Race Report: Avus, 30 June 1974

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Race Report: Avus, 30 June 1974

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Round 6 of the Polifac Trophy, the German F3 Championship. A good field arrived to do battle over 15 laps of the 8.11 km circuit fot the “Avusrennen”.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Avus, 30 June 1974

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, 30 June 1974

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Race Report: Snetterton, 30 June 1974

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It was originally planned to run F Fords who hadn’t qualified for their main race in with the F3s but after a fraught qualifying session the 12 F3 drivers protested the stupidity of this arrangement and the F Fords were given their own race.

Unsurprisingly it was Brian Henton who planted his works March 743 on pole position ahead of Nicholas von Preussen and Alex Ribeiro who had to have his GRD rebuilt after damaging two corners with an off at Riches in private practice the week before. Tony Rouff was stranded at the rear of the grid following a lack of oil pressure in his GRD’s engine.

It began to rain as the cars came onto the grid and after two warm up laps everybody except the three front row men and Julio Caio opted for wet tyres for the race. Then as the cars sat on the grid first Ribeiro and the von Preussen switched to wets and after another exploratory lap and a near spin at Coram Henton joined them just leaving Caio on dries.
Some 20 minutes later than scheduled the race finally got under way and although Preussen got the jump on the others by Russell it was Ribeiro in the lead followed by Henton, von Preussen and the rest. Of the others Rouff got away late, Marcos Moraes spun his March and Caio was dropping back on his slicks. Ribeiro’s lead lasted for a couple of laps before both von Preussen and Henton overtook the GRD whilst further down the field “Teleco” and Dick Parsons had a coming together at Sear, the Brazilian lost his nosecone and the Smiths Crisps Ensign retired with a broken wheel.
Back at the front it was a two way battle for the lead between von Preussen and Henton with a gap back to a battling Ribeiro and Barrie Maskell in his Dastle then a further gap to the fifth place fight between Derek Lawrence (Ehrlich), Jose Chateaubriand (March) and Rouff. Henton continued to harass von Preussen at the front the works March sliding more and more as Henton’s tyres wore down and over the last few laps von Preussen was in similar difficulties but the older March seemed quicker along the straights and von Preussen held onto win by a couple of car lengths. Six laps from the finish Maskell moved the Dastle up to third ahead of Ribeiro, the 1.7-litre engine in the Dastle less of a handicap in the wet, the rest of the field came home fairly well separated as the now dry track caused their wets to wear and chunk badly.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Snetterton, 30 June 1974

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, 16 June 1974

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Race Report: Nurburgring, 16 June 1974

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The latest round of the Polifac Trophy was a support race for an Interserie round and attracted several UK runners in addition to the usual German national teams. The race was held over two 5 lap heats with the result being decided on aggregate time, unusually the same grid was used for both heats.

During qualifying Tony Brise complained of a very gutless engine and Brian Henton damaged his exhaust and wing with an off at Bergwerk.

Henton jumped into the lead of Heat 1 after a great start from the second row, he was chased by Alex Ribeiro, Gunnar Nordström, Alberto Colombo and Conny Andersson. Henton had a big lead at the end of lap 1 with Ribeiro still second ahead of Gaudenzio Mantova, Gunnar Nilsson, Giorgio Francia, Nordström and Dieter Kern. Superhen had increased his lead at the end of lap 2 but part way round the next lap the March driver came upon a sudden rain shower and combined with an oily track Henton lost control and spun off. Francia now took the lead from Ribeiro who was being attacked by Andersson, next came a squabbling bunch comprising Nilsson, Ulf Svensson and Willi Deutsch with Harald Ertl’s Rheinland (nee Eifelland-nee March) next.
Mantova, Colombo and Kern managed to come to grief in the wet at Bergwerk but up front Francia was untroubled and came home an easy winner ahead of the three Swedes, Nilsson, Andersson and Svensson. Retirements included Tony Brise was out on the first lap with a damaged nose when Cinotti spun in front of him and Larry Perkins who was involved in an accident with Mantova.

Brian Henton was able to make the start of the second heat when his car was repaired using parts from team mate Jose Chateaubriand’s car, the Brazilian having retired from Heat 1 following a spin. Francia took the lead from the start in Heat 2 and dominated proceedings leading from flag to flag and leading Nilsson home by 10 seconds. Ribeiro had held second to begin with chased hard by Nilsson and Andersson with Svensson joining in after three laps. Andersson had a bit of a moment and dropped back to fifth as both Nilsson and Svensson passed Ribeiro.
Further back Willi Deutsch and Harald Ertl had been having a good dice until the gear lever broke in Ertl’s car which allowed F Ford graduate Hans Binder up to seventh ahead of Nick von Preussen. After the race it was discovered that Ribeiro had damaged suspension following early contact with Francia making his fourth place finish all the more commendable. Henton retired again unhappy with the handling of the car following its speedy rebuild.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Nurburgring, 16 June 1974

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 June 1974

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Race Report: Silverstone, 9 June 1974

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Conditions were very tricky with a very wet track for this round of the Forward Trust Championship and it was Tony Rouff who made the best start in his GRD to lead from Brian Henton’s March. Driving carefully but quickly Rouff led from start to finish with Henton, who after the race said his engine had been misfiring, unable to do anything about the flying American. Nicholas von Preussen looked to be having an exciting time all round the track but he managed to stay on the tarmac to take third place as well as setting the fastest lap. Retirements included Dick Parsons who had engine problems in his Ensign and Derek Lawrence who retired the Ehrlich at the end of lap 1.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Silverstone, 9 June 1974

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: Wunstorf, 9 June 1974

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Race Report: Wunstorf, 9 June 1974

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Round 4 of the German Polifac Trophy, the “Flugplatzrennen Wunstorf” held over 20 laps of the 5.1 km airfield circuit.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Wunstorf, 9 June 1974

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: Cadwell Park, 2 June 1974

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Race Report: Cadwell Park, 2 June 1974

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This time the F3 cars found themselves lumped in with the F4 cars for their visit to Lincolnshire’s mini Nurburgring.

Luckily for Brian Henton the damage to his March 743 sustained in his Monaco shunt was minor and soon repaired, Superhen celebrated by getting pole position, leading from start to finish and setting a new F3 and circuit lap record which didn’t leave much for anyone else. Behind Henton it was José Santo’s 743 second and he was chased hard by Barrie Maskell’s Dastle and Derek Lawrence’s Ehrlich. Santo lost time with an off at the Hall Bends while Lawrence was in trouble when he lost his clutch early in the race all of which gave a delighted Maskell second place despite only having a 1700 cc engine.
Tony Rouff was having to use a 1600 cc engine after his usual 2-litre had problems at Monaco and he found himself trapped behind Brazilian newcomer Julio Caio in the ex-Bob Arnott Modus and it took Rouff until lap 9 to find away past into fifth place. Dick Parsons had been running with Rouff until head gasket failure saw his ex-Bev Bond Ensign forced into retirement. Jose Chateaubriand and Nicholas von Preussen came together on lap 1, von Preussen was out on the spot whilst Chateaubriand lasted a few more laps until a puncture ended his race.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Cadwell Park, 2 June 1974

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