Race Report: Thruxton, 24 September 1972

thruxton_24_9_72

Race Report: Thruxton, 24 September 1972

thruxton_24_9_72

It was two heats and a final for this round of the Forward Trust F3 Championship and all the usual UK based runners arrived at Thruxton to do battle.

It was Peter Hull’s Brabham that led away at the start of heat one and Hull was already two seconds to the good over Neil Ginn’s GRD at the end of the first lap, pole man Mike Walker made a slow start but he passed Ginn on lap two and was sitting on Hull’s tail at the end of the following lap. For the remaining seven laps Hull and Walker were swopping the lead every lap at the chicane, starting the last lap it was Walker in the lead with Hull closely slipstreaming the Ensign, entering Cobb Hull was trying too hard and the Brabham had a quick spin without the New Zealander loosing a place. This left Walker to motor home and secure the win with a chastened Hull coming home just behind.

There were six cars disputing third place, initially it was Ginn in front but he was demoted by Mike Wilds and Masami Kuwashima on laps 3 and 4, next up were Tony Trimmer, Bob Evans and Brendan McInerney. Evans demoted Trimmer a place on lap 5 and Ginn retook a position from Kuwashima on the last lap at the chicane to finish fourth behind Wilds. Kuwashima took an untroubled fifth as Evans, Trimmer and McInerney fell away a little at the end.

Sadly Alan Jones was a nonstarter in the second heat when something on his GRD broke on the warm-up lap stranding him in the ditch at Club. Once again it was Roger Williamson who went straight into the lead from pole position and he then proceeded to pull away at a second a lap from second placed Pierre-François Rousselot for the first 5 laps. Rikki von Opel moved his Ensign up to second by outbraking Rousselot into the chicane on lap 6 but Williamson was already out of reach and von Opel settled for second. Russell Wood had been third for a couple of laps but was demoted first by von Opel on the third lap and then the GRD of Tony Brise on lap 6. Mike Tyrrell came home fifth with Stan Matthews sixth however the March driver’s clutch had failed and he had been given a push start, the resulting 10 second penalty dropped him to eleventh.

The opening lap of the final was chaotic to say the least, Peter Hull made a very slow start from the second row and was hit by Ray Mallock’s U2, the U2 was launched into the air and on landing took Val Musetti’s Royale RP 11 and Chris O’Brien’s Brabham BT38 as well as Hull into the ditch before Allard. Entering Campbell Neil Ginn struck the March of Bob Evans and in the ensuing moment both Ginn and Masami Kuwashima were out. Peter Lamplough made it to Seagrave before his Merlyn retired and Tony Trimmer, Stan Matthews and Richard Knight (Martini) retired in the pits at the end of the lap with varying degrees of frontal damage. In addition Bob Evans was out on lap 3 with a puncture and Mike Wilds hadn’t even started when his Ensign holed a piston on the warm-up lap so at the end of lap 3 of the 25 starters 14 were still running!
Meanwhile back at the race it was all Williamson as he kept Mike Walker a second or two behind for the entire 15 laps. Tony Brise was third until he was caught by von Opel and Rousselot on lap 6, von Opel passed Brise on lap 8 but Brise sat right behind him and regained the position on lap 14. Coming into the chicane on the final lap Brise and von Opel both got tangled up with the slow Royale RP 11 of Martyn Howes, as they crossed the finish they were both given the same time although Brise was given the third spot. Rousselot was fifth 0.2 seconds further back and the final point went to Russell Wood.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 24 September 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: Zolder, 17 September 1972

zolder_17_9_72

Race Report: Zolder, 17 September 1972

zolder_17_9_72

17 cars appeared for the Rundstreckenrennen Düren/Nordrhein held over 24 laps of the 4.184 km track.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Zolder, 17 September 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, 16 September 1972

oulton-park_16_9_72

Race Report: Oulton Park, 16 September 1972

oulton-park_16_9_72

A very large number of cars arrived to contest this round of the Shell Motor Oils F3 Championship and with only 30 starters allowed and no heats there were a lot of disappointed drivers after practice.

