Race Report: Thruxton, 24 March 1974

thruxton_24_3_74

Race Report: Thruxton, 24 March 1974

thruxton_24_3_74

On to round three of the Lombard North Central Championship and the number of competitors continued to inch up with 11 cars making it to Thruxton. Once again the F3 cars found themselves running with another class to make up the grid size, this time it was the Monopostos.

Brian Henton had set a pole time an amazing three seconds faster than anyone else but the race would not prove to be so straightforward with a slippery track caused by the cold, damp conditions. Henton took an immediate lead but found the GRD of Tony Rouff sitting on his tail for the opening laps, the works March was adopting some interesting lines as Henton appeared to be suffering from locking brakes. Lap 5 saw Rouff baulked by a slow backmarker which allowed Henton to open out a bit of a gap which was just as well as on lap 6 as Henton entered Club the brakes locked again and Superhen slide straight on behind the chicane. Rouff now found himself with a ten second lead but it only took Henton two laps to catch Rouff and demote him back to second with a passing manoeuvre at Club. Henton held his lead with out further drama to win by 2.2 seconds.

Behind the battling duo at the front Ribeiro had made a great start from row 5 to slot into third ahead of the Ehrlich of Derek Lawrence who was running wet tyres, unfortunately for Ribeiro the judges decided his start was a little too quick and penalised him 10 seconds. Lawrence soon began to fall away as his tyres proved to be the wrong choice for the conditions. José Espirito Santo moved up to fourth, his March sporting a 2-litre engine this week, and on lap 6 he passed Ribeiro at Club. Ribeiro fell back towards the duel for fifth between the works March of Jose Chateaubriand and the works Modus of Bob Arnott. Chateaubriand and Arnott continually swopped places until lap 8 when the March opened up a small gap but Ribeiro was just too far ahead to be caught. Ribeiro finished fourth on the road with Chateaubriand 0.2 seconds behind but the jump start penalty dropped Ribeiro back to sixth. Marco Moraes and Barrie Maskell had been disputing seventh but Moraes spun the works GRD 374 into the banking at Church and for the third successive race Maskell’s engine let him down and he had to retire.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 24 March 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: Thruxton, 28 October 1973

thruxton_28_10_73

Race Report: Thruxton, 28 October 1973

thruxton_28_10_73

A small but good quality entry arrived at Thruxton for the final round of the Forward Trust Championship and at the end of practice it was Brazilian pseudonym “Teleco” who set the fastest time in his March 733 ahead of the similar car of Richard Robarts and the Dastle Mk10B of Barrie Maskell. All ready crowned champion Ian Taylor sat on row two, his qualifying blighted by fuel pressure problems. Further back Glen Eagling was having a one-off outing in the Modus March 733 usually driven by Mo Harness.
There were two notable non -starters, Mike Wilds whose engine blew up after only a few laps and newcomer, Brazilian F Ford champion, Alex Dias-Ribeiro. The Brazilian had hired Leonel Friedrich’s March 733 with Hollywood sponsorship but after working his way down to a 1:21.8 a large accident at Village damaged the car, the driver emerging unscathed.

It was “Teleco” who got the best start as the flag fell and he led round the first lap followed by Richard Robarts, Ian Taylor, Barrie Maskell (who had been passed by Taylor at the complex), Tony Rouff’s GRD was next chased by Matt Spitzley’s March and Nicholas von Preussen who proceeded to have a big spin at the chicane in his 733. Robarts managed to grab the lead at the chicane at the end of the first lap but “Teleco” reasserted himself at the complex but Robarts hadn’t given up. As “Teleco” and Robarts entered the chicane on lap 2 Robarts tried for the lead on the outside, the two cars touched but both drivers managed to keep on the road without loosing position.
Once again as the two leaders entered the chicane on lap 3 Robarts tried for the lead and this time by braking as late as possible the Myson car scrabbled into the lead it would hold for the rest of the race. “Teleco” stayed a close second for the remaining laps despite coming under pressure from Taylor in the closing laps and he lead the Baty car over the line by 0.6 seconds.
Maskell lost his fourth place with a spin at the chicane on the second lap allowing Rouff and Spitzley through although the Dastle regained fifth from Spitzley at the chicane on the last lap. Nicholas von Preussen pulled back to seventh after his first lap spin to lead home Derek Lawrence in the Ehrlich.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 28 October 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: Thruxton, 5 August 1973

