OldRacingCars.com

Players (Canadian) Formula B Series Race

Westwood, 3 Oct 1971

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Craig Hill Lotus 69 [71/69.5.FB] - Ford twin cam Hart
#1 Fother-Hill Ltd/Castrol Dunlop
26 41m 16.3s
2 Jon Milledge Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam
#91 J.M. Racing, Mountain View (see note 1)
26
3 Wilson Southam March 71BM [10?] - Ford twin cam Greatorex
#24 Southam Motor Racing, Montreal
(see note 2)
26
4 Thomas E. Kornell Brabham BT29 [48] - Ford twin cam HRE
#48 (see note 3)
25
5 Ian Coristine March 71BM [1] - Ford twin cam Hart
#50 Delta Racing Developments, Montreal
(see note 4)
25
6 Maurice McCaig Brabham BT35 [19] - Ford twin cam
#58 Double M Racing, Scarborough, Ont.
(see note 5)
25
7 John Powell Chevron B17b - Ford twin cam
#30 Penguin Racing Ent., Ottawa
(see note 6)
24
8 Max Nerrière Lotus 59 [59-F2/XB-41] - Ford twin cam
#42 (see note 7)
21
9 Richard "Bud" Rude Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam
#33
21
10 Ron Householder Brabham BT29 [9] - Ford twin cam
#6 Automotive Racing Ent., Portland
(see note 8)
21
11 Roy Folland Brabham BT35 [18] - Ford twin cam
#20 (see note 9)
11
R Cam McKenzie Brabham BT21 [9] - Ford twin cam
#34 Cam McKenzie (see note 10)
22 holed sump; over bank
R Al Justason Brabham BT23F [1] - Ford twin cam
#32 Alastair Justason (see note 11)
16
R Randy Fraser March 71BM - Ford twin cam Greatorex
#54 Tartan-Fraser Ltd, Montreal/March Cars
(see note 12)
15
R Allan Lader Brabham BT35 [39] - Ford twin cam
#75 Pacifico Inc., Gresham (see note 13)
11 drowned engine (electrics)
DNS Bill Eagles Chevron B9/B15b - Ford twin cam
#46 Tex-Made Racing Team, Ville Lasalle
(see note 14)
Did not start
DNS Eligio Siconolfi Lotus 59/69 [59-F2/XB-42] - Ford twin cam
(see note 15)
Did not start
DNS Barry Fox Brabham BT29 [49] - Ford twin cam
#22 Astro Shield Westerne Mack
Did not start
DNS Jacques Couture Lotus 69 - Ford twin cam Hart
#84 Jim Russell Racing Team (see note 16)
Did not start
(withdrew (conditions))
DNS David McConnell Lotus 69 - Ford twin cam Hart
#86 Jim Russell Racing Team (see note 17)
Did not start
(withdrew (conditions))
DNS Brian Robertson Brabham BT35 [10] - Ford twin cam Hart
#5 Fred Opert Racing, Ottawa (see note 18)
Did not start
(withdrew (conditions))
DNS Bruce Jensen Chevron B17b [17B.70.04?] - Ford twin cam
#41 Jen-Mac Racing (see note 19)
Did not start
DNS Gary Magwood Hawke DL6B [2] - Ford twin cam
#27 Castrol
Did not start
DNSC Howard Cazaly Lotus 41C - Ford twin cam
#25 Cazaly Otter Ltd.
Did not start (crashed)
  Dewey Harless Brabham BT29 [26] - Ford twin cam
Dewey Harless (see note 20)
On entry list
  Dave Ogilvy Lotus 35 - Ford twin cam
#9 Shabolt Cams
On entry list
  Ken Huband Brabham BT29 [34] - Ford twin cam
#15 Huband Motor Racing, Ottawa
(see note 21)
On entry list

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Qualifying
1 Allan Lader (FB) 1.6-litre Brabham BT35 [39] - Ford twin cam 1m 06.1s
2 David McConnell * (FB) 1.6-litre Lotus 69 - Ford twin cam Hart 1m 07.8s
3 Jacques Couture * (FB) 1.6-litre Lotus 69 - Ford twin cam Hart 1m 08.2s
4 Craig Hill (FB) 1.6-litre Lotus 69 [71/69.5.FB] - Ford twin cam Hart 1m 09.3s
5 Wilson Southam (FB) 1.6-litre March 71BM [10?] - Ford twin cam Greatorex 1m 09.3s
6 Richard "Bud" Rude (FB) 1.6-litre Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam 1m 09.3s
7 Cam McKenzie (FB) 1.6-litre Brabham BT21 [9] - Ford twin cam 1m 12.3s
8 Jon Milledge (FB) 1.6-litre Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam 1m 12.6s
9 Maurice McCaig (FB) 1.6-litre Brabham BT35 [19] - Ford twin cam 1m 13.1s
10 Max Nerrière (FB) 1.6-litre Lotus 59 [59-F2/XB-41] - Ford twin cam 1m 13.3s
 
