Race Report: Nogaro, 30 September 1973

nogaro_30_9_73

Race Report: Nogaro, 30 September 1973

nogaro_30_9_73

This was the penultimate round of the French F3 Championship and victory in both the race and the championship went to Jacques Lafitte after the only other potential championship contender, Michel Leclere, who needed to win the race did not. The race was due to be held over 25 laps but was reduced to 16 due to failing light.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Nogaro, 30 September 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, 30 September 1973

brands-hatch_30_9_73

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 30 September 1973

brands-hatch_30_9_73

This round of the John Player Championship unfortunately clashed with the Nogaro round of the French championship which resulted in the absence of any of the French drivers, nevertheless a good entry still arrived at Brands Hatch to do battle over two heats and a final.

Practice for Heat 1 saw Brian Henton fastest, Superhen was having another outing in the works development Ensign that this week featured new wings, font and rear, and the engine cover was missing. Next up was Sweden’s Conny Andersson with Mike Wilds completing the front row. Buzz Buzaglo was showing good form now that he had a new rev counter fitted, his old one had been running 1200 rpm too fast so the Australian was now able to make better use of his engine.

Alan Jones should have been in Heat 1 but on leaving the pits and approaching paddock his left front wheel locked and the GRD hit the sleepers. It was decided rather than to rush things and to allow Jones to receive treatment for a sore neck he should take over Pedro Passadore’s car in Heat 2. It was perhaps then a little surprising to see Jones put his troubles behind him and take the fastest time in his heat ahead of Hakan Dahlqvist and Tony Brise despite not fitting into his team mates car too well. Times in the second heat were quite a lot slower than the first due to a heavy coating of oil around most of its length. Larry Perkins found himself at the back of the grid when a driveshaft broke on his Brabham before he had been able to set a competitive time. Barrie Maskell, despite a recent spell in hospital with a virus infection,was out again in a heavily revised Dastle which he felt was a definite step in the right direction.

Brian Henton and Conny Andersson made the best starts when the flag fell for Heat 1 but it was Henton who had the edge and he pushed the Ensign into the lead from Andersson, “Teleco”, Buzaglo, Wilds, Taylor, Kuwashima, Rouff, Nordström, Robarts, MacDonald, Santo, Vejlund, Elton, Musetti, Moffett and Lewis, the latter suffering from a bent fin following contact at Druids. Henton and Andersson were now involved in a fraught battle for the lead with Andersson taking over at the front on lap 3 when he passed Henton at Druids and the Ensign lost more ground when Henton understeered wide at Clearways but within a lap Henton was right back on Andersson’s tail. On lap 9 as the two leaders entered Kidney Henton aimed for a very small gap on the inside of Andersson and made it through and back into the lead. Once back in front Henton was determined to stay there and he hung on for the remaining lap and a half to take the win by 0.4 seconds. Third place had initially belonged to “Teleco” hotly pursued by Buzaglo, Wilds, Taylor, Robarts and Kuwashima. On lap 8 Wilds passed “Teleco” and the Brazilian dropped away to finish a second away in fourth with Buzaglo a similar distance back in fifth but 0.6 seconds up on Taylor in sixth. The only retirement was Barrie Maskell with a blown head gasket whilst Randy Lewis lost a couple of laps in the pits.

It was Dahlqvist from the middle of the front row who led the rest of the field on the opening lap of Heat 2 followed by Jones, Harness, Friedrich, Brise, Wood, Lombardi, Rousselot, Maskell, Perkins, Lawrence, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Preussen. Jones took the lead at Druids on lap 2 opening out a small advantage over Harness who was now up to second with Dahlqvist almost immediately loosing two more places to Brise and Friedrich. Harness and Brise then moved up to challenge Jones and although the positions did not change in the final laps this wasn’t from lack of trying by any of them. Jones found his damaged neck beginning to trouble him in the closing stages of the race but he hung on to win by 0.2 seconds from Harness with a similar gap back to the third placed Brise. Dahlqvist just headed Friedrich over the line for fourth and fifth with a battling Wood and Rousselot next up. Larry Perkins had made good early progress from his back of the grid start but then found himself bogged down in amongst midfield runners, Lella Lombardi had been running seventh but a spin at Clearways on lap 2 dropped her down the field.

