OldRacingCars.com

British Formula Atlantic Championship Race

Oulton Park, 17 Oct 1981

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Alo Lawler Ralt RT4/80 [199] - Ford BDA Smith
#1 L&B Excavations
30 29m 18.76s
101.57 mph
2 Phil Dowsett March 81A [15] - Ford BDA Nicholson
#5 Industrial Control Services/Pinch Plant
(see note 1)
30 29m 46.17s
3 David Duffield Ralt RT4/80 [185] - Ford BDA Swindon
#20 Caledon Coal Company
29
4 Mike Catlow Ralt RT1/77 [71?] - Ford BDA Hart
#17
29
5 Geoff Byman Lola T760 [HU1] - Ford BDA Smith
#9 Irby Racing
28
6 Kim Mather Chevron B48 [48-79-01] - Ford BDA CB
#29 Aycliffe New Town

DNSP Richard Hawkins Ralt RT1/75 [9] - Ford BDA Nicholson
#22 Lep Group (see note 2)
Did not start (retired on parade lap)
DNA Ian Taylor Tiga FA81 [164] - Ford BDA Nelson
#3 Queensgate Racing
Did not arrive
DNA Ray Mallock Ralt RT4/81 [218] - Ford BDA Swindon
#6 Cliff Smith Racing
Did not arrive
DNA Roger Andreason Druid 79A [377-01] - Ford BDA
#14 Andreasson Racing and Tuning
Did not arrive
DNA Ian Flux Ehrlich RP5B [1] - Ford BDA Ehrlich
#15 Dr. J.Ehrlich
Did not arrive

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

Qualifying
1 Alo Lawler (F/Atl) 1.6-litre Ralt RT4/80 [199] - Ford BDA Smith
2 Phil Dowsett (F/Atl) 1.6-litre March 81A [15] - Ford BDA Nicholson
3 Richard Hawkins * (F/Atl) 1.6-litre Ralt RT1/75 [9] - Ford BDA Nicholson
 
* Did not start

Notes on the cars:

  1. March 81A [15] (Phil Dowsett): New to Phil Dowsett (Chelmsford, Essex) and raced in the British Formula Atlantic championshipmin 1981, with sponsorship from Pinch Plant and Industrial Control Services. Dowsett won two races and finished third in the championship. Sold to Theodore Racing and raced by Vern Schuppan at the Macau GP in November. Then sold to Graham Brown in Western Australia in April 1982 and raced in Australian Formula Pacific. To Michael Moylan in March 1985, then to Jeremy Kenyon (NSW) in January 1991. Sold to Clive Osborne (NSW) in August 1996 and raced by him in 2000, then to Robert Foster (NSW) by 2007 and raced by him from 2007 to 2019. To Barry Wise (QLD) in 2020, and raced by him in 2021 and 2022.
  2. Ralt RT1/75 [9] (Richard Hawkins): New to Teddy Yip's Theodore Racing Team and fitted with a Hart 420R for Vern Schuppan to race at the JAF Grand Prix in November 1975. Then converted to Formula Atlantic specification for the Macau Grand Prix but vital parts did not arrive in time for Schuppan to use it. It was next raced at the Macau GP a year later, when Schuppan won the race. Yip himself drove it at the Malaysia Grand Prix meeting in April 1977, but did not start the race. It was then driven by Alan Jones at Macau in November 1977 but he retired. After that, it sat idle for nearly two years until it was taken to Ireland for the Phoenix Park Formula Atlantic race in September 1979, where it won in the hands of David Kennedy. It then returned to Macau for the 1979 race, when Geoff Lees took over the drive and won. Lees took the Ralt to its third Macau GP victory in 1980, in only its sixth known race start. It was then sold to Richard Hawkins, who drove it in the British Formula Atlantic championship in 1981. He sold it to dealer Roger Cowman who ran it for Vivian Candy at Phoenix Park in August and at Mondello Park in September. It stayed in Ireland and in late 1983 was sold by Jim Flynn to Tony Skinner.

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.