OldRacingCars.com

Coppa Presidente de la Republica

Autodromo de San Carlo, Caracas, 18 Mar 1973

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Andrea de Adamich Brabham BT38 - Ford twin cam Hart
Fred Opert Racing (see note 1)
60 1h 01m 43.3s
2 Carl Liebich Chevron B18C - Ford twin cam Hart
Fred Opert Racing (see note 2)
60 1h 01m 57.31s
3 Bobby Dennett Chevron B18C - Ford twin cam
Fred Opert Racing (see note 3)
60 1h 02m 07.21s
4 Bill O'Connor Brabham BT38 [15?] - Ford twin cam Hart
(see note 4)
60 1h 02m 32.09s
5 Mike Hall Brabham BT40 - Ford twin cam Hart
#27 Fred Opert Racing (see note 5)
60 1h 03m 02.00s
UNK John Powell Brabham BT38 [14] - Ford twin cam Hart
#30 (see note 6)

UNK Bob Lazier March 722 - Ford twin cam
(see note 7)

UNK Tom Klausler Brabham BT38 [26?] - Ford twin cam Hart
#63 (see note 8)

UNK Bill Brack Brabham BT38B - Ford twin cam Hart
Fred Opert Racing (see note 9)

UNK Freddy van Beuren March 722 - Ford twin cam
#31 (see note 10)

UNK Héctor Rebaque Brabham BT38 [‘33’?] - Ford twin cam Hart
#5 Fred Opert Racing (see note 11)

UNK Ernesto Soto Brabham BT35 - Ford twin cam
#81 Fred Opert Racing (see note 12)

UNK Julio César Hidalgo Lotus 69 [71/69.1.FB?] - Ford twin cam Hart
(see note 13)

DNS Eduardo Muñoz LeGrand Caribe Mk 6 - Ford twin cam BRM Phase IV
Did not start
(gearbox not complete)
DNA Chuck Sarich March 722 - Ford twin cam
(see note 14)
Did not arrive
DNA Chuck Dietrich Brabham BT40 [18] - Ford twin cam Hart
#31 (see note 15)
Did not arrive

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Heat 1 Laps Time Speed
1Andrea de Adamich300.30.49.10
2Carl Liebich300.31.00.01
3Bill Brack300.31.00.09
4Bobby Dennett300.31.10.01
5Bill O'Connor300.31.21.09
Heat 2 Laps Time Speed
1Andrea de Adamich300.30.54.2
2Bobby Dennett300.30.57.2
3Carl Liebich300.30.57.3
4Bill O'Connor300.31.11.0
Bill BrackBroken wheel
Qualifying
1 Andrea de Adamich (FB) 1.6-litre Brabham BT38 - Ford twin cam Hart
2 Bob Lazier (FB) 1.6-litre March 722 - Ford twin cam

Notes on the cars:

  1. Brabham BT38 (Andrea de Adamich): Nick Craw (Washington, DC) raced a yellow-and-blue #71 Brabham BT38 in the 1972 SCCA Pro Formula B series but is only known to have started two races. The car was entered by Fred Opert Racing, and is likely to have been a brand new BT38B. In October 1972 and again in February 1973, the "ex-Craw" car was advertised by Opert as "4 races from new". Photographs from the FB event at Autodromo de San Carlo, Caracas in March 1973 suggest that this was the car raced by Andrea de Adamich to win that event. Subsequent history unknown.
  2. Chevron B18C (Carl Liebich): Carl Liebich (Plymouth, Wisconsin) raced a yellow Chevron B18 in SCCA Nationals in 1971, entered as #78. In 1972 he ran a yellow Chevron B18C, presumed to be the same car, entered as #79, and used in the Pro Formula B series, in the Players Canadian Formula B series, and in SCCA Nationals. Also raced by Liebich at Caracas in March 1973. Advertised by Opert as ex-Liebich, and blue-and-yellow in February 1973, and sold to Frank Sangiorgio (North Babylon, Long Island, NY) who raced it SCCA and EMRA racing around Bridgehampton from 1973 to 1975 at least. Sangiorgio was EMRA Formula B champion for 1973. He advertised the car in in September 1976. Subsequent history unknown.
  3. Chevron B18C (Bobby Dennett): Freddy van Beuren (Estad de Mexico, Mexico) raced a orange/yellow Chevron B18 as part of the Fred Opert team in Formula B in 1971. The car was advertised by Opert in October 1971 but was not sold and is likely to be the car that van Beuren raced in Bogotá in February and March 1972. Van Beuren then took over as chief instructor at the Opert Racing School at Bridgehampton, and the next time he and the B18 were seen was at Brainerd in September 1972. The B18 was then taken over by Bill Brack for two late-season races, and was advertised by Opert in February 1973. It is probably the Opert-entered car raced by Bobby Dennett at Caracas in March 1973. Subsequent history unknown, but thought to be the car sold to Dean Lundgreen.
  4. Brabham BT38 [15?] (Bill O'Connor): New for Motul Rondel Racing at Hockenheim in mid-April 1972, and raced all season by Bob Wolleck. Raced once by Carlos Reutemann at Enna. Sold to Bill O'Connor (Highland Park, IL) for Formula B for 1973. To Chuck Dietrich (Sandusky, OH) for 1974, then fitted with a Cosworth BDA for 1975, 1976 and 1977. He continued to race it in 1978, but at the age of 53 was appearing less often. This was presumably the Brabham he drove in 1979, but by 1980 he had replaced it with a Lola T460. The subsequent history of the Brabham is unknown.
  5. Brabham BT40 (Mike Hall): Mike Hall (Twin Lakes, WI) raced a brand new Brabham BT40 at the SCCA Run-Offs, known then as American Road Race of Champions, at Road Atlanta 25 Nov 1972, the first BT40 to race. Hall then raced this car in Formula B and Formula Atlantic in 1973 and 1974. He replaced it with a Lola T360 for 1975 and the Brabham was then raced by John Elder (Rosemount, Minnesota) in SCCA Nationals in 1975, winning his class at Brainerd in July. Hall had modified his car with a wide nose and a higher and fuller tail, and Elder's car showed the same modifications. The car was then advertised, as "ex-Mike Hall" by Richard Prather's Prather Racing (Wheeling, IL) in November 1976. There is a good chance this was the car raced by Peter Robinson (Madison, Wisc) in 1976 and 1977. Subsequent history unknown.
  6. Brabham BT38 [14] (John Powell): Brand new for Motul Rondel Racing at Oulton Park at the end of March 1972, and raced there by Tim Schenken, who finished second. For Schenken again at Thruxton a few days later, then for Derek Bell at Nürburgring at the end of April, by Jean Max at Pau, and by Jean-Pierre Beltoise at Crystal Palace and Rouen. Schenken used the car for the rest of the season, winning at Hockenheim in October. Sold to John Powell (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) for Formula B in 1973. Sold to Bob Schutt (Kirkwood, MO) at Watkins Glen at the end of 1973, and used by him in Mid West Division FB racing. In the early 1980s, Schutt sold the car to Bob Willis (St Louis, MO), who is believed to still own it in 2019.