After the two sessions on Friday afternoon it was Frenchman Jacques Coulon who surprised many by grabbing pole position 0.6 seconds under the lap record and 0.8 seconds quicker than current F3 king Roger Williamson who was second quickest, Peter Hull had his Motor Auctions Brabham BT38 going well to be the final front row occupant. Row two had the works Ensign of Mike Walker sharing the same time as the works Alpine of Alain Serpaggi. Mike Tyrrell caused a stir by heading the third row after getting a good tow from Jochen Mass and he led the second works Ensign of Rikki von Opel and the second works Alpine of Michel Leclere.
Of the other runners Chris Skeaping planted his Chevron B20 in the barriers rendering the car a non-starter, Colin Vandervell only managed two laps before his clutch failed and Tom Pryce was in engine difficulties with his Royale RP11. Peter Lamplough’s Merlyn Mk21 was allowed in at the back of the grid to replace the missing Skeaping. F Ford front-runner Ian Taylor in a GRD was disappointed not to qualify in his first F3 race.

As the flag dropped Hull missed second gear, Williamson was forced to slow and was nudged by Walker, in the general confusion there was more contact and Mass found himself eliminated whilst Rousselot had to retire after a few laps with bent suspension and Lamplough damaged the nose of his Merlyn. Coulon took advantage of the melee and jumped into the lead from Serpaggi, Hull, von Opel, Leclere and Williamson. Coulon edged further away on lap 2 as Hull moved past Serpaggi into second but one lap later he was back to third as Williamson, making up for the startline incident, took second at Knickerbrook. A few positions further back Walker found himself in trouble when his Ensign understeered off the road ripping off a couple of wheels.
The field was now beginning to split up with Coulon, Williamson, Hull, von Opel, Leclere, Serpaggi, Evans, Tyrrell and Brise pulling away from Magee, Kuwashima, Jones and Vandervell who was hampered by a lump of the Mass bodywork lodged in his suspension and restricting his steering lock. Lap 5 saw Hull passed by von Opel and Leclere whilst at the front Williamson was gradually reeling Coulon in and on the next lap at Lodge the GRD was ahead of the Martini although Coulon had no intention of giving up the fight. Leclere got ahead of von Opel on lap 8 whilst Maskell found himself understeering off at Knickerbrook hitting the Armco with his Lotus, also out were Jarier and Pryce both with no oil pressure.
By 10 laps Williamson and Coulon were comfortably ahead of the rest led by Leclere who had opened up a gap from the fourth place battle between von Opel, Hull, Evans, and Serpaggi, next up were Magee, Tyrrell, Vandervell, Kuwashima and a recovering Brise who had spun at Esso. Coulon was still trying to pass Williamson and on lap 12 he was level with the GRD along Top Straight but Williamson had the better line and stayed in front, Hull lost places to Evans and Serpaggi when he ran wide at Lodge and Alan Jones was out with no oil pressure. Rikki von Opel began to drop back as he found the brakes disappearing on his Ensign moving Serpaggi back to fourth and Hull took Evans for fifth. Vandervell had moved his Ensign up to fifth but with only two laps remaining a piston failed dropping Colin to sixteenth at the finish, also out was Brise with front suspension damage after contact with Kuwashima.
There were no further incidents over the remaining laps and Williamson led Coulon across the line by 0.6 seconds with the two Alpines in third and fourth with Hull, Evans and von Opel filling the next few places

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Oulton Park, 16 September 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: Mainz, 10 September 1972

mainz_10_11_72

Race Report: Mainz, 10 September 1972

mainz_10_11_72

25 cars arrived to contest the 25 laps of the 2.5 km airfield track at Mainz for the Rheinhessisches Flugplatzrennen. Most of the runners were the usual German drivers although several Scandinavian teams also took part.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Mainz, 10 September 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: Cadwell Park, 10 September 1972

cadwell-park_10_9_72

Race Report: Cadwell Park, 10 September 1972

cadwell-park_10_9_72

It was originally intended to run this round of the Lombank North Central Championship in two heats and a final but a large number of non-starters meant that there would be just the one race.