thruxton_5_8_73

Race Report: Thruxton, 5 August 1973

thruxton_5_8_73

A good entry arrived at Thruxton for the latest round of the Forward Trust Championship and qualifying was dominated by the works Alpine-Renaults with Michel Leclere and Alain Serpaggi setting the fastest times in their respective heats. For this meeting both of the Alpines were running in narrow track form to suit the high speed Thruxton sweeps. Of the other drivers neither of the works Martinis of Lafitte and Paoli went too well, Paoli loosing time with a broken gear lever. Brian Henton had borrowed Pedro Passadore’s DART GRD to replace his accident damaged version and spent much of practice pointing the wrong way.
At the end of practice there were three non-starters, Buzz Buzaglo and Carlo Giorgio blew their Novamotors and Mike Tyrrell had fuel system bothers with the MRE.

It was raining at the start of Heat 1 and pole sitter Michel Leclere was slow away allowing Christian Ethuin and Mike Wilds to get the jump on him, Kuwashima initially slotted into fourth but spun at the Chicane dropping to eleventh. Leclere moved up onto Wilds gearbox but it was his turn to spin at the Chicane but without any loss of position and within a lap the three leaders were all together. Due to the slippery conditions the positions didn’t change until the final lap when Ethuin went wide exiting Seagrave allowing Wilds to close up through Brooklands and take the lead at the Chicane. Ethuin held onto second spot with Leclere keeping a watching brief in third. Jean-Pierre Paoli held fourth spot for thirteen laps but as the Martini encountered backmarkers Leonel Friedrich was able to slip through and grab the place. Ian Taylor took sixth the engine in his March suffering from water in the electrics with Johnny Gerber finishing in seventh after getting the better of Bernard Beguin who fell behind the recovering Kuwashima.

It was raining much harder when the cars lined up for the second heat and conditions were treacherous. Tony Brise slithered into the lead from Russell Wood, Alain Serpaggi and Jean Ragnotti. Brise began to open a large lead on the opening lap but as he began the second lap his engine began to sound dreadful as it became waterlogged, however he still lead Woods and Serpaggi but Ragnotti had fallen away with a spin at Cobb. Serpaggi was the next victim of Cobb with a spin on the third lap and Brise joined him one lap later, unfortunately Brise stalled his engine and it took him some time to restart it. Wood now led and with the conditions worsening he was shown the chequered flag at the end of the seventh lap, behind him Rousselot had moved up to second as those ahead of him had spun off. Brise had recovered to third passing Serpaggi and Ragnotti into the Chicane on lap 6 but another spin at Cobb on lap 7 saw him drop to an eventual fifth. Serpaggi spun again, this time at Allard on the last lap loosing a place to Ragnotti and dropping to fourth. A battling group consisting of Mo Harness, Brian Henton and Richard Robarts were squabbling over sixth, Harness took the place but decided against racing in the final, Robarts took seventh on the last lap as Henton spun at the Chicane dropping to tenth.