The final consisted of the fastest 20 cars overall and the grid lined up as follows:

Jones
 
Andersson
 
Henton
 
Brise
 
Harness
 
Wilds
 
Friedrich
 
Dahlqvist
 
Rousselot
 
Woods
 
Taylor
 
Buzaglo
 
“Teleco”
 
Kuwashima
 
Robarts
 
Nordström
 
Rouff
 
Perkins
 
Maskell
 
Lawrence
 

Alan Jones was still being troubled by his sore neck and had to receive a painkiller injection before the start of the race but despite this it was his GRD that took the lead towards Paddock but he suddenly seemed to miss a gear allowing Henton to gain the advantage. Ian Taylor found himself pushed off and into the bank at Paddock and the luckless Jones had a spin at Druids resuming in last place. The order at the end of the first lap was Henton, Andersson, Wilds, Brise, Harness, Friedrich, Rousselot, Wood, Dahlqvist, Buzaglo (with a one minute penalty for a jumped start), “Teleco”, Kuwashima, Nordström Robarts, Rouff, Perkins, Maskell, Lawrence and Jones.
By lap 5 Henton had eked out a small gap over Andersson who was under heavy pressure from Wilds, Brise, Harness, Friedrich, Rousselot and Dahlqvist there was then a gap of a couple of seconds to Buzaglo, Kuwashima and Robarts then another gap to a battling Wood and “Teleco” next the similarly duelling pair of Rouff and Perkins. Jones had caught up with these last two but spun again on lap 8, he made up the lost ground again but after another spin on lap 16 he called it a day in too much discomfort from his injured neck.
Henton had opened up a reasonable lead by lap 10 and Andersson who had been clear in second now came under renewed pressure from Mike Wilds and on lap 11 Wilds tried to overtake into Kidney. Both drivers braked a little too late and Andersson ran wide causing Wilds to spin in avoidance, the closely pursuing Brise, Harness and Freidrich managed to make it through as Wilds resumed now down to fifteenth place. Andersson had only dropped to fifth but his nose had been damaged and he retired his March on lap 15.

By half distance, 20 laps, Henton had five seconds in hand over Brise, Harness and Friedrich all of whom were a couple of seconds apart. Next came a big group consisting of Dahlqvist, Robarts, Rousselot, “Teleco”, Perkins, Buzaglo, Wood and Wilds all fighting over fifth. Kuwashima had been with this group but he retired his March with handling problems. Not much happened over the next ten laps but on lap 28 it looked as if Brise had began to close on Henton as the gap dropped to three seconds but the Ensign driver soon opened up his lead again. Harness lost third place on lap 26 when he made contact with the GRD of Nordström when lapping him, he lost enough time for Friedrich, who had been dropping away, to catch and pass him. For the next fourteen laps there would be a tough battle between the two men over third position.

Larry Perkins was making good progress from his lowly starting spot, he was now up to seventh having started seventeenth but he had a battling group right behind him consisting of Rousselot, Buzaglo, Wilds and Woods. Robarts had been with them but he retired after a couple of pit stops failed to cure an electrical fault that caused his engine to misfire.
For the final ten laps nothing happened to the two leaders and Henton led Brise home by some six seconds. Third was not so clear cut, Friedrich, Harness and “Teleco” were all battling for the spot and entering Paddock for the last time there was pandemonium, what happened wasn’t clear but the track was certainly oily, some of it from Friedrich who had a leaking oil cooler. If the cause wasn’t clear the result was, Harness made heavy contact with the banking and Friedrich and “Teleco” had big moments allowing Perkins and Dahlqvist to go through. Thus it was Perkins who took third by 0.2 seconds from Dahlqvist, Friedrich should have been next but a half spin at Bottom Bend allowed “Teleco” to take the place, Friedrich recovering to sixth despite a puncture and no oil. One final incident saw seventh placed Buzaglo lock up on the oil at Druids, the following Wilds got sideways avoiding him and was rammed by Rousselot, Mike Wilds happily overtook all of them to gain the place.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Brands Hatch, 30 September 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: Monza, 22 September 1973