Practice was a farce as after the session was over the drivers were informed that owing to a shortage of timekeepers their times didn’t count! With the cancellation of the heats an additional 20 minute practice session was added with times from this session giving the grid positions. Sadly this turned out to be a bit of a disaster when both the Iberian Ensigns of Mike Walker and Rikki von Opel blew their engines and non-started and Bob Evans spun his March at Charlie’s and was collected by Peter Hull rendering both cars unfit to race. John Bisignano (Martini Mk9) was lucky to make the race after a collision with John Littler’s Ensign.

The race was another Williamson demonstration run, he lead from the flag gradually pulling away from the rest of the pack to win by a comfortable 12 seconds. Second place was a battle between Sutcliffe and Brise with Mass just managing to hold onto these two in fourth, Brise had a bit of a moment on the Mountain on lap 6 delaying Mass and letting Sutcliffe get away. However Sutcliffe’s attempts to clinch the championship at this round were domed to failure when his Holbay expired on lap 7 and the GRD retired. Brise seemed safe in second but his engine began to falter and by lap 11 Mass was right on his tail but Brise was still quicker in a straight line and he held on to take second by 1.2 seconds.
Initially Harness and Ginn were battling over fifth and sixth but Ginn got by Harness at Coppice on lap 3 to take fifth which became fourth when Sutcliffe retired, however all Ginn’s good work was for nothing when he spun at Mountain on lap 12 resuming in eighth. Randy Lewis and Pierre-François Rousselot were next up and fighting hard, Lewis in front until lap 7 when Rousselot got ahead only to drop behind again when Lewis retook the place at Coppice on lap 10. Harness found himself under increasing pressure from Lewis and Rousselot and he spun at the Mountain on lap 14 taking Lewis with him although both were able to continue further down the field. This left Rousselot to finish fourth ahead of Spitzley who had just behind Lewis and Rousselot until he had joined the spinners at Mountain on lap 11. Notable retirements were Bisignano who spun out of fifth on lap 1 at everybody’s favourite spot, Mountain and Stan Matthews who was out with a serious lack of brakes.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Cadwell Park, 10 September 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: Crystal Palace, 9 September 1972

crystal-palace_9_9_72

Race Report: Crystal Palace, 9 September 1972

crystal-palace_9_9_72

This would be the last F3 race held at the Crystal Palace and a good entry arrived to fight over the two heats and a final of this Forward Trust event.

Although not raining it was wet for both practice sessions and wet tyres were the order of the day. Jochen Mass took pole position for the first heat with a time over a second quicker than anyone else, hurling the red STP-March around the South London track to great effect. Second quickest was Mike Walker in his usual Iberia Ensign, Mike was feeling a bit under the weather due to a sore throat. Next up and going well was American Randy Lewis in his Wrangler Brabham BT38 just ahead of the works Chevron B20 of Chris Skeaping and the newly turned professional Mike Wilds in his Dempster Developments Ensign.

The track was a little drier for the second session and it was Tony Brise, delighted with his new GRD 372, who set the fastest time, next up was Russell Wood’s STP March who was looking confident. Row two consisted of Peter Hull’s Brabham BT38 and the GRD 372 of Alan Jones. Further down the grid Ronnie Mackay was going well in the ex-Russell Wood March 723 whilst Damien Magee only managed 4 laps before his Holbay self-destructed and Peter Lamplough did all his running on slicks.

The track had pretty much dried out for the first heat except for under the trees at Glade which would cause some tricky moments during the race. It was Lewis who got away the best in his Brabham but by the end of the first lap Mike Walker had put the Ensign into the lead and then proceeded to dominate the race quickly leaving the rest behind to win comfortably by 12.4 seconds. By lap 3 Wilds was in second place but Mass went inside him at North Tower which forced the Ensign wide dropping a couple of lengths on the March that Wilds was unable to claw back. There was a big fight for fourth between Lewis, Bisignano, Trimmer, Skeaping and McInerney, Trimmer soon began to show his experience by fighting his way through the group getting ahead of them all by lap 6. The Lotus then set off after Wilds closing the gap very quickly, the two cars crossed the finishing line together and were given the same time although Wilds was given the third spot.
Bisignano left the group when he spun out at New Link on lap 11 resuming in eighth place and a lap later Lewis did the same dropping to tenth, this left Skeaping and McInerney fighting for fifth, the Chevron just getting the verdict at the flag.

