A disappointing entry of only 15 cars made it to Cadwell Park for this the ninth round of the BP Super Visco Championship, the following weekends support race at the British GP obviously deterring several runners from attending. Fortunately most of the top runners did arrive in an effort to increase their points tally.

Pole position went to Danny Sullivan whose works Modus was fitted for the first time with a Novamotor Toyota unit, equalling the Kentucky Kid’s time was the works March of Alex Ribeiro. Championship leader Gunnar Nilsson found himself near the back of the grid with a time of 1:31.2 after an off removed the nosecone and supporting frame from his March 753 and the Swede set his time without these important items fitted. Out in his spare BAF March 743 Rupert Keegan also did much of his practice without a nose being fitted.
Non-starters for the race were Bob Arnott who broke a timing chain tensioner in the engine of his March and Tim Brise who was unhappy with the handling of his Elden and decided to give the race a miss.

Only 11 cars arrived for this Forward Trust round and this was soon reduced to 10 when Brian Henton had his throttle jam open at the Hall Esses on his second practice lap removing a wheel from his March 743. His team-mate made up some way for Henton’s misfortune by putting the second works car on pole. For once the F3 cars were racing on their own without having to keep an eye out for slower runners from other classes.

When the flag fell however it was Portugal’s José Espirito Santo that took the lead and then proceeded to lead the rest of the race from start to finish. Similarly Tony Rouff held second for all the race although a slow puncture hampered him in the closing laps and Jose Chateaubriand closed right up and the two cars almost dead heated across the finishing line. Barrie Maskell had been challenging Rouff after having some difficulty getting ahead of Alex Ribeiro until the Brazilian went of at Gooseneck damaging his steering. Maskell was finding his new 1800 cc Holt engine very effective and he was harassing Rouff until he spun at the hairpin and dropped back behind Danny Sullivan. Derek Lawrence had been going very quickly setting fastest lap with his Ehrlich and challenging Sullivan hard until the last lap when an ignition lead fell off.

It was a two heats and a final scenario for this Forward Trust round but the ravages of the British GP support race two days earlier meant that most of the runners would automatically make the final as long as they didn’t wreck their cars in the heats.

Pole position sitter for the first heat was the familiar sight of Roger Williamson and his GRD 372, sharing the front row with Williamson were Rikki von Opel’s works Iberia Ensign and the March 723 of Stan Matthews. Next up was the new GRD of Mo Harness, the Lotus 69 of Roger Keele and the works JPS Lotus 73 of Bernard Vermilio.
It was Mike Walker in the second Iberia Ensign fastest in heat two with Barrie Maskell’s Lotus 69 and Tony Trimmer’s Lotus 73 alongside him at the front. Fourth fastest was the Brabham BT38 of Peter Hull with newcomer Ronnie MacKay in the MRE Brabham BT35 hire car in fifth.