So to the final, despite it being 2 hours since the last of the heats it was still raining and the decision was taken to reduce the race from 20 to 10 laps. As the flag fell Christian Ethuin made the best start from the front row as the other two occupants, Mike Wilds and Russell Wood were slower away. Entering Campbell Serpaggi tried to pass Ethuin but the Alpine brushed wheels with the Martini loosing ground to the leader and allowing team-mate Leclere to get past. Leclere now challenged Ethuin through Church and as the two cars entered the Chicane side by side Leclere left his braking later and he slid through into first. Leclere immediately began to pull away with a clear track ahead of him, Ethuin holding second from Serpaggi, Wood and Friedrich. Further back Mike Wilds gearbox siezed as he entered the Chicane on the first lap and with nowhere to go Brise hit the March in the rear, John MacDonald also had to spin his GRD in avoidance putting all three cars out. Richard Robarts was another to rotate but was able to continue after a precautionary pitstop.
Leclere continued to lead for the remainder of the race seemingly in a different class from the rest of the field as he slid his Alpine around the track. Ethuin took second despite the very close attentions of Serpaggi for the whole of the race, the Alpine driver nearly loosing third with a spin at the Chicane on the final lap as he tried a last ditch effort to pass the Martini. Wood held off a closely pursuing Friedrich for fourth with a gap back to Paoli in sixth. Next up was Rousselot who had had a fight with Ian Taylor and Masami Kuwashima, the Japanese driver passing Taylor into the chicane on the final tour. Retirements included Rouff with an off at Seagrave on lap 6 that also took out Robarts, Johnny Gerber whose Brabham refused to fire up on the grid and Larry Perkins who was out early on with a sick engine.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 5 August 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, 17 June 1973

thruxton_17_6_73

Race Report: Thruxton, 17 June 1973

thruxton_17_6_73

Ian Taylor took pole position for this the latest round of the Forward Trust Championship, sharing the front row with Taylor was the similar car of Tony Brise and Matt Spitzley in his updated variant. The GRD of Alan Jones sitting on row three was trying a front radiator conversion to increase cooling in preparation for the upcoming Paul Ricard race.

Taylor went straight into the lead from pole closely pursued by Spitzley, Brise, Kuwashima and Jones. Entering the complex for the first time Brian Henton’s GRD made contact with the Ensign of Mike Wilds causing the GRD to spin into the infield. As the leaders entered Club Brise, who had passed Spitzley for second, outbraked Taylor to take the lead but on the following lap Taylor was back in front. As the two leaders fought it out at the front the rest of the pack, headed by Kuwashima, began to fall away.

There was a big battle going on for fourth between Spitzley (March 713M/733), Jones, (GRD 373), Russell Wood (March 733), Johnny Gerber (Brabham BT41), Leonel Friedrich (March 733), Mo Harness (Ensign F373), Tony Rouff (GRD 373) and Richard Robarts GRD 373). It was an extremely close fight until Spitzley made contact with Jones at Campbell causing several of the runners to loose contact, Jones, Friedrich, Spitzley and Harness continued to contest the place.
Out in front Taylor gradually pulled away from Brise who in turn was leaving Kuwashima behind and at the end of the race Taylor took an easy 6.4 second victory. Friedrich passed Jones on lap 11 and any hope Jones had of regaining the place were lost when he was delayed by a back marker. Spitzley took fifth right on Jones’ tail with Harness taking sixth from Roberts.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 17 June 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, 24 March 1973

thruxton_24_3_73

Race Report: Thruxton, 24 March 1973

thruxton_24_3_73

Practice for the first round of the Forward Trust Championship saw the Kent Messenger GRD of Tony Brise take pole position on a wet track from the ever impressive Palliser of Damien Magee, Alan Jones, back in his 1973 GRD, completed the front row.

There was a major problem at the start when the man with the Union Jack seemed to hesitate causing some confusion amongst the starters, the entire front row, Brise, Magee and Jones plus Russell Wood and Mike Wilds were penalised one minute for jumping the start. This harsh and undeserved penalty ruined the race for drivers and spectators alike.

It was Damien Magee who led from the flag in the still wet conditions from Tony Brise, Ian Taylor, Russell Wood, Alan Jones and Mike Wilds. Brise tried to get the lead from Magee at the chicane on lap 1 but spun at the exit leaving Magee with a comfortable 100 metre lead over Taylor and Wood with Brise continuing in third. Brise passed Wood on the next lap but promptly fell back again at the chicane. Lap 4 saw Taylor, Wood and Brise starting to narrow the gap to Magee and on the next lap Brise was up a place to third which was soon second as on lap 6 the unfortunate Magee hit the bank at Village rolling the Palliser several times, fortunately without personal injury.