It was a very tight first lap to the second heat with half the field trying to lead into North Tower, in the event it was Wood who had a slim lead over Williamson who was already up to second ahead of Brise and Jones. At the end of the first lap it was the familiar sight of Williamson out in front were he stayed until lap 4 when a moment at Glade allowed Wood back in front again, next up came Brise, Jones and Evans all fighting for third with von Opel and Hull a littler further back and also battling hard. There was a big group fighting for the lower places with Matthews leading Gambs, McDonald, Mackay, Patrick and Tyrrell, Magee was well down after a spin at Glade on the opening lap.
Wood seemed to be edging away on the sixth lap with Williamson coming under pressure from Brise for second, as they came up to lap Magee the two leaders, Wood and Williamson, got through without trouble but Brise, Jones and Evans were briefly delayed. Brise soon clawed his way back up to the leaders but Jones and Evans weren’t able to make up the gap. Williamson tried a number of times to regain the lead but Wood wasn’t to be denied coming home the winner by 0.2 seconds, Williamson was second his water temperature sky high which he reckoned was costing him some power and Brise was third another 0.8 seconds down. Fourth and fifth were Jones and Evans less than a second back with the still battling von Opel and Hull in sixth and seventh.
It was judged that the conditions had been different between the two races so the final was made up of the first six from each heat with the next two fastest from each heat making sixteen in total.
It was four abreast into North Tower on lap 1 of the final with Wood, Walker, Williamson and Wilds all trying to lead, unfortunately for Wilds he was on the dusty outside line and under braking the Ensign slid into Williamson riding over the back wheel of the GRD and smiting the sleepers a heavy blow. Wilds clambered out unhurt but the Ensign was looking very secondhand. This left Walker leading at the end of lap 1 with Wood, Williamson, Mass, Trimmer, Brise, Jones, Evans, Hull, Skeaping, von Opel, McInerney, Lewis and Tyrrell all in one enormous squabbling group. Val Musetti was an early retirement with the throttle cable snapping on his Royale.
Lap 2 and Wood was pressing Walker hard whilst Mass had got ahead of Williamson who was to loose another place to Trimmer on lap 4. Walker and Wood were edging away by lap 5 and Williamson found himself in more trouble as his engine was loosing more power (It was unchanged from the heat) and Brise, Jones and Hull all went past. Further back Skeaping, von Opel, McInerney and the others were beginning to drop away from the main bunch. On lap 6 Walker suddenly appeared on his own, Wood had lost it at Glade writing the March off against the sleepers. With no more pressure on him Walker concentrated on setting clean fast laps and at the end of the 20 laps he came home the winner by 17.4 seconds.
Second place however wasn’t so clear cut, it was Trimmer from Mass, Brise, Hull, Jones, Williamson and Evans, lap 8 saw Mass come through to lead the group and lap 9 it was Trimmer again although further back there had been a major change. Coming into Ramp Brise was forced wide and clipped the barrier, the GRD came back across the track, Jones braked hard to avoid Brise and was hit by Williamson who was in turn struck by Evans. Brise and Jones were out whilst Williamson and Evans were able to continue with minor suspension and bodywork damage. This left Trimmer, Hull and Mass fighting for second until Mass lost several places on lap 12 after a moment on some of the debris left from Woods accident, Hull moved up to second with Trimmer trying to outbrake the Brabham at North Tower on every lap to no avail. Mass caught the pair on the last lap and it was three abreast into South Tower, at the line Hull got the verdict over Trimmer although they shared the same race time, Mass got fourth, the STP-March 0.4 seconds further back. Williamson held onto fifth further handicapped by handling problems to add to his engine woes and Bob Evans took the final point in sixth, just pipping Brendan McInerney.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Crystal Palace, 9 September 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: Silverstone, 28 August 1972

silver-stone_28_8_72

Race Report: Silverstone, 28 August 1972

silver-stone_28_8_72

It was two heats and a final again for the latest round of the Lombank North Central Championship the third F3 race in three days, despite this there was an excellent entry with all the top runners present.