* Did not start

Notes on the cars:

  1. Brabham BT29 (Jon Milledge): Jim Gutfreund (Des Moines, Iowa) bought a new Brabham BT29 for 1970 and ran it in Midwest Div Formula B, winning two races and leading the division until his BRM-built Ford twin-cam blew. He sold the car to Archie Snider (Los Gatos, CA) for 1971 and Snider continued with the BRM engine until joining forces with Jon Milledge (Mountain View, CA) who crewed the car for Snider in Regionals while racing it in Nationals and in Pro events. They continued with the car through 1972 and into 1973, before Snider replaced it with a GRD. It then went to Larry Wright (Riverside, CA) to replace his earlier BT29 that he'd wrecked in June 1973. Wright kept the car until 1976 after which he retired and sold the car to "an unknown guy who lived in the Sierra Madre area of So Cal, near Pasadena".
  2. March 71BM [10?] (Wilson Southam): Wilson Southam ran a team in Canadian Formula B in 1971. He bought two March 71BMs and raced this one himself. Southam was expected to run the car again in 1972, and it was fully updated to 722 specification by Tom Greatorex, well known in Canada as Kris Harrison's Can-Am mechanic. In February 1972, he loaned the car to Gus Hutchison for the two Formula B races in Bogotá. Southam sold his operation to Ecurie Canada for 1972, and this car is believed to have gone with it. Subsequent history unknown, but believed to be the car driven by Ian Coristine for Ecurie Canada in 1972 and 1973.
  3. Brabham BT29 [48] (Thomas E. Kornell): Sold new to Tom Kornell (Seal Beach, CA) and raced in SCCA Divisional and Pro Formula B in 1971 and 1972. Kornell added a sports car nose and a more substantial rollhoop amongst other changes. He ordered a Brabham BT41 for 1973 and the BT29 went to Fred Opert as a trade. Subsequent history unknown.
  4. March 71BM [1] (Ian Coristine): Gordie Dewar was appointed March importer into Canada for 1971 and his first purchase, chassis 71BM-1, went to Delta Racing Developments for Ian Coristine (Montréal, Quebec) to race in the Players FB series. Coristine finished the season fifth in the red #50 March but crashed in practice for the final race, at Circuit Ste-Croix in October. The car went to Reg Scullion (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Montréal, Quebec) for 1972 and it was entered for him by Kris Harrison's Ecurie Canada, and prepared by Andy Roe and Tom Greatorex. Ecurie Canada had also bought Wilson Southam's engine manufacturing business, acquiring Greatorex with it, and were preparing the engines in Scullion's car. Scullion started the season racing in Nationals in Texas before returning to Canada for the Players season. He ended the Canadian season in ninth place but then returned to the US to finish second in the SCCA Run-Offs. He retained the car for 1973 as a Scullion-Donolo Racing entry, and it was raced by partner Louis "Lou" Donolo (Montréal, Quebec) once or twice. Subsequent history unknown.
  5. Brabham BT35 [19] (Maurice McCaig): New to Maurice McCaig (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), and raced in the Canadian Formula B series in 1971 and 1972. To Hugh Cree (Georgetown, Ontario) for Canadian FB in 1973, and then for Canadian Formula Atlantic in 1974. Advertised by Cree in November 1974, when it had a 1972 big valve Hart. History then unknown until it was advertised in Victory Lane August 1990 by Bill Schley (Hartland, WI), who described it as a "very original car in excellent condition" with a Hart BDA and FT200. Oddly, in the same edition of Victory Lane, Bob Hildreth and Ken Petrie from a Denver, Colorado number advertised a BT35 with the same "# 35-19" serial number, which was "original unrestored" and "in storage for 12 years".
  6. Chevron B17b (John Powell): Peter Broeker (Pointe-Claire, Montréal, Quebec) raced a Chevron B17b in Canadian Formula B in 1970, often descibing it as a Stebro. It replaced Broeker's earlier B14, so the two cars were often confused. The B17b was raced by Craig Fisher and John Powell (both Toronto, Ontario) in 1971, entered by Penguin Racing Enterprise. The later history of the car is not known. Although it has been suggested that this was the car Broeker raced in 1974, when he returned to Formula Atlantic, that car appears to have been his older B14 updated.