It was now Taylor in the lead from a closing Brise who made his move on lap 8 the GRD taking the lead it would hold to the finish. Back in fourth spot Alan Jones was constantly changing places with the Ensign of Mike Wilds who had gradually homed in on the Australian. Russell Wood was out on lap 11 when the driveshaft on his March 733 sheared moving everyone from fourth up a place. At the finish therefore it was Brise who took the chequered flag in first place but his penalty dropped him to third, Andy Sutcliffe inherited second at the expense of the penalised Jones and Wilds with Masami Kuwashima in fourth despite a spin.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 24 March 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, 29 October 1972

thruxton_29_10 _72

Race Report: Thruxton, 29 October 1972

thruxton_29_10 _72

The fifth AGIP F3 Cup was held over two heats and a final and was dominated by the Italian contingent.

It was raining hard as the cars came out to the grid and nearly all the runners were using Firestone wets, the two notable exceptions being Roger Williamson and Chris Skeaping both of whom were using Dunlops which were generally reckoned inferior to the Firestone product.

Once again as in so many recent races it was Tony Brise who made the best start and that was the last time the rest of the field saw him as he proceeded to pull away from second place man von Opel at over a second a lap. von Opel managed to hold onto Brise for three laps but then the GRD man who was flinging his car around with armfuls of opposite lock, especially through the chicane, began his inexorable progress towards victory. After loosing touch with Brise von Opel had a lonely race into second place as Mike Walker in the sister Ensign was some distance behind in third.

Initially Walker was on his own in third but as the race progressed Neil Ginn slowly caught him up and was only just behind at the flag. Ginn had been involved in a battle with Alan Jones and Bob Evans but on lap 5 he passed Jones at Club and soon pulled away to leave Jones and Evans to finish 5th and 6th at the finish. Several drivers managed to have accidents in the wet conditions and Chris Pryer in Lee Kaye’s Royale, Mike Greenwood in Colin Vandervell’s Ensign, Jean-Claude Alzerat and Simon Sherman all left the track without personal injury. Poor Syd Fox who was débuting the Huron had to retire on the warm-up lap when his Renault engine stopped.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 29 October 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, 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: 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: Thruxton, 6 August 1972

thruxton_6_8_72

Race Report: Thruxton, 6 August 1972

thruxton_6_8_72

Thirty cars arrived at Thruxton for this non-championship Echo Trophy race, practice accidents accounted for the Ensign F371 of Ken Mackintosh, the March 723 of Russell Wood and the Martini Mk9 of John Bisignano. Other drivers who didn’t make the race for sundry mechanical reasons or because they didn’t appreciate the weather conditions were Brendan McInerney, John Marston, Lee Kaye, Cavan Riley, Simon Sherman, Bob Shellard and Jorge Pinhol.

It was Tony Brise that made the best start in the heavy rain and at the end of the opening lap he had opened up a significant lead over Jochen Mass and his brother Tim. Alan Jones moved his GRD up to third on lap three demoting the similar car of Tim Brise to fourth whilst second place man Mass was beginning to reel in the leading Brise in his Brabham.

Mass made his move on lap 5 and the STP-March took the lead from the Montessa Motorcycles Brabham and although Brise closed up on a couple of occasions when Mass was lapping backmarkers the German always looked in control. Behind Tim Brise in fifth was Brian McGuire followed at some distance by the Ensign of Mike Wilds, next up was the GRD of Mo Harness and the Brabham BT38 of Randy Lewis.
The top six positions remained the same for the rest of the race although Tim Brise was lucky not to leave the track when he was forced wide whilst lapping the Chris O’Brien BT38 on the last lap. Mo Harness in his new GRD lost a couple of places, on lap 8 to Randy Lewis and on lap 21 to Mike Tyrrell, other than that the race was fairly incident free. At the finish Jochen Mass took a relatively untroubled win in the poor conditions setting fastest lap on the way, such was his rate of progress he lapped everybody bar the next four finishers.

f3 HISTORY

RACES

Race Report: Thruxton, 6 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