monza_22_9_73

Race Report: Monza, 22 September 1973

monza_22_9_73

The Coupe AGIP was held over two heats and a final, the first heat went to Jacques Lafitte in his Martini from the similar car of Bernard Beguin. The second heat went to pole man Michel Leclere in his Alpine-Renault from the sister car of Alain Serpaggi.
Leclere won the final from team mate Serpaggi who was hampered with a recalcitrant gearbox, third was the March of Italian driver Cerulli. Jacques Lafitte retired on the twelfth lap with damaged suspension, Pierre-Francois Rousselot had been third but a moment dropped him back, he recovered to fifth despite an unhealthy engine.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Monza, 22 September 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: Albi, 17 September 1973

albi_17_9_73

Race Report: Albi, 17 September 1973

albi_17_9_73

This was a round of the French F3 Championship and was a supporting race for the European F2 Championship event.

Michel Leclere led the way from pole position in his Alpine-Renault with the two works BP Martinis of Jacques Lafitte and Jean-Pierre Paoli in close attendance with the Motul Martini of Christian Ethuin in fourth. Ethuin worked his way up to take the lead from Leclere but the Alpine driver fought back to take the lead again and when Ethuin had a moment and dropped away his victory was secure. Lafitte and Paoli took second and third places at the finish, Pierre-Francois Rousselot had been running with Lafitte but he too dropped back.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Albi, 17 September 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: Ulm, 16 September 1973

ulm_16_9_73

Race Report: Ulm, 16 September 1973

ulm_16_9_73

The “Rundstreckenrennen Ulm-Laupheim” was held over 19 laps of the 2.88 Km circuit, the small field consisted of German national teams.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Ulm, 16 September 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: Thruxton, 16 September 1973

thruxton_16_9_73

Race Report: Thruxton, 16 September 1973

thruxton_16_9_73

There were two cars out before this Forward Trust round had even started, the unlucky pair were pole sitter Ian Taylor whose engine broke on the warm up lap and Masami Kuwashima who pulled off at Cobb, also on the warm up lap, when a battery lead shorted out.

Mo Harness made a great start from the second row to head fellow March drivers Tony Brise and Leonel Friedrich into Campbell where Friedrich locked his brakes causing Tony Rouff’s GRD to slow and be hit by Mike Wilds March Both cars spun in the confusion and although they resumed they both retired within a lap. Back at the front Harness continued to lead until the end of the second lap when a sideways moment exiting the chicane resulted in a spin down to eighth place.

Tony Brise now led but the Kent Messenger car had Brazilian Leonel Friedrich climbing all over his back and on lap 7 Friedrich tried for the inside line under braking into the chicane. The two Marches made contact but the two drivers kept their cars on the track and Friedrich took the lead despite Brise giving him a tap up the rear. Friedrich’s lead only lasted for one lap Brise resuming the lead at Church then gradually easing away to win by 2 seconds at the finish. Further back Matt Spitzley had been holding third in his March until lap 9 when Richard Robarts, who had been delayed on the opening lap, demoted him. Robarts drew away from Spitzley to secure third place as a recovering Harness began to close in on Spitzley but ran out of time, finishing two seconds behind the American.
Buzz Buzaglo had been holding fourth in the early laps but locking brakes and a deteriorating engine dropped him back until he retired on lap 12. José Espirito Santo spun his March on the opening lap and collected the similar car of Nicholas von Preussen to the detriment of both. Jim Yardley had been giving the F3 version of his front-engined Beagle Mk 3 Clubmans car a run but had to retire with failing oil pressure.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 16 September 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: Mainz, 9 September 1973

mainz_9_9_73

Race Report: Mainz, 9 September 1973

mainz_9_9_73

The “Rheinhessisches Flugplatzrennen” was held over 40 laps of the 2.15 Km circuit, the runners were German national teams.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Mainz, 9 September 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, 9 September 1973

silverstone_9_9_73

Race Report: Silverstone, 9 September 1973

silverstone_9_9_73

A top class British-based entry arrived at Silverstone for the latest Forward Trust round and it was Mike Wilds who took pole position in his Dempster Developments March, while on row two Brian Henton was having his first outing in the works Ensign.