  7. Lotus 59 [59-F2/XB-41] (Max Nerrière): New to Craig Hill (Mississauga, Ontario) and run in the Canadian Road Racing Championship and the SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B, entered by Bill Brack Racing Enterprises. Hill ran in a team with Brack's Formula 5000 Lotus 70, with both cars in marching Castrol GTX livery. Unlike the two JRDS cars, which were entered as Lotus 69Bs, Hill's car first raced in Lotus 59 bodywork and was generally billed through the season as the "Castrol GTX Lotus 59". For 1971, the car was sold to Max Nerrière (Toronto, Ontario), who raced it in the Players Canadian Formula B series. Retained by Nerrière for 1972 and for 1973. Subsequent history unknown.
  8. Brabham BT29 [9] (Ron Householder): This early chassis number would have raced in 1969 but its first owner is still unknown. Working backwards from its modern ownership, it would have been the black-and-yellow BT29 raced by Allan Lader (Gresham, OR), until Lader got a new 1970-spec BT29 in July. The older car was sold to Ron Householder (Portland, OR) and raced by him in SCCA, CASC and ICSCC events in 1971, 1972 and 1973. Householder sold it to Paul Anderson (Huntington Beach, CA) who entered it for Pete Halsmer in SCCA events in 1974. Then to Bill Hill (Olympia, WA) in March 1975. Hill drove this car, mainly in ICSCC events, until April 1980 at least, and Hill advertised the car "for rent" in mid-1980. Retained by Hill until his death. It was sold by his widow to David Irwin (Evergreen, CO) in December 2017.
  9. Brabham BT35 [18] (Roy Folland): New to Roy Folland (Montréal, Quebec) and raced in the Canadian Formula B series in 1971, prepared by mechanic Andy Aitken. Some reports suggest Folland raced an older BT29 towards the end of that season, but an article in the Montreal Gazette in late August only mentions a BT35. An annotation to the entry list for the Canadian GP support race in September identified this car as chassis BT35/18. To Bill Eagles (Lasalle, Montréal, Quebec, Canada) for the 1972 Canadian FB series, entered by Tex-Made Racing Team. Then to Scott MacKenzie for 1973, entered and supported by Bryant Cougle of Astro Sports, but crashed heavily at Edmonton in June. The chassis was too badly damaged to be repairable, and MacKenzie suffered neck injuries that brought his season to an end. The car was then used as a source of spares for the team's replacement BT35, before being sold. It was acquired by Doug DeFresne (Portland, OR) in 1979, when it still had Astro Sports bodywork with it. It was acquired by Bob Slusher (Portland, Oregon) in September 2005.
  10. Brabham BT21 [9] (Cam McKenzie): New to Brian Classick for F3 in 1967. To Peter Hanson for 1968. To Cam McKenzie (Squamish, British Columbia, Canada) in Formula B specification for 1969, and retained by him for 1970 and 1971.
  11. Brabham BT23F [1] (Al Justason): Sold to Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) and fitted with a Vegantune Ford twin cam engine for SCCA 'Pro' and NEDiv Formula B. Raced through 1968 and retained for a few races in 1969 as Gubelmann's BT29 was late arriving. Sold to Al Justason (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) who used it in both the Canadian and US Pro series in 1970 and again in the Canadian FB series in 1971. Sold to Michael Houselander who appeared at two Canadian national events in 1972, Later sold to ‘Dino Delousis’ who fitted a turbocharged 2-litre Ford Pinto engine for libre events but found the car to be undrivable and stored it from about 1974 to 2004 when sold to Dave Darrow (Mississauga, Ontario) and fully restored. Retained until 2007 when sold via race-cars.com to Murray Bryden (Melbourne, Australia). Sold to David Kloster (Kinglake, Victoria) September 2011.
  12. March 71BM (Randy Fraser): Wilson Southam acquired two red March 71BMs for Canadian Formula B in 1971, one for Randy Fraser and one for himself. Fraser's was the first to appear, running as the #54 Tartan Fraser entry and is most likely to have been 71BM-8. In early 1972, the car was sold to Gilles Léger (Lachute, Quebec) and updated to 722 specification by Tom Greatorex, who also prepared the car for Léger. Then to Patricia Smith (Montréal, Quebec) in 1973 entered as #51 by P.S. Translations. Subsequent history unknown.
  13. Brabham BT35 [39] (Allan Lader): New to Allan Lader in 1971 to replace the Brabham BT29 he had wrecked at Mexico City in June. Entered by Pacifico Inc. (Gresham, OR), and used by Lader to win at Road America in August and Mosport in September. Based on an annotation in a race program, this car is believed to be chassis BT35/39 (although a F3 car appeared in Germany in 1972 which is said to have the same chassis number). Presumably the Brabham BT35 entered by Pacifico for Frank Fitch at Riverside 24 Sep 1972 and, by extension, the Brabham raced by Fitch in other west coast events in 1972. Enetred by Fitch once in 1973. Subsequent history unknown.