Japan’s Masami Kuwashima in his GRD made the best start of the first heat runners and passed the front row occupants to grab the lead, he was pursued by Mike Walker, Tony Brise, Mike Wilds, Andy Sutcliffe and Tom Pryce. Kuwashima led for the next four laps but Mike Walker was determined to get the lead and on lap 6 he slotted his Ensign past the GRD, Kuwashima tried to regain the lead but a slight mistake at Beckett’s allowed Walker to win by 1.2 seconds. Kuwashima took second by a similar distance from Mike Wilds and Tony Brise with Andy Sutcliffe and Tom Pryce next up.

Heat two was all Roger Williamson, he took the lead from pole position, led every lap and won by four seconds. Second place wasn’t so straightforward, Stan Matthews was next up in his new Ensign F372 ahead of Bob Evans (March), Damien Magee (Brabham), Russell Wood (March) and Neil Ginn (GRD). Places were changing all the time with Matthews weaving all over the track in an attempt to break the tow, his efforts were in vain but he still held on to claim second at the flag. Evans came third followed by Wood, Magee and Ginn all within a few tenths of each other.

The fastest 25 from both heats made the final which put Williamson, Matthews and Evans on the front row with Walker and Wood on the second.
Yet again it was Williamson who got away best whilst Walker got his start all wrong and at the end of the first lap the GRD led from Bob Evans, Russell Wood, Tony Brise, Masami Kuwashima, Damien Magee, Mike Wilds, Andy Sutcliffe, Mike Walker and Rikki von Opel. On a couple of occasions Williamson made a small break but the rest were soon with him again, Matthews held second for three laps then it was Evans, next Wood and then Evans again. By lap 7 it seemed as if the only realistic challengers to Williamson were Evans, Wood and Kuwashima but by lap 9 Sutcliffe and von Opel had joined in the fun.
It was all change on lap 13 when Williamson had a moment at Maggotts and in a flash Kuwashima and Evans were ahead with Williamson having to fight off Sutcliffe. On the final lap as they entered Woodcote Williamson decided to go for broke and he left his braking as late as possible, too late in fact and the GRD spun its way down to ninth. It was Kuwashima who led across the line to score his first F3 race win, Evans and Sutcliffe took second and third a few tenths behind the Japanese with Wood fourth and von Opel fifth.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Silverstone, 28 August 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: Misano, 27 August 1972

misano_27_8_72

Race Report: Misano, 27 August 1972

misano_27_8_72

An Italian F3 race held at the newly opened Misano-Adriatico, there were two heats and a final, Vittorio Brambilla (Brabham-Novamotor BT38) won the first heat and Pico Pina (Brabham-Novamotor BT35) the second. Brabhams dominated the final with victory once again going to Vittorio Brambilla.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Misano, 27 August 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: Thruxton, 27 August 1972

thruxton_27_8_72

Race Report: Thruxton, 27 August 1972

thruxton_27_8_72

47 cars were entered for this round of the Forward Trust Championship of which 30 could start after qualifying. Practice was dominated by the works Iberia Ensign-Vegantunes of Rikki von Opel and Mike Walker, Andy Sutcliffe’s GRD joining them on the front row.

There was drama at the first corner of the opening lap when 10 of the runners were out on the spot following an unexplained incident, those out were Tony Trimmer (Lotus 73), Mo Harness (GRD 372), Mike Tyrrell (Ensign F372), Bernard Vermilio (Lotus 73), Mike Wilds (Ensign F372), Richard Knight (Martini Mk9), John Bisignano (Martini MK9), Ross Ambrose (Lotus 69), Stan Matthews (March 723) and Chris O’Brien (Brabham BT38). John MacDonald was also involved and ended up in a ditch but he was able to get out and continue albeit well back.