Wilds led away at the start and into Copse chased by Henton, Richard Robarts and Tony Brise but at Woodcote Robarts dived through on the inside to take the lead. Robarts led for the next eight laps with Henton always right on his gearbox and on lap 9 as they entered Copse Henton took the lead with the next eight cars running nose to tail behind him. Robarts was determined to regain the lead and on lap 13 he passed Henton again as Tony Brise moved up to third ahead of Mike Wilds, these leading four then began to pull away from the rest of the field.

As the first four entered Woodcote on the final lap they came across a couple of backmarkers, Angelo Piccione (March 733) and Spencer Elton (Ensign F372). As Henton slipped past Robarts again Elton didn’t get out of the way quickly enough and was struck by Wilds putting both cars out fortunately without injury to either driver. So Henton took the flag 0.2 seconds ahead of Robarts with Brise a further 0.8 seconds down in third, Kuwashima took fourth nearly five seconds away from the leaders. Back in eighth place was Andy Sutcliffe who was filling in for the still ailing Ian Taylor in the Baty March.
There was an unfortunate incident during the race when Norman Moffett pitted his GRD following a spin, he came in far too quickly hitting two of Henton’s mechanics injuring one of them quite badly. Moffett will have to attend a RAC tribunal to explain his driving.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Silverstone, 9 September 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, 8 September 1973

oulton-park_8_9_73

Race Report: Oulton Park, 8 September 1973

oulton-park_8_9_73

Only 16 cars arrived for the latest round of the Lombard North central Championship, it was originally hoped that there would be several French runners taking part but when it was found that the race only had a British National permit this came to naught.

Alan Jones took pole position in his DART GRD with a sub-record lap time, a minor off in the closing stage of practice at the Esses meant some steering damage but it was repaired in time for the race. Russell Wood was in trouble with a broken wing on his Chequered Flag March which took some time to repair and restricted his lappery, Ian Taylor didn’t even make it out as he was still suffering from the ear infection that had recently troubled him.

Richard Roberts made the best start from the middle of the front row to head Tony Brise, Jones, Mo Harness, Masami Kuwashima and Larry Perkins. “Teleco” was out at the first corner when his March hit the barrier hard and Pedro Passadore spun his GRD at Knickerbrook causing some consternation to those behind especially Mike Wilds whose March ran over the GRD’s front wheel. Passadore was an immediate retirement but Wilds was able to continue, albeit out of contention.
Robarts was soon under heavy pressure from Brise who was happier with his Kent Messenger March now some suspension adjustments had been made to compensate for his damaged kinked tub. Brise made his move at Esso on lap 2 passing Robarts without problem and moving into the lead he would hold to the end, gradually pulling away from the rest to win by seven seconds. Although unable to stay with Brise Robarts held onto his second place, his job being made easier when Jones began to have trouble selecting top gear, possibly as a result of a tweaked gear linkage following his practice accident. Kuwashima had passed Harness and the pair of them now closed in on the troubled Jones, on lap 11 taking his courage in both hands Kuwashima passed Jones around the outside at Knickerbrook in a very exciting manoeuvre. Jones tried to regain his lost position but the continuing problems with top gear left him 0.4 seconds back at the finish. Harness and Perkins were next up in fifth and sixth ahead of a distant Wilds who never made up for his first lap incident with Passadore.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Oulton Park, 8 September 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: Knutstorp, 1 September 1973

knutstorp_1_9_73

Race Report: Knutstorp, 1 September 1973

knutstorp_1_9_73

Larry Perkins took his first F3 victory at the 1.3 mile Swedish circuit of Knutstorp. His works supported Brabham BT41 finished third in the first of the two heats and won the second after his two main rivals, Hakan Dahlqvist and Ulf Svensson both retired after colliding with each other. Perkins took a full second off the circuit lap record on his way to victory.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Knutstorp, 1 September 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