Race Report: Oulton Park, 10 August 1974

oulton park_10_8_74

Race Report: Oulton Park, 10 August 1974

oulton park_10_8_74

The latest Lombard North Central round was all about the weather, it rained heavily in practice which gave the unusual site of Mike Tyrrell on pole in his ex-Tony Brise March 733, and it rained heavily in the race.

There was chaos before the start when on the warm up lap there seemed to be a misunderstanding between Brian Henton and José Espirito Santo which caused Santo to punt Tyrrell up the rear breaking the oil cooler on the Antiguan’s March. Tyrrell stopped at Druids after leaving a long oil trail on the track whilst Santo came to the grid his brakes covered in oil. Henton arrived very late after having to stop to have a broken fuel injection rod fixed and in the confusion he forgot to switch his engine off.

This wasn’t the end of the problems for Henton as both he and team mate Jose Chateaubriand were penalised 70 seconds for jumping the start. To make matters worse the March pit weren’t informed of the penalty until the race was 10 laps old, although Henton speeded up on hearing of the penalty there was insufficient time for him to build up anything like enough of a gap and at the finish he and Chateaubriand dropped to sixth and seventh respectively despite a protest by the March team.
Henton actually finished first on the road thirteen seconds ahead of Alex Ribeiro who became the winner after Henton’s penalty was applied. Nick von Preussen drove very well to take second after demoting Chateaubriand at Old Hall on the last lap and finishing less than a second behind Ribeiro. Derek Lawrence took third from a closely following Tony Rouff and Marcos Moraes, Rouff might have hoped to do better but his race was ruined by broken mounting points on his GRD resulting in terrible handling problems. Santo’s disappointing race was concluded after five slow tours of the wet track.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Oulton Park, 10 August 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, 28 July 1974

snetterton_28_7_74

Race Report: Snetterton, 28 July 1974

snetterton_28_7_74

With a race at Oulton Park the day before it was fortunate that most of the main runners all arrived at Snetterton for this Lombard North Central round, the only notable absentee being José Espirito Santo. Two new runners were both returnees, Pedro Passadore in a GRD 374 and Mike Tyrrell in a March 733 so a grand total of eleven runners made it to Norfolk. It was Alex Ribeiro who set the fastest time in practice ahead of championship leader Brian Henton although there was some dispute about the times given to some of the drivers.

Ribeiro lead lap 1, Henton lead lap 2 to 15, business as usual, Ribeiro stayed with Henton for a lap but then fell away to finish nearly 8 seconds behind at the end. The only problem Henton had was in having to twice lap the incredibly slow GRD of Len Smith, Ribeiro having similar problems, nearly being taken off the track at Russell as he tried to find a way through.

Tony Rouff made a very slow getaway after stripping second gear and he was down in ninth at the end of lap 1 but he pulled his way up to the fourth place battle between Nicholas von Preussen (March), Pedro Passadore, Barry Maskell (Dastle) and Marcos Moraes (GRD). Jose Chateaubriand retired the second works March at this point with a blown engine, his second of the weekend after loosing one in practice.
Maskell moved his Dastle up to third passing the von Preussen March but Rouff had disposed of the other runners and closed in on Maskell overtaking him at Coram when the Dastle understeered wide. Fifth went to von Preussen from Passadore, Moraes and Derek Lawrence who was hampered with a broken temperature gauge.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Snetterton, 28 July 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: Oulton Park, 27 July 1974

oulton park_27_7_74

Race Report: Oulton Park, 27 July 1974

snetterton_30_6_74

Only 10 cars arrived for this Forward Trust round and with Brian Henton not on pole perhaps there was a chance for someone else to win. José Espirito Santo made best use of pole and led Henton away from the start and for the first three laps the two cars ran nose to tail until Henton made his move at Lodge and slipped past Santo into the lead. Henton was running a new monocoque following his Cadwell shunt and he pulled out enough of a lead to be safe for the rest of the race. There were no other changes during the rest of the race although the third place battle between Ribeiro was very close with the two cars crossing the line almost together. Barrie Maskell had been running fifth ahead of Danny Sullivan until he spun at Esso on lap 5 resuming in seventh.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Oulton Park, 27 July 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: Hockenheim, 21 July 1974

hockenheim_21_7_74

Race Report: Hockenheim, 21 July 1974

cadwell-park_21_7_74

A German non-championship race, the Preis Der Stadt Karlsruhe” was held over 20 laps of the short 2.63 km track.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Hockenheim, 21 July 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, 21 July 1974

cadwell-park_21_7_74

Race Report: Cadwell Park, 21 July 1974

cadwell-park_21_7_74

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.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Cadwell Park, 21 July 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: Hockenheim, 14 July 1974

hockenheim_14_7_74

Race Report: Hockenheim, 14 July 1974

hockenheim_14_7_74

Round 7 of the Polifac Trophy was held over 15 laps of the 6.788 km track, a good field of mostly German national were entered.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Hockenheim, 14 July 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: Avus, 30 June 1974

avus_30_6_74

Race Report: Avus, 30 June 1974

avus_30_6_74

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

snetterton_30_6_74

Race Report: Snetterton, 30 June 1974

snetterton_30_6_74

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

nurburgring_16_6_74

Race Report: Nurburgring, 16 June 1974

nurburgring_16_6_74

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

silverstone_9_6_74

Race Report: Silverstone, 9 June 1974

silverstone_9_6_74

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