The marshals managed to quickly clear the track and at the front it was Walker from von Opel, Sutcliffe, Jochen Mass, Damien Magee and Roger Williamson who was making up ground after a poor grid position due to a fire and a blown engine. Lap 2 saw Williamson with problems again as he arrived at the chicane and found his GRD brakeless, he half spun the car loosing four places in the process. Meanwhile von Opel was leading a group consisting of Walker, Sutcliffe, Mass and Magee. Walker moved to the front on lap 4 and he and von Opel found themselves with a clear lead on lap 6 after Mass touched Sutcliffe at the chicane. The GRD skated off onto the infield, Sutcliffe regained the track in 13 place with a damaged tub but retired shortly after with engine problems.
For the rest of the race it was all about the two Ensigns with Walker doing most of the leading, starting the last lap they were nose-to-tail at Church when they came up to lap Cavan Riley who stayed well to the right. As Walker pulled out to overtake von Opel who had used the double tow to good effect went to the inside of Walker, as von Opel (with one wheel on the grass) pulled level Walker closed the door a little too hard. Walker hit von Opel and half spun and then hit him again, Walker then found himself spinning down the track and into the ditch whilst an undamaged von Opel was able to keep going and win the race easily. After the race both drivers blamed the other and team boss Mo Nunn blamed them both.
Behind the battling Ensigns Mass and Magee had been having a good clean fight, the verdict going to Mass in the STP March who finished in what was now second place, Williamson bought his brakeless GRD into fourth just ahead of Russell Wood and Randy Lewis.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 27 August 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, 26 August 1972

oulton-park_26_8_72

Race Report: Oulton Park, 26 August 1972

oulton-park_26_8_72
A good field of 26 cars arrived at Oulton Park for this Lombard North Central round despite there being a Forward Trust race at Thruxton the following day. Jochen Mass took pole position in his works STP-March on his first visit to the circuit, Roger Williamson should have been next after equalling the German’s time but a crash at Druids after six laps of practice wrote off the tub of his GRD. Fortunately the works team had a fully plumbed spare in their transporter and in only 3 hours a new car was built up for Williamson who was forced to start from the back of the grid. The works GRD of Andy Sutcliffe made the best start but Mass was in front by Knickerbrook but then had a hairy old moment that dropped him to fourth, luckily the other closely following cars managed to avoid the errant March. A group of eight cars soon pulled away at the front of the field with Walker who had taken over from Sutcliffe on lap 2 in front followed by the GRD then came Mass back up to third, von Opel, Bob Evans, Damien Magee, Masami Kuwashima and Tony Brise. Mass had another grassy moment on lap 6 at Lodge which allowed Evans and von Opel past but Evans was out a lap later when contact with Magee split a front wheel on the March. Sutcliffe was out on lap 9 when he span at Esso and hit the barrier bending a front wishbone,

he tried to continue at the back but was forced to retire with the wheel about to part company from the car. Walker lost the lead to von Opel on lap 10 and then had to watch his teammate disappear into the distance as he had to drop back with increasing understeer. Mass was out on lap 10 with overheating from a damaged radiator caused by one of his incidents, Magee joined him on lap 15 with a spin at Esso, the Irishman finding a stone had punctured his radiator.
So it was that von Opel took the chequered flag from his teammate although Walker was fortunate to hold second after he had been caught by Kuwashima and Brise, the GRD then ran over the Brabham’s rear wheel slightly delaying them both. Walker then took advantage of of the slow Royale of Lee Kaye to ensure his runner-up spot, Kuwashima managing to get ahead of Brise for third. Neil Ginn crossed the line in fifth, the GRD driver having taken the spot from Russell Wood’s March on the last lap. Notable retirements included Williamson who had made it up to ninth before a waterpipe came off the hastily assembled GRD, Peter Hull who bent a corner on his Brabham at Druids on lap 14 when in sixth and Mike Wilds (Ensign) and John Bisignano (Martini) who took each other off early on in the race at Esso.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Oulton Park, 26 August 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