Jim-Clark-Gedächtnis-Rennen

Hockenheim, 13 Apr 1969

All cars are 1.6-litre F2 unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Lola T102 [F268/1] (Hubert Hahne): New for Jo Siffert to race in BMW's F2 team in 1968, first appearing in the Preis von Baden-Wurttemberg at Hockenheim in October. Raced by Siffert in the early races of 1969, until the team's new Dornier-built cars were ready. Retained by BMW's heritage division, first as BMW Mobile Tradition and later BMW Classic Collection.
2. Brabham BT23C [16] (Piers Courage): New to Frank Williams Racing Cars intended for Juan Manuel Bordeu to race in the F2 Argentine Temporada in December 1968. Retained by Williams for 1969 and raced for him by Piers Courage until his new BT30 was delivered. Earlier suggestions that this car was used by Gagliardi and Marcello Gallo in F3 in 1969 do not now appear to be correct. Sold to Alistair Walker and entered by him for Jacky Ickx to race late 1969, for Walker himself at Thruxton early 1970 and then in the Japanese GP at Fuji in May. Sold to Walter Kinnear (Gilford, County Down, Northern Ireland), fitted with a 1600cc Ford twin cam and raced by him in Irish libre racing from September 1970 to the end of the 1972 season. To John Blades (Whitley Bay, Northumberland) in part-exchange for Blades' Lotus 69 and advertised for sale by Blades in 1973. Sold to Joe Applegarth (Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham) who used parts from this car on his Monoposto Formula BT23C/5.
3. Brabham BT30 [1] (Kurt Ahrens): Sold new to Kurt Ahrens (Braunschweig, Germany) and raced in European F2. Sold to Montan Racing Team for 1970 and raced by Werner Lindermann but destroyed by fire prior to the Hockenheim round.
4. Lotus 59B [59-F2-19] (Alan Rollinson): New for 1969, and entered by Roy Winkelmann Racing for Jochen Rindt at Thruxton in April 1969, which the Austrian won. Driven by Alan Rollinson at Hockenheim, and then by Rindt again at Pau, which he also won. Rindt also won at Zolder and Tulln-Langenlebarn, and the car was driven at other races in 1969 by Rollinson, Roy Pike, Rolf Stommelen, and John Miles. According to Richard Spelberg's research, this car was converted to Lotus 69 specification for 1970, as F2.69.4.
5. Tecno 68/F2 [T00 304] (Nanni Galli): A brand new Tecno-FVA taken to the Argentine Temporada in December 1968 for local driver Andrea Vianini. Brought back into the factory Tecno team for 1969 and driven by Nanni Galli in the 1969 F2 series. Taken over by Clay Regazzoni at the Albi GP in September 1969 and crashed into the Armco on the opening lap of the race. Not seen again.
6. Tecno 68/F2 [T00 306] (François Cevert): New at the December 1968 Argentine Temporada as a works car for Jo Siffert but likely to have been the "brand new" spare car available for Clay Regazzoni at Vallelunga in October. Then a works entry for François Cévert in F2 in 1969, winning at Reims in June. Entered by Jolly Club for Giancarlo Gagliardi at two F2 races early in 1970 and then to Hervé Bayard for hillclimbs later in 1970. Bayard's car was described as "ex-Regazzoni" and a 1969 car, but identified by later owner Fred Marquet as chassis T00 306. Used in the 1971 French hillclimb series by Bayard with 1600cc FVA and 1800cc FVC engines. Then to Daniel Gache for 1972 and raced in the 1600cc G9 class. Unknown after the end of 1972 until acquired by Marquet from a M. Rabanel (Toulon, France) in 1987. Retained by Marquet in 2009.
