Harness was never in the hunt with an engine that was sounding worse with each succeeding lap. Nicholas von Preussen had held fifth until he spun his March into retirement at Quarry on lap 4.
Ian Taylor’s victory secured him the 1973 Forward Trust Championship.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Castle Combe, 27 August 1973

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: Silverstone, 27 August 1973

silver-stone_27_8_73

Race Report: Silverstone, 27 August 1973

silver-stone_27_8_73

Due to the clashing race at Castle Combe a handful of top drivers were missing and only 20 cars arrived for practice of which 16 would start the race, non-starters were José Espirito Santo (accident), Val Musetti, Simon Sherman (both with engine problems) and Marco Tessiore who didn’t like the weather. Tony Brise had damaged his March during practice when he hit a spinning Santo damaging a corner and kinking the tub, the damage was repaired for the race. Alan Jones was finding his GRD much improved following the fitment of Bilstein dampers and new suspension brackets to cut down on excessive camber change.

It began raining as the cars took their warm up lap and Brian Henton spun into the sleepers at Woodcote slightly damaging the GRD and creating a small handling problem. As the cars lined up on the grid the rain increased and the decision was taken to delay the start so that everyone could fit wets.

Tony Brise took the lead from pole position but on lap 2 he spun at Copse allowing Alan Jones to take the lead, the Australian then proceeded to dominate the rest of the race despite the tricky conditions pulling away from the rest of the field at a second a lap to win by 26 seconds. Brise’s spin had dropped him to tenth but he promptly began to race back through the field taking tight lines and by keeping to the best drained areas he was back up to fifth by lap 8. On lap 12 Brise had caught up with the Marches of Russell Wood and Richard Robarts who were fighting over second, Robarts spun away his position and then Brise passed Woods on lap 15 to take second himself. However Brise was unable to shake off Woods and on lap 19 fuel pressure problems began and Brise quickly fell back through the field, a poor reward for an excellent drive.
With Brise’s problems Wood was now unchallenged in second and with Jones long gone he concentrated on not making any mistakes and he duly took the runner up spot. Leonel Friedrich drove well to take third ahead of a recovering Robarts who passed Masami Kuwashima on the last lap when the Japanese driver had a small problem at Becketts. Mike Tyrrell was another driver to stay out of trouble and his reward was sixth place, his best result of the season to date. Mike Wilds had been running with Wood in the early stages but two spins resulted in him falling back to seventh place at the finish. “Teleco” had been holding fourth spot until he was eliminated early on with damp electrics and Tony Rouff retired on the first lap whilst Pedro Passadore was delayed by a pit stop.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Silverstone, 27 August 1973

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: Jyllandsring, 26 August 1973

jylandsring_26_8_73

Race Report: Jyllandsring, 26 August 1973

jylandsring_26_8_73

This was the second F3 race to be held at the Jyllandsring circuit in three weeks and victory once again went to Randy Lewis with his Wranglers Brabham BT41. The event was based on the aggregate of three six lap heats, Conny Andersson would have been in with a chance of victory but a jumped start in the second heat resulted in a seventh place.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Jyllandsring, 26 August 1973

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, 26 August 1973

mallory-park_26_8_73

Race Report: Mallory Park, 26 August 1973

mallory-park_26_8_73

Everyone appeared to get away cleanly at the start of the latest Lombank North Central round but to general surprise Alan Jones was deemed to have jumped the start and was given the customary one minute penalty. Unaware of his penalty Jones took an immediate lead in his GRD 373 from Tony Brise (March 733), Matt Spitzley (March 713M/733), Richard Robarts (March 733), Pedro Passadore (GRD 373) and Tony Rouff (GRD 373). The first four positions remained static for the entire race despite Brise’s best efforts to get ahead of Jones with Spitzley a few lengths back in third. Robarts held onto fourth despite Mike Wilds making a great effort in the closings laps to get on terms with the Myson March. Wilds had had a difficult practice and started from the fifth row so his drive was especially noteworthy. Brian Henton had also gone very well after starting from row six following gearbox problems in practice, he was lying eighth on lap 5 only to throw it all away with a big spin at the Esses. Leonel Friedrich had started his March from row two but first gear stripped on the line making him very slow away, luckily no one made contact with him and he pulled up to finish ninth on the road, one place behind Tony Rouff (GRD 373).

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Mallory Park, 26 August 1973

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: Zolder, 26 August 1973

zolder_26_8_73

Race Report: Zolder, 26 August 1973

zolder_26_8_73

The “Westfalen Pokal” was held over 24 laps of the 4.184 Km circuit. The small field consisted of German national teams.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Zolder, 26 August 1973

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 August 1973

brands-hatch_19_8_73

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 19 August 1973

brands-hatch_19_8_73

This was the latest round in the Forward Trust Championship and most of the usual runners were present at Brands Hatch.

Mike Wilds jumped in amongst the front row from the second when the flag fell, as Ian Taylor and Tony Brise moved across to cover Wilds pole sitter Mo Harness led into Paddock, unluckily for Wilds he had anticipated the starter and was awarded the usual one minute penalty. Behind Harness it was Taylor from Wilds and Brise with Taylor in a determined mood and making all possible efforts to take the lead and entering Paddock both cars touched, fortunately without causing any problems. Finally on lap 5 by taking a novel line across the grass at Clearways Taylor somehow forced his way past a surprised Harness. Wilds took advantage of Harness loosing concentration to move up to second as Harness now found himself under attack from Brise. Next up was Richard Robarts in his ex-Nick Crossley March from Alan Jones GRD and Buzz Buzaglo’s March, the last four all running nose to tail. With the leaders unaware of Wilds penalty Taylor was under increasing pressure from the Dempster March, on lap 14 Wilds feinted around the outside at Paddock, as Taylor moved across to cover Wilds dived to the inside and took the lead. Brise also managed to get ahead of Harness at Kidney and closed in on the leaders.

