John Player (British) Formula Atlantic Series Race

Brands Hatch, 20 Apr 1975

All cars are 1.6-litre F/Atl unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Chevron B29 [29-75-21] (David Morgan): New to Bobby Brown (Hicksville, NY) who took delivery in England. Raced by David Morgan in two early British Formula Atlantic races, entered by Roger Chalk Racing, before being shipped to the US. Raced by Brown in the Players Canadian Formula Atlantic series in 1975, entered by B&B Racing. Unseen in early 1976, then sold to Lyle Heck (Reading, PA) and raced in NEDiv SCCA Nationals. Retained by Heck for 1977 and 1978, and presumably the Chevron he raced at Summit Point in May 1979. Then to Mike Rand (Amherst, Massachusetts) for NEDiv SCCA events in 1979, then to Nolan 'Lanny' Drevitch (Milton, MA) and Nick Leonard. Devitch was a member of the SCCA's New England Region, and scored one point in SCCA Nationals in 1980 in this car. It was then advertised by Leonard (Pipe Creek, TX) in early 1982, noting that the car was in New York. Then to Chris Perrotti (New Rochelle, NY), and fitted with a Chevrolet V6 engine for the RCCA Formula American class, but Perrotti found he had litle competition. By 1988, the car was with Tony Carpanzano (New Milford, CT), who restored it to Atlantic specification. Sold to Paul Lasko (Las Vegas, NV) in 2006.
2. Brabham BT40 [21] (Cyd Williams): New to Graham Eden Racing, and driven by Cyd Williams in the 1973 British Formula Atlantic championship. Retained by Eden and Williams for 1974. After Williams crashed the car at Brands Hatch in September 1974, it was raced by Richard Morgan and Tony Trimmer later that season. Retained by Eden again for 1975, with Cyd Williams again driving. To David Winstanley (Winsford, Cheshire) of Withers of Winsford for 1976, and raced in the Indylantic championship.
3. Chevron B29 (Jim Crawford): The Chevron B29 used for testing in the US in early 1975 was acquired by Steve Choularton in February for Jim Crawford to race in the 1975 British Formula Atlantic series. It was rebuilt at the Chevron factory and was run by Choularton's SDC Racing from its premises near the factory. At the opening round it was described by Motoring News as "the Florida test car rebuilt" and by Autosport as "based on the original test car taken to the US for customer evaluation", a reference to the car tested over the winter by Bertil Roos, but whether this car was B29-75-01 or B29-75-02 is unclear. Crawford had four successive second places in this car. Prior to the Oulton Park race on 26 May, the car was rebuilt on a new monocoque which Autosport described as having "restored the car to standard specification". That car carried the chassis plate 29-75-15 so was effectively a new car and is covered under that heading.
4. Chevron B29 [29-75-18] (Matt Spitzley): New to Ted Moore of racing car freight specialists Rapid Movements, to be driven by Matt Spitzley in British Formula Atlantic in 1975. For some reason, presumably an accident, this car was replaced by chassis 75-25 in May 1975.
5. March 74B [73B-21] (Val Musetti): New to Stan Mathews (Wicken, Wolverton, Bucks) in June 1973, and raced in British Formula Atlantic. To Chris Oates (Kimberley, Notts) for 1974, but sold mid-season to Val Musetti (London). Retained by Musetti for 1975, when it was updated to 74B specification. It was also rebuilt on another tub about this time, but the details are obscure. Damaged by Derek Cook's March 73B in practice at Silverstone in July, and rebuilt in time for the race on the car's original tub - only to be crashed and damaged again in the race. At the end of 1975, Musetti built up a March "742", which could be said to have inherited the identity of 73B-21, but as the tub had been changed, the chassis plate had long gone, and its appearance and description were radically different, it could be argued that 73B-21 had dissipated by the end of 1975. The successor "742" later went to Bill Wood, then Ray Rowan, before spending much of the 1980s in Monoposto and then being rebuilt as a "712M" for historic racing in the late 1980s.
6. Surtees TS15 [06] (Peter Wardle): New to Peter Wardle (Wimbledon, London) and raced in British Formula Atlantic in 1973, winning from pole position at one race Brands Hatch in August. Retained for 1974, again in British Formula Atlantic, and then retained for a third season in 1975. However, towards the end of 1975, Wardle was entering Steve Carvill (Wimbledon, London) in some races, and it is unclear whether the team had a second TS15 by this point, as the pair never appeared together in the same race. Wardle acquired sponsorship from Radio Luxembourg and Applied Racing Techniques for 1976, and both Wardle and Carvill appeared in Indylantic and in Shellsport G8 during that season, presumably both still in chassis 06. Wardle advertised a TS15 in 1983, with FG400 but no engine and a mountain of spares. According to researcher David McKinney, chassis 06 and chassis 07 were with Tony Collinson in 1990, and chassis 06 appears to stayed with its sister through the ownership of Gerry Wainwright, John Elliott, Mark Griffiths and Crispian Besley, who had both cars in 2010. Beesley sold chassis 06 to Dean Forward in 2019, still in unrestored component form.