7. Brabham BT23 [2] (Enzo Corti): Motor Racing Developments entry for Denny Hulme in 1967 and probably the car used by Jack Brabham for a few races in July and August after his usual car was sold to Mick Mooney. Then raced by Frank Gardner in September. It was then taken to the Tasman series for Denny Hulme to drive after he had wrecked BT23-5 at Pukekohe. The BT23 was then advertised by Frank Williams in early April and sold by him to Ernesto 'Tino' Brambilla in Italy. Brambilla raced it as a Scuderia Picchio Rosso entry at Tulln-Langenlebarn in July 1968, but was then recruited by Ferrari to drive the F2 Dino 166, and his BT23 was only seen once more that season, when driven by Enzo Corti at Vallelunga in October. Corti drove the car for Scuderia Picchio Rosso right through the 1969 season, and it was then raced a few times in early 1970 by Vittorio Brambilla, Tino's younger brother. In 1970, the car had BT30 sidepods and wings. Its last appearance was in July 1970, after which the brothers bought new Brabham BT30s. The next steps in the car's life remains unclear, but it is said to have been acquired by Antonio Bernardo (Lugano, Switzerland) some time in the early 1970s. An original claim that Bernardo acquired it directly from the Winkelmann Racing at the end of the 1967 season appears to have been a misunderstanding. He stored it unused "for over 30 years". It was bought from Bernardo in 2006, and restored between 2006 and 2010. Paint layers on the bodywork match the colours used by MRD and Corti, and the double-rollhoop also matches Corti's car, but some questions remain unanswered about this car as of February 2023.
8. Brabham BT30 [3] (Peter Westbury): New to Peter Westbury and used for a full season of European F2 in 1969, winning at Neubiberg in October. Sold to John Wingfield (London NW11) and used in libre and in selected F2 events in 1970 and 1971. In August 1971, Wingfield acquired a new BT36 and the BT30, still with its Felday-tuned FVA engine, was sold to Jim Charnock (Liverpool) for Formule Libre, starting at Rufforth in early September. Charnock won five races in the closing weeks of the 1971 season, then won three more in 1972, when he was a regular runner at Aintree. He continued with the car in 1973, when he competed at Aintree and in the BRDC Jaybrand Racewear Formule Libre series, and in 1974 and 1975 when he was mainly seen at Aintree. The car is then unknown until it was advertised by dealer Brian Classic (Bucklow Hill, Cheshire) as "chassis number 3" in June 1984. Sold to Chris Mann (UK) 1985 and then sold via Frank Sytner to Ray Delaney (Melbourne, Australia) in 1987. Raced by Delaney in east coast Australian historic events the next six years at Calder Raceway (Vic), Sandown Park (Vic), Oran Park (NSW), Amaroo Park (NSW), Winton Raceway (Vic) and the support races at the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide (SA) in 1988 and 1989. Sold to Dick James in 1993. To Mike Carmody 2003 and sold by him to Tom Lee (Puyallup, WA) October 2005. Restored for 2007 to its original livery.
9. Brabham BT23C [8] (Bernd Terbeck): New to Kurt Ahrens (Braunschweig, Germany) and raced by him in F2 in 1968 under the Caltex Racing banner. Sold to Bernd Terbeck (Hiltrup, Germany) and run as part of the Montan Racing Team in F2 in 1969 and 1970. Then unknown in 1971 and 1972. Former Mini racer Graham Cooper (Sedgley, Worcestershire) raced his "newly acquired Brabham BT23C" in a sprint at Curborough in March 1973. This car was sold by Cooper to Richard Churchley (Hampton-in-Arden, Warwickshire) and run by him in sprints in 1975 with a Ford twin cam and then in 1976 with a 1600cc Hart BDA. From Churchley to Bill Morris who wanted the engine for his Ensign and sold the rest of the car to Robin Darlington (Ruabon, Wales) in early 1977. Then to Les Aylott (Oakham, Rutland) and David Knowles, fitted with Aylott's turbcharged 1600cc BDA engine by by June 1977, and raced in 1977 and 1978. Advertised from Oakham in April 1981. Then unknown until raced by Peter Rogers (High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) in the HSCC Bradburn & Wedge Pre-71 series in 1984 with a BDA engine. (Possibly the car raced by Jon Bradburn in late 1983.) Raced by Rogers until 1987. Sold by Rogers' father Sir John Rogers to David Brown (Ashford, Kent) in 1999 and raced by him in the HSCC Classic Racing Cars Championship. Raced regularly by David Brown (Ashford, Kent) in HSCC events until sold to Graham Adelman (Free Union, VA) in 2014.