There were no further changes amongst the leaders and Wilds took the chequered flag only to find that with his penalty he had dropped to fifteenth. A surprised Ian Taylor thus found himself declared the winner from Brise in second and Harness in third. Robarts had been right with Harness but fuel surge was causing his engine to cut out dropping him to seventh at the flag. Leonel Friedrich moved up to challenge Harness having moved up from tenth at the start passing Alan Jones on lap 12 but couldn’t find a way past. Jones found himself embroiled in a tense battle with Buzz Buzaglo until Jones managed to open out a gap, Buzaglo then battled with “Teleco” until the pair of them came across the slowing Robarts and “Teleco” got ahead in the confusion. Pedro Passadore had been running with “Teleco” until he had a spin at Druids, a pit stop showed a damper had failed, Johnny Gerber had also been with them but a slipping clutch saw him retire.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 19 August 1973

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: Kassel Calden, 19 August 1973

kassel-calden_19_8_73

Race Report: Kassel Calden, 19 August 1973

kassel-calden_19_8_73

The “Hessenpreis” was held over 40 laps of the 2.646 Km circuit. The runners were, for the most part, German national teams.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Kassel Calden, 19 August 1973

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: Croft, 12 August 1973

croft_12_8_73

Race Report: Croft, 12 August 1973

croft_12_8_73

Only eight cars started this Forward Trust round after Richard Robarts crashed his Myson March at Oxo during practice. Mo Harness took pole position just ahead of Tony Brise and Mike Wilds for an all March front row.

Ian Taylor made the best start to lead from the second row followed by Wilds, Brise, Harness, Tony Rouff and Derek Lawrence. Brise and Harness swopped places a couple of times and by the fourth lap the four leaders had pulled away from the rest. Wilds was putting Taylor under increasing pressure and nearly made it at Tower on lap 5 and then on lap 6 he did the job properly. Taylor spent the remaining nine laps trying to regain the lead but Wilds kept him at bay to win by a second. Brise passed Harness for third on lap 9 and although Harness crossed the line level with Brise and was given the same time Brise took the third place. Derek Lawrence also had a great battle with Tony Rouff with the American coming through to take fifth by a second.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Croft, 12 August 1973

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, 11 August 1973

oulton-park_11_8_73

Race Report: Oulton Park, 11 August 1973

oulton-park_11_8_73

Oulton Park was the latest venue for the Lombard North Central Championship and at the end of practice it was Richard Robarts sitting on pole but not in his usual GRD, Robarts had joined the switch to March and was obviously delighted with his new Myson sponsored 733. Sharing the front row with Robarts was the GRD of Alan Jones and Matt Spitzley’s updated March.

Mo Harness made the best start from the second row hotly pursued by Jones and Robarts and it was three abreast into Cascades, unfortunately for Jones one of the Marches made gentle contact with his GRD removing a front tyre valve. Jones was out on the spot followed almost immediately by Mike Wilds whose throttle cable snapped on his Dempster March, at least these two got further than Ian Taylor who was left on the grid when a low tension lead came off his Holbay.
It was now a battle between the two Marches with Harness leading Robarts although Larry Perkins wasn’t far behind in his works-supported Brabham BT41. Robarts began to suffer from increasing oversteer as part of his rear wing broke away and although he was able to close in on Harness especially on the entry to Knickerbrook he was unable to pass. In the closing laps the battery came adrift on Robarts car and an awful misfire developed on his Novamotor as its pistons were failing so Robarts was relieved to hold on to finish second. Perkins held third until, unhappy with the handling of his car, he had an off at Knickerbrook damaging a wheel and the rear wing. On Perkins departure Brise moved up to third, he was running a new monocoque on his March and he wasn’t fitting properly so had had an uncomfortable time in practice and the race. Realising Robarts was in trouble Brise hurled the March round in the closing stages of the race but had to settle for third. Johnny Gerber took fourth after Leonel Friedrich had to retire when his car blew out all its water, Pedro Passadore was next ahead of Matt Spitzley and Russell Wood. Tony Rouff had been with the last three but his front suspension collapsed at Druids after contact with someone on the opening lap and the GRD slid into the barriers without too much damage.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Oulton Park, 11 August 1973

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: Jyllandsring, 5 August 1973

jyllandsring_5_8_73

Race Report: Jyllandsring, 5 August 1973

jyllandsring_5_8_73

This race was held at the Danish circuit of Jyllandsring on the same day as the Forward Trust round at Thruxton so entries were mostly limited to Scandinavian drivers with one notable exception, Randy Lewis in his Wranglers Brabham BT41, this was probably because the race was the Wrangler Grand Prix of Denmark. The event was held over two races with aggregate times deciding the final result.

Hakan Dahlqvist took pole position in his Merlyn from the March of Conny Andersson and Lewis’ Brabham. Lewis won the first heat by 1.2 seconds from Andersson with Ulf Svensson in third after a great drive from the back of the grid. Andersson jumped the lights twice at the start of heat 2 causing both starts to be aborted but third time lucky and this time Andersson got it right and took the lead he would hold for the rest of the race. Lewis tailed the Swede for the whole of the race finishing 0.7 seconds down at the finish to take the overall win by 0.5 seconds with Svensson again in third.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Jyllandsring, 5 August 1973

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