7. Chevron B29 [29-75-19] (Stephen Choularton): New to Stephen Choularton (Hale Barns, Cheshire) and raced in British Formula Atlantic in 1975, entered by SDC Racing. To Phil Dowsett (Chelmsford, Essex) for the Indylantic Championship in 1976, entered by Sangria Designs and Capital Radio. Then sold to John Ledlie for the Irish series in 1977 but badly damaged at Phoenix Park in September 1977 when Ledlie hit a tree. As one of relatively few B29s left in Britain and Ireland by this time, it may be the car raced by Trevor Templeton in May 1979 and then by Nelson Todd later in 1979, sponsored by Belfast car dealer Isaac Agnew. Subsequent history unknown.
8. Chevron B27 [27-74-06] (Derek Cook): New to Fred Opert Racing and the car raced by Bertil Roos in the British Formula Atlantic race at Brands Hatch in mid-March. Then fitted with a 2-litre Brian Hart Ford BDA for Roos at two F2 races, Montjuich Park and Hockenheim. Apparantly returned to Formula Atlantic specification and run by the Opert team in the UK series, initially for Héctor Rebaque, and later for Johnny Kastner, William Henderson III and then local man Jim Crawford. Sold to Derek Cook (Rotherham, South Yorkshire) for early 1975 Formula Atlantic races before being replaced by a newer B29. Retained for 1976 when Cook ran it in Indylantic, Shellsport G8, and libre racing, with either a Formula Atlantic BDA or a self-built 2-litre BDA. Retained again for early 1977 and used in F2 and in Shellsport, now with a 2-litre Alan Smith BDG, before Cook acquired a F1 Williams. Subsequent history unknown.
9. Lola T360 [HU5] (Nick May): New to Nigel Clarkson (Cirencester, Gloucestershire) and raced by him and by Richard Scott (London) in British Formula Atlantic, backed by Hurford Jones Ltd. To Nick May (Sutton, Surrey) for the 1975 British series, entered as a T360B with Strakers of Wimbledon Ltd sponsorship and run by Dave Price Racing. To Brian Robinson (Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham) and fitted with a 2-litre Cosworth BDG engine for Shellsport Group 8 races in 1976. To John Brown for John Morrison (Warwick) to drive in Shellsport G8 and libre racing in 1977, then to Kevin Bowditch (Maidenhead) for a few race appearances in 1978. It was sold to Martin Mansell (Middlesex), who raced it as a Lola "FA79" with Winchmore Hill Garage sponsorship in Formula Atlantic in 1979. Mansell crashed heavily at Brands Hatch in April 1979, and did not appear again. It was next seen in 1990 when it was bought by Robert McGimpsey (Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland) from a dealer somewhere in the English midlands. It was then fitted with a 3-litre Weslake engine, and McGimpsey used it for one season in hillclimbing before the engine and chassis were sold separately. It was bought by two friends in 1993 or 1994, and in 2012 they still had it.
10. March 73B [722-24] (Roy Baker): New to Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) to use in the 1972 Yellow Pages Formula Atlantic championship. The car was blue and yellow, and wore #16 all season. Gubelmann won six races and narrowly pipped Cyd Williams to the championship title. The car was sold to fellow American Jas Patterson (Rosslyn Heights, NY) for 1973, repainted red and white, and entered for him by Texaco Team Racing/RIR in the 1973 British season. Patterson crashed heavily at Oulton Park in May 1973, and although the car was rebuilt, he appeared a few races later in what appears to be a new 73B. Patterson raced the 73B for the remainder of 1973 and through 1974, but the 722 reappeared in early November 1974 when an ex-Patterson "722/73B" was acquired by Roy Baker (Ferndown, Dorset) and raced regularly by him through the 1975 season. Subsequent history unknown.