10. Brabham BT23 [7] (Werner "Noddy" Lindermann): To Gerhard Mitter (Germany) and raced in selected F2 events in 1967. Then entered by Mitter Tuning for Werner Lindermann in 1968. Retained by Lindermann and entered by Montan Racing Team through the 1969 season, returning in 1970 for the team's second driver Helmut Gall. Last seen at Hockenheim on 12 April 1970 but believed to have been destroyed some time later.
11. Brabham BT23C [12] (Malcolm Guthrie): New to Frank Williams' customer Corrado Manfredini and raced as a Scuderia Picchio Rosso entry in F2 from June onwards. Returned to Williams and entered by Frank Williams Racing Cars for Malcolm Guthrie in F2 in early 1969 but sold to Bob Gerard (Leicester) in May and entered for his drivers Robin Widdows and Brian Hart, each of who won a race that summer in the car. Advertised by Gerard Racing as a rolling chassis in August 1970. Sold to drag racer Gerry Tyack (Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire) in 1970 and used to set four national speed records at Elvington, and also to win the Brighton Speed Trials. Advertised by Tyack in November 1971. Its history thereafter is unclear but it reappeared in 1986 being raced by Adrian Thomas in HSCC events, then with Kelvin Lambeth (London) in 1988-89 and with Monte Shalett (Metairie, LA) in 1990. Advertised by Mark Leonard of Grand Prix Classics (La Jolla, CA) in 1998 and sold by him to Peter Ball who did not use it much, preferring his FJ. From Bull to Harindra de Silva (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) February 2008 and raced in 2008 and 2009. Then stored until run in the F1 Support Race at COTA in November 2013.
12. Tecno 69/F2 (Alistair Walker): Alistair Walker drove a Tecno in Formula 2 in 1969, entered by Frank Williams Racing Cars. Walker crashed in practice at Jarama in May, and although the car was reported to be repairable, he was not seen again in F2 that season. Walker advertised the car in August 1970, when it was said to to have been completely stripped and rebuilt. The Tecno was next sighted in 1971, when it was driven in libre racing by George Dudley (Witney, Oxfordshire). Dudley was next seen in the ex-Walker Brabham BT30, which was owned by Bobby Howlings, implying that Howlings had acquired both cars from Walker and that Dudley, who usually drove a Lotus 22 in Monoposto, was guest-driving them. The next time the Tecno can be traced was when it was sold by collector Harry Heathcote (Nuneaton, Warwickshire) to John Harper in the mid/late 1990s. He sold it to John Beasley, and it was raced for Beasley by Chris Alford and Gary Pearson in historic racing. It is reported that the Tecno later went to Oskar Christen.
13. Lotus 59B [59-F2-20] (Roy Pike): One of three Lotus 59Bs built for Roy Winkelmann Racing in F2 in 1969. This was Graham Hill's usual car, winning at Albi in September, but was driven at other races by Roy Pike, John Miles, Hans Herrmann, and Andrea de Adamich. According to Richard Spelberg's research, this car was converted to Lotus 69 specification for 1970, as F2.69.5.
14. Merlyn Mk 12A [109?] (Brian Hart): New for Bob Gerard's quasi-works F2 team in 1968, and raced early in the season by John Cardwell. This car was updated to MK 12A specification for 1969 and run alongside Gerard's Brabham BT23C for Robin Widdows and others. Advertised by Gerard Racing in January 1970 but not seen again until Pete Tester ran it in a libre race at Lydden in early 1973. Used by Peter Bull (London) in sprints that summer, by which time it had a BRM engine of some sort, and then advertised by Bull in September with a 1600cc Ford twin cam engine and FT200 gearbox. Bull bought a Brabham BT30 for 1974 and the later history of the Merlyn is unknown.

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.

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

Autosport (18 Apr 1969 pp8-10) gave chassis numbers for most cars, just BMW's Lola T102s escaping identification at either this or the previous race.