  7. March 722 (Bob Lazier): Bob Lazier (Vail, CO) raced a black #6 March 722 in the Pro Formula B series in 1972, winning at Bryar Motorsports Park in May. The car was sold to Byron Hatten (Altadena, CA) for 1973, and he entered it for John Angus (formerly of Hartland, WI, but living in Marina Del Rey, CA at this time) for 1974. According to a later advert, this was the "76B" driven by Hatten at the IMSA Formula Atlantic race at Ontario in 1976, and it was then sold to George Seydel (Pasadena, CA), who raced a Formula B March in SCCA Regionals at Riverside in 1978. According to this car's SCCA logbook, it was raced by Seydel until 1979. The SCCA Logbook records its "Manufacturers Identification No." as 722-16, but this was the chassis number reported in Europe to be Xavier Perrot's F2 car, so this identity remains unconfirmed.
  8. Brabham BT38 [26?] (Tom Klausler): New for Motul Rondel Racing in May 1972, replacing BT38/11, and raced by Carlos Reutemann. Also raced by Gerry Birrell at Albi, when Reutemann was away racing in the Canadian GP. Reutemann left the Rondel team after the Hockenheim race at the beginning of October, following a disagreement over engines, and the car was raced by Ronnie Peterson in the Brazilian F2 series. Sold by Rondel to Tom Klausler (Palatine, IL) for Formula B in 1973, and won at Trois-Rivières in September. Then advertised by Roy Witz (Arlington Heights, IL) in mid-1974, then sold to John Kowalski (Berea, OH) for Formula Atlantic in 1975. Kowalski advertised it in December 1975 as "ex Klausler", still with its "big valve Hart" engine. Used by Kowalski in early 1976, but he then upgraded to a newer Lola T360. The Brabham is believed to have gone to Dr Mike Orgel (Ladue, MO), who raced a Brabham BT38 in Formula B and then Formula Atlantic in SCCA Midwest Division events from 1977 to 1980. After driving in Regionals in 1977, he won the MidDiv Regional title in 1978, and scored 10 points in Nationals that year. He did not appear in the points table for 1979, but scored one point in 1980 in a Brabham BT38. It would then be the "ex-Peterson" car acquired at some point from Orgel by Bob Willis (St Louis, MO), who also owned the Rondel sister car BT38/14.
  9. Brabham BT38B (Bill Brack): Fred Opert entered Brabham BT38s for a number of different drivers, and it appears that he had a regular hire car through 1972 and 1973. However, the more we learn about BT38Bs, and about the ex-F2 BT38s that arrives in the US, the more the evidence of this hire car evaporates. As Nick Craw, Peter Knoll and Jonathan Farkas remained very close to Fred Opert Racing in those two seasons, it is hard to be certain about how their cars were used. This hire car is assumed for now to be the car raced by Ric Forest at Sanair in May 1972, and may then be the car raced by Bill Brack in Caracas in early 1973. It may then be the car raced by Chris Gleason at Watkins Glen in October 1973. However, these could have been two or three different cars, depending on what Opert had in stock at each time. Subsequent history unknown.
  10. March 722 (Freddy van Beuren): Chuck Dietrich (Sandusky, OH) raced a blue-and-white #30 or #31 March 722 in CenDiv and NEDiv Formula B and some Pro races in 1972. Photographs suggest this was the car raced by Freddy van Beuren in the Formula B race at Caracas in February 1973. Subsequent history unknown.
  11. Brabham BT38 [‘33’?] (Héctor Rebaque): A "new chassis" replacing the ASCA team's Brabham BT38 wrecked by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud at Rouen. It was raced by teammate Adam Potocki at Imola, where Potocki failed to qualify, and was then Jaussaud's car for the rest of the season. ASCA entered Jaussaud in the Brazilian F2 Torneio, but he was involved in the startline accident at the second Interlagos race, and the Brabham was badly damaged. According to Chris Townsend's research, this car was acquired by Fred Opert Racing and raced by Héctor Rebaque in the Caracas Formula B race in March 1973, then by Brian Robertson in the JAF Grand Prix in May 1973. It is not clear what else Opert used it for in 1973, but in January 1974, he sold it to John Bernadine (Tulsa, OK) for SCCA Formula B. Then to Warren Pauge (Hacienda Heights, CA) in August 1975, replacing his well-used Brabham BT21. Pauge retained the BT38 for many years, even running it as a Can-Am car once in 1982. After he finally stopped racing it in 1988, he sold it to Marc Bahner, then it went to George Steven in 1992, Tom Stapleton about 2008, and Paul Skilowitz (Stuart, FL) in 2016.