11. Chevron B29 [29-75-17] (Peter Williams): New to Peter Williams (Brentwood) and raced in the British Formula Atlantic series in 1975, but crashed at Brands Hatch in April and not seen again that season. Entered by Williams' Coin News for Jim Crawford in early 1976 and then sold to Martin Birrane (Ballina, County Mayo, Republic of Ireland) who raced it in G8 and in Atlantic in 1976 and 1977. To Laurence Jacobsen (Glasgow, Scotland) for 1978, fitted with a Swindon BDX and entered by him for Bryce Wilson in libre that year. Converted back to Atlantic spec and raced by Bryce, Jacobsen and Graham Hamilton in 1979. In 1980, Jacobsen had the monocoque shortened and fitted the car with a plastic Sunbeam Stiletto body and Cosworth BDG engine, and raced it in GT racing in Scotland as a Hillman Imp. The car was later sold to Eric Munnoch who raced it with a 3.5-litre Rover V8 in 1982. For 1983, it was fitted with a supercharger and entered as a Davrian Stiletto. He returned with the car for 1984, but was not seen again after the first race. The tub somehow returned to Jacobsen and was sent to ex-Chevron engineer Nigel Dickson to be repaired, but this job was still incomplete when the monocoque was sold by Jacobsen to Sandy Watson. John Bradshaw remembers buying the remains of this car from Watson some time around 2006, when "it consisted of aluminium folded panels, uprights and wishbones with some instruments and a chassis plate, apparently driven by Bryce Wilson in his teenage years". He sold it on to Colin Thorpe, and in March 2010, HSCC News reported that Thorpe had rebuilt the car, which was not thought to have raced since the 1980s, and it would be raced by his son Ollie Thorpe in 2010. It was later sold by Ollie Thorpe via Ken Thorogood to Clive Wood, and by 2020 it was being rebuilt for Wood by Dan Eagling for historic F2 racing with a Richardson BDG. However, Wood crashed the car at Donington in March 2021 and while it was being repaired bought a March 782.
12. Chevron B29 [29-75-16] (Bill Brack): Sold via US agent Fred Opert to multiple Canadian champion Bill Brack (Toronto, Ontario) and raced through 1975 in STP colours. Won at Halifax in August and at Brainerd in September. Retained by Brack and run for Kevin Cogan at two races in early 1976 as his new B34 was not ready. Sold to 19-year-old Brad Abbott (Messapequa, NY) later in the season and raced twice, both times in SCCA Regional events, scoring a win and a third place according to his later advert. Abbott then bought a new March 77B for 1977 and the Chevron was sold to John Galson (Glen Mills, PA) who raced it in SCCA events in 1977 and 1978. It is believed to have been bought from Galson by Pat Phalan (Wilmington, DE), and that he kept it right up to 2003, by which time it had been restored to STP livery. Reportedly sold to an owner in Arizona who never drove, and then on to Brian Stark (Mequon WI) in 2010, who raced it in 2010 and 2011.
13. March 74B [742-23] (Graham Perry): New to Bob Harper, an American Ford and BMW importer based in Hong Kong, and entered in 1974 F2 under the banner of Team Harper. The team was run for him by Mike Earle from the Lec workshops in Bognor Regis, with mechanics Greg Field and Tony Harvey. Chassis 742/23 is believed to be the car raced by David Purley at two races early in the season, before Harper replaced the Marches with Chevron B27s. It was acquired for Chris Meek to race at two events in Ceylon, but he did not have the right licence and the 742 was next seen raced by Graham Perry (Birmingham) in Formula Atlantic in 1975, sponsored by Harrisons of Birmingham. For 1976, it was sold to John Walker (Lancaster) but only seen rarely. Retained by Walker for libre racing in 1977, and by the end of that season it was being described as a 772. To Paul Gardner (Preston, Lancashire) for 1978, again for libre racing.
14. Chevron B29 [29-75-04] (Richard Morgan): New to Tom Wheatcroft in February 1975, and tested by Richard Morgan who would be driving it in British Formula Atlantic. Raced by Morgan in the early races of the season, winning one race, until crashed at Brands Hatch in April. Morgan then drove the new Wheatcroft R18, and the Chevron was sold to Brett Riley, who drove it for the rest of 1975. To Ken Bailey (Stretford, Greater Manchester) and raced in Indylantic in 1976. Stored unused during 1977 and advertised by Bailey in November. Sold to Eddie Jordan (Dundrum, County Dublin, Ireland) and used in Irish Formula Atlantic in 1978 in Marlboro livery, winning both the All-Ireland and Duckhams Formula Atlantic Championships. Raced by his teammate Vivian Candy in Ireland in 1979, then sold via Phil Bennett to David Ward (Hesketh Bank, Lancashire) for British libre racing in 1980 and 1981. With Terry Cole for Monoposto racing in 1983, then reportedly broken up for spares by Chevron Cars.
15. Lola T360 [HU7] (Ted Wentz): Believed to be the new car loaned to Ken Bailey in August for British Formula Atlantic, after he had wrecked his original loan car at Silverstone two weeks earlier. Sold to Planer, owners of the Wella brand, for Ted Wentz, starting with the televised Thruxton race in November 1974. Raced by Wentz through 1974 until it was heavily damaged by Roy James in a testing accident in early October 1975. Wentz hired the works development car for the rest of the season, so it is assumed that HU7 was not repairable.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

The British race results have been compiled by Chris Townsend based on material in Autosport and Motoring News reports in the UK plus the information supplied by a wide range of contributors.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.