  14. Chevron B9/B15b (Bill Eagles): Bill Eagles (Lasalle, Quebec) raced a Chevron "B9/B15B" in Molson events in 1970 and in the Players FB series in 1971. This may have been the ex-Wayne Kelly B9 but could also have been Peter Broeker's "B9/B14/B15" that he raced in 1969 and then retured to briefly in 1974. Nothing more known.
  15. Lotus 59/69 [59-F2/XB-42] (Eligio Siconolfi): New to Jacques Couture (Laval, Montréal, Quebec) and raced in the SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B series and the Quebec Region Molson Championship during 1970. The car was entered by Jim Russell RDS (Canada) Ltd, and generally wore #86. Sold to Eligio Siconolfi (Montréal, Quebec) for 1971 and raced in the Players Canadian Formula B series and the Quebec Region Molson series. The car was acquired from Siconolfi by Mauro Lanaro (Montréal, Quebec) who took some time restoring it, and then raced it in regional events in Canada in 1973. Lanaro recalled to Joe Griffin in 2021 that "after a bad accident at Mosport, I sold what was left it to Peter Draggfy". Peter Dragffy is known to have had several Lotus 59/69s in the 1980s.
  16. Lotus 69 (Jacques Couture): 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.
  17. Lotus 69 (David McConnell): Raced by David McConnell (Montréal, Quebec) as part of the Jim Russell Racing Team in the Players Formula B Championship and the Molson Formula Championship in Canada in 1971. McConnell won one round of the Players series and four rounds of the regional Molson Championship, which he easily won. McConnell bought a new GRD for the 1972 Tasman championship, and the subsequent history of the Lotus 69 is unknown.
  18. Brabham BT35 [10] (Brian Robertson): New to Brian Robertson (Brockville, Ontario, Canada) and raced by him in the Canadian Formula B series in 1971, entered by Fred Opert Racing. To Al Justason (Toronto, Ontario) for Canadian FB in 1972 and 1973. To Fred Beyer (Ottawa, Ontario) for the Players (Canadian) Formula Atlantic series in 1974 and 1975. History then unknown until it was acquired from Bobby Brown in November 2006 by Kent Copeland (Dallas, TX). Brown is believed to have acquired it from Frank Costey in 2004. Copeland commented that it had been owned in Colorado in 1988, and its last races were believed to have been in 1986. It was red when acquired, but restored to a blue colour. Copeland died in July 2014 and, in May 2015, Todd Upp was advertising the car on behalf of his wife Holly. Sold in August 2022 to Stephen Temple (Santa Cruz, CA).
  19. Chevron B17b [17B.70.04?] (Bruce Jensen): Bruce Jensen (Kitchener, Ontario) raced a Chevron B17b in Canadian Formula B in 1971, entered by Jen-Mac Racing. His car was white, and was entered as #41. Jensen retained the car for 1972, again running as #41. Leighton Irwin recalls that in 1972, the car was modified with a sports car nose designed by Terry Welch and larger rear wing. This created too much downforce, and not realising that stiffer springs were needed, his team struggled with the car on faster circuits. Subsequent history unknown.
  20. Brabham BT29 [26] (Dewey Harless): This car is likely to have raced in 1970 but its history is not known until it is believed to be the car raced by Dewey Harless (Portland, OR) in NorPac FB in 1971 and 1972. It was bought from Harless by Courtney Rood (Geyserville, CA) and raced mainly in San Francisco Region events at Sears Point over the next three seasons, winning the SFR Regional FB title in 1973 and 1975. He advertised the car at the end of 1976 but it did not sell and he retained it until 1995 or 1996 when it was bought by Dick McGovern (San Jose, CA) for historic racing. Still owned by McGovern in 2011.
  21. Brabham BT29 [34] (Ken Huband): Ken Huband (Ottawa, Ontario) ran a red/black #15 Brabham BT29 in Canadian and US Formula B in 1970, first appearing at Mont-Tremblant 24 May 1970. He retained the car in 1971 and in 1972. Huband advertised the BT29 in CP&A 21 Oct 1972 as "Brabham BT29/34", implying it was chassis 34. Several BT29 owners had mentioned the chassis numbers of the cars in adverts, presumably to emphasise the newer cars. Peter Nye arranged the sale of the car to Bill Wolfe, a dentist in Austin, Texas, but Wolfe later pulled out of a deal with Nye to assemble the car for him. Subsequent history 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.

The 1971-1973 Canadian Formula B race results have been compiled by Chris Townsend based on material in Canadian Motorsport Bulletin, results sheets where available and from information drawn from Canadian newspapers.

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.