  12. Brabham BT35 (Ernesto Soto): Fred Opert Racing ran a Brabham BT35 hire car on a couple of occasions during 1973: for Ernesto Soto at Caracas in March 1973, and for Bertil Roos at Mosport Park in July 1973. A picture of Soto with the car shows that it was red, with yellow wings, Marlboro decals, and wearing Soto's usual #81. Nothing more is known of this car.
  13. Lotus 69 [71/69.1.FB?] (Julio César Hidalgo): Raced by Jacques Couture as part of the Jim Russell Racing Team in the Players Formula B Championship and the Molson Formula Championship in Canada in 1971, winning rounds of both, and in the Seattle round of the SCCA Continental Championship. Unknown in 1972, but advertised by Fred Opert in October 1972 and again in February 1973. Thought to be the car driven by Opert customer Julio César Hidalgo in the FB race at Autodromo de San Carlo, Caracas in March 1973. Subsequent history unknown, but may be the Victor Gagliano/Bob Silvestro car from 1974 onwards.
  14. March 722 (Chuck Sarich): Chuck Sarich (McLean, VA) raced a midnight blue/white #57 March 722 in SCCA Nationals and Pro Formula B in 1972, entered by Quicksilver Racing Enterprises, Inc of Rockville, Maryland. Chuck finished second in the Southeast Division FB championship and qualified for the Runoffs, which he won. Sarich and his team moved into Formula 5000 for 1973, and his March 722 was evidently sold to Steve Jizmagian (San Francisco, CA), who raced a March 722 in west coast SCCA Nationals and Regionals in 1973. He retained the car for 1974, using it mainly in SCCA Nationals and qualifying for the Runoffs. He retained the 722 for a third season in 1975, still with its Ford twin cam engine despite the formula's move to BDA engines, and again qualified for the Runoffs. The 722 was entered throughout these three seasons by Jizmagian as #4. Its colour was variously reported as blue and as black in 1973, then as red in 1974 and 1975. He advertised the car in August 1976 as "March 72B, Quicksilver, three times ARRC", indicating it was Chuck Sarich's car in 1972, as Jizmagian had only qualified for the Runoffs in 1974 and 1975, and Chuck was the only one of the Sarich brothers to qualify in 1972. Jim Sarich's car had gone to Ted Roman. Subsequent history unknown.
  15. Brabham BT40 [18] (Chuck Dietrich): New to Chuck Dietrich (Sandusky, OH) for 1973, and used in SCCA Formula B in 1973. Dietrich bought a third-hand ex-F2 Brabham BT38 for 1974, and whether the BT40 was used at all that season is not known. In 1975, the BT40 reappeared, raced by David Ralston (Elmhurst, IL) in Central Division SCCA Nationals. Its next owner was Ned Clark (Dayton, OH), who is believed to have raced it from 1976 until 1989. It was next seen in 2006, when bought from the Westerburg Collection in the USA by South Australian Tim Kuchel. By 2011, it had been acquired by Bryan Miller (Kiama, NSW).

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.

1970 US FB results were compiled from Autoweek reports by Jim Thurman; 1971 results were transcribed from Autoweek by Allen Brown and 1972 results were compiled by Chris Townsend from an SCCA results publication.

The US Formula B series did not continue in 1973 but a race was organised in Caracas in March 1973 that fits here probably better than anywhere else, as do the occasional SCCA F/Atlantic and FB races in 1974 and 1975.

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.

Individual sources for this event

Chris Townsend's sources for this race are as diverse as ever: Canadian Motorsports Bulletin 1974; Autosport 29 Mar 1973 p7; and local newspapers El Nacional 16 Mar 1973 B-4, 17 Mar 1973 B-3, 18 Mar 1973 B-12 and 19 Mar 1973 B-12; and El Universal 16 Mar 1973 3-13 and 19 Mar 